Wooseul Yeoksam Eels and Hanwoo

Post by Chiefeater Luke Soon

Two nights after salt-grilled eel at a Nonhyeon suljip (술집), I went back to jangeo (장어) at the other end of the scale. Wooseul sits in a side street (골목) in Yeoksam, a few minutes off Teheran-ro (테헤란로), and you’d almost miss it. There’s a dark brick wall, a steel gate with a gold 우슬 crest, and a timber staircase that climbs past rocks, pine trees (소나무) and lanterns to a converted old house (주택 개조) above the street. A sign at the bottom announces 와인 콜키지 프리, free wine corkage. It’s a nice bit of theatre for Gangnam. Inside, the dining is split across floors, with group rooms upstairs, so even a full house of hoesik (회식), the Korean company dinner, never gets too loud. The restrooms are separate and spotless, which is rarer than it should be at a gogijip (고깃집).

The concept is surf and turf, Korean style: minmul jangeo (민물장어, freshwater eel) and hanwoo (한우), grilled at the table on a round cast-iron grill (불판). Staff do all the cooking for both (직원분이 직접 구워주심), so you can just sit back and talk. The hanwoo came first. The slices were deep red with beautiful mabeullingi (마블링), laid out in rows and seared just long enough to get a crust while staying pink inside, then moved to brass yugi (유기) plates to rest. It was well-sourced beef, tender and full of gosohan (고소한) nutty richness, but cooked a little past where I’d have pulled it, and some slices lost the yukjeup (육즙), the juiciness the marbling promised. Chiefeater Luke Soon rates the hanwoo 7 out of 10.

The eel was done sogeum-gui (소금구이), salt-grilled, scored and cut into thick sections, with a saesongi beoseot (새송이버섯, king oyster mushroom) alongside. It went on skin-side down until the skin blistered dark and the flesh turned white, plump and gently crisp at the edges. It was clean-tasting and rich, with that fatty river sweetness, and it was better with a pinch of saenggang chae (생강채, shredded ginger) and a dab of wasabi (와사비). It was cooked carefully, but like the beef it was solid rather than revelatory. There was no yangnyeom-gui (양념구이) sauced option on offer this time either. Chiefeater Luke Soon rates the eel 7 out of 10.

The sangcharim (상차림), the table setting, is a cut above the usual barbecue joint: black stoneware on wooden boards, beet-pink pickled onion petals (양파절임), plain and spiced kelp (다시마) for wrapping into ssam (쌈), pickled ginger, shredded ginger, wasabi and ssamjang (쌈장). The house favourites beyond the grill are the gyeranjjim (계란찜, steamed egg) and the bokkeumbap (볶음밥, fried rice) to finish. A plate of yukhoe (육회, raw beef) and a bowl of doenjang jjigae (된장찌개) are also worth adding. On the drinks side there’s the free corkage, and the restaurant has just started selling Gyeongtakju (경탁주), a premium makgeolli (막걸리).

It isn’t cheap (가격대가 있는 편), but it’s a polished, comfortable place for hoesik, a business dinner or a group celebration, especially if you’re bringing your own wine. Come for the setting and the jangeo and hanwoo combination, and save room for the 계란찜 and 볶음밥. Just don’t expect the produce to reach the heights the price suggests.

Address: 3F, 740 Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (서울 강남구 역삼동 740 3층). About 5 minutes’ walk from Yeoksam Station (역삼역, Line 2).

Naver Map: https://map.naver.com/p/search/우슬 역삼

Must try: 장어 and 한우 combination, 계란찜 (steamed egg), and 볶음밥 (fried rice) to finish

Good to know: 와인 콜키지 프리 (free wine corkage), private and group rooms upstairs, booking via Naver (네이버 예약) recommended

Business Hours

Monday to Friday
11:30 am to 02:00 pm
05:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Saturday
05:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Closed on Sunday