Magok octopus restaurant with peanut sauce ssam: Jju Baksa

Today I got to have a rare lunch date with my husband, just the two of us, without the kids 😘 Usually we eat as a family, so it was nice to relax and enjoy a good meal together for once. We went to Jju Baksa Magok Branch! We had a delicious meal of stir-fried webfoot octopus and fried rice, so I wanted to introduce this spot to anyone looking for a good lunch place in Magok.

📍 23 Magokdong-ro 10-gil, 1st floor, unit 130, Daebang DMC City 2nd Officetel, Gangseo-gu, Seoul / ⏱️ Daily 11:00 AM – 1:00 AM / 🅿️ Private parking available

Seating at Jju Baksa Magok Branch: indoor tables or the outdoor patio

Jju Baksa Magok Branch has both indoor seating and outdoor patio (yajang) seating. We ate outside that day, and with the nice weather and a light breeze, the octopus somehow tasted even better outdoors 👏🏻

Sitting across from my husband without the kids and eating at our own pace was such a nice change of pace. If you enjoy that outdoor dining atmosphere, the patio seats are a great option. They also thoughtfully had aprons ready for us.

Eating stir-fried octopus always makes me worry about sauce splatters, but having an apron ready meant I could eat comfortably.

The 33,000 won fried rice set, and how hot the mild spice really is

We ordered the fried rice set for ₩33,000. You can choose your spice level for the octopus, and we went with mild. We were told mild spice is about as hot as Shin Ramyun (a popular spicy instant noodle) — not too spicy, but still enough to enjoy that signature spicy kick of stir-fried octopus. While waiting for the octopus, we checked out the basic side dishes 😊

The basic side dishes at Jju Baksa Magok Branch were perilla leaves, angel hair jelly noodles, pickled radish, and bean sprouts. I also took a photo of the steamed egg that comes free with the fried rice set 👀 Adding that silky steamed egg made for an even more generous spread 😆

On top of that, we added fried egg, corn cheese, and cheese rice cake.

With the fried egg, corn cheese, and cheese rice cake added to the stir-fried octopus, the meal became even more filling.

The combination of the octopus with the nutty peanut sauce in particular was really great!

How to wrap the webfoot octopus with peanut sauce, perilla and flying fish roe

The peanut sauce that comes standard at Jju Baksa was really impressive. At first I wasn't sure how well peanut sauce would go with stir-fried octopus, but once I tried it together, the nutty flavor made it even more delicious 🤤

I put pickled radish on a perilla leaf, then added octopus, flying fish roe, and peanut sauce on top. The spicy octopus, the fragrant perilla leaf, the tangy pickled radish, and the popping texture of the flying fish roe all came together perfectly. Add the nutty peanut sauce on top of that, and I couldn't stop reaching for more.

Honestly, this was the most delicious combination I had that day. If you love stir-fried octopus, I really recommend trying it as a wrap like this.

Finishing with fried rice that staff stir-fry at your table

After enjoying the octopus, there's one dish you can't skip: fried rice!

A staff member stir-fried the rice for us right at the table, which was so convenient. All we had to do was sit back and enjoy 👀

The stir-fried octopus was delicious, but the finishing fried rice was just as satisfying 👏🏻 We ate it together with the soft-fried egg we'd ordered as an add-on earlier, and the extra richness made it even tastier.

Eating spicy octopus and finishing with savory fried rice left us feeling like we'd had a really hearty lunch. It was so nice to enjoy a delicious meal with my husband and have a relaxed lunch date together after a long time 😊

Windy on the Jju Baksa patio? Staff set up a windbreak

Eating outside that day, the wind picked up quite a bit. At one point the portable gas burner flame nearly went out, but a staff member set up a windbreak to block the wind for us.

Thanks to that, we were able to keep eating outside without much trouble. That kind of thoughtful attention really stuck with me. You might worry that eating on the patio could be uncomfortable because of the wind, but the staff took care of it right away, so we could eat comfortably.

Honest verdict on Jju Baksa Magok Branch

Today's outing with my husband to Jju Baksa Magok Branch was a good one! We had a hearty meal with the fried rice set plus fried egg, corn cheese, and cheese rice cake added on. Most of all, the combination of octopus with the standard peanut sauce was excellent, and the ssam wraps with perilla leaf, pickled radish, and flying fish roe were delicious too 👏🏻 The finishing fried rice was satisfying as well, so we ended the meal in a great mood.

Beyond the indoor seats, there's also outdoor patio seating, which made for a nice atmosphere on a beautiful day, and I'll remember how the staff brought out a windbreak the moment the wind picked up. If you're in Magok craving spicy stir-fried octopus and looking for a good lunch spot, Jju Baksa Magok Branch is worth checking out 😊