Bangi Korean pub round two: mixed bugak and persimmon roll, Jojomomo

What kind of bar is Jojomomo in Bangi-dong?

Jojomomo (조조모모) is a Korean pub tucked into a basement inside the Bangi food alley. I was looking for a Korean pub with a nice atmosphere in Bangi-dong, and that's how I ended up here. It's underground, so you need to watch for the entrance the first time and head down.

The first thing I felt as I walked in: this vibe is totally my style! Dim, warm lighting, wood-toned furniture and vintage props gave it a different feel from your typical Bangi pub. We went on a weekday evening and it was still really crowded, and a waitlist even built up while we ate. If you're after a Jamsil pub that's good for a date, or you like Korean pubs with atmosphere, it's worth keeping on your radar.

One-line summary: a Korean pub with great atmosphere that had a waitlist even on a weekday evening! From the welcome drink to the snacks and dessert, I was happy with all of it.

Jojomomo location, opening hours and parking

• Address: 16 Ogeum-ro 11-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, basement level
• Location: about a 10–11 minute walk from Exit 11 of Jamsil Station, inside the Bangi food alley
• Hours: Mon–Thu 17:00–02:00 (last order 01:30)
• Friday 17:00–04:00 (last order 03:30)
• Saturday 15:00–04:00 (last order 03:30)
• Sunday 15:00–02:00 (last order 01:30)
• Parking: no dedicated parking; a nearby paid lot is recommended
• Waitlist available through Tabling
• Bar seats and regular tables
• Restroom is outside the shop

Jojomomo is inside the Bangi food alley, and you reach it by going down to the basement level.

There's a Jojomomo sign at the entrance, so once you find the right spot it's not hard to spot.

Jojomomo's basement vintage atmosphere and bar seating

Jojomomo is a basement Korean pub with an exposed ceiling, vintage walls and wood-toned tables. As you head down the stairs, you feel its particular mood right away.

The exposed ceiling, vintage walls and wooden tables, plus soft lighting, made it cozy and atmospheric. There are separate bar seats, which looked good for two people, and regular tables too, so it seemed fine for friends or small gatherings.

We first sat at a four-person table, but even on a weekday evening guests kept coming in and eventually a waitlist formed. The people waiting were standing right behind us, and it felt a bit awkward for just two of us to be taking a four-person table. As it happens, we both like bar seats, so we told a staff member and moved to the bar voluntarily.

Honestly, the bar table was nice for sitting and talking, just the two of us.

It felt better suited to someone looking for an atmospheric Bangi pub or a Jamsil date spot than a rowdy pojangmacha (Korean tent-style drinking place).

Is there a wait at Jojomomo on weekdays?

Yes, a waitlist formed at Jojomomo even on a weekday evening, and you can register using the Tabling kiosk in front of the shop. On the day we visited, it was a weekday evening, yet a waitlist appeared while we were eating.

When it's busy, you can register on the Tabling kiosk out front. You enter your phone number and can check your place in line, so you don't have to keep standing outside. If you're going at a popular time, it's a good idea to check ahead about reservations or the wait.

There were also perks tied to Naver reservations and reviews. When I checked, a Naver reservation coupon gave you 1 bottle of soju or beer for writing a visitor review,

and the shop itself also advertised an event giving 1 bottle of soju or beer for writing a Naver receipt review. The review event required a photo of a main dish and was listed as once per table. Events and coupons can change by the time you visit, so please check the Naver reservation page or the shop again before going.

Jojomomo's welcome drink: Jirisan Gangsoeju rice wine

At Jojomomo, a welcome drink and a basic snack come out first once you sit down.

The welcome drink at Jojomomo is Jirisan Gangsoeju, which they said is a yakju (refined rice wine). Having a welcome drink before the food arrives at a Korean pub like this suited the mood well. It wasn't too heavy, just a nice little taste, and I was in a good mood from the start.

Complimentary snacks: crackers and potato salad

Crackers and potato salad come with the welcome drink as the basic snack. You put the potato salad on a cracker and eat it.

Even though it's a free basic snack, it didn't feel carelessly made, and I was happy from the start. The smooth potato salad and crunchy crackers went so well together that I kept picking at them before our order arrived.

What we ordered for round two at Jojomomo, with prices

We'd already had round one that day, so at Jojomomo we mostly ordered lighter dishes.

