Barn Joo 35
“We had: the uni bibimbap, soy garlic chicken wings, some kind of fish noodles.”
“We ordered many items from the menu: scallion pancake, veggie dumplings, veggie hot stone bowl, truffle fries, and a few other things.”
“Their soju cocktails are reasonable priced for a whole bottle ($18) and come with adorable ice balls of fruit.”
Barn Joo 35
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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My friend and I met up and ate dinner here because it was somewhat close to GCT.
This is the 2nd location as the 1st location is around union square/flatiron area.
The service is friendly and can speak Korean and English perfectly. The food is just mehhhh
I think my fave dish was the dooboo kimchi or "crunchy tofu".
The beef ball or fried meatball was just whatever.
The tong dak or fried chicken (1/2 size) was just whatever. I was expecting badenbaden style, but that was not the case. The fried chicken was fried perfectly; it was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, but i think they forgot the seasoning. It was bland (where was the salt?)
As a caveat, and don't be a sucker and buy the 1st US brand of soju. Tokki soju does not taste like soju. Instead it tastes like moonshine.
I had high expectations of this place and was thoroughly disappointed. There are other places around Ktown that serve better gastropub foods.
This will for sure be my new go-to in ktown. Though it's actually located a few blocks north of ktown, the food and drinks are awesome and prices are really great. It's not traditional korean food, it's more 'upscale' / 'gourmet' / japanese/korean 'fusion' but in a way that remains faithful to the traditional. As a result the portions are smaller (and they have Korean-inspired tapas dishes which are AWESOME), but in my opinion you definitely get way more bang for your buck here than at any of the restaurants on 32nd st. However, you might have to wait a bit for a table – our party of 3 had to wait about 10-15 minutes at 9pm on Friday.
Also the Yelp check-in offer for a free glass of the soju cocktail is dope!! I got the lychee one and my friend got the white grape one, both were really yummy & come with a really cool lollipop-resembling ice cube
As for the food, here's what I tried:
TAPAS/SHARED:
+Tuna mayo – really great. Like.. bruschetta with tuna sashimi & mayo instead of tomato. Delicious!!
+Bulgogi tacos – OMG so good. comes with guac, salsa & 3 tortillas. There's a lot more meat in this than we expected, so I recommend you add on the extra 3 tortilla's
+Kimchi/bacon pancake – this was my fave because it's a combo I would've never thought of that worked so well.
I also got to try my friend's spicy pork dish, which is really delicious too. They cook their meat really well, both the bulgogi and pork were very tender & flavorful!
The only thing that was a bit disappointing was the uni bibimbap, which is the reason why I wanted to try Barn Joo. As a whole, it was good & a decent portion, but the uni wasn't the freshest, unfortunately. Maybe it was just an off day.
By the end of the meal we were all stuffed and satisfied, and only paid about $30 a person! I definitely want to explore more of the menu in the future – like the table-side wagyu beef BBQ and the seafood dishes!
While the fare is typical of a Korean fusion restaurant, the SERVICE is what will keep me coming back.
Think of fusion, Korean-styled tapas: that's what the food at Barn Joo is like. The portions are all quite small (tacos come in 3's, dumplings come in 2's, the scallion pancake was also very small for a $13 dish), and quite pricey. Even the bibimbap, which costs anywhere from $13 to $16, comes in a small rice bowl, so be ready to spend about $20 a person for a semi-filling meal.
The entire place was crowded, but our party of 5 was seated immediately in a temporary four-person table. After we ordered our food, they kindly moved us over to a more appropriate space. We each ordered one item and split the scallion pancakes, but throughout the meal, we were offered their classic soju cocktail AND an order of chicken wings on the house! I guess they made too any orders, so they brought it over to us. So, so, so kind of them! Regardless of the free food, the wait staff was extremely cordial from start to finish and always asked if we needed anything else. A+!
This place would probably get 4 stars if it's located in… say… Seattle, but it's New F'in York, and there's lots of competition and I feel people need to step up their game.
I had the spicy pork hot bowl and the korean meatballs.
The meatballs were definitely 4 stars worthy, but the hot bowl is bleh. The bowl is so hot that it's still untouchable at the end of the meal, and the rice at the bottom didn't just get crispy, it's burnt to a blackened crisp.
The decor was lovely though, but that didn't earn them extra points because I yelp based mostly on food deliciousness. The service was also quite good, but again, didn't earn them extra points… it did, however, earned them a big tip.
I might go back, but given how many amazing restaurants there are in the city, I'd be hard press to return.
I came to Barn Joo 35 on a Thursday night and thankfully had no wait because they had just opened up the second floor. We sat down and showed our waitress the Yelp check-in for a free Soju cocktail and they brought it right away, it was light and delicious.
The space was decent, two floors and the tables were not put too closely together. Service ended up being quite quick given that the entire second floor had just been seated at the same time. The standout dishes were the crunchy tofu on a bed of kimchi as well as the crisp scallion pancake. While we were waiting for our dessert they even brought a second round of complimentary Soju cocktails which was an unexpected delight.
The staff was also exceedingly kind and professional. Ultimately Barn Joo 35 is a great choice for a happy hour easy dinner in Midtown West area and I would definitely go again.
Barnjoo is an Asian inspired gastropub. Hubby and I went there with a TravelZoo voucher. They had a separate menu for this (which I understand, but dislike).
We started with a soju cocktail which was lightly sweet. I love the ice with fruit frozen inside. Nice touch.
We also shared:
Tuna Mayo on toast (the garnish had a weird flavor)
Nacho belly (a little too fatty)
Soy and garlic wings (additional cost)-Super crispy but definitely needed a sauce.
Truffle fries (additional cost )-really good, the best part of the meal
Steak BBQ (small portion)
Overall wasn't impressed by the Korean/BBQ portion, but would come back only for the bar food.
After touring the Empire State Building we stopped in for much needed dinner, as we were starving. The wait was pretty long but we grabbed a seat at the bar without waiting at all!!!! Score! Then we got our free cocktails for checking in on Yelp!!! For dinner we had the veggie noodles, steamed dumplings, and fried tofu. All super delicious! They were slammed so the service was slow but it was good. I'd definitely go back next time we're in town.
I came for dinner with a friend, and it was pretty great! We just beat the dinner rush, so service was attentive and helpful.
We ordered the following for two people:
-Korean meatballs
-Steamed pork dumplings
-Spicy chicken wings
-Wagyu table bbq
-Truffle fries
-Mocha bingsu
For beverages, we ordered a carafe of the Midtown Forsythia, which was light and refreshing — a perfect drink for a ninety-plus degree day. The carafe came out to about 2.5 drinks per person.
With the exceptions of the truffle fries (the truffle oil tasted a little off to me) and the shaved ice in the bingsu (which had an odd texture), everything was amazing!
I especially recommend the table bbq, which is awesome because you get to cook it yourself at the table.