# Gangnam eel restaurant with perilla-leaf ochazuke: Unagiwa - By Seulgi (https://superchart.com/en/@warm-bowl-log/) - Written Sep 12, 2026 - Local places › Restaurants › Gangnam, Seoul - Sponsored: This post was written with sponsorship for a visit to the restaurant. - English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@warm-bowl-log/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/ - Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@warm-bowl-log/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/index.md) ## In short Unagiwa is an eel restaurant near Yeoksam Station in Gangnam, Seoul. After work, I shared 38,000 won hitsumabushi with my wife, from the crisp, nutty eel bowl to perilla-leaf chawanmushi and bonito-broth ochazuke. A seriously satisfying meal worth recommending. ## Good to know - **Location**: 5-minute walk from Exit 7 of Yeoksam Station - **Hours**: Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00 - **Break time**: 15:00–17:00 - **Last order**: 20:00 - **Closed**: Every Saturday and Sunday - **Parking**: Available; valet parking costs ₩5,000 for 2 hours - **Menu**: Hitsumabushi eel rice bowl ₩38,000 *as written by the visitor on Sep 12, 2026* Today, after work, I went with my wife to have an eel rice bowl somewhere close to our workplace. ## Unagiwa near Yeoksam Station: location and hours - A 5-minute walk from Exit 7 of Yeoksam Station - Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00 - Break time 15:00–17:00; last order 20:00 - Closed every Saturday and Sunday - Parking available; valet costs ₩5,000 for 2 hours ![Unagiwa location and business information](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-01-lgn1g-966.webp) You can tell the restaurant is on the second floor, and it really shows that the owner put a lot of thought into the interior. ![Exterior of Unagiwa on the second floor](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-02-ghs55-966.webp) Right from the entrance, how should I put it? It has a strong Japanese feel. It looks like a huge parking lot, and they apparently remodeled the whole place to use it. ![Japanese-style entrance to Unagiwa](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-03-1amv5-966.webp) The left side looks like it is meant to evoke a bamboo forest. ![Entrance decoration designed like a bamboo forest](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-04-1coj1-966.webp) An eel is drawn as the signature. It kind of has the feel of Japanese hiragana too, haha. ![Restaurant decoration with an eel signature](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-05-3ewof-966.webp) As soon as you walk in, there is this pure-white interior. It feels like they paid a huge amount of attention to it. ![Pure-white interior at Unagiwa](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-06-1o9qs-966.webp) There is a wine cellar in the middle, plus a refrigerator that I assume has sake in it, haha. ![Interior with a wine cellar and refrigerator](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-07-87s64-966.webp) ## What is the seating like on a weekday evening? The inside is quite spacious. We visited at 6:30 p.m. on a weekday and it was already nearly full, but fortunately we had a reservation and were seated right away. The tables were well spaced and comfortable, which was nice. ![Restaurant interior with widely spaced tables](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-08-1k72n-966.webp) I took this when I had to use the restroom in the middle of the meal. ![Restaurant restroom area](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-09-14c65-966.webp) Inside too, there was a bidet toilet rather than a urinal, haha. It was very clean and nice. I assume the women’s restroom is also very clean, so it looked like a good place for a group company dinner. There really were two men who looked like department heads? eating there, along with people who seemed to be couples like us or maybe on blind dates, haha. Still, the tables were far enough apart that you could not really hear conversations, so it should be perfectly fine. A blind-date spot or a company-dinner spot, haha. ![Hitsumabushi eel rice bowl menu](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-10-zuy5v-966.webp) ## Ordering the hitsumabushi eel rice bowl From the menu, we ordered two ₩38,000 hitsumabushi eel rice bowls. We will try the special version later, haha. The wait was not long—maybe just over 10 minutes? It came out quickly. A staff member explained how to eat it, and the method was pretty fun. ![Hitsumabushi eel rice bowl set for two](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-11-10oe4-1200.webp) The long-awaited full hitsumabushi set. We ordered for two, and to put it simply, the eel was wonderfully firm and nutty, brushed with sauce, and seriously delicious. ![Sauce-brushed hitsumabushi eel](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-12-1y344-966.webp) The staff member showed us how to gently separate it with the spoon on the right. When you sweep the eel aside, there is white rice underneath that has soaked up the seasoning, making an absolutely crazy harmony, haha. ![Hitsumabushi with seasoned rice and eel](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-13-1l4so-966.webp) ## Perilla-leaf chawanmushi and ochazuke too The chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard) that came with it had mushrooms on top. Its softness helped whet the appetite before the meal, haha. Unlike other places, this one had perilla leaf in the topping, and sprinkling it over was so Korean and went really well with the dish, hahaha. I think the owner quietly did a lot of research. ![Chawanmushi topped with perilla leaf](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-14-1qhv8-966.webp) Look at this close-up spoonful of white rice soaked with seasoning. It was definitely not plain rice—there was eel sauce? on it, so the flavor was amazing, haha. There are some bones, but they are small enough to just chew and eat. ![A spoonful of seasoned white rice](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-15-12v3w-966.webp) The chawanmushi that came with it. I do not know whether I photographed it well, but wow, as you keep eating, it is great for cutting through the richness. ![Chawanmushi that cut through the richness](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-16-1vhai-966.webp) As we kept eating, there was the ochazuke (rice in tea or broth) on the side. It is usually made with green tea, but this seemed to use bonito-broth water instead. It feels like they researched it as a menu better suited to Korea. ![Ochazuke served with bonito broth](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-17-1flnf-966.webp) It is like mixing rice into water, but with perilla leaf and seaweed flakes on top, it almost feels like having a hot eel soup. ![Ochazuke topped with perilla leaf and seaweed flakes](https://img.superchart.com/images/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date-18-lo8xq-966.webp) Can you see my empty bowl after I completely cleared it? Haha. Honestly, it was so good that I think this is an eel rice bowl place near Yeoksam Station I would recommend to people around me for a workday lunch, haha. ## Where it is - Unagiwa (우나기와) - 2F, 71 Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea - 서울특별시 강남구 봉은사로30길 71 2층 - 37.5030197, 127.0370094 - Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%EC%9A%B0%EB%82%98%EA%B8%B0%EC%99%80/@37.5030197,127.0370094,17z --- Superchart · https://superchart.com/en/@warm-bowl-log/yeoksam-unagi-hitsumabushi-date/ · https://superchart.com/llms.txt