Nowon eel restaurant: spicy sauce, smell-free set for 2, Cheonsanga

As it gets hotter and summer arrives, I start thinking about stamina food. I went looking for a good eel place in Nowon to restore my strength and ended up at Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagye Branch (천상애장어가 하계점)! The staff grill the eel for you and the reviews were good, so I went 💛 (Eel really is the summer stamina food ✨)

Where is Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagye Branch, and what are the hours and parking?

Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagye Branch is on the 1st floor at 67 Hangeulbiseok-ro 1-gil, Nowon-gu, Seoul. It is open 11:30 to 22:00 (last order 21:10) with no regular days off. There is parking for about 4 cars in front, and you can reserve through Naver.

With parking right in front, it was easy to come by car. There is also a weekday lunch special that gives a better deal than dinner, so keep that in mind when you plan your visit!

What is the atmosphere like, and what about the eel-restaurant smell?

The restaurant is spacious and clean, which I liked. There was plenty of seating, enough for big groups too. I came early on a weekday evening so there was no wait, but guests kept coming in while we ate. Popular eel spot, wow

The ventilation is good, so the typical eel-restaurant smell wasn't strong. Even after the meal, not much of it clung to my clothes, which was a plus.

They also sell eel extract, and they display certificates of origin you can trust, so it felt like an honest restaurant haha

Self-serve banchan corner

There is a self-serve corner, so you can easily grab whatever side dishes you need. I just took what I could eat, nice and sensible!!

What's on the menu at Cheonsanga?

The menu is divided into set meals by number of people, you can add extra eel, and there is also eel soup (jangeotang) as a meal. Besides that, the sides looked good too: semi-dried squid / handmade sausage / janchi guksu (banquet noodles) / naengmyeon (cold noodles) / deodeok pickle / eoligul-jeot (salted baby oysters) and more! I ordered the set for 2, which looked like good value.

What comes with the set for 2?

The set for 2 at Cheonsanga comes with 2 large eels, dolsot sushi, doenjang stew (soybean paste stew), salted baby oysters or deodeok pickle, and nurungji sungnyung (scorched rice tea).

• 2 large eels
• Dolsot sushi
• Doenjang stew
• Salted baby oysters or deodeok pickle
• Nurungji sungnyung (scorched rice tea)

Not long after ordering, the eel and side dishes filled the table. The basic banchan were perilla leaves / green onion kimchi / white kimchi / pickles / onion / wrap vegetables / eel sauce / ginger, the standard combination to eat with eel.

Do the staff grill the eel for you?

Yes, the staff at Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagye Branch grill all the eel, so all you have to do is eat. Soon the grilling began! Fitting for a Nowon eel favorite, the size of the eel was impressive 😮 Super plump and meaty haha

Can you see how plump this eel is?! Above all, since the staff grill everything, you can eat in comfort, which was a huge plus. Eel sticks to the grill easily and is hard to cook, unlike meat T_T

How does the grilled eel at Cheonsanga taste?

The grilled eel had a rich, nutty flavor and good eel taste of its own, and the lightly spicy eel sauce did a great job cutting the greasiness. Well-cooked eel is moved to the side for you, so you just eat it haha

The eel was rich and nutty, really delicious. Some places serve eel that tastes like nothing, right? Here the eel itself had great flavor. A place with real eel taste!! The sauce was different too: it has a slight spicy kick that handles the greasiness well. Usually eel gets heavy halfway through, but at Cheonsanga, maybe thanks to the sauce, I could keep eating endlessly lol

Dolsot sushi and deodeok pickle

The dolsot sushi that came with it was a treat too. As the name suggests, it feels a bit like fried rice, and when you top it with eel the texture is crispy and chewy, a real treat.

The deodeok pickle (pickled bellflower root) was good too! It wasn't tough but tender, perfect with eel.

Ordering extra eel and finishing with nurungji sungnyung

It was so good that we ordered 1 more eel..!! At Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagye Branch, the extra eel is grilled for you just like the first.

After finishing with the nurungji sungnyung, it felt like I'd had a proper stamina meal! I left well fed.

Overall verdict

Plump, meaty eel, and since the staff grill it, you can eat in comfort! If you're looking for a good eel place in Nowon, I recommend Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagye Branch 😊 I got my summer stamina grilled eel done right lol