Eel restaurant in Nowon, Seoul for a parents’ meal: Cheonsanga Jangeoga

Grilled eel in Hagae-dong: Cheonsanga Jangeoga with my parents-in-law

When it comes to restoring your energy, there’s nothing quite like eel, right? I’d been feeling especially tired lately, as if my stamina had dropped, and thought I needed something restorative. That’s when I remembered Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagae Branch, a well-loved Hagae-dong restaurant that people around me had raved about and recommended. I also had a meal planned with my parents-in-law, so we went to enjoy delicious eel and recharge together.

Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagae Branch is at 67 Hangeulbiseok-ro 1-gil, 1F, Unit 102, Nowon-gu, Seoul. It is open daily from 11:30 to 22:00 and is open as usual during the Chuseok holiday. Only on Chuseok Day, 9/25 (Fri), it opens at 14:00, and parking is available.

Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagae Branch is tucked into the alley where restaurants along Nowon Fire Station Road are gathered. There is parking in front of the restaurant, so it was convenient to visit by car, too.

We made a reservation in advance for a weekday dinner, and they had neatly set our table as a reserved seat.

What comes with the basic four-person set

For four adults and one young child, we ordered the basic four-person set (₩138,000), along with bokbunja, Korean black raspberry wine, which simply has to go with eel.

The basic four-person set includes four large eels, stone rice sushi, doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew), eoriguljeot (seasoned salted baby oysters), and nurungji (scorched rice). We could choose between eoriguljeot and deodeok jangajji (pickled deodeok root), and we chose the eoriguljeot.

There is also a weekday lunch special that lets you enjoy a generous meal at a more reasonable price, as well as hearty eel soup, so I think it would be a great place to visit for lunch, too.

An easy meal with staff grilling the eel

What I liked most about Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagae Branch was that the staff grill the eel themselves from start to finish.

At another eel restaurant I visited recently, instructions for grilling were written out and we had to do it ourselves. Since I’m not even good at grilling meat, grilling eel was much harder than I expected. Sprinkle salt first, grill one side, flip it, cut it and stand it up to grill, and so on... I felt pressure wondering whether I would ruin perfectly good eel by grilling it badly, and because I was so busy grilling, it didn’t even feel like I could properly enjoy the meal.

But at Cheonsanga Jangeoga, the staff used their practiced skills to grill it into easy-to-eat pieces, so guests could simply sit back and enjoy the food. It was especially nice because I was dining with my parents-in-law: the staff served the best pieces to them first, and because we had a child with us, they even brought us gim (roasted seaweed) on the house. I was truly grateful for such thoughtful attention to even the little things.

Different ways to enjoy eel

The beautifully golden grilled eel was delicious simply dipped in sauce with ginger, but we could also enjoy it in all sorts of combinations with banchan (Korean side dishes), including clean-tasting pickled perilla leaves, lettuce, and green onion kimchi.

Adding a little wasabi to the stone rice sushi and topping it with a piece of eel was another special treat. It had a different flavor from eating eel on its own, and it was personally one of my favorite combinations. The doenjang-jjigae that came with the meal had Cheongyang chili peppers in it, so it was spicy with a pleasant kick. Eel can start to feel a little rich as you eat, but a spoonful of the stew freshened up my mouth nicely.

The eoriguljeot we chose had wonderfully plump oysters, and the seasoning had soaked in deliciously, so we enjoyed it without any fishiness. Our child, who was trying eel for the first time that day, also ate it very well without any particular hesitation. Seeing the child eat so well let the adults relax and enjoy the meal, and it made me think we had made a great choice in eel for a family meal out.

My father-in-law complimented the eel, saying its flavor came through even more because they use real charcoal. Honestly, if it had just been us, we would have had no idea whether it was charcoal or anything else and simply said it was delicious. But hearing about that detail while we ate somehow made the eel taste even better.

With four large eels, the portion was really generous. They also had noodle dishes as sides that I wanted to try, but we were already far too full to get that far, so we finished with nurungji.

The warm nurungji at the end made my stomach feel refreshed and comfortably full, and it even put me in a better mood, like I had finished a truly satisfying meal.

There was also a serving robot in the restaurant, though they said that on a quieter weekday, they take care of everything directly. Thanks to the staff who looked after us so kindly from beginning to end, it was such a pleasant meal that I felt genuinely treated.

As we were leaving, I noticed they also sold eel extract in boxes. With Chuseok coming up, it could be a nice gift if you are considering a health gift for parents or older relatives.

I came here because I’d been low on energy and needed something restorative, and I left having eaten lots of delicious eel. More than anything, I was even more satisfied because my parents-in-law enjoyed it so much. You can have a comfortable meal without needing to grill the eel yourself, and the staff are so attentive, so I would recommend this Hagae-dong restaurant to anyone looking for a family meal to take their parents to or a restorative menu. Next time, I should come back to try the weekday lunch special or eel soup.