Fine dining public holiday lunch in Mangwon: house-made jambon, Noju

Walk through the alleys of Mangwon and you'll find so many small restaurants with great atmosphere. This time I visited Noju (NOJU), known for course meals made with seasonal ingredients and good-value fine dining. I heard it's great for special occasions, or just when you want a slightly nicer meal than usual, so I went in with high expectations.

Noju opening hours and visitor info

Noju is at 56 Donggyo-ro 9-gil, 2nd floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul. It's open Tuesday to Friday and Sunday 11:30-23:00 (break time 15:00-17:00, last order 21:00) and Saturday 11:30-24:00 (break time 15:00-17:30). It's closed every Monday.

• Groups welcome, free corkage, takeout available
• No kids zone
• No parking (use Mangwon Public Parking Lot or Mangwon On-street Public Parking Lot)
• Unisex restroom inside the restaurant

How to get to Noju from Mangwon Station, and parking

Noju is a 2-minute walk from Mangwon Station. There's no parking of its own, so you'll need Mangwon Public Parking Lot or Mangwon On-street Public Parking Lot! I hear parking is hard on weekends, and since the station is so close, public transport is the better choice!

The building has no elevator, so you'll have to take the stairs up to the 2nd floor!

Noju's interior and seating at a public holiday lunch

I visited on a public holiday at lunchtime and it was quite busy, haha. Lots of friends and couples were there.

The mood was quiet, great for chatting, and the seats were comfortable.

There are also bar seats, and since it's an open kitchen you can watch the cooking. I'd love to try the bar next time, haha.

There's a unisex restroom inside the restaurant, which was convenient. It even had mouthwash and dental floss, so the owner clearly thinks of everything, haha.

What are Noju's menu and prices?

Noju's lunch course, Lunch Chef's Choice (8 courses), is ₩55,000, and Signature Chef's Choice (10-11 courses) is ₩79,000. Dinner à la carte dishes are ₩19,000-₩45,000, available after 8 pm or as a walk-in, and you must order at least a half bottle of wine.

• Signature Chef's Choice (10-11 courses) ₩79,000
• Lunch Chef's Choice (8 courses) ₩55,000
• Dinner à la carte ₩19,000-₩45,000 (after 8 pm or walk-in; minimum half bottle of wine)
• Flower bouquet orders (charged separately) ₩35,000-₩120,000

Noju Lunch Chef's Choice 8-course lineup

I booked the Noju lunch course for two through Catch Table! They have special wines by the glass, and they explained there are non-alcoholic wines by the glass too, so it seems nice for enjoying non-alcoholic wine at lunch.

That day's lunch menu had 8 courses.

• Focaccia: yuzu / ricotta cheese
• Two bite-sized dishes: beet / endive
• Arancini (fried rice ball): Popo Farm rice / sesame oil
• Jambon (Korean-style ham): zucchini / Emmental cheese
• Anchovy: anchovy / butter
• Signature gnocchi: truffle / potato
• Iberico: jalapeño / mashed potatoes
• Lemon sorbet

Focaccia: yuzu and ricotta cheese

They explained that the yuzu cream served with Noju's focaccia is made in-house. The citrusy freshness of yuzu and the thick, nutty ricotta went really well with the bread. The cream was seriously good.

Two amuse-bouches: beet and endive

The tart shell of the beet bite is also made in the restaurant, they said. The combo of rich truffle ricotta and beet was really fresh. It seemed unusual at first, but the crisp shell, the filling and the tangy beet were delicious.

Endive is a vegetable that often shows up in French plating. Belgian endive is apparently the more accurate name. I guess you could call it a kind of chicory, haha. It was topped with cucumber, mushrooms and other vegetables, and the crunch of the endive went well with the peanut sauce.

Arancini: Popo Farm rice and sesame oil

Noju's arancini is made with Popo Farm rice and fried. Underneath is a white ragù sauce with a sweet, creamy flavor, and on top, unusually, is sesame oil powder. I'd never had sesame oil powder before, and amazingly it tasted exactly like sesame oil, haha.

House-made jambon: zucchini and Emmental cheese

The combination of Noju's house-made jambon with zucchini and Emmental cheese worked well. I always thought jambon was quite salty, but eaten with zucchini and mild Emmental, it was perfectly balanced. It was one of my favorite dishes in the course.

Anchovy butter pasta

In Noju's anchovy butter pasta, the salty umami of the anchovy blended with the butter and felt harmonious and smooth. What stood out was that the noodles seemed thicker than ordinary pasta, so it had more chew, haha.

Signature gnocchi: truffle and potato

In Noju's signature gnocchi, the cream sauce softly cushioned the truffle, which can be strong, and kept things balanced. The potato was crisp outside and fluffy inside, so the texture was great too. Thanks to the harmony with the other ingredients, the truffle aroma wasn't overwhelming, so it's an easy dish for anyone. But if you love truffle, you'd probably be even happier with it!

Iberico pork: jalapeño and mashed potatoes

The Iberico main was cooked just right, juicy, with an appealing richness from the fat. The creaminess of the mashed potatoes and the vegetable garnish added freshness, so it was well balanced. The jalapeño cut through the slight heaviness of the mash, which made it even better.

Lemon sorbet

The lemon sorbet at the end of Noju's lunch course cleansed the palate with its bright tartness and was a perfect way to finish the meal!

Is Noju's lunch course good-value fine dining?

Noju's (NOJU) lunch course felt focused on the natural flavor of ingredients and on balance! The jambon with zucchini, the signature gnocchi and the Iberico especially stayed with me, and I liked the overall lineup, which isn't harsh or heavy-handed yet keeps its umami!!

For the price, I think the course is very good value for fine dining! It's a place I'd like to come back to whenever I want a light fine-dining mood.