Sangsu Japanese restaurant: eel ochazuke after a nail session, Ochaya

Ochaya near Sangsu Station: my first meal after a 4-hour nail session

At Ochaya near Sangsu Station, I had unagi chazuke (eel over rice with broth) as my first meal of the day, at 5 p.m. I'd spent four hours getting my nails done and only got to eat at 5, so honestly I was hungry enough that anything would have tasted good, but this was sooo good that I finished it in 10 minutes and walked out haha.

This is Ochaya, an ochazuke (rice with tea or broth poured over) restaurant near Sangsu Station!

Ochaya looked clean and neat from the outside, and since it's on the second floor, you go up the outdoor stairs.

Ochaya location and opening hours

• Address: 49 Wausan-ro 13-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 2nd floor
• Getting there: 4-minute walk from Sangsu Station Exit 1
• Hours: daily 11:30–20:30
• Last order: 19:50

What is the atmosphere like inside Ochaya?

Big windows let in natural light, so the whole place felt bright and warm. It had a Japanese feel but was also tidy and cute in its decor.

There were Studio Ghibli posters on the wall too, and these little touches fit the place really well. Lots of people were dining solo, and plenty of groups of two or more had reserved and come in!

Ochaya menu and how to order at the kiosk

You order at the kiosk by the entrance. The ochazuke range is wide, from pork belly to salmon, eel and seafood, so there was so much I wanted to eat :(

• Butanogakuni (pork belly)
• Sake chazuke (salmon)
• Unagi chazuke (eel)
• Kaisen chazuke (seafood)
• Matodai chazuke (John Dory)
• Myeongran (pollock roe) ochazuke
• Sides: shrimp tempura, shiitake tempura, crab stick tempura

How is Ochaya's unagi chazuke served?

After some dithering, I went with the unagi chazuke because I love eel rice bowls.

The unagi chazuke came neatly arranged on a black tray: an eel rice bowl, a kettle of broth, seaweed and three side dishes. (The eel bowl is on the sweet side, so the side dishes were nice to have between bites.)

I liked that it all came as one set, like a Japanese home-style meal.

The eel was really big! A long eel sat whole on top of the rice, and it looked so appetizing, honestly :( Under the eel was a generous layer of yellow egg strips, and it was topped with green onion, pickled ginger and wasabi.

Ochaya's eel unagi chazuke eaten first as a rice bowl

At Ochaya, they recommend you don't pour the broth in right away but enjoy the rice bowl on its own first. Nutritious rice, seaweed, side dishes and broth can be refilled too, so even big eaters should be fine!

I followed the instructions and ate the eel and rice first. You split the eel into spoon-sized pieces and eat it with the rice! The sweet eel sauce goes well with the rice, and with the egg strips it tasted even richer. The eel's nutty flavor and the savory sauce blend nicely. The rice is seasoned too, so it goes well with the eel, and adding pickled ginger now and then makes it even better.

I'd also recommend wrapping the rice and eel in the seaweed that comes with it.

When do you pour the broth over the ochazuke?

The restaurant's instructions say to eat about half of the rice bowl, then slowly pour the warm broth from the kettle over the rice. Before the broth, you enjoy the plain flavor of the eel and rice; after it, everything gets much softer and moister.

Since you scoop up warm broth together with the rice, it seemed like an easy way to enjoy the second half of the meal without feeling heavy.

Final verdict on Ochaya near Sangsu Station

I got to eat Ochaya's unagi chazuke with its big eel two ways, as a rice bowl and as ochazuke, and left full! I liked the clean atmosphere and the neat set too.

If you like Japanese rice bowls eaten with warm broth, do visit. I'd recommend it if you're looking for a different kind of rice bowl place in Hongdae, or if you're curious about Japanese ochazuke.