Weekend dinner reservation, sofa seating, mentaiko hitsumabushi

I heard there was a great eel rice bowl place in One Grove, Magok, so I went to check it out myself.

It's Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa One Grove Branch.

Location and hours of Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa One Grove Branch

• 📍 Address: 165 Gonghangdae-ro, Building A 1F, E101, E102, Gangseo-gu, Seoul (347m from Magok Station Exit 2, Line 5)
• ⏰ Hours: Daily 10:30–22:00 (last order 20:50)
• 🏢 Info: Group-friendly, takeout, reservations, Wi-Fi, separate restrooms, waiting area, wheelchair-accessible entrance, corkage available, parking available

Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa specializes in Nagoya-style eel. It's an eel restaurant that started in Nagoya in 1932 and now runs several branches in Korea too. Honestly, the name was so long at first I couldn't remember it. 😆 Turns out the name is taken straight from Japanese and means 'Mr. Kikukawa, whose family has carried on eel for four generations.' The Kikukawa family has run an eel wholesale business for four generations in Nagoya, Japan's eel town, and the fourth-generation head, Kikukawa Yuhei, launched the restaurant brand himself in 2017.

🧭 Finding your way from One Grove

I booked a weekend dinner slot in advance. Being inside One Grove made parking 🚗 really convenient. After parking, take the elevator up to Building A, 1st floor, pass the Tim Hortons 🍁 store, turn left toward Sookseongdo, keep going straight, and once you step outside the building, you'll see the restaurant on your right.

If it's your first visit, just remember: from Tim Hortons, you need to head outside the building, not further inside!

The exterior had a clean, upscale Japanese-restaurant feel, mostly in black tones.

🏢 Interior atmosphere and seating

Walking in, the first thing that catches your eye is a cute eel rice bowl model.

Overall the vibe leaned toward modern Japanese dining. Bright wood tones combined with Japanese-style lattice partitions gave it a clean yet warm atmosphere.

There are basically 4-person tables, plus dachi (counter) seats, so it looked fine for solo diners too. I especially liked the open kitchen, where you can watch the food being prepared.

There's also a private room, which seemed good for family meals or gatherings with elders. In fact, when I visited, there was a family birthday party going on in the room.

There were also cushy sofa-style seats. Since I had reserved in advance, I was seated at a sofa seat, which made for a very comfortable meal. 🍽️

🍴 Menu lineup

Looking through the menu, there was a wide range of single dishes built around eel.

Besides eel rice bowls, there were dinner sets and kaiseki courses too, so it looked good for enjoying a variety of dishes as a course.

Takeout and bento orders are also available, which is nice if you want to enjoy it without dining in.

Ordering is done via the tablet (T-order) set up at each table. I ordered the Yondaime Kikukawa ilpum (specialty) hitsumabushi and the mentaiko hitsumabushi.

I heard this place was featured in the 2019 Michelin Guide, so I was looking forward to it even before the food arrived. 🙌

🪺 What does mentaiko hitsumabushi taste like?

Mentaiko hitsumabushi is a dish with mentaiko (salted pollock roe) piled on top of about two-thirds of an eel. I love mentaiko, so I was curious and ordered it.

The eel's sweet, salty tare sauce combined with mentaiko's distinctly salty, umami-rich flavor, making the overall seasoning quite bold. As someone who usually likes mentaiko, it worked for me, but if you enjoy eel's own plain, savory flavor, you might find the mentaiko's seasoning a bit strong. Still, if you like mentaiko, it's a fun way to try eel in a different style.

🐟 Yondaime Kikukawa ilpum hitsumabushi

The Yondaime Kikukawa ilpum hitsumabushi is Kikukawa's signature dish — a whole eel is served on top, so compared to a regular hitsumabushi, you get much more eel, letting you really taste it properly.

The soft, moist eel paired with the salty-sweet tare went really well with the rice. Above all, the generous amount of eel meant anyone who loves eel would likely be very satisfied.

😋 How to enjoy hitsumabushi the best way

Along with the menu, the staff kindly explained how to best enjoy hitsumabushi. They explained it verbally, and a paper guide was also provided, so I tried it following their instructions.

First, eel on its own

For the first method, I tried the eel by itself. Tasting the eel alone, I could feel a plain yet savory flavor. The eel's characteristic soft texture and subtle richness came through clearly.

Second, with scallion, wasabi, and seaweed toppings

Second, I added the toppings — scallion, wasabi, and seaweed — and enjoyed them with the eel. To the eel's rich, savory flavor, the scallion's fragrance, the wasabi's kick, and the seaweed's umami were added, and the flavor definitely became richer.

Also, if you keep eating eel, its particular richness can start to feel a bit heavy, but the scallion and wasabi eaten alongside wrapped around that richness and made it much cleaner to enjoy. Personally, I thought it was a combination that really brought out the eel's flavor well.

I also tried adding a bit of the mentaiko from the mentaiko hitsumabushi. With the eel's sweet tare plus the mentaiko's saltiness, the flavor in each bite was quite intense. If you like mentaiko, you'd probably enjoy it plenty, but if you prefer a plainer flavor, I'd recommend enjoying the eel without the mentaiko.

Third, poured with dashi broth as ochazuke

Finally, I poured in dashi broth and tried it as ochazuke. Among all the ways I tried, this ochazuke was the tastiest for me.

Once the dashi broth went in, the mentaiko's saltiness and the eel's rich flavor both softened, and thanks to the warm broth, the whole thing felt much cleaner to finish with. Being able to enjoy it in so many different ways made eating it more fun.

📇 Business card raffle event

When I visited, there was also a business card raffle event going on. My husband quietly dropped in his card too. ✌️ Fingers crossed 🙏 we win — it was a day of properly treating ourselves.

If you'd like to try eel rice bowls in One Grove, Magok, give Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa a visit. Especially if you love eel, I'd recommend the ilpum hitsumabushi, generously loaded with eel. 👍 You can enjoy the eel's true flavor, the version with scallion, wasabi, and seaweed, and finally as ochazuke — a variety of ways to enjoy it.