The Soju Bar — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

IF YOU'RE COMING TO THIS PLACE PLEASE READ

Hello, I just got done experiencing the Soju Bar "street food" pop up at Itis. I ordered 1 Kimbap which is similar to a sushi roll for those who do not know and is super easy to make. I had to wait for an HOUR for my order.

This place calls itself street food but it isn't at all, street food is supposed to be fast, easy and good. Even making the drinks for other customers took over 25+ minutes!! And while waiting for my order I witnessed the drink master break health and safety precautions. The drink master was touching their face all of the time and then touching the products and ingredients and scooping ICE!!! with their HANDS!! and no they didn't have any gloves and were constantly getting close to the drinks with their face and was touching the drinks edges and the tip of the straws where you drink from!! This is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable.

The drink master was also in charge of cleaning tables and placed the dirty dishes with the clean ones and after touching dirty dishes and tableware they touched the pouring edges of water jugs.

And when taking about food, you don't even see them make it, you have no idea where their kitchen is and how far it is, food gets cold while being brought to you and you have no idea what kind of airs it has passed through while coming, they have no plate covers while bringing the food so you might as well wait to get a stomach virus at some point.

I really wished this place was good and it sounded and looked good but after sitting for half an hour and curiosity taking a hold of me to read all the reviews I was shocked. And all the bad reviews you see here are real, I am not being dramatic I just want everyone to be safe and not have the same experience I did.

Please better yourselves Soju Bar, this experience was problematic...

What The Soju Bar – Korean Street Kitchen

Where Itäkeskus Shopping Centre, Upper Floor (Helsinki, Finland)

What & How (Experience Details) The Soju Bar is located on the upper deck of Itäkeskus shopping centre, just above the main walkway beside the food court. Not where Google Map's pin is currently pointing to. The setup has a temporary, pop-up feel, aiming to replicate the aesthetic of a Korean street kitchen. The kitchen itself is off-site, and communication between the cashier and kitchen is conducted via walkie-talkie, which adds to the informal, street-food-style atmosphere.

What & How (Service Details) The service is polite but minimal, reflecting the casual nature of the venue. Vegan options are limited; we opted for the steam bao buns with marinated tofu (2 pcs) and the gimbap (Korean seaweed rice rolls with vegetables and tofu). While the flavours were enjoyable, the presentation and portioning left something to be desired. The bao buns adhered to the paper they were served in, making them difficult to handle. The gimbap rolls, though nine in number, included the trimmed ends from the roll, resulting in uneven, somewhat unappetising pieces.

How Much (Price) At €27 for two small dishes, the pricing feels steep for what is effectively a light meal or starter-sized portion. The overall value does not quite align with the cost.

My Thoughts Summarised The Soju Bar offers an interesting take on casual Korean street food within a shopping centre setting, but the execution feels somewhat underdeveloped. While the food is flavourful, the small portion sizes and less-than-polished presentation, combined with a relatively high price point, detract from the overall experience. Worth a visit for a light bite, but not particularly satisfying as...

I made a reservation two weeks in advance, expecting our group to be seated together at one large table. Unfortunately, we were split between two tables, which significantly affected the experience.

I had fond memories from a visit a year ago when the restaurant was still at Tallinn Square, but sadly, this time was a major letdown. I ordered the “Seoulmate” cocktail again, which previously had been excellent, but what arrived on July 12th was unrecognizable. It contained curdled yogurt, looked unappetizing, and frankly shouldn’t have been served. The server insisted this was how it’s supposed to look, but I know from past experience that it wasn’t.

Service overall was chaotic—some people in our group never received the beers they ordered, and others waited up to an hour just to place their order. While we were eventually given a replacement cocktail jug, this only happened after I showed the server the drink had clearly separated into two layers and lacked any trace of the advertised strawberries.

The food no longer resembles authentic Korean cuisine, and the portion sizes are laughably small for the price. One of our vegetarian guests was even mistakenly served takoyaki balls, which contain meat—despite being offered...