Kaisendon and hitsumabushi combo at City Hall Station: Tawa

Today I've got a review of a spot perfect for when you're craving neat, clean Japanese food. It's Tawa, a Japanese restaurant tucked in the basement of Hansan Building near City Hall Station! I went with a friend who was trying eel rice bowl for the first time, and it was so clean and authentic-tasting — just like the real thing in Japan — that we were both marveling right up to the last bite 🍣. It felt exactly like the real deal, making it a great date spot near City Hall Station too.

Tawa's location, hours, and parking

• 📌 Address: 115 Seosomun-ro, Hansan Building B1, Unit 102, Jung-gu, Seoul (Exit 10, City Hall Station)
• 📌 Parking: Available in the building's (Hansan Building) basement lot 🚗
• 📌 Hours: Mon–Sat 10:00–21:00
• 📌 Closed: Every Sunday
• 📌 Break time: 15:00–16:00
• 📌 Last order: 20:30

Head down to the basement level of Hansan Building near Seosomun-ro by City Hall Station and you'll find the quiet, calm-looking Tawa. The clean wood-toned exterior already gave off the feeling of stepping into a real omakase spot in Japan before we even walked in.

Peak-time waits and how to book

This place is already well-known among nearby office workers and visitors, so there can be a wait during peak hours. You can make a reservation for a table or a room in advance through the Catch Table app, and remote waitlisting is also available — definitely worth using!

From counter seats to a private room: the atmosphere

The inside was also very clean and well-kept, hygiene-wise. There's a good mix of bar counter seats (dachi seats) great for solo dining or dates, and comfortable table seating too — a solid choice if you're looking for a good spot near Deoksugung as well. The soft lighting wrapped the whole space in warmth, and I felt really at ease throughout the meal. If you're looking for a tidy meeting spot near City Hall Station, this is it.

Toward the back, there's a private room where you can enjoy a cozy, more intimate gathering. The room is available by reservation only, so if you want to use it for a business meeting or a group get-together, be sure to book in advance before visiting!

The display case on one side also caught my eye — premium sake like Dassai lined up neatly alongside various liquors, origin certificates, and awards. It gave off a real sense of pride and care about the ingredients they use, which made me trust the food even more before it arrived 🍶

Tawa's menu lineup

Looking slowly through the menu, I could feel the owner's care in wanting to serve guests a properly composed meal.

The signature items are the Nagoya-style hitsumabushi (eel rice bowl) full of charcoal aroma, and the kaisendon, generously topped with flounder, salmon, tuna, and monkfish liver. There's also samsaekdong with flounder, salmon, and tuna, plus set meals around ₩15,000 like Japanese curry, spicy pork bulgogi, and shogayaki.

For evenings when you want a drink, they also have a nice range of à la carte dishes — aged sashimi, tempura, grilled eel, and more 🍣

Shortly after, our order arrived as a neat, well-composed spread. The presentation alone was flawless enough to make my mouth water.

Kaisendon: thick, in-season sashimi and sea urchin

The kaisendon came out first, piled generously with thickly sliced, in-season raw fish. It really carried that same freshness and flavor I remember from eating this in Japan.

I started with the chewy, mild flounder topped with a bit of wasabi, and the savory richness that built up with each chew was fantastic. On top of that, the fragrant perilla leaf and rich sea urchin soaked nicely into the rice — such a great match!

The salmon that melted in the mouth, the mild and soft tuna, and the springy squid all came together perfectly. It was genuinely delicious!!

Nagoya-style hitsumabushi: my friend's first eel rice bowl

Next up was the Nagoya-style hitsumabushi (eel rice bowl), a dish where the sweet-savory grilled eel is fully infused with a deep charcoal aroma.

Honestly, I was a little worried since my friend had never tried eel rice bowl before and I wasn't sure it'd suit her taste. But she kept marveling the whole time, saying there was zero fishy taste and it was so clean! The eel was grilled beautifully golden outside and fluffy inside, with the sweet-savory house sauce soaked all the way through, so even eating the eel on its own had zero off-flavor and just incredible depth of flavor.

How to eat hitsumabushi

There was a helpful guide on the table for