Joo Joo Restaurant & Karaoke — Restaurant in Creve Coeur

I used to think Joo Joo is the best Korean restaurant in STL. This has become our go-to place especially since we moved to Creve Couer last summer. Whenever we have visitors, Joo Joo is always a spot we would take friends to. However, our visit today was the worst in the past 2-3 years. Today, we ordered 3 dishes - rice cake soup, seafood pancake, and kimchi stir with toufu. The first two dishes are our frequently ordered ones while the last dish was ordered for the first time, as it's much more expensive ($35.00 for ordinary size) than the same dish offered in other Korean restaurant. But we's like to give it a try. After all the dishes came, we realized that the side dishes were not served yet. Although we are not fans of Joo Joo's side dishes as they are always limited to varieties and mostly very cheap stuff, I still checked with the guy who delivered the last dish to us. He went to check with the kitchen for a while and came back with the answer that none of the dishes we ordered today qualifies us to have side dishes. We were very confused and surprised to hear that as we have been here many many times in the past ordering the same food, and side dishes always come along. Complimentary side dish has been the distinctive (also basic) feature of Korean restaurant although the quality, quantity and varieties may vary. (As said before, Joo Joo's side dishes are usually below the average.) I decided to check with our own waitress again after I saw most tables around us having side dishes. Our waitress explained embarrassedly with almost the same answer - kimchi stir is a bar food as defined in the menu so it doesn't come along with side dishes (although its price equals two main dishes), seafood pancake is an appetizer so it doesn't qualify either. The last one was the most hilarious and our waitress even couldn't complete her explanation "because there are rice cakes in the soup, so the are considered as...you know..." she didn't finish the sentence. (As what? I wondered, but I lost my patience to continue the conversation.) When we almost finished our meal, our waitress showed up again and brought us four side dishes (shredded potato, reddish, peanuts and kimchi. All tiny dishes.) She said "I was not allowed to do so, but ..." I thanked her but told her "you don't need to do so." Since we already finished our meal, it's more or less a waste. I am not blaming our waitress at all, as it's not her fault. She may just kindly want us to be happy or she might be worried about the tips she would get, whichever is understandable. However, they should understand that after spending $70 for that meal, we really don't care about those four tiny dishes that much. However, it is their inconsistent service and bad excuses the most unforgivable part. It's really a shame for Joo Joo if they are doing this deliberately as a form of shrinkflation. (But I really couldn't understand that. how much money can they save from those cheap dishes?) They have already increased their prices greatly in the past months despite that they were originally pricier compared with other Korean restaurants in this city. We had never complained about such things before as we believed they serve good food. However, if they just made up bad excuses for the side dishes they simply forgot to bring to us , it's even worse. I couldn't trust this place any more. Today's experience, along with their inconsistent food quality as mentioned in other recent reviews as well as relatively higher prices, made us seriously think we probably should stop visiting Joo Joo and look for other options. (Other downsides: their AC also broke today and it's 88F inside the dining hall. No one came to explain about this let along apologized. Several dishes are permanently unavailable from the menu, like the cod soup and pollock soup, but they never crossed them out even though they did change all...

This is the worst and most infuriating restaurant service I've experienced since coming to the United States.

I've been here twice, and both times were disappointing. I absolutely won't go back.

The first time, I invited a friend for dinner, and he ordered a soup. He thought the portion was small and called the waiter over to explain. The server had a terrible attitude, stating that the portion was as it is and suggested he order something else. My friend was quite upset with this response.

The second time, my friend and I bought bubble tea and bingsu from the neighboring shop. I genuinely didn't notice the sign at the door stating that you couldn't bring outside food. However, I had already made the purchase, and a Korean staff member (apparently the same one from the previous visit) came over very forcefully, insisting it was their rule. She offered to put my items in the fridge, but my bingsu would lose its original taste if refrigerated, so I tried to negotiate. She said the rules wouldn't be changed for me, and when my friend asked why this rule existed, she claimed it was because it added extra work. In reality, they could easily allow customers to clean waste out instead of enforcing such a rule.

Honestly, this restaurant is not a high-end restaurant, and such rules will drive away many customers. Additionally, this Korean female staff member was excessively arrogant and had an extremely poor attitude.

Honestly, I would sincerely request the manager to reevaluate this staff member and the rules. I do enjoy Korean cuisine, but your food isn't exceptionally delicious, and it's quite expensive. Coupled with this kind of service attitude, there's really no reason to return. I just wanted to share my...

Had one of my finest experiences at a korean restaurant here. Very pleasantly surprised. Was in dallas texas recently, and was sadly disappointed at 3 different Korean establishments there, all of them in their koreatown area.

A friend and I had dinner at joo joo on a Sunday evening. We ordered 3 dishes. Yuk gae jang (spicy beef soup), baby octopus and pork belly stir fry, and jajangmyeon (black bean noodles). Honestly, all three dishes were spot on. The yuk gaejang broth and the stir fry sauce were some of the best I've had. The black bean sauce was good too. I'm used to pork for the protein, ours had octopus, which was still good. The side dishes were pretty standard, but all were good. Special mention to the braised potatoes - they were fabulous. I wish they brought out some radish kimchi (they may have had it, but we didnt ask, as we had so much food already).

Not only was the food wonderful, we were equally impressed with the service. The wait staff were friendly and attentive to our needs throughout the night, and took the time to answer questions and explain what everything was and how to eat them. This quality of service wasnt something i normally expect, so we were pleasantly surprised. Props to the staff. Perhaps a reflection on management.

Wished we would have taken some photos of the dishes to post. Top honors to joo joo, they have their stuff together. Highly...