Eel restaurant in Nowon, Seoul with kids' menu: Cheonsanga Jangeoga

I'd been hunting for eel restaurants to take my in-laws to, and as soon as September rolled around, we went. Cheonsanga Jangeoga in Hagae-dong, Nowon, came up as a top pick, so I ordered the four-person set based on the number of adults — and it turned out to be plenty for the kindergartner we brought along too, haha.

If you're looking for good restaurants in Hagae-dong, especially somewhere you can take your parents, this one's worth checking out.

Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagae Branch Address: 67 Hangeulbiseok-ro 1-gil, 1F 102, Nowon-gu, Seoul, South Korea Hours: 11:30–21:30 (weekday break 15:00–16:30) Closed: Tuesdays

Location and parking at Cheonsanga Jangeoga Hagae Branch

It's about 597m from Hagae Station Exit 2, so walking there isn't too bad either. But since we were bringing my in-laws, we drove — and there's parking for at least five cars in front of and beside the restaurant, so we could just pull right in without circling around looking for a spot.

It's on the first floor of the building with fairly wide tables, and there are partitioned booths too, which made it comfortable for taking the elders.

The ₩138,000 four-person set — what's included?

That day we ordered the four-person set, which came to ₩138,000. Even with the kindergartner joining us, we ordered based on the number of adults.

They said the eel is domestic Japonica freshwater eel, grilled over domestic charcoal.

For reference, the three-person set is ₩104,000 and comes with 3 eels plus stone hand roll, doenjang stew (soybean paste stew), fermented oysters, and nurungji-sungnyung (scorched-rice tea). Rice bowls are ₩1,000 extra, so we ordered one more for the child.

• Basic 2-person set (2 large eels) ₩69,000 — 2 eels + stone hand roll + doenjang stew + fermented oysters + nurungji
• Basic 4-person set (4 large eels) ₩138,000 — 4 eels + stone hand roll + doenjang stew + fermented oysters + nurungji
• Weekday lunch special, 2-person ₩59,000 — 2 large eels + doenjang stew + nurungji dessert (weekday lunch special, 3-person ₩88,000)

Staff-grilled eel and side dishes

What I liked most was that a staff member grills the eel for you. They serve 1kg for 2 people (actual weight 520–550g), and since we ordered for 4, we got about 2kg, grilled in two rounds one after another.

We didn't have to grill anything ourselves over a hot plate — no flipping, no watching the fire — we just sat and ate comfortably. And since a professional was grilling, nothing got burnt! My in-laws especially loved this part.

Every side dish came out neatly arranged, so there was plenty to eat besides just the eel.

Our kid eats eel really well so I wasn't too worried, but there's also a separate kids' menu with things like janchi guksu (noodle soup), so kindergarten-age kids can eat comfortably here too.

Nurungji-sungnyung dessert and why we'd go back

I want to make sure you don't forget to order the nurungji-sungnyung to finish the meal. After eating eel, it leaves you feeling nicely settled, so we made sure not to skip it either.

They also had eel soup and bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles) as sides, but everyone was too full so they told me not to bother ordering. I made do wrapping lettuce with ginger strips and baek-kimchi (white kimchi) on top, and it was plenty satisfying.

I'd recommend this place to anyone looking for somewhere quiet to eat with their parents, and it's also good for families with kids, since there's a baby chair and kids' menu. That said, if you're going during a busy time like a weekday evening or weekend, I'd suggest making a reservation.