Yeonnam-dong Japanese restaurant for monjayaki: Jojo Yeonnam

My first monjayaki in Yeonnam-dong

Today I visited Jojo Yeonnam Branch (죠죠 연남점), a popular Japanese restaurant in Yeonnam-dong. Jojo is already famously good, especially for its okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake), but I had never been before. I wanted to try okonomiyaki in Korea before going to Japan next month, so I picked Jojo Yeonnam Branch!! I went with Dallim, haha.

How long was the weekend-evening wait?

We visited during the weekend dinner rush. I called ahead to ask whether there was a wait, and they said Catchtable remote waitlisting was available, so we joined while coming over from Hongdae to Yeonnam-dong!!! There were about seven parties ahead of us, and the total wait was... 50 minutes...!!!

Honestly, I rarely wait, and even when I do, I never wait more than 30 minutes... I kept wondering just how good it had to be, and before I knew it, we had waited quite a while. The number dropped quickly until we got to number one, but then we stayed at number one for about 20 minutes..? I definitely recommend joining the Catchtable waitlist before you visit!!!! If I had known, I would have done it earlier too ㅜㅜ

A packed dining room and a window table for two

The restaurant was so packed that I felt a little awkward even taking photos, so I quickly snapped a few. There were people of all ages—families, friends, couples—really the kind of great restaurant anyone can enjoy.

We were shown to a window-side table for two. They asked us to write down a nickname when ordering, so we did and placed our order. Okonomiyaki was unfamiliar to both of us, and it was my first time trying monjayaki (a runny Japanese griddle dish), so we ordered one of each, plus donpeiyaki (a Japanese egg-and-pork omelet) that looked like rolled egg.

Table sauces and nickname flags

Each table has sauces: hot sauce, a sauce that feels a bit like tonkatsu sauce, and mayonnaise!! This brown sauce seemed to be the same one drizzled over the okonomiyaki. Monjayaki does not come with sauce already on it, so we mixed and matched with these sauces.

They cut out the nickname we wrote and stuck it into the food like this, haha. So cute. Cheese comes as standard with the monjayaki. They also set a timer, then come over to cook it when it ends. I think it is the time it takes for the griddle heat to come up!!

Dallim's emergency remedy after that long wait. Dallim gulped down Jojo draft beer, said they felt alive again, and even ordered another glass halfway through, haha.

Mentaiko monjayaki cooked by the staff

The staff cook all of the monjayaki and help you start eating when the timer is done. I had only seen monjayaki on Instagram, so it was so fascinating, hahaha. This is mentaiko (seasoned pollock roe) monjayaki.

Donpeiyaki arrived while we waited

While we waited for the monjayaki to cook, the donpeiyaki arrived. It has the feel of a rolled omelet, but there is meat inside. The sauce on top went so well with the egg.

It is very hot right when it arrives, so you need to let it cool before eating. It feels a little different from Korean-style rolled egg, but it was completely my taste. They must have this menu in Japan too, right..? I need to try it when I go.

The taste of okonomiyaki and mentaiko monjayaki

Then the okonomiyaki arrived too. I thought okonomiyaki was also cooked on the griddle, but it comes out already cooked and plated like this! It seems monjayaki is the only thing made on the table griddle.

It was really big too!! A shot with the monjayaki~~ True to its reputation as a great Japanese restaurant in Yeonnam-dong, everyone seemed to see okonomiyaki and monjayaki as absolute must-orders. Now that I have tried them at a good restaurant, I can compare them with the local taste when I go to Japan, hehe.

The okonomiyaki had bonito flakes and sauce that worked together beautifully, along with cabbage and seafood such as squid and shrimp inside. It kind of felt like eating takoyaki? The cabbage texture was nice, and it was pretty filling too.

I had been so curious about the mentaiko monjayaki. I was worried because people say it can be polarizing, but our couple was firmly in the love-it camp!!! Thankfully, it suited both our tastes, and we ate it with the sauces. The hot sauce went especially well with it.

I had watched lots of videos on how to eat monjayaki: scoop some up, flip it over, and press it down? But pressing each bite seemed like it would take quite a long time. It is delicious even if you just eat it as is without pressing it!! It had lots of vegetables, with none of that fishy or soggy feeling—such delicious mentaiko monjayaki!!

When you are craving a taste of Japan in Yeonnam-dong

Jojo Yeonnam Branch is a great Yeonnam-dong restaurant to visit when you want a taste of Japan, or when you are craving okonomiyaki or monjayaki. It is already very famous and, being in Yeonnam-dong, incredibly popular. I think joining the Catchtable waitlist in advance would make it much easier to eat here!! I will definitely come back for more. We both absolutely loved it!! Once I try it in Japan, I will leave a comparison review too, haha.