Juche — Restaurant in Saint Paul

I’ve never felt inclined to write a review for a restaurant, let alone, a local upcoming spot in St. Paul but I’m honestly astonished by the mistreatment, disregard, and clear alienation from the owners of this establishment.

Our small group arrived to this restaurant with the prior knowledge that space/square footage would be tight, so a longer wait time would be likely. We were greeted by a man who would later identify himself as the owner’s husband. He signed us up for a text alert after numbering off our group, and informed us it would be a 15 minute wait time to be seated. Let’s keep in mind that at this moment there were visibly 2 seats near the window, a small table that seats 2 on the main floor, and multiple seats at the bar open, but we didn’t inquire about them because he insinuated with his hand gestures that he would seat us somewhere in the main dining room…We happily obliged.

We waited a whopping 26+ mins in our car for an alert. We get into the restaurant to be checked in, to only be welcomed by a woman who asks if we received a message, and to our surprise states, “Great, we’ll be seating you at the bar!” We shared, that we clearly see a space on the floor/main dining area available and that this wasn’t what we were expecting.

Also, noting due to religious practices, we would prefer to not be seated in that area. She completely disregarded that statement noting, it’s just a “name” and isn’t a full bar (I have yet to witness a restaurant that serves alcoholic beverages not use a built in bar outside of its central purpose).

At this moment, she continues to double down although we told her that we wouldn’t have waited for bar seating that was available prior if that’s what were being offered…She then offered to call on the man who initially signed us up to speak with him further…LOL and this is when it truly got hilarious. A response that is la crème de la crème #chefskiss, he shares “my wife and co-owner has already SAVED those seats in the main dining room for an employee and her friends…so all we have is the bar available 🤗!”

Haha, at this point I’ve had it up to my head because, you know at what moment it would’ve been good to know this information?:

1. First encounter when pointing to the main dining area as the space you would be seating us after the 15 mins
2. First encounter when there was CLEARLY bar seating available and it wasn’t mentioned
3. First encounter when we were informed that we were 1st party and there was NO one/group ahead of us

So, ultimately I’m disappointed that this was the experience of me and my loved ones. I would hope that the front house of this business can be better established, so it intentionally and effectively serves its diverse existing and potential client base.

When working in the service business, the market is tough, the ecosystem is an unknown often BUT customers are always the truth. I have no plans recommending this place, and will go out of my way to share my shitty experience with the owners. Good behavior and reflective leadership starts from the top, and it’s EVIDENT this is a place where that is already...

Really chic spot with a good vibe and excellent staff playing the newest of kpop, the place is pretty small and likely seats 40 people at capacity which adds instead of takes away from its charm. We waited 45 minutes for a 3 seater but once seated the food came out very fast.

In all the restaurant vibe, staff, and service are great but hindered by the inconsistency of the food. We'll give it another go but it will likely be for take out since they don't do side dishes. Juche may be a nice place to just grab drinks as you can be seated a little faster (Bar has 6 stools)

The details;

The 1999 cocktail was okay, mainly because it was much too sweet. The Little Orphan Amy was tasty but also suffered from being much too sweet.

The Sweet Ginger Wings were delicious and about right for the price, I'd order these for take out any time.

The Mapo Tofu was so salty that it took away from what should be a nice umami heat, I'm not quite sure how to explain this one. We drank a lot of water to get through it.

I'd recommend skipping the Spicy Pork Belly dish for the price. The good amount of pork belly was tender and served with a few leaves of very limp romaine, 7 slices of cucumber kimchi, and rice. I am very likely spoiled by normally having side dishes with the pork belly but also assumed there would at least be something else to make the wrap in the form of veggies or some ssamjang.

The Chris Her burger was fantastic and an easy recommendation. I don't like bbq sauce on my burgers but this one wasn't so overly sweet or tangy that it took over the burger and had a little spice to it. The burnt bacon ends and garlic mayo melded well with the patty while still being able to be appreciated separately. Shallots added a nice crunch to the burger that was rounded out by jalapenos and gooey cheddar on a slightly sweet brioche bun.

The Bibimbap is a hard pass. Made mostly of romaine lettuce it lacked any of the banchan that makes this dish a Korean staple. The bibimbap had a small amount of veggies and kimchi and comes with steamed or crispy rice, this was topped by a nice sunny side up egg and a bottle of gochujang on the side. The taste, texture, and consistency left us feeling like it was a waste to get a...

Was on our way back to the hotel in St. Paul. Just left The Armory in MPLS after seeing Queens of the Stone Age put on one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. It was pushing 11:30pm and my gf and I were starving. She google searched the area and came upon this gem of a restaurant. They closed at midnight so figured they might tell us that kitchen was closed. We were greeted by Mr. Eddie Wu, the owner and our waiter. He was more than happy to feed us, which was perfect because I love Korean. I like to ask what the waiter recommends if I can’t make my mind up or haven’t ate there before, and I tell you this man knew everything and his deep knowledge of Korean food is impressive. He recommended the mung pancake dish as an appetizer. Packed with so much flavor, my god. It had some kick to it to, my gf wasn’t about that heat, but I love it. She ordered a burger. I forget exactly, but it was plain Jane, except it wasn’t. It was the best burger I think either of us had ever had. The beef was special. Mr. Wu explained how he hand picked the distributor out of Wisconsin because it’s simply a cut above the rest. He was not lying. And the chef, he cooked it to perfection. Can’t say enough about it. He served us some signature lemonades that were named oddly enough, the Eddie Wu. Might’ve been the best lemonade I’ve ever had. The man was so interesting to talk to, and we basically had his attention entirely since there was only one other customer in the place at the time. Lastly, since it was already 12:15am, we got an order of some Science branded ice cream. Got it to go because we didn’t want to keep him any longer. But when we got back to the hotel and the first bite had me in awe. Hands down, best food and BEST service anybody could ever get, from anywhere. Recommend this place highly. You will be blown away. Oh and between the two of us, the app, our two entrees, lemonades and ice cream came out to only about $55 bucks. You just can’t beat this place. Get some.

Oh, and Mr. Wu, if I would’ve know u had shirts and merch, I would’ve bought a...