# Barley duck risotto and Caesar chicken tender salad: Hey Joji - By Doyeon (https://superchart.com/en/@weekday-serving/) - Written Sep 8, 2026 - Local places › Restaurants › Mapo, Seoul - Sponsored: This post was written after a sponsored visit to the restaurant. - English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@weekday-serving/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/ - Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@weekday-serving/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/index.md) ## In short Hey Joji is an American home-style restaurant tucked at the end of an alley in Yeonnam-dong, Seoul. The duck steak risotto uses barley instead of white rice, which paired beautifully with the thick smoked duck, while the chicken tender salad came with vegetables stacked in neat layers, Caesar-style sauce brushed between them. This was a place worth returning to not just for the vibe, but for the food. ## Good to know - **Ordered**: Duck steak risotto, chicken tender salad - **Risotto note**: Made with barley instead of white rice, cream base - **Drinks**: Bottled wine (including orange wine), house wine, beer - **Menu range**: Pasta, risotto, steak, fries, salad, waffle chicken, and more - **Directions**: From the GS25 in the Yeonnam-dong alley, go straight, turn into the alley, and keep walking to the end *as written by the visitor on Sep 8, 2026* ![Table setting with Hey Joji's duck steak risotto and chicken tender salad](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-01-1ct47-1200.webp) I was craving a really good risotto, so I visited Hey Joji, known for nailing American home-style cooking. I wanted to try every popular menu item, but that day I was in the mood for risotto, so I ordered the duck steak risotto. I also tried the chicken tender salad on the side. ## Getting to Hey Joji ![Route to Hey Joji starting from the GS25 in the Yeonnam-dong alley](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-02-1fkz2-900.webp) ![Entrance to the Yeonnam-dong alley leading to Hey Joji](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-03-1eo3d-900.webp) Start from the GS25 where you enter the Yeonnam-dong alley, keep going down, and when you see the alley in the photo on the right, turn in. ![Hey Joji's green exterior visible at the end of the alley](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-04-z76d7-900.webp) Keep going straight to the very end and you'll find the restaurant with the green exterior. ![Interior of Hey Joji styled around an American home-style concept](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-05-nhzdx-m-900.webp) ## American home-style concept and atmosphere True to its American home-style concept, the interior feels like an American grandmother just painted her house for spring — cozy, a little 80s-90s, that kind of comforting spoon-in-hand American dining feel, if that makes sense? ![Hey Joji interior with vintage-painted walls](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-06-1hjoo-900.webp) It felt like the kind of quiet Sunday morning Denny's where you'd order pancakes and coffee instead of risotto or steak, and where you'd expect to see lots of grandmas and grandpas hahaha. This particular seating area especially had that vibe. ![Window seating at Hey Joji with a Denny's-like atmosphere](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-07-1b7jv-840.webp) Maybe that's why there were so many couples there on dates. ## Hey Joji's full menu ![Food section of the Hey Joji menu](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-08-zntth-900.webp) ![Hey Joji menu listing wine and beer](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-09-18sml-900.webp) Here's the full menu. They have wine by the bottle too, which seems great for couples. I was especially curious about the orange wine — what would that taste like? They also had house wine and beer, plus a wide range from pasta to risotto, steak, fries, and salads, and I spotted waffle chicken on there. If I get the chance to come back, I'll have to order the waffle chicken and sweet potato fries next time haha. ## Duck steak risotto, with the pop of barley ![Cream risotto topped with thick slices of smoked duck](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-10-1nm3l-900.webp) I was picturing sliced smoked duck for the duck steak risotto, but what arrived was a whole smoked duck seared like a steak and cut into thick pieces. Both the plate underneath and various spots on the dish had 'Hey Joji' printed on them, and the design was so nice I would've bought it separately if they sold it. Even the yellow plate underneath was a house-only plate with the Hey Joji name on it. ![Duck steak risotto served on a plate printed with the Hey Joji logo](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-11-quz5f-900.webp) Because it wasn't thin sliced duck but a thick smoked duck steak, it tasted even better. And since the whole smoked duck was cooked as a generous steak portion, the risotto felt really satisfying overall. ![Close-up of Hey Joji's barley cream risotto](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-12-xp3j1-900.webp) This risotto in particular was genuinely delicious. Instead of white rice, it was made with barley that popped with each bite, which made it feel like an even more proper risotto to me. ![A bite combining smoked duck steak with barley risotto](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-13-jvdvl-900.webp) Eating the saltily smoked duck steak together with the risotto, the combination was really great. The risotto wasn't heavy at all — it was actually soft and smooth. ![Partially eaten plate of Hey Joji's duck steak risotto](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-14-1ms3v-900.webp) I ordered mainly because I was drawn to the duck steak, but if I come back, I think I'll end up reordering just for this risotto flavor, since I won't be able to forget it. This was the first time I ever savored and chewed each grain of a risotto like it was too precious to waste. ![Pickles served as a palate cleanser](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-15-pkoye-900.webp) Since it's a cream-based risotto, I ordered the salad thinking I'd eat it in between bites to balance things out, and pickles came out along with it. They really cleansed the palate. The pickles weren't overly sweet, which kept my mouth feeling fresh. ## Chicken tender salad, vegetables stacked in layers with Caesar-style sauce ![A full plate of Hey Joji's chicken tender salad](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-16-1nbux-900.webp) The salad was also different from what I expected — I figured a chicken tender salad would just be a chicken tender salad, but it was actually the presentation of the salad, more than the chicken tenders, that caught my eye. ![Chicken tender salad with vegetables stacked upright in layers](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-17-10zyb-900.webp) Usually salads are piled up in a voluminous, disorderly mound, but here the vegetables were neatly stacked in layers and stood upright, which made it feel like there was even more vegetable volume — very satisfying. And unlike a mounded salad, sauce was brushed between each layer of stacked vegetables, making it richer. ![Cross-section of the salad showing sauce brushed between layers](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-18-1nwg1-900.webp) As someone who tends to cut or fold my salad with a knife anyway, this style was especially easy to eat haha. The sauce felt more like Caesar than ranch to me. I like Caesar more than ranch, so that was a win for me haha. ![Generous Caesar-style sauce spread across the plate with chicken tenders](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-19-bqst9-900.webp) The sauce wasn't just on the salad — it was beautifully and generously presented across the whole plate, so there was plenty of it left over for dipping the chicken tenders too. ## Final thoughts ![Table at Hey Joji with the risotto and salad together](https://img.superchart.com/images/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto-20-16p9a-900.webp) This wasn't a place that was only satisfying for the atmosphere, and it wasn't just decorated to look like an American home-style restaurant without the substance to match — the food was genuinely satisfying too. It might just become one of the places I turn to whenever I'm missing Wit N Meat haha. ## Where it is - Hey Joji (헤이죠지) - 42-24 Donggyo-ro 46-gil, 1st floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea - 서울특별시 마포구 동교로46길 42-24 1층 헤이죠지 - 37.5617323, 126.9265566 - Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%ED%97%A4%EC%9D%B4%EC%A3%A0%EC%A7%80/@37.5617323,126.9265566,17z --- Superchart · https://superchart.com/en/@weekday-serving/hey-george-yeonnam-barley-risotto/ · https://superchart.com/llms.txt