Barn Joo

35 Union Square West

(between 17th Street and 18th Street)

Earlier this year Barn Joo moved from their Flatiron location to Union Square (to the building formerly housing the Heartland Brewery).

 

Restaurant still featured their signature bamboo décor.

 

Went for a birthday lunch. I ordered the Kimchi Fried Rice ($17), which came with caramelized kimchi, pickled cabbage, and, of course, an egg sunny-side up. VERY spicy. Even just looking at the photo, makes my lips tingle!

My friend went with the Tofu and Mushroom Bimbimbap ($18). Decent bibimbamp, but nothing memorable.

 

Both meals came with a starter of either a salad or oden soup (fish cakes in vegetable broth). She went with the salad and I went with the soup. The soup was surprisingly refreshing and particularly liked the veggie crunchiness.

We also ordered a side of Garlic Truffle Fries ($6). Deliciously crispy and you can definitely taste the truffle!

 

To accompany our Korean meal, we of course ordered beer. I went with a bottle of Kloud ($8) from Korea.

 

The highlight of the meal, though, was our dessert: Bibim Bingsu ($16). The dessert is specifically prepared for two (2). It’s honey milk, seasonal fruit, condensed milk served over shaved ice and goguma (similar to red bean) ice cream. Best of all, it looked like a bowl of Bibimbap (my friend’s favorite Korean dish)!!

Perfect dessert to end a spicy Korean meal. Would also be great to have on a hot summer day as it’s super refreshing.

And since it was a birthday celebration, we paired out dessert with a glass of Riesling Dr Konstantin from the NY Fingerlakes ($12), which the restaurant kindly comped us (knowing that it was a b-day lunch)!

Cheers!

Pros:

Bibim Bingsu dessert!

Cons:

Relatively pricey.

Service was a bit confusing. We started off with one waitress and then ended up with another midway through the meal without any explanation. But on a positive note, both waitresses were friendly.

Final Thoughts

Would definitely return just for the Bibim Bingsu dessert!