Okonomiyaki restaurant with ironworks window seats in Mullae: Jojo

On a weekday evening when I got off work a little early, my wife and I headed to Mullae Changjak-chon, a neighborhood with a distinctly retro, romantic charm. Wandering through the old ironworks alleys always makes me crave a sizzling, savory teppan dish — and it just so happened that Jojo (JYOJYO), famous for the lines outside its Seongsu-dong branch, had opened a location in Mullae too. So we went to check it out!

On the griddle at each table, mayonnaise and special sauce swirl into an elaborate marbled pattern to finish the signature okonomiyaki. From the thrill of watching it cooked right in front of us to the deeply savory flavors, here's my honest review.

Where Jojo Mullae Branch is, and how long you wait on a weekday evening

Jojo Mullae Branch sits on the ground floor of a red-brick building, about a 5-minute walk down the alley from Exit 7 of Mullae Station (Line 2). A neat beige awning greets you, and the exterior blends beautifully into the alley's old-school atmosphere. There's even a wooden bench out front for waiting customers.

The first thing that caught my eye at the entrance was a wooden standing sign. A big poster announced that the owner is the one who entered Netflix's buzzy show Culinary Class Wars 2 as the self-proclaimed 'Teppan Master'! Just seeing that boosted my trust and excitement before I'd even eaten a bite.

Jojo Mullae Branch registers waitlists through a Catch Table kiosk. A tablet for registering and a large menu board sit on a table by the entrance. We visited on a weekday early evening and got in after just 10 minutes, with about 2 parties ahead of us. But after 6:30pm when the after-work crowd rolls in, or on weekends, the wait gets longer — so I'd recommend checking the Catch Table app for remote queue status before you go!

The ironworks view from the window seats and the mood inside Jojo Mullae Branch

Inside, Jojo Mullae Branch keeps the old building's thick wooden rafters exposed, giving the space an airy, high ceiling. I looked up and gasped the moment I walked in. Warm orange bulb lighting glows below, making it feel very cozy. Beyond a red-brick arch, the open kitchen buzzed with energy and the sound of customers laughing drifted around pleasantly.

The view from our window seat in particular was really striking. Through the floor-to-ceiling glass, we could see straight into an actual ironworks shop's sign and shutter door across the alley. The warm bulb light reflecting off the glass mixed with the vintage scene of the ironworks alley outside, creating a filmic mood you can only get in Mullae-dong.

Each table has a large rectangular griddle neatly built in, and once seated, you get a side plate stamped with Jojo's English logo, wooden chopsticks, and a mini stainless spatula for cutting into the teppan dishes yourself.

What comes in the 39,000 won Signature 2-person Set

What we ordered at Jojo Mullae Branch was the most popular option, the 'Signature 2-person Set' (₩39,000). Ordering is done conveniently via the tablet attached to each table. The à la carte items looked solid too, but most first-timers seemed to go for the set.

• Jojo Okonomiyaki (mixed shrimp, squid, and pork topping)
• Karai Yakisoba (spicy stir-fried noodles with a soft-boiled egg)
• Donpeyaki (Japanese-style pork belly rolled in egg)

It's the best combo to try all three signature dishes at a lower price than ordering them separately!

On a wooden tray to the side of the table sit three house sauces, neatly arranged.

• A spicy sauce to refresh your palate
• A deep, savory special brown sauce
• A smooth, nutty Japanese-style mayonnaise

You can freely add as much of each sauce as you like to suit your taste, which was really convenient.

There was a handy cooking tip on the tablet screen too: the okonomiyaki takes about 15 minutes to finish on the tableside griddle, and once the timer goes off, staff come flip it twice, front and back, and finish it with sauce. It was great not having to worry about burning anything and just waiting comfortably.

How the karai yakisoba and donpeyaki taste

While the okonomiyaki was cooking, the dishes that were prepared first filled the table. First up: the glossy 'karai yakisoba'! It came piled high with plump cocktail shrimp, pork, cabbage, and bright red pickled ginger, all centered around a soft-boiled fried egg.

We popped the egg yolk and mixed it evenly through the noodles for our first bite. A pleasant spicy kick and deep smoky wok flavor soaked into the noodles, so it never felt greasy. The bouncy shrimp and chewy noodles worked so well together that both my wife and I were impressed from the very first bite!

Next up was donpeyaki, a Japanese-style pork belly egg roll. On a long plate, a neatly wrapped, golden egg omelet came topped generously with mayonnaise, sweet tonkatsu sauce, tenkasu (crispy tempura bits), and parsley.

Biting into a piece, soft, moist egg gave way to savory pork belly and crunchy cabbage. The sweet, salty sauce combined with the nutty mayo — I didn't drink that day, but it would've been a perfect match for beer or a highball.

15 minutes at the griddle: okonomiyaki cooked live at your table

The real star of the day was the 'okonomiyaki live cooking' unfolding right on the griddle in front of us. As soon as we ordered, a staff member brought over a steel bowl piled high with shredded cabbage, batter, fresh sliced pork belly, raw shrimp and squid, plus a timer, showing off just how fresh the ingredients were.

Oil went onto the hot griddle, then a thick layer of batter, topped neatly with fresh shrimp and covered with bonito flakes before cooking. The sizzling sound and the savory smell wafting up were seriously mouthwatering.

When the 15-minute timer went off, a staff member came and flipped it in one smooth motion with a professional spatula. It came up golden brown, not burnt at all, with a crust crisped to perfection — the ideal crispy-outside, soft-inside texture.

Once it was cooked through, Jojo's signature sauce performance began. With a ladle, they spread white mayonnaise in a circle, then drew a spiral with the special brown sauce to complete the marbling — and just watching those skilled hands at work was a genuine visual thrill.

I cut the finished okonomiyaki into four with the mini spatula and lifted up a piece. Amid the rising steam, moist, sweet cabbage and plump, bouncy seafood filled every bite — the moment I bit in, a smile of pure satisfaction spread across my face.

Here's our table after we scraped up every last strand of yakisoba and every drop of okonomiyaki sauce! Every plate was wiped clean, leaving only scorch marks in the middle of the still-hot griddle — my wife and I both finished the meal feeling genuinely, thoroughly satisfied, something we hadn't felt in a while.

The unmatched charm of the ironworks alleys in Mullae Changjak-chon, the warmth of the exposed-rafter interior, and the show and excellent taste of teppan dishes cooked with care right in front of you — this is a place I'd love to keep coming back to, whether for a date or a feel-good dinner after work.

Jojo Mullae Branch in three lines

• ❤️ A dazzling 15-minute tableside cooking performance and food that lives up to it
• 💡 Reserve via Catch Table's remote queue! First-timers should go straight for the value-packed Signature 2-person Set
• 😭 Watch out for long waits during weekday peak hours (after 6:30pm) and on weekends! Parking is available at nearby public lots but can be tricky

It had been a while since my wife and I enjoyed such a small-but-sure kind of romance after work, and this trip to Jojo in Mullae delivered that. If you're looking for a great-atmosphere, delicious Japanese teppan restaurant in Mullae-dong, this one's worth a visit!