Dog-friendly eel buffet in Yeongjong, Incheon at 4:30 pm: Jangsodam

The day I ate all-you-can-eat eel in Yeongjong with my dog

Jangsodam Yeongjong Direct Store (장소담 영종직영점) is a pet-friendly restaurant in Yeongjong where eel, beef and pork are all unlimited. This time I had dinner there with a friend and my dog Leo. A lot of new restaurants have opened in Yeongjong lately and I've been trying them one by one. I'd been to Jangsodam in Cheongna a few times and loved it, so I went in with confidence.

Jangsodam hours and parking

Jangsodam Yeongjong is open daily 11:00-23:00. Park in the building's basement garage, and parking is free if you register your plate yourself on the way out.

Jangsodam's rules for dogs

You can eat with your pet if you bring a pet stroller or a carrier bag. Please read the notes for pets. Owners need to make sure the dog isn't taken out and doesn't bark so much that it bothers other tables.

Leo doesn't make a sound at restaurants, so the staff were surprised afterward. They asked how he could sit there like a person, haha.

Jangsodam menu and prices: is eel alone worth it?

The Jangsodam menu lets you order set menus like this,

and there's a separate lunch special menu too.

If you only want eel, you can order it on its own. Eel alone is ₩32,000 plus a ₩3,000 per-person table setting fee, and honestly the price is kind and cheap even for eel only. The setting fee gets you unlimited self-bar, rice and drinks. At a typical eel place, two people easily pay ₩70,000-80,000 for one whole eel, but at Jangsodam ₩32,000 + ₩3,000 per person gets you a generous meal, so eel only is fine too. Also, every Monday is Eel Day, when it's ₩29,900.

We ordered the B Set at ₩34,000 per person. Since it's all-you-can-eat, my first thought was just "the price is okay," but after eating, the value felt much better.

If you post a review receipt, you get generous extras like this.

Jangsodam Yeongjong: when is it less crowded?

Jangsodam Yeongjong Direct Store is an all-you-can-eat eel specialist that opened recently in Yeongjong, in late July, with a spacious dining room and clean facilities. Families and groups come a lot, but since it's newly opened, facilities and service may still be a bit rough, so keep that in mind. At peak times, service and the huge volume of orders seem to delay the food, so please note that if you go then.

We arrived around 4:30 pm, before the crowd, and could eat in peace. At around 5:30 pm, customers really poured in like a tide, and as I mentioned above, with so many people arriving at once, I got the feeling the restaurant was overwhelmed.

What's on the Jangsodam self-bar?

Back to the food: at the Jangsodam self-bar you can eat as many wrap vegetables as you like,

and you can also grab pork from the self-bar, picking whichever cuts you want. See below for the types of meat. You can use this self-bar by paying ₩3,000 per person.

See below for the dishes. For anything not on the self-bar, tap the kiosk and it's brought to your table as soon as you order. Many dishes are served warm, so order what you want to add through the kiosk. Below are the self-bar dishes that are set out by default.

How did the Jangsodam B Set eel taste?

In the Jangsodam B Set, eel and beef came out first. The eel's condition was already quite satisfying.

This is the Jangsodam spread: all-you-can-eat eel, beef and pork in Yeongjong, easy to enjoy.

I could grab whatever I wanted from the self-bar, generously and without feeling self-conscious. Perfect.

The eel goes on the grill! The fire is really strong, so it cooks fast. The flesh was plump, and as it started grilling the oil rose up with a lovely nutty aroma. Eel really is best freshly grilled.

When it gets a bit greasy, it's self-serve Han River ramyeon time, let's go. Ahh, Yeol Ramyeon (spicy instant noodles) is never wrong.

Order Jangsodam's special dishes by kiosk

For special dishes you want more of (the ones not on the self-bar), just tap and order on the Jangsodam kiosk like this.

We already had so much on the table that we only added chicken. The table was so full we couldn't have eaten more.

You might worry that the eel quality drops because it's all-you-can-eat, but no need to worry! If you run short, you can add more right away and keep eating, so satisfaction should be high for eel lovers. My friend and I ate until we were stuffed, and because it's a buffet, the price was no burden.

Eel is delicious on its own, but it was also fun to eat it with ginger, wrapped in vegetables, or dipped in sauce. Changing how I ate it kept me from getting tired of it to the end. I also grilled two strips of pork belly and enjoyed them.

One perfect wrap.

B Set gejang and an extra half eel

The Jangsodam B Set also includes gejang once, so I ordered it, and it's just perfect with rice! A real rice thief.

By this point I was getting full, so I added a final half eel (250g). I thought my stomach would burst. Even though it's a refill, it isn't some lesser eel; it's the same eel as the first round.

I really ate until my belly split, for the first time in a while. I walked for an hour afterward and still felt stuffed, haha. I probably won't need to eat until lunch the next day.

To finish, refreshing soft serve ice cream.

Verdict: Jangsodam, a pet-friendly all-you-can-eat eel spot in Yeongjong

If you want to eat eel to your heart's content in Yeongjong, I recommend Jangsodam's all-you-can-eat eel. At ₩34,000 per person for the B Set, I could eat eel until full without worry, and I didn't feel even 1% of "buffet quality is disappointing." Best of all, it's pet-friendly, so I could eat with Leo, which I loved most!! If you're looking for a restaurant in Yeongjong you can go to with your dog, I fully recommend Jangsodam, where you can enjoy eel too!