Gwangsan eel restaurant, one 798g jumbo eel for ₩38,570: Yuil Jangeo

I always figured "the freshness is on another level" was just marketing talk. Then I saw the plump eel I picked myself at the seafood counter and thought, oh, this is the real thing. Here's my honest review of Yuil Jangeo (유일장어), an eel restaurant in Gwangsan that I visited with my husband. ♥

Where is Yuil Jangeo and is there parking?

Yuil Jangeo is at 343 Donggok-ro, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, on the 1st floor, right by a main road, so the building stands out from far away. It was our first visit, but the sign made it easy to find without getting lost!

• Address: 343 Donggok-ro, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju (1st floor)
• Hours: daily 11:00–21:00 (last order 20:30)
• Parking: free private lot behind the restaurant

The parking lot is big, so we parked easily and walked in without any rush. I really liked that. +_+

They seem to take hygiene seriously too, which makes me trust the place!!

Yuil Jangeo's dining room and private room booking

You step inside to an open hall. The tables range from seats for 4 up to group seating, so it works for family meals and gatherings too!

Further inside there are private rooms as well. If you want a quiet meal, book a room ahead and your visit will be more comfortable :) You can reserve rooms on Naver, and groups of 6 or more are covered here too! According to the info summary, rooms for 6 to 30 people can be booked.

Some of you are probably worried about that smoky eel-house smell, right? Even though it's charcoal grilling, it was more pleasant than I expected, and the place felt clean overall.

There's also an assortment of coffee for dessert!

How do you order at Yuil Jangeo? The self-serve seafood counter

Yuil Jangeo is a farm-direct, self-serve eel grill: you choose a freshwater eel yourself at the seafood counter, pay, and grill it at your table. They say they cut labor costs and middlemen to sell freshwater eel at the lowest price in the country. Some eels were aging on one side!

The best part is seeing the fresh eels on display and picking one with your own eyes!

One 798g jumbo eel for ₩38,570

I chose one jumbo eel weighing 798g after cleaning. It was ₩38,570, and I'd never seen an eel this big haha. It was so thick that my husband and I both opened our eyes wide. LOL They say the quality is a different league from all-you-can-eat eel places, and after picking one myself, I totally understood why.

Choosing and eating both happen on the 1st floor, so getting around was easy too! At some places you pick your eel on the 1st floor and then go up to another floor to eat, but there's no such hassle here. Pay at the counter first, and they pre-grill the eel and bring it to your table. After that you grill it yourself!

The table setting fee is ₩4,000 per adult and ₩2,000 per child, charged separately. :) You can also take eel home, and courier gift delivery is available!

Yuil Jangeo's kiosk meal menu and review event

Meals other than the live eel grill are ordered at the kiosk. The menu includes eel soup, a lunch eel set, cold noodles, eel patties and more.

They also run a receipt review event, and you get an eel patty as a freebie!

How does the grilled eel at Yuil Jangeo taste?

The jumbo eel was crispy outside, moist and mild inside, and had no fishy smell at all. But first, the side dishes. The robots are hard at work!! They carry the side dishes around so diligently haha. I've never seen a serving robot work this hard haha.

Surprisingly varied side dishes for an eel restaurant

For an eel restaurant, the basic side dishes were quite varied.

This cucumber cold soup (oi naengguk) looks like nothing special, but it was surprisingly cool and spicy, and it kept my palate fresh!!

Eel is also great wrapped in green onion kimchi and perilla leaves!

Grilling the par-cooked eel over charcoal yourself

Follow the grilling tips on the table and cook it yourself!

The eel comes pre-grilled, so you only need to crisp it up a little more. At first, a staff member put it on the grill and flipped it for us.

As the eel cooks over the charcoal, the aroma is something else. The nutty smell fills the air, and I still vividly remember that this is the scent only fresh eel gives off. Grill it golden on both sides and take a bite! Crispy outside, moist and mild inside.

It was nutty with no fishy taste at all, so my tongs kept going back for more.

My husband said, "This place is really fresh," and ate away in silence haha.

The side dishes were solid too, and eating the eel with shredded ginger is the best combination! Wrapped in lettuce and other greens, it cuts the richness and doubles the freshness! The self-serve bar was kept tidy, so it was easy to refill side dishes as we went.

Free eel patty and mini eel soup

The eel patty (tteokgalbi-style) I got for writing a Naver review was really good too!

The eel patty comes seasoned, so grill it slowly over low heat. It has a sweet-and-salty charm, and I think I'd have regretted it if I hadn't gotten it. ♥

I also got a mini eel soup with the Naver Map follow coupon. The rich, warm broth went perfectly with rice! Stuffed with eel and then eel soup on top, it was a proper stamina-boosting day. +_+

Why Yuil Jangeo is my pick for eel in Gwangsan

The heart of Yuil Jangeo is picking fresh eel with your own eyes at the seafood counter and eating it right away. Once you try it, I think it'll be hard to go anywhere else.

My husband and I shared one jumbo 798g eel and ate until we were stuffed, plus eel soup and the patty. What is going on with this value... haha.

If you want to recharge this summer, are looking for a summer stamina meal, or need a Gwangsan restaurant to take your parents to, write down Yuil Jangeo :) Next time I plan to book a room and come back for a private meal. Highly recommended!

• Name: Yuil Jangeo (유일장어)
• Location: 343 Donggok-ro, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju (1st floor)
• Hours: daily 11:00–21:00 (last order 20:30)
• Parking: free private lot
• Size: hall plus rooms (rooms for 6–30 people bookable)
• Recommended menu: live eel grill, eel set meal, eel soup
• Features: farm-direct sales, self-select seafood counter