Mullae monjayaki pub after work: 30-minute Tabling wait at Jojo

Monjayaki is all the rage right now, so after work I headed to Mullae-dong 🏃‍♀️ Jojo, the teppan (iron griddle) restaurant from the 'Teppan Daejang' chef of Culinary Class Wars, has opened a new branch in Mullae. I went in with high hopes, so here's my honest review of Jojo Mullae Branch 👇👇

Where is Jojo Mullae Branch, and how long is the weekday evening wait?

Jojo Mullae Branch sits in the Mullae Art Village alley. It's a new shop, so the exterior is neatly done in warm wood tones.

Even on a weekday evening, quite a few people were waiting outside, as you'd expect from a hot spot. I'd put us on the remote waiting list through the Tabling app on the way, and we got in after about 30 minutes.

It's new and popular, so I really recommend joining the waiting list on the app before you go ~!

• 📍 Location: 4-2 Dorim-ro 139-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 1st floor, Jojo
• ⏰ Hours: Wed–Mon 11:30–22:00 (last order 21:00) / closed every Tuesday
• 📌 Note: Culinary Class Wars 'Teppan Daejang' chef / remote waiting via Tabling available

Jojo Mullae Branch interior and draft beer

Inside Jojo Mullae Branch, the wood-tone interior feels clean. The tables aren't spaced very widely, but it wasn't uncomfortable for a meal.

I really liked that the whole place is kept fresh, with none of that greasy smell.

On one side there are Hanmac and Suntory draft beer machines, which made me strangely thirsty before the teppan food even arrived haha

Jojo Mullae Branch menu and the set for two

The menu at Jojo Mullae Branch is a range of Japanese teppan dishes: monjayaki, okonomiyaki (savory pancake), yakisoba and more. The popular sets for two are neatly divided into a monjayaki set and an okonomiyaki set.

I liked that even when you order a set, you can swap some of the items inside to suit your taste. 💸

On one side of the table there are three kinds of sauce to go with the dishes.

Each seat has a big griddle, and once you sit down the staff turn it on to preheat. They also give each person a cute mini scraper for scraping monjayaki off the griddle 🥢

First dish of the monjayaki set for two: waterfall potato

The first dish of our monjayaki set for two, the 'waterfall potato', came out first. It's mashed potato topped with a soft-boiled egg, and I guess it's called waterfall potato because the yolk flows down like a waterfall 👀

Under the smooth potato is a layer of crispy onion flakes. Mixing the flakes into the mashed potato gave a great texture contrast, so delicious 😋

How is the mentaiko monjayaki made?

Next came the batter for today's main, the mentaiko (spicy pollock roe) monjayaki. In Japan many places charge extra for cheese or mochi (rice cake), but at Jojo Mullae Branch they come standard, which I loved 👍

Once the griddle is hot enough, a staff member comes over and starts cooking with dazzling hand movements, pouring the batter. Watching them chop and stir-fry the cabbage and ingredients with special spatulas was a lot of fun haha

By the way, monjayaki is a teppan dish that originated in Tokyo, with a much runnier, gooier batter than okonomiyaki. Picking at the batter stuck to the griddle bit by bit with a small scraper is both its trademark and its charm 😋

The staff spread the batter wide and top it with mochi and cheese. When the setup is done they set a 5-minute timer and tell you to start eating when it beeps ⏲️

Mentaiko monjayaki taste: seasoning that calls for draft beer

When the timer rang, the finished mentaiko monjayaki looked a little unfamiliar, but that's the real charm haha When I scraped the batter stuck to the griddle, the salty umami of cheese and mentaiko spread across my mouth.

The seasoning is fairly strong, so after one bite I thought, I definitely need a beer 🍻

I couldn't resist and ordered a cold draft beer right away. A bite of the salty teppan dish, then a gulp of beer that cools you down to the back of your neck, and all my tiredness was gone ㅠ

The last dish in the set: karai yakisoba

The last item in the set, the 'karai yakisoba' (spicy fried noodles), also arrived stir-fried and looking delicious. It's made with fresh noodles that get soggy fast, so the staff tipped us to eat it quickly 🥢

The karai yakisoba is generously loaded with meat and seafood like shrimp and squid, with a pleasant touch of spice just as the name says. I popped the soft-boiled egg yolk on top and mixed it in, and the flavor turned mellow and really rich 😋

If you like, adding the mayonnaise or sauces on the table also kept the balance nicely.

We happily cleaned everything up, and they gave us a cute coupon when we paid, which made me a little happier.

Jojo Mullae Branch as an after-work draft beer spot: how was it?

Salty mentaiko monjayaki that's a perfect beer snack ✨ After work, teppan food and draft beer is just perfect 😋

Jojo Mullae Branch is a good place to visit in Mullae-dong when you want salty teppan food with cold draft beer 👋 From the mentaiko monjayaki packed with cheese and mochi to the spicy karai yakisoba that cuts through the richness, the balance was really great.

If you're visiting Jojo Mullae, I recommend joining the remote waiting list on the Tabling app and going at your ease 👋