Solo dining at a Jung-gu, Seoul restaurant with counter seats: Tawa

I stopped by Tawa, a City Hall Station restaurant, for lunch before heading to an exhibition at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung! Thanks to the tidy, composed atmosphere, dining alone felt totally comfortable, and I was genuinely moved by the deep flavor of the carefully prepared Nagoya-style eel rice bowl, so I wanted to leave an honest review~! If you're looking for a filling, clean meal, pay attention~~

Tawa's location near City Hall Station and how to book

First off, Tawa, this City Hall Station restaurant, is located in the basement level of the Hansan Arcade building, just a one-minute walk from Exit 10 of City Hall Station! It's really close to the station, so accessibility was great and finding it was easy! Plus you can book through Catch Table or register for a waitlist, which cuts down waiting time and makes visiting so much more convenient~

Counter seats for solo dining and rooms for 4–6

Here's what the inside of Tawa, this City Hall Station restaurant, looks like~ The interior blends wood and black tones for an overall refined, upscale feel~! There are counter seats, so it was fine for eating alone! And there are rooms that fit 4 to 6 people, perfect not just for solo diners but for private gatherings and meals too!!!

The menu and what I ordered as the signature dish

Here's the menu at Tawa, this City Hall Station restaurant~~ There was a variety of Japanese dishes ready, including hitsumabushi (eel rice bowl), kaisendon, three-color don, Japanese curry, and sashimi! After some thought, I ordered the signature hitsumabushi (eel rice bowl)~!

The hitsumabushi table setting

Soon after, the hitsumabushi (eel rice bowl) from Tawa, this City Hall restaurant near City Hall Station, arrived at my seat! The neat plating immediately caught my eye! Along with the glossy, golden-brown grilled eel, there were clean side dishes, savory miso soup, and warm, gently fragrant green tea to pour over the rice later — all beautifully arranged on the table, and the visuals were absolutely perfect! Thanks to the elegant plating and tidy presentation, I even felt like I was being treated to something special.

The eel's texture and the special tare sauce

The taste was just as impressive as the visuals! The outside was grilled golden and crispy while the inside stayed soft and moist, so the texture was seriously amazing!! On top of that, the sweet and savory special tare sauce was soaked in with such deep flavor that when I took a big bite with rice, it just melted in my mouth~~ There was no fishy taste at all, just savory, clean flavor all the way through — it was really delicious.

Wrapped in seaweed, and I refilled it

It's delicious even eaten plain, but wrapping it in the seaweed that came with it, along with some wasabi, made it taste even better...!!! The savoriness of the eel, the sharp kick of the wasabi, and the fragrance of perilla leaf all came together in harmony, and it was so, so good~ The combination was so perfect that I ended up ordering a refill of seaweed and vegetables — it was exactly my taste~~

Finishing with green tea ochazuke

Finally, pouring warm green tea over it to make ochazuke was a treat in itself! The gentle, savory scent of the tea soaked softly into the rice and eel, soothing my stomach with warmth~~~ It let me taste the eel's own clean flavor even more deeply, so I scraped the bowl clean without leaving a single bite.

To sum up

Tawa, this City Hall restaurant in Seoul, won me over with its upscale-tasting eel rice bowl! If you're looking for a proper eel rice bowl spot or a place to dine solo near City Hall Station, trust me and go~~~~!!!! From the visuals to the taste to the atmosphere, nothing was missing — it's a life-changing restaurant you'll be completely satisfied with.