Dongmyeong-dong lunch spot with char siu bossam: Ju Myeongdang

Ju Myeongdang: a Dongmyeong-dong Korean restaurant that serves lunch

Ju Myeongdang is a Korean restaurant and bar on the 2nd floor at 15-2 Jangdong-ro, Dong-gu, Gwangju, in the Dongmyeong-dong neighborhood. It's better known as an evening drinking spot, but it also runs a lunch menu. While looking for somewhere to eat lunch in Dongmyeong-dong, I thought a place combining meat and Korean dishes sounded like a great lunch option, so I paid Ju Myeongdang a visit.

This Dongmyeong-dong restaurant has menus that work well whether you're stopping by for evening drinks or just for lunch, so let me walk you through the taste of the lunch menu and the vibe of the place.

Ju Myeongdang hours and parking (1 hour free at the ACC lot)

• Daily 11:30–23:30 (last order 23:00), no break time
• Address: 15-2 Jangdong-ro, 2nd floor, Dong-gu, Gwangju, South Korea
• ACC-affiliated parking lot open until midnight / 1 hour free with a visit to Ju Myeongdang

Once you come up from the underground parking lot to street level, you'll spot the Ju Myeongdang building right on the 2nd floor. Park at the ACC-affiliated lot, step outside, and Ju Myeongdang is right there on the 2nd floor.

Once you head up to the 2nd floor, it's easy to find.

Maybe because it was a late lunch, the place was pretty quiet. A lot of people think of Ju Myeongdang as strictly an evening bar, so I wanted to let you know they also serve lunch~~

What is the interior of Ju Myeongdang like?

The interior of Ju Myeongdang has a slightly darker tone than a typically brightly-lit restaurant, which felt more comfortable for conversation over a meal. The moment I walked in, I was surprised by how pretty the interior was. The traditional feel of the folding screens contrasted with modern tables and chairs that weren't too traditional, giving off more of a modern Korean-bar vibe.

The window seats have a mood that almost feels like you've landed somewhere in Southeast Asia~ Perfect for a date spot for couples, right? With the outside scenery visible through the full window, it was a nice, relaxed spot to eat.

Rather than a bright, casual rice-and-soup joint, this place has that heavier, more emotional mood particular to a Korean bar, which probably creates a different atmosphere between lunch and dinner, right? With 6 private rooms, it's also great for group gatherings, and since pets are welcome, you can visit without any worries~

This is the kind of mood where, if I'd come in the evening, I'd definitely have had a drink haha

There were so many menu items that I spent a long time deciding. There were a lot of review-event dishes, so just pick whatever you're craving and you'll get through to dessert without a hitch~~

What comes with the 49,000 won Imo Babsang set?

Imo Babsang — straw-fire char siu bossam & yangnyeom galbi (for 2–3 people), ₩49,000

Ju Myeongdang's Imo Babsang comes with galbi, char siu, and yukjeon (pan-fried beef) all on one table, along with bibimbap and stew served together. The moment the dishes arrived, the table felt completely full. Not bad at all for a single meal, right?

Today's main dish — just looking at it made my mouth water~~ I almost took a bite before I even got the photo hahaha. The char siu was cut into easy-to-eat pieces, so it was simple to wrap in lettuce, and the sweet-savory sauce soaked in so well that the more you chewed, the more you tasted the meat's clean, savory flavor. Eaten plain or wrapped — either way it's delicious char siu. Such a proper, hearty lunch spread from a Dongmyeong-dong restaurant.

Bibimbap and the cold noodle broth

One bite of meat, then straight into mixing the bibimbap. Bracken fern, fresh vegetable salad, and other seasoned greens all mixed evenly, topped off with a fried egg~~ that's the finishing touch haha. The seasoning was spot on, perfect alongside the meat!!

The cool cold noodle broth was also great wrapped around a bite of galbi, and taking a bite of meat followed by a sip of the chilled broth refreshed my palate every time.

Yukjeon (beef pancake) and the stew

My absolute favorite, the yukjeon, was coated thick in egg and pan-fried to a golden brown, with a nutty flavor that kept rising the more I chewed, and the meat itself was tender and easy to bite through. Eaten together with the pickled onions, it was refreshing and delicious.

The stew tasted like a mix of doenjang (soybean paste) stew and kimchi stew — a spoonful in between bites of meat felt like a clean reset.

The way they cut the galbi is pretty slick haha. Put a piece on top of the cold noodles and take a bite — ooh~~ Being able to try three types of meat in one meal made for a truly complete Dongmyeong-dong lunch spread~

The char siu has that savory depth from the first bite of its sweet-and-salty sauce, so I immediately wrapped a big bite with the bibimbap~! It has a cleaner flavor than the more heavily seasoned galbi, so switching back and forth between the two kinds of meat worked really well together~

How much meat, and how many vegetable refills?

The amount of meat in Ju Myeongdang's Imo Babsang was bigger than I expected~~ so I ended up refilling the vegetables twice more. The vegetables were fresh too, so I kept reaching for more.

Can you see the shine on the meat~~ Total visual overload — I'd already devoured it with my eyes before I even took a bite haha. The meat was quite tender, and the owner mentioned they aim to make it so tender that just a light touch with chopsticks makes it fall apart, which made me realize how seriously they take their meat.

Who is lunch at Ju Myeongdang best for?

If you usually look for something a bit different from a rice-and-soup or gukbap lunch, this Dongmyeong-dong restaurant feels like a great place to enjoy both the food and the atmosphere together. A single meal where you get a taste of both a bar and a restaurant — I'd recommend Ju Myeongdang~~