Outstanding Korean pop up. A fun menu with creative cocktails. Vibrant flavors. The savory pancake with seafood is amazing. Excellent service.
I was going into this with high hopes being a part of Boka but was rather disappointed and feel like I could've had the same experience with lower grade food and less expenditure. Started with the popcorn chicken and the flavor was not prominent and the glaze was sparse. It was like eating a crispy highly breaded chicken tender I'd order for my kids with an attempt of a gussied up glaze and price. Next the cold noodles, same thing, bland af. It had some flavor but I expect FLAVOR when I eat at certain known restaurant groups. We also had the pancake which was ok and yet again lacked some flavor unless you flooded it with the sauce. The service was horrendous, I had to wait 20 minutes for an iced tea refill and even then I had to flag the suit down and ask for some service. If our server serviced our table the way he made sure we all had masks up upon his arrival I'd have rated it 5 stars. So it's a solid 2, but a definite 5 for making sure you pull your masks up in the event your water droplets travel up vs down. Yea, this sounds like a bitter miserable review, it is. I eat out a lot and across many levels of dining. After looking at the Yelp reviews I said let's try it. Ya, no. Find something else. Limited menu, crap service, bland flavor, it's a hard pass. Maybe it was an odd night? ??♂️
BobJ72
Loved our experience at Joomak! Wonderful Korean fare - we had the mandoo, bulgogi buns, and the bi bim bap w/ bulgogi and enjoyed every last bite. Whatever Chef Lee and BoKa does with this popup, we'll follow!
Harina J.
Came here for an impromptu dinner before we met up with some friends for drinks and it was probably the best decision of the day. We order the salmon crisp, the popcorn chicken, Pa Jeon and the SSAM bbq beef dinner. We loved everything! The BBQ beef dinner was perfectly cooked and surprisingly light. The Pa Jeon was best thing we ate it was fully of flavor and great with the dipping sauce! The only thing that I wouldn't order again would have to the be the popcorn chicken it was good, but compared to all the other dishes it just slightly missed the mark. Let's also not forget about the cocktails! I had the soju bomb and my husband ordered the boricha old fashion and they were both so delicious that we order another round of them!
Maria E.
Patio seating with good distancing. Had several apps the Jap Chae and Kimche Jeon were my 2 favorites. Tried 2 cocktails Soju bomb and the Boricha Old Fashioned. Both cocktails were surprisingly light. The Soju bomb was a refreshing pick for the warm evening. For dinner I had the BBQ beef SAAM dinner. I would guess it's about 6-7 oz of beef. It was cut thicker than I expected but good flavor and beef. The miso was forgettable and served at the same time at the rest of the meal so it was either let your soup or your meat get cold. It was suggested that it was a shareable portion but my friend and I each ordered our own and finished them both. Tried a bite of the shaved ice, it was good, rice cake bites were a bit over hard but the other components had good flavors.
Susanmchi
I loved this popup and hope to make it back before they close!! The food was fabulous! Scallion pancake was so tasty- - however the shrimp & calamari were miniscule- not needed. The bibimbap with beef was great- and the chicken was worth the calories. Service was great- - and spacing was perfect!!
While we enjoyed the food, which was a phenomenal take on korean cuisine, we wished that the restaurant would have disclosed that this was indoor dining and/or there were no open windows to sit by to improve ventilation.
Weiswoman
“Ambiance” is a tough category for any place during a pandemic! But everything else about this pop-up made us so happy we tried it. Especially our server Jose- he was SO great & made us feel very welcomed. Food was spectacular ??
Tracy
My family dined for an early dinner. This was our second visit. We ordered some items that loved from our first visit. We also enjoyed some new items. It's too bad this is just a pop up restaurant.
DanGoBlue
Our server was great steering us to the many vegan and vegan-adaptable dishes. Everything tasted fresh and great. We love Korean and it's a more high end Korean than we usually have but the dishes were true to their inspirations.
The food was delicious and well presented. I think that it is the best Korean food that I have had in Chicago. Both of the Korean pancakes were exceptional. I also thought that the salmon crudo was so bright and flavorful. The beef tartare was tasty and with slightly different flavors than a traditional beef tartare. We also had 2 of the Ssam dinners. The black cod was wonderful and a star on the menu. The beef was also well executed. I would highly recommend this pop up for anyone who enjoys Korean food.
Nerissa T.
Unintentionally came across this place when I was trying to make dinner reservations on Opentable. I'm a s***** for Korean food so I was already sold. Did some research and found that it was chef Eddie Lee's first popup with Boka Restaurant Group. Aaand it only opened 3 days ago! Even better, right?We ordered the king salmon crudo, pa jeon (scallion pancake), Korean popcorn chicken, and the bbq grilled pork ssam dinner - which came with brown rice, miso soup, and their daily banchans. They did bring out some tasty banchans like radish and fava beans but I was surprised that there wasn't any kimchi (which is a staple for most Korean meals). I had their soju bomb to drink and it reminded me of my college days with my friends - in a good way!Overall, the food was good but I wouldn't say it's authentic, there was more of a fusion feel and definitely geared more towards a western palate. Glad we checked out this pop up though!