• Mixed bugak (crispy fried seaweed and vegetable chips) ₩19,000
• Spicy bulgogi kimchi jeon (kimchi pancake) ₩18,000
• Nurungji (scorched rice) ice cream ₩5,500

That's what we ordered. While browsing the menu, I also noticed pork rib suyuk (boiled pork) made with fresh meat. It's apparently sold in limited quantities and I was curious, but since we'd already eaten round one, we skipped it that day. Next time I want to come to Jojomomo for round one and properly try the pork rib suyuk and other Korean dishes.

Mixed bugak (crispy fried chips), 19,000 won

The first dish we ordered was Jojomomo's mixed bugak. It's ₩19,000.

One plate comes with bugak made from various ingredients: beet, seaweed, kelp, lotus root, rice and more. It's colorful, and it caught my eye the moment it hit the table.

They're all crunchy, but the taste and aroma differ a little by ingredient, so picking through them one by one was fun. The seaweed bugak in particular was really good.

Nutty, salty and crispy, the kind of drinking snack you keep reaching for!

It's not just one kind of fried snack; you get to try several in small amounts, so it works as a first snack and was perfect with beer too.

Spicy bulgogi kimchi jeon, 18,000 won

Next up, the spicy bulgogi kimchi jeon! It's ₩18,000. It's a kimchi pancake topped with meat aged in a house-made spicy soy sauce, and even the look was a bit different from an ordinary kimchi jeon.

A generous heap of bulgogi sits on a wide kimchi pancake, so it was filling as a drinking snack. The outside was golden and crispy while the inside was moist, so the texture was great too.

With the meat too, it was much heftier and more savory than a regular kimchi jeon. But it has "spicy" in the name for a reason, and the heat is definitely there. For a spice wimp like me, it was quite a bit spicier than I expected. If you don't handle spicy food well, keep that in mind before ordering. It's tasty, but the heat is strong, so I alternated it with other snacks.

A free dried persimmon cream cheese roll for moving to the bar

When we moved from the four-person table to the bar for the waiting guests, a staff member brought us a persimmon cream cheese roll (dried persimmon wrapped around cream cheese) as a freebie. The waitlist had grown, so we moved first, and the staff member gave it to us as a thank-you. It wasn't something we ordered; it was a gesture of thanks in that moment, so it isn't a dish you'll always get when you visit.

Soft cream cheese inside chewy, sweet dried persimmon made a great sweet-and-salty combo. The plating was pretty too, and since we'd just had the spicy kimchi jeon, it tasted even better. Moving seats hadn't bothered us much, but being looked after like this left me with an even stronger impression of how kind the staff are.

Dessert: nurungji ice cream, 5,500 won

Finally, we ordered Jojomomo's nurungji ice cream. It's ₩5,500.

Nurungji is piled on top of the ice cream, so you get nutty and sweet flavors together. The crunchy nurungji on cold ice cream matched better than I expected. After the spicy kimchi jeon, it also felt like it reset my mouth. Eating nurungji as a dessert at a Korean pub was fun too.

Jojomomo even hands out mouthwash on your way out

When we finished and were leaving, Jojomomo also gave us a portable mouthwash. It's not common for a pub to go this far, and since you can use it after eating, I thought it was a thoughtful touch. The staff were friendly throughout the meal, and from the welcome drink and basic snack to the free dessert and the mouthwash at the end, it felt like they sweated the small details.

Verdict: Jojomomo in Bangi-dong for a second round

Jojomomo is a Bangi pub where I was happy overall, not just with the food but with the atmosphere and service. We'd already eaten that day, so we ordered mostly lighter dishes, but looking at the actual menu, the snack portions seemed generous and there are hearty options like the pork rib suyuk, so it looked perfectly good for round one too.

The vintage yet warm interior was exactly my taste, and with bar seats it's good for two people. The mixed bugak was fun to pick through, and the spicy bulgogi kimchi jeon was delicious but pretty spicy for a spice wimp. The staff were kind, and I also remember that after we voluntarily moved to the bar, they brought us the persimmon cream cheese roll as a freebie.

We ordered light this time, but next time I want to try the limited-quantity pork rib suyuk, other Korean dishes and traditional liquor too. If you're looking for a Korean pub with more atmosphere than the usual pojangmacha in Bangi-dong, or a Jamsil pub that's good for a date, check out Jojomomo.

One-line review: happy from the atmosphere to the snacks to the service! A Korean pub in Bangi-dong popular enough to have a waitlist even on weekdays.