# Nagoya-style hitsumabushi near Yeoksam Station: Chisot Yeoksam - By Jageunseom (https://superchart.com/en/@the-open-sign/) - Written Sep 20, 2026 - Local places › Restaurants › Gangnam, Seoul - Sponsored: This post was written as a sponsored store visit. - English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@the-open-sign/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/ - Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@the-open-sign/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/index.md) ## In short Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch is a Nagoya-style hitsumabushi (grilled eel over rice) restaurant a five-minute walk from Yeoksam Station in Gangnam, Seoul. After a disappointing hitsumabushi in Nagoya, the writer arrived on a Friday at 6:10 pm and ate the hitsumabushi set three traditional ways, and the ochazuke finish tasted best. Every seat at Chisot carried a reservation tag, so booking ahead is essential. ## Good to know - **Location**: 669 Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (5-minute walk from Yeoksam Station) - **Hours**: Mon-Sat 11:00-21:30 (Saturday until 15:00) - **Break time**: 15:00-17:00 - **Parking**: Use the nearby public parking lot - **Ordered**: Hitsumabushi set - **Lunch only**: Chicken nanban unagi bento / salmon sashimi unagi bento / char siu unagi bento - **Seating**: Bar seats available, fine for solo diners / reservation recommended - **Review event**: Given per person, not per table *as written by the visitor on Sep 20, 2026* Today after work I got a craving for the eel rice bowl I never quite got to enjoy in Japan, so when I heard there was a super famous hitsumabushi spot in Yeoksam, I headed straight over! I actually don't love eel on its own, but I love eel rice bowls so~~ much! I first tried hitsumabushi in Nagoya and the flavor didn't quite come together for me, but Chisot does it Nagoya-style and it was so~ good! Let's get into the review! ## Where is Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch, and what are the hours? - 🚘 Nearby public parking available - 🕐 Mon-Sat 11am-9:30pm (Sat until 3pm / break time 3-5pm) - 📍669 Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul ![Japanese-style exterior of Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch near Yeoksam Station](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-01-i7t4d-966.webp) Walk about 5 minutes from Yeoksam Station and you'll find Chisot! The exterior alone already looks very Japanese. ![View near the entrance of Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-02-qd2q8-966.webp) ![Interior seating at Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-03-jxqq0-966.webp) ![Bar table at Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch, good for solo dining](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-04-16asg-966.webp) ## Friday night at Chisot Yeoksam: why reservations are a must There's bar seating too, so it's great for solo dining! I visited around 6:10pm on a Friday, and every single seat had a reserved sign on it! Customers kept streaming in the whole time I was eating — reservations are absolutely essential! ![Menu board at Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-05-m2n45-944.webp) *Source: Naver* ## Chisot menu: hitsumabushi set and lunch-only unagi bento I ordered the hitsumabushi set! Since it's an eel rice bowl, the price is a bit on the higher side. There's also a lunch-only unagi bento menu. When you work around Gangnam or Yeoksam, you tend to look for an easy, no-fuss meal during lunch hour, right? Options like chicken nanban unagi bento, salmon sashimi unagi bento, and char siu unagi bento let you enjoy eel alongside another dish in one meal — that's another nice feature! ![Full hitsumabushi set spread at Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-06-1ncy7-966.webp) ![Chisot's hitsumabushi set served in a wooden bowl](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-07-1isoz-1200.webp) ![Close-up of the hitsumabushi eel rice bowl](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-08-1rgdx-966.webp) ## Korean japonica freshwater eel and tare aged 72 hours Finally, my hitsumabushi arrived! "Domestic japonica freshwater eel with 72-hour aged tare sauce" — the eel is the most important part of hitsumabushi! Chisot says it only uses grade-1 domestic japonica freshwater eel. Hearing "domestic freshwater eel" already builds trust, right? ![Sign explaining the domestic japonica freshwater eel](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-09-tb3sn-966.webp) ![Explanation card for the 72-hour aged tare sauce](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-10-1bgc4-966.webp) ## Three ways to eat hitsumabushi at Chisot I loved that the eating instructions were laid out in detail — even first-timers can enjoy it properly. Hitsumabushi refers to a Nagoya-style eel rice bowl served in a wooden tub called a 'hitsu,' mixed and eaten. Rather than eating it just one way from a single bowl, you get to enjoy it three different ways. ![Guide showing the three ways to eat hitsumabushi](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-11-990jg-966.webp) It starts off with a soft, silky steamed egg custard! ![Steamed egg custard served with the hitsumabushi](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-12-1qol2-966.webp) ### First way: rice and grilled eel on their own The first way to eat it is simply rice and eel. They coat the eel in a special tare sauce aged for 72 hours with various vegetables and ingredients, then grill it three times over binchotan charcoal! What impressed me so~~ much was that the care goes beyond the eel itself — from the time spent aging the tare sauce to the charcoal-grilling process. What sets Chisot's hitsumabushi apart is how it lets you enjoy the subtle smoky char from the charcoal alongside the tare's distinctive umami! ![Eel grilled over binchotan charcoal served over rice](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-13-fsf2z-966.webp) ![A piece of eel placed on top of rice](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-14-130k6-966.webp) ### Second way: spring onion, wasabi and seaweed flakes The second method is mixing in chopped green onion, wasabi, and seaweed flakes! The combination of the plump eel and the sharp kick of wasabi was so delicious! ![Hitsumabushi mixed with green onion, wasabi, and seaweed flakes](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-15-4a0h9-966.webp) ### Third way: ochazuke, the best of the three Next is finishing it off warm by pouring over ochazuke (green tea rice soup). There's also furikake seasoning on the side to add to the ochazuke, and it's absolutely delicious that way! It has that nurungji (scorched-rice) kind of feel we have back home! This is my favorite way 🤍 The final step is eating it the way you liked best out of the three methods. Naturally, I went with the ochazuke 👍👍 ![Hitsumabushi finished with poured ochazuke](https://img.superchart.com/images/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi-16-14rjv-966.webp) ## Chisot's review event: one gift per person And there's a review event too! Instead of one item per table, it's given per person — so~~ generous, right? You have to take part in something like this! ## Is Chisot Yeoksam worth a visit? From the neatly presented Nagoya-style hitsumabushi to the rice bowl menu, this place is full of flavor and care. It would be a great spot for a weekend outing or an after-work date. ## Where it is - Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch (치솟 역삼본점) - 59 Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil, 1F Unit 102, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea - 서울특별시 강남구 봉은사로30길 59 지상1층 102호 - 37.5037272, 127.0367344 - Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%EC%B9%98%EC%86%9F%20%EC%97%AD%EC%82%BC%EB%B3%B8%EC%A0%90/@37.5037272,127.0367344,17z --- Superchart · https://superchart.com/en/@the-open-sign/chisot-yeoksam-nagoya-hitsumabushi/ · https://superchart.com/llms.txt