Magok hot pot restaurant with a car-shaped kids' meal: J's Pot Magok

My son's had zero appetite lately thanks to a cold.🥲 "Want to go for hot pot?" I asked, remembering how much he'd loved a hot pot spot in Magok before — and he said yes right away! So I made a reservation and we headed to J's Pot Magok Branch. It's a casual but stylish fusion hot pot restaurant, and it's perfect for a family like ours where everyone likes different flavors — you can each customize your own.

Thanks to that, my son loaded his broth with vegetables, mushrooms, meatballs, and beef, and even spooned rice into the broth at the end — total mukbang mode.🤣 (Cold, be gone!)

Where J's Pot Magok Branch is and where to park: 5–6 minutes from Magongnaru Station

J's Pot Magok Branch is at 143 Magok-jungang-ro, Tower A B2 Unit 208, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Hours are 11:00–22:00, with break time 15:00–17:00 and last order at 21:00, and there's no break time on weekends or holidays. For parking, you can use the Magok COEX Le West City underground lot — the first 120 minutes are free, and after that it's ₩1,500 per 15 minutes (max ₩30,000).

It's about a 5–6 minute walk from Exit 6 of Magongnaru Station, so it's easy to get to by public transit too. We drove, and COEX Magok's parking lot is spacious with free parking support, so that was convenient. Since it's inside COEX Magok, it's also easy to combine with shopping or other things to do before or after your meal.

I found J's Pot while looking for restaurants at COEX Magok, and it turns out they serve fusion Chinese dishes and a variety of side menus alongside the hot pot, so there's plenty of choice whether you're a hot pot lover or trying it for the first time. There are also lots of set menu promotions, so you can enjoy upscale hot pot at a reasonable price.

Inside J's Pot Magok Branch: private rooms, group tables and solo bar seats

The first thing you notice walking into J's Pot Magok Branch is how spacious it is! The overall vibe is clean with a slightly upscale touch, so it would work well not just for family meals but for dates or gatherings too.

Besides regular table seats, there are bar seats and solo seats, plus private rooms you can use for more privacy. Rooms fit anywhere from 5 to 10 people, and group seating goes up to 50, so this would be a great spot if you're looking for a place near Magongnaru for a company dinner or group gathering.

And there's a bar table for anyone eating solo or wanting to enjoy hot pot alone! There's a cute panda figure sitting right next to it, so you wouldn't feel lonely eating by yourself.😆

What comes in the lunch beef brisket hot pot set, and what to add

The menu at J's Pot Magok Branch ranges from signature hot pot sets to hot pot stews, chicken, and side dishes like menbosha, so there were plenty of options. There's also a good-value lunch set available during lunch hours, which worked out well for our family lunch visit.

What we ordered was the lunch beef brisket hot pot set.

• Broth of choice
• Assorted vegetables
• 100g beef brisket
• Steamed rice
• 2 fish balls

For broth, you can choose from mala, tomato, beef, tom yum, or kimchi. We also added newjin noodles, corn noodles, and a kids' menu.

Mixing your own hot pot dipping sauce at the self-serve sauce bar

One of the fun parts of eating hot pot is making your own dipping sauce. J's Pot Magok Branch has a self-serve sauce bar, so you can mix one up to your own taste.

There's a variety of ingredients ready to go — sauces, crushed peanuts, chopped scallions, garlic, and more. There are also sauce combo suggestions for people trying hot pot for the first time, so it's not hard to put something together.

My go-to sauce combo: peanut sauce + minced garlic + scallions + Lao Gan Ma + onion + chili oil + crushed peanuts. It's my favorite sauce that makes hot pot taste twice as good.😆

By the time I got back with my sauce, all the hot pot ingredients were already set out on the table.

Mala, tomato and beef: how the three personal broths at J's Pot tasted

In our family, my husband ordered mala, I ordered tomato, and my son ordered beef. My husband loves mala, so of course he picked it without a second thought.🤣 It looked exactly like you'd expect — spicy and numbing just from the visuals. He said it felt like about a 2.5 spice level. I tried a bite too, and there's a lingering numbing sensation in your mouth once you eat it, so anyone who likes mala would really enjoy it.

Tomato broth was the best broth of the day

And what I picked was tomato! Honestly, I think it was the best broth of the day.😆 I was curious what tomato broth would taste like at a hot pot place, and after one spoonful, it was way tastier than I expected. There's a subtle tang from the tomato, and the broth itself has really deep umami. It kind of reminds me of a richly simmered tomato soup, so I kept scooping up spoonfuls of broth throughout the meal. My husband was totally won over too! (He said he's ordering tomato next time🤣) It's not spicy and doesn't have a strong spice flavor, so it'd be an easy pick for anyone trying hot pot in Magok for the first time.

Our son's pick at J's Pot Magok: the beef broth

My son's favorite was the beef broth. The broth has a deep color and jujubes floating in it, giving off healthy-broth vibes, haha. It has a savory, deep flavor, and most importantly, it doesn't look spicy at all, so it's easy to serve to kids. I'd been wondering how he'd do since he's been such a picky eater lately, but watching his chopsticks move faster and faster, I thought — we're good.😆 Everyone was locked in on their own pot, haha.

Assorted vegetables and 100g of beef brisket, dipped in peanut sauce

The assorted vegetables had a good variety, so once the broth started boiling, we dropped them in one by one.

The beef brisket was sliced thin, so it cooked fast once dropped in the boiling broth — great for someone impatient like me.

This is why I love hot pot! Haha.

Fishing out lightly-cooked brisket while it's still soaked in broth and dipping it into my homemade peanut sauce — the nuttiness of the peanut sauce plus the garlic aroma fills your whole mouth with flavor. My husband's basic soy sauce dip was clean and pretty tasty too. "Beef refill, please."🤣

Adding newjin noodles and corn noodles was the smartest move

If you love hot pot, adding noodles is basically non-negotiable, right? Haha.

Personally, I'd recommend the newjin noodles! The noodles themselves are super chewy, so dropped into the hot pot broth, the texture was great. They cook fast too (my favorite part, haha), so it was best to pull them out while they were still nice and chewy.

The kids' meal at J's Pot Magok, served in a toy car

My daughter liked the kids' menu from a previous visit, so we ordered it again this time. It comes in a cute car-shaped container, which kids are bound to love. The menu is built around things kids like — the tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patty) and sausage suited her taste well too~

Best of all, the egg fried rice that came with it was delicious. The rice was fried up fluffy, and with the egg and other ingredients mixed in, it had great savory flavor. (I may have snuck some bites, haha)

Since rice is included with the hot pot set, we spooned some into the broth at the end — warm and filling, the perfect way to finish the meal.

Is J's Pot Magok Branch a good family dinner spot at COEX Magok?

J's Pot Magok Branch turned out to be a great restaurant for a family meal near COEX Magok. With a wide range of menu items and broths to choose based on your taste, it was easy to bring a kid along, and the spacious, clean space made for a comfortable meal. I especially loved seeing my son, who'd had no appetite, eat with such enthusiasm.haha Next time, I want to try a different broth and go all out again! If you're looking for a family meal or gathering spot in Magok, I'd recommend this tasty Magok hot pot restaurant, J's Pot Magok Branch.