88 POCHA Korean Restaurant — Restaurant in Adelaide

The four of us ordered the “Feed Me” set as recommended by the staff. The 3-person set costs $147, while the 4-person set is $196 — that’s an extra $49. And guess what we got for that extra $49? Just ONE seaweed glass noodle roll and ONE fried dumpling. That’s it. All the other side dishes, even the main Cheese Dakgalbi, were exactly the same as the 2-person or regular set portion. Even the fried chicken for four people was only half a portion. The main dish quantity was also the same as one regular set — definitely not enough for four people. We were originally going to spend around $200 for two sets, but the staff suggested the Feed Me option, saying it’s more suitable if we’re hungry. Turns out, it’s the exact opposite — the Feed Me set had less food than two regular sets and was absolutely not worth it. Halfway through the meal, we were still hungry and asked if we could get more noodles(we’ve prepared to pay extra 5 dollars, after we complained, we finally know extra noodles are for free) The male staff said okay — but after 15 minutes, nothing came. When we asked another staff member, we found out it was never ordered. To make things worse, the male staff who was cooking chicken was extremely aggressive with his movements — hot oil splashed directly onto my friend’s hand, causing pain, and even hit our clothes. He didn’t say a word and just kept cooking. In the end, they gave us a 10% discount (since it was a public holiday we still paid $208), but it didn’t make up for the $49 difference or the overall disappointing experience. The pricing makes no sense, the service was chaotic, and if you’re actually hungry and looking for a proper meal — don’t order this. Their math is terrible. Maybe it’s okay if you’re just there for a date or to take cute photos, but for four people who genuinely want to eat — you’ll leave hungry...

This was an awesome experience. So refreshing to try something different in Adelaide. I believe 88 Pocha has only been around a year or less but it’s pumping. Such a cool idea!

You order from your table from a QR code, but the staff are super friendly and helpful if it’s your first time. Not long after your food arrives, gets chucked in the hot plate and it starts cooking. Within 15 minutes (just enough time to devour some fried chicken), your main is ready! We had the cheese buldak dakgalbi and it was amazing. Huge serving for two people (we didn’t finish but we tried). So much flavour, a little spicier than I expected but nothing crazy. But honestly, the food is delicious, the service is second to none, the atmosphere is retro in a way and funky and the experience overall is one worth doing. Little touches like storage under your seat for your bags and belongings is just genius too.

Highlight for me though, probably the Korean fried chicken… simple I know but it was delicious. And probably best suited to groups of 2, although the my can cater for more.

Recommend a visit here if you have...

Came here after work to try out their fried chicken. Ordered the fried chicken with the samyang secret sauce. Service was friendly and fast.

The fried chicken was crispy and has a nice crunch unlike some Korean fried chicken joints that serve overly sticky fried chicken. The taste of the sauce was nice and not overly sweet. I was a bit surprised that the sauce was a little bit on the thin side as the excess sauce pooled at the bottom of the tray which made it appear like a dipping sauce. The fried chicken still tasted nice when the chicken was 'dipped' into the sauce. The chicken pieces were boneless and came in a combination of breast and leg meat. Price was reasonable and I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't paying Norwood prices.

Overall, a really nice Korean fried chicken joint, I would have preferred the sauce to be a bit 'stickier' so I don't have to dip the chicken into the sauce, but perhaps I will need to be more familiar with unconventional Korean fried...