City Hall Japanese restaurant in Seoul: ₩30,000 hitsumabushi, Tawa

Today I finally had a proper meal alone after a while. Just because you're eating solo doesn't mean you have to settle for something quick and boring, right?! I was suddenly craving eel rice, so I looked up good restaurants near City Hall in Seoul and ended up at Tawa, known for its Nagoya-style hitsumabushi.

Tawa is open Monday to Saturday, 10:00–21:00, and closed on Sundays.

Where is Tawa? Basement of Hansan Building, Exit 10, City Hall Station

Tawa is really close to Exit 10 of City Hall Station. It's on the basement floor of Hansan Building, so you just walk into the building and head downstairs — easy to find. It looked like a great spot for anyone hunting for good restaurants near City Hall, or for a meal after visiting Deoksugung Palace or the Seoul Museum of Art nearby.

Inside Tawa: atmosphere and seating options

Walking into Tawa, it felt cleaner and more upscale than I expected. Not the overly casual Japanese-restaurant feel, but more of a calm space to sit down and actually eat.

There are bar seats and table seats separately, and a private room in the back too, so it seemed like a good place for a date or a company dinner as well. I visited alone that day, so I sat at the bar.

When you're eating alone, taking up a whole table can feel a little awkward sometimes. But with bar seats available, solo dining here was completely comfortable. You could see into the kitchen from the bar and even watch the eel being grilled — loved that.

Tawa's menu and the ₩30,000 hitsumabushi

Tawa's menu isn't just eel rice bowls — there's also kaisendon, sashimi, Japanese-style bulgogi, and curry. But I already knew exactly what I wanted, so no hesitation: Nagoya-style hitsumabushi!

Hitsumabushi is a charcoal-grilled eel rice bowl meant to be eaten several different ways, and it's Tawa's signature dish. It cost ₩30,000.

While waiting, I got to watch the eel being grilled. There was a window so no smoke or smell reached the seats — nice touch.

What comes with the hitsumabushi set at Tawa

After a short wait, it arrived as a neat full set. The eel rice bowl came with seaweed, scallion, wasabi, and broth to pour at the end. Seeing it all laid out like that made me feel properly taken care of, even though I was eating alone, haha.

The eel caught my eye first ♥ Neatly arranged over the rice, glossy and shiny — it looked delicious just from the visual alone. Being charcoal-grilled, it had a subtle smoky aroma, and the tare sauce soaked in beautifully so the smell alone was already great.

The point of hitsumabushi is that you don't mix it all together at once — you portion it out and enjoy it in several different ways.

How to eat hitsumabushi three ways

First bowl: eel and rice on their own

First, nothing added — just eel and rice as is! I wanted to taste the eel's natural flavor first. The outside had a slightly grilled texture while the inside was moist and tender.

The tare sauce wasn't too salty or too sweet, just the right amount to go with the rice — I could've kept eating just this on its own. The eel's distinct savoriness really came through, satisfying from the very first bite.

Second bowl: scallion, seaweed and wasabi on top

Second, I tried it with scallion, seaweed, and wasabi on top. The eel is savory and a bit rich, but the wasabi cut right through that, and with the scallion and seaweed aroma added, it felt like a completely different dish. If you like wasabi, piling on a bit extra would work great too.

Last bowl: hot broth poured over for ochazuke

And finally, the highlight of hitsumabushi — ochazuke! Add a bit of the toppings to the remaining eel and rice, then pour the broth that came with it.

Eating eel and rice can start to feel a bit heavy after a while, but finishing with ochazuke completely refreshes your palate. Ordering one dish but eating it three different ways made the meal more fun, and I never got tired of it until the last bite. So this is why people eat Nagoya-style hitsumabushi, I thought.

Who is Tawa best for?

Overall, Tawa was a satisfying place to properly enjoy Nagoya-style hitsumabushi. The eel was tender with a subtle charcoal aroma, and the variety of ways to eat it — with toppings, then as ochazuke — made it even more fun.

I'd recommend Tawa to anyone searching for good restaurants near City Hall in Seoul, looking for places near Deoksugung, or hunting for a solo dining spot around City Hall. It's easy to visit alone, but the atmosphere also works well for a date or a company dinner. Next time, I want to try the kaisendon too ♥