Jeju Noodle Bar — Restaurant in New York

I have a lot to say about this restaurant. First of all, I visit New York more than twice a year. This time, I successfully made a reservation for the 5th time during my visit to New York, and I visited with high expectations. First of all, they receive table guests at intervals, so it can be easy or difficult to make a reservation depending on the number of groups. There are not many tables that can seat two people, and there are more seats for groups or bar seating. That is why I think the difficulty of making a reservation is more difficult than necessary.

Their food was also very disappointing. First of all, the toro ssambap is expensive for the price range, and their caviar is very cheap quality, so the taste is very poor. It is usually served with chopped tuna belly, rice, pickled radish, and caviar, which you can eat at sushi restaurants. I wonder if the chef's intentions are in line with the restaurant's concept. This is not Korean fusion, but rather Japanese fusion food. And the fried chicken is not worth the price at all. 3 pieces (one leg, 2 pieces of chicken thigh) I really doubt that this is worth more than $30. You can find much better quality Korean fried chicken elsewhere, and I couldn't tell any difference in taste. As for the Wagyu ramen, this didn't reflect the chef's intention to make it Korean-style, not Japanese-style, and I don't know why they had to put Wagyu in the ramen. The base was also Korean-style beef base with Japanese flavor, and when I ate it, it tasted like instant ramen.

The wine list is also extensive, but there are no reasonably priced wines, and the prices are very poor compared to Europe. I wonder if the average customer or the Michelin Guide would like it if they put a lot of expensive wines on the list. If their concept is to pursue Korean fusion, they should sell Korean-style drinks, and I hope they don't charge expensive drinks unconditionally.

The part that disappointed me the most is the service. Their food runner was not very friendly and I felt like my friend was delivering the food. Also, he was wearing a long bracelet and was touching the food while serving. I wonder if this is really a 1 star restaurant recommended by the Michelin Guide. It took a very long time to receive the appetizer and main dish and I could tell why their service was late by talking to the servers. (ordering mistake)

Also, the food runner put the wrong dish on my table and they immediately put the dish back on the original table without any apology, which was very unprofessional.

The rude customers at the next table interrupted my meal time by taking pictures of their food with flash in the dark restaurant, but their server did nothing about it.

At this point, we have to think about whether the Michelin Guide's standards are right. And what is the secret to their long-standing 1 star in the Michelin Guide. I hope they maintain it with good food and service. Food that is neither Korean nor Japanese and very poor service...

Trying to get a reservation to any restaurant nowadays is very difficult. Trying to get a reservation to Jeju Noodle Bar was nearly impossible. When I was finally able to attain one, I couldn't have been more excited to try this restaurant. Opened since 2017, Jeju has received a Michelin Star for the past 6 years, so they definitely have a great reputation.

The restaurant opens at 5pm and walking into the restaurant at 5:10pm, the restaurant was already packed. The atmosphere was sleek & chic, but not overboard. We were seated right away, and our glasses filled with water. The funny thing was the servers all looked like bouncers at a club so I was confused at first. Our server ended up being really nice, and the service team was really coordinated, working well together to create a great atmosphere.

We ordered the Toro SSAM Bap, Truffle Scallop, Fried Chicken for appetizers, and the Wagyu Ramen, and Gochu Ramen for our Entrees.

The Toro SSAM Bap (Toro, Golden Osetra Caviar, Melty Egg, Rice) was Fresh & very Rich. It came with little Roasted Seaweed squares, so you can make little handrolls.

The Truffle Scallop was a very elegant, adult tasting dish. Fresh-shaved earthy Truffles, covered Sweet Scallops and Corn. The vinaigrette was what really pulled everything together. It had a beautiful balance of sweet, acidity, and savory.

The Jeju Fried Chicken had a lot of great reviews so I was looking forward to this dish. The Chicken itself was Crispy, Juicy, and well-seasoned. The Chicken wasn't greasy at all and didn't feel heavy. The Yogurt sauce was a nice compliment, and the Golden Caviar, added a briny touch to enhance the Chicken.

As a Ramen lover, I was really excited to try their Ramen. The A5 Wagyu Ramen came with a nice thin sheet of raw A5 Wagyu, Enoki, Brisket, Sesame, and Charred Scallion Oil. The Beef Bone Broth had an intense silky Beef flavor, and the Noodles were Firm and Chewy. The Wagyu melted in your mouth and overall it was an elegant bowl of Ramen. I did feel like it was a little monotone, and something like a Wasabi vinegar sauce on the side would've added the acidity to helped break up the monotony.

The Gochu Ramen came with a Rich Pork Bone Broth, Grilled Pork Belly, White Kimchi, Wood ear Mushrooms, Charred Scallion Oil, and an intense Gochujang Sauce. The server asked us to mix everything together to get the full flavor of the ramen. This Ramen dish hit all the notes. The Broth was Spicy, sour, savory, and made it hard to stop eating. Both Ramen bowls were very enjoyable and you can't go wrong with either.

Jeju Noodle Bar was worth the time and effort to get a reservation, and it is definitely worth another visit to try the other menu items. This place is on the pricier side, but the food, atmosphere, and service will make it...

It took me two trips to New York to finally make it to Jeju! After failing to get a reservation online, we arrived at the restaurant before it opened on Friday and got a walk-in table. There were a number of other pairs that got walk-in tables/bar seating too, so it seems like walk-ins are doable if you come right when Jeju opens and have a small party. While we were waiting for the restaurant to open, we checked the Yelp reviews to decide what to get. I'm definitely glad we did that, because based on the reviews it seems like we might have made some suboptimal choices otherwise.

The toro ssam bap ($55) was delicious as all the reviews said! I loved every component of the dish. The slightly briny golden osetra caviar was the perfect complement to the smooth toro, chunky but soft egg, and rice. I'm not sure that the seaweed was necessary to this dish -- as it was also considerably salted, my first bites were mostly just "salt." Once I ran out of seaweed and just ate the dish on its own, I was able to identify and appreciate the individual components a lot better. Overall, delicious dish.

The jjajang style ribs ($30) were great. When we bit into the ribs we were shocked by how tender they were. I honestly didn't get a strong jjajang flavor from them -- the maple glaze dominated. The ribs were sweet, sticky, smoky, and oh-so-tender. The texture was pretty much perfect. The pickled cucumbers on the side were essential to cut from the richness (could have done without the potatoes). I agree with other reviewers that this is great value and a very well-constructed dish.

The family ramyun ($23) was a comforting bowl of noodles. The broth was nothing amazing -- somehow it was not very rich but it did have a strong porky flavor (not my favorite quality in a broth), but it was a fine vehicle for the rest of the dish. There was a good amount of shrimp (plump, tender pieces) and thinly sliced porchetta -- I much prefer these toppings to chashu. We got the bansuk egg ($2) added on top which was jammy and delicious. The noodles were nothing special. Overall I liked this dish for the toppings -- really spoke to my preferences in noodle soup -- but the broth and noodles were not standout.

The restaurant had great ambience and the dishware and silverware were beautiful and elegant. The service was great and the food came out pretty quickly. Overall we had a wonderful experience. The pre-tip bill came out to $120 which felt very reasonable for 2 people at a Michelin starred restaurant. I feel very lucky to have gotten to eat here, and will definitely try to come...