Located on the famed Olive Boulevard, Joo Joo Restaurant and Karaoke offers authentic Korean cuisine for sharing. Joo Joo has been serving the St. Louis community using fresh ingredients since 2009. Although the inclusion of “karaoke” in its name may imply a loud, noisy environment, Joo Joo appears more like a quaint, family-friendly restaurant.

Photo by Maddie Chiu

According to its website, Joo Joo is family-owned and places high value on “familyship,” which is evident in its ambience and cuisine.

The food is unmatched at Joo Joo, but the service is also representative of the restaurant’s strive towards “familyship.” The servers at Joo Joo are attentive and treat new customers as if they were regulars.

No matter what you order, eight small plates of traditional cold Korean vegetable dishes, or Banchan, magically appear on the table. These Banchan vary, but typically include cucumber salad, bean sprouts, lotus roots, sweet and salty soybeans, radish salad and, of course, kimchi. The Banchan are unlimited and meant to be shared, family-style, already cultivating a sense of togetherness with your friends. These cold dishes pair well with the complimentary warm rice tea.

For the actual main course, Joo Joo offers a wide variety of options that all seem so enticing. For something rice-based, there are stone bowls of beef, seafood, tofu or a variety of vegetables. For something soup-based, there’s spicy broth, bone marrow broth, codfish soup and seafood or meat filled hot pots. These soups also come with vermicelli or ramen style noodles. As far as noodles, they have Korean style cold noodle, mul naengmyeon as well as spicy cheese ramen. They also have Korean BBQ with brisket, octopus, pork belly, chicken, vegetables and clear noodle that can be grilled on the table with the provided grill.

Of the starters, the rice cakes, called tteok-bokki, and kimchi pancakes are both popular selections. Though it will be doubtful that you’d still have room, the Korean desserts offered include shaved ice— called pot bing su— and fried ice cream.

The dishes are all fairly large, so splitting each dish with friends makes it easier to finish and everyone can get a taste of the delicious cuisine. Because the portions are large, the price reflects the size. The location is also about a 20-minute drive from campus, so Joo Joo is a better fit for those eating out in larger groups to split not only the travel and eating cost, but to take advantage of ordering more and trying a variety of dishes.

As the character Cheon Song Yi from the hit Korean drama “My Love from Another Star” says, “We have to eat together. I’m not someone who is frugal about food.” Joo Joo echoes this sentiment perfectly. At Joo Joo, meals are not simply about the taste of the food, but also the familial flavor of sharing the experience.