Yeoksam eel restaurant, three ways to eat hitsumabushi solo: Chisot
In short
Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch is a Nagoya-style hitsumabushi (grilled eel over rice) restaurant on Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil near Yeoksam Station in Gangnam, Seoul. Dining alone after work, I ordered the hitsumabushi "sang" set for 37,000 won and an Okinawa draft beer for 8,000 won, then ate the bowl three ways: plain, with seasonings, and as ochazuke with broth. With seats built for one, Chisot Yeoksam is an easy solo dinner-and-beer spot for Yeoksam office workers.
Good to know
- Hitsumabushi "sang" set
- 37,000 won
- Okinawa draft beer
- 8,000 won
- Set includes
- eel rice bowl, chawanmushi (steamed egg custard with shrimp), miso soup, ochazuke broth, vegetable side dishes, seasonings (seaweed, wasabi, spring onion)
- Review perk
- free salmon salad for a receipt review
- Seating
- seats set up for solo diners
- Address
- 59 Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (1st floor, Unit 102)
- Price reference
- ₩37,000 ≈ $27.5 · ₩8,000 ≈ $5.9 (2026-09-27)
as written by the visitor on Sep 27, 2026
Sometimes after work you just don't want to be bothered by anyone and want to eat something delicious on your own, you know? So I worked up the nerve and went solo. Eel gives you energy, they say, so I headed to a Yeoksam hitsumabushi spot whose name literally means 'to soar' — Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch 🔥
Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch
Why eating alone feels easy at Chisot Yeoksam
Chisot Yeoksam Main Branch is a proper Nagoya-style hitsumabushi (grilled eel over rice) specialist. It's on Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil, within walking distance of Yeoksam Station.
The interior is upscale wood tones with a cozy vibe, so eating alone doesn't feel awkward at all. There are good solo-friendly seats too — I get why it's a solo-dining sanctuary for Yeoksam office workers 😌
What I ordered at Chisot Yeoksam and what it cost
I ordered the hitsumabushi set and an Okinawa draft beer! ₩37,000 and ₩8,000 respectively. The prices made me gasp at first, but once you eat it you'll feel it's fair!
The water was cold and tasty too,,
🍺 Starting with the 8,000-won Okinawa draft beer
Solo dinner, but today it's also a solo drink. When I saw Chisot Yeoksam had Okinawa draft beer on the menu, I couldn't not order it. That crisp, refreshing Okinawa draft that beer lovers know,, it was so good! Sipping this alone after work,, nothing more relaxing than that 🍺 My own little happiness moment.
🍱 What comes with the 37,000-won hitsumabushi "sang" set
Finally, the main event — the hitsumabushi set arrived. I actually gasped 'wow' as soon as I saw the spread. Eel rice bowl, chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), ochazuke broth, and vegetable side dishes — a solid, generous setup.
The eel here isn't just any eel. It's domestic grade-1 Japonica freshwater eel, aged 72 hours, brushed with a special tare sauce, and grilled over charcoal a whopping three times!
They also give you the seasonings — chives, wasabi, and seaweed
Miso soup and chawanmushi topped with shrimp were also served. So generous, so generous.
🥢 How to eat hitsumabushi the Nagoya way
What makes hitsumabushi different from a regular eel rice bowl,, is that there's a proper way to eat it. This is actually the fun part! You split the rice into four sections crosswise and enjoy it three different ways, then eat the last quarter using whichever method you liked best. Let me try each one 😋
1️⃣ First bowl: plain eel and rice
First, a bite of just eel and rice with nothing added. This is the stage where you taste the eel's pure flavor. That triple-grilled charcoal aroma,, hits you from the very first bite. Honestly, I was already half sold at this point haha
2️⃣ Second bowl: with seaweed, wasabi and spring onion
Second, you pile the seasonings that came with it — seaweed, wasabi, chives — on top of the rice. This is a whole new world,, the seaweed's savoriness, the chive aroma, and the wasabi's kick all combine into a completely different flavor from before. Personally, a touch of wasabi was totally my type!
3️⃣ Third bowl: finishing as ochazuke with broth
And the grand finale,, pour the warm broth over it and eat it as ochazuke 🍵 This is truly the highlight. As the hot broth soaks into the rice and eel, the broth's savory depth blends beautifully with the eel! Slurped it right up. By this point I was already full, but it kept going down smoothly,, it even felt like the beer I'd been drinking was getting sobered up haha
Three flavors from one bowl, plus the receipt review perk
Enjoying three flavors from one bowl like this was so satisfying! Eating alone and switching it up like this, there wasn't a dull moment. For the last remaining quarter,, I went with method 2 (with seasonings) since that was my favorite haha. You should all find your own favorite method too! Leaving a receipt review gets you a salmon salad, so I'd definitely recommend joining in 🤍🙆♀️
🍽️ Who Chisot Yeoksam is best for
- Office workers near Yeoksam Station looking for a solo dining spot
- Anyone wanting authentic Nagoya-style hitsumabushi
- Fans of charcoal-grilled eel rice bowls
- Anyone wanting an Okinawa draft beer for a solo drink
- Anyone looking for a quiet, cozy Japanese restaurant
Where it is
59 Bongeunsa-ro 30-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea (지상1층 102호)서울특별시 강남구 봉은사로30길 59 지상1층 102호