Outstanding Korean pop up. A fun menu with creative cocktails. Vibrant flavors. The savory pancake with seafood is amazing. Excellent service.
I was going into this with high hopes being a part of Boka but was rather disappointed and feel like I could've had the same experience with lower grade food and less expenditure. Started with the popcorn chicken and the flavor was not prominent and the glaze was sparse. It was like eating a crispy highly breaded chicken tender I'd order for my kids with an attempt of a gussied up glaze and price. Next the cold noodles, same thing, bland af. It had some flavor but I expect FLAVOR when I eat at certain known restaurant groups. We also had the pancake which was ok and yet again lacked some flavor unless you flooded it with the sauce. The service was horrendous, I had to wait 20 minutes for an iced tea refill and even then I had to flag the suit down and ask for some service. If our server serviced our table the way he made sure we all had masks up upon his arrival I'd have rated it 5 stars. So it's a solid 2, but a definite 5 for making sure you pull your masks up in the event your water droplets travel up vs down. Yea, this sounds like a bitter miserable review, it is. I eat out a lot and across many levels of dining. After looking at the Yelp reviews I said let's try it. Ya, no. Find something else. Limited menu, crap service, bland flavor, it's a hard pass. Maybe it was an odd night? ??♂️
Loved our experience at Joomak! Wonderful Korean fare - we had the mandoo, bulgogi buns, and the bi bim bap w/ bulgogi and enjoyed every last bite. Whatever Chef Lee and BoKa does with this popup, we'll follow!
Came here for an impromptu dinner before we met up with some friends for drinks and it was probably the best decision of the day. We order the salmon crisp, the popcorn chicken, Pa Jeon and the SSAM bbq beef dinner. We loved everything! The BBQ beef dinner was perfectly cooked and surprisingly light. The Pa Jeon was best thing we ate it was fully of flavor and great with the dipping sauce! The only thing that I wouldn't order again would have to the be the popcorn chicken it was good, but compared to all the other dishes it just slightly missed the mark. Let's also not forget about the cocktails! I had the soju bomb and my husband ordered the boricha old fashion and they were both so delicious that we order another round of them!
Patio seating with good distancing. Had several apps the Jap Chae and Kimche Jeon were my 2 favorites. Tried 2 cocktails Soju bomb and the Boricha Old Fashioned. Both cocktails were surprisingly light. The Soju bomb was a refreshing pick for the warm evening. For dinner I had the BBQ beef SAAM dinner. I would guess it's about 6-7 oz of beef. It was cut thicker than I expected but good flavor and beef. The miso was forgettable and served at the same time at the rest of the meal so it was either let your soup or your meat get cold. It was suggested that it was a shareable portion but my friend and I each ordered our own and finished them both. Tried a bite of the shaved ice, it was good, rice cake bites were a bit over hard but the other components had good flavors.
I loved this popup and hope to make it back before they close!! The food was fabulous! Scallion pancake was so tasty- - however the shrimp & calamari were miniscule- not needed. The bibimbap with beef was great- and the chicken was worth the calories. Service was great- - and spacing was perfect!!
While we enjoyed the food, which was a phenomenal take on korean cuisine, we wished that the restaurant would have disclosed that this was indoor dining and/or there were no open windows to sit by to improve ventilation.
“Ambiance” is a tough category for any place during a pandemic! But everything else about this pop-up made us so happy we tried it. Especially our server Jose- he was SO great & made us feel very welcomed. Food was spectacular ??
My family dined for an early dinner. This was our second visit. We ordered some items that loved from our first visit. We also enjoyed some new items. It's too bad this is just a pop up restaurant.
Our server was great steering us to the many vegan and vegan-adaptable dishes. Everything tasted fresh and great. We love Korean and it's a more high end Korean than we usually have but the dishes were true to their inspirations.
Restaurantji Recommends
The food was delicious and well presented. I think that it is the best Korean food that I have had in Chicago. Both of the Korean pancakes were exceptional. I also thought that the salmon crudo was so bright and flavorful. The beef tartare was tasty and with slightly different flavors than a traditional beef tartare. We also had 2 of the Ssam dinners. The black cod was wonderful and a star on the menu. The beef was also well executed. I would highly recommend this pop up for anyone who enjoys Korean food.
Unintentionally came across this place when I was trying to make dinner reservations on Opentable. I'm a s***** for Korean food so I was already sold. Did some research and found that it was chef Eddie Lee's first popup with Boka Restaurant Group. Aaand it only opened 3 days ago! Even better, right?We ordered the king salmon crudo, pa jeon (scallion pancake), Korean popcorn chicken, and the bbq grilled pork ssam dinner - which came with brown rice, miso soup, and their daily banchans. They did bring out some tasty banchans like radish and fava beans but I was surprised that there wasn't any kimchi (which is a staple for most Korean meals). I had their soju bomb to drink and it reminded me of my college days with my friends - in a good way!Overall, the food was good but I wouldn't say it's authentic, there was more of a fusion feel and definitely geared more towards a western palate. Glad we checked out this pop up though!