Jamsil date-night bar in Bangi with warm anchovy noodles: Jojomomo

After work, we really wanted something genuinely delicious, and — being die-hard Korean-food people — Jojomomo caught our eye. Good-vibe Korean bars are surprisingly hard to find these days, so we were thrilled to leave both well-fed and impressed by the mood.

It sits pretty much dead center of Bangi Food Alley!!

What kind of bar is Jojomomo?

JOJO MOMO: a Hanja phrase meaning 'every morning, every evening.' We want you to lose yourself in music, drink, and food from evening until morning.

That's the meaning behind the name, apparently. I too would love to stay tipsy from evening till morning lol.

• 📍 Location | B1, 16 Ogeum-ro 11-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul
• ⏰ Hours | Mon–Fri 17:00–02:00 / Sat 15:00–04:00 / Sun 15:00–02:00

How to skip the wait at Jojomomo

We got there around 6:30pm on a Friday and there was no wait for us!! Right after us, though, a line started forming — this place is popular, no joke.

Waiting is managed through Table Ring, so make sure to check it there.

Inside Jojomomo: mood and seating

Jojomomo is underground, and the interior has a cozy, almost hideout-like feel. Claiming this as my new secret spot lol.

Since there weren't many seats left, I ended up at the bar table — and it turned out great, since the central tables can get a bit loud. Couples, I'd actually recommend the bar seats too!!

Jojomomo menu and prices

• Signature braised pork ribs (sous) — ₩29,000
• Cream tteokbokki with gamtae scallops — ₩27,000
• Gochujang pork stew — ₩25,000
• Water dakgalbi — ₩25,000
• Scallop fishcake soup — ₩23,000
• Kimchi jeyuk with tofu gangjeong — ₩22,000
• Whelk somyeon with flat dumplings — ₩22,000
• Tuna muchim with flat dumplings — ₩17,000
• Assorted bugak (fried seaweed chips) — ₩19,000
• Pollock roe cheese potato pancake — ₩19,000

It's a Korean bar, but the menu has plenty of not-so-obvious, special Korean dishes, which I loved.

Worth checking the menu on Naver beforehand — everything looked delicious, which made choosing tough. The photos and descriptions are laid out really well. There's a full-meal lineup for round one, lighter dishes good for round two, and even sweet desserts, so it seems like a place you could come back to anytime. Definitely coming back for round two just for the sweet desserts...

Welcome rice wine and free starters

What's great about Jojomomo is —

You get a welcome drink and potato salad as a basic side dish!! Ah, how nice is that.

The welcome drink was Jirisan Gangsoeju, which was so good I ended up ordering more. Honestly, potato salad and crackers are things you'd normally have to pay for elsewhere — getting them as a basic side already won me over..!!

What we ordered at Jojomomo

What I ordered:

• Cream tteokbokki with gamtae scallops
• Kimchi jeyuk with tofu gangjeong
• Warm anchovy noodles

When you order alcohol, you get to pick your own glass. Lol so cute, I'm a sucker for stuff like this.

Cream tteokbokki with gamtae scallops, 27,000 won

First out was the cream tteokbokki (rice cake stir-fry) with gamtae (roasted seaweed) scallops — an absolute must-order for me..ෆ The savory, salty cream sauce with scallops, gamtae, and crispy nurungji (scorched rice) made for a dream combo.

Bread comes with it too, and dipping it in the sauce is amazing. Total win.

Kimchi jeyuk with tofu gangjeong, 22,000 won

Next, kimchi jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork) with tofu gangjeong. Slightly spicy kimchi pork alongside crispy fried(?) tofu gangjeong (sweet-and-savory glazed tofu)!! Turning kimchi and tofu into this was such a clever twist, and it was so good. The kimchi pork was total rice-thief material, but sadly no rice bowl in sight.

It's plated beautifully too, so great for photos lol.

Every dish had its own personality instead of feeling generic — I kept marveling the whole meal.

Warm anchovy noodles to finish

Partway through, the portions felt a little light, so we tried the warm anchovy noodles. One sip of that hot broth and... wow. I could've just kept spooning up broth ten more times. The umami was insane. What did they even do to those anchovies? We joked that the owner might show up on Culinary Class Wars 7 or something lol. Perfect for curing a hangover, honestly.

So we also ordered more of that Gangsoeju from earlier as the welcome drink. Kind of like cheongju (rice wine)? Sweet and delicious.

Is Jojomomo worth it for a date in Bangi?

A totally satisfying find. Both the quality of the food and the atmosphere hit the mark, so I'm 200% coming back. Definitely recommend it as a date spot.

On the way out, the owner even handed us disposable mouthwash. Nice touch.