Seoul Pocha: OKC's Korean restaurant, karaoke combination hits the right notes
The exterior of Seoul Pocha, 1520 NW 23 Street, is unassuming for a restaurant and bar containing so much excitement within its walls.
Drive past the simple wooden exterior adorned in Korean Hangul characters and you might not think much of it, but venture inside and you'll quickly come to see why people have become big fans of the spot bordering Oklahoma City's Asian and Uptown 23rd districts.
Grab a table and order food and drinks, or reserve time in one of the private karaoke rooms — plan ahead because during peak times there is a wait — and explore everything that makes Seoul Pocha a great option for everything from a casual friends night to a milestone celebration.
I recently took three other Oklahoman staffers — Jessie Smith, Jordan Gerard and Nathan Fish — and my friend Amanda Vinluan on a journey to experience the sights, smells, tastes and sounds of Seoul Pocha
What is Seoul Pocha?
The restaurant is named for the South Korean capital city and “pocha," an abbreviation of the Korean phrase “pojangmacha,“ which is a type of covered wagon that commonly sells street foods.
First, a fun feature of the seating at Seoul Pocha's dining tables: The seats of the chairs lift up to reveal a storage area where patrons can keep purses, bags or other items that they would like to keep off the floor or tables. This is important and useful because some of the dishes at the restaurant require use of the burners built into the tables to keep them warm.
On the menu, you'll find Korean street foods, spins on classic dishes and more. Add to that a bar boasting various types of Soju — a traditional Korean spirit — available to be crafted into both shots and cocktails, as well as bottled Soju and beer towers available for purchase and it's no wonder the restaurant has a wait, sometimes of more than an hour, on weekends.
In addition to the food, the crowds also come for the karaoke at Seoul Pocha. The space boasts private karaoke rooms that can be rented on weekday or weekend nights and even features a large room that can accommodate parties up to 25 people.
Staff said the rooms have been reserved from everything from bachelorette parties to family reunions and I can think of few better ways to spend several hours with family than watching them sing colorful renditions of favorite songs while enjoying delicious food.
Prices range from $25 per hour for the small rooms on weeknights to $100 an hour for the large room on week. The karaoke catalog includes songs in multiple languages, with the English language catalog featuring both current and past artists.
You may not find all of the songs or artists you're accustomed to at traditional karaoke, but there are also some surprising additions to the catalog you don't always find. Perhaps your group can take on "Bohemian Rhapsody," T.I. and Justin Timberlake, or even Michelle Branch like ours did.
Food and drinks can be ordered into the karaoke rooms, so you can enjoy a meal and sip some libations while you and your friends belt tunes at the top of your lungs.
"I really enjoy the atmosphere of this wonderful restaurant. The decor for the dining tables is unique, and the setup in the karaoke rooms is a lot of fun. But the various dishes on the menu are the real draw," Smith said. "When you pop into the place, you don't want to leave."
Everything we ate at Seoul Pocha and what you can't miss
Our group tried a wide variety of the dishes on the Seoul Pocha menu, including several of their best sellers. We began our meal with the fried dumplings and ended with the steamed egg bomb, but had multiple dishes between.
Gerard called it "an excellent place to go with friends," and said the experience was made even better by the "delicious Korean fare" and staff that were "wonderful and thoughtful."
Let's unpack the meal with a look at everything we tried.
Fried dumplings: Served with a slightly sweet dipping sauce, these meat-filled dumplings were crispy on the outside but tender and flavorful. Gerard marked them as one of her two favorite dishes of the night.
Steamed rice: Perfectly executed rice. Soft and fluffy, served as a great vehicle and accompaniment for saucy items like the fried chicken and Bulgogi.
Bulgogi: Perhaps one of the most well Korean dishes, Seoul Pocha's iteration does not lack flavor. As with many of their dishes there is a balance of sweetness and heat that keeps you coming back for bite after bite of this delicious Korean barbecue beef.
Boneless seasoned fried chicken: The favorite dish of the night for Fish, tied with the dumplings among Gerard's favorites and second place for Smith, this chicken arrived piping hot, coated in a spicy-sweet sauce and cooked to perfection. The breading held up to the sauce and the chicken was juicy and delicious.
Tteokbokki: Rice cakes, a popular street food, are a fairly well known Korean dish at this point. Many places make them, each one probably with their own tweaks to the recipe. The version we ate at Seoul Pocha included sausages and bacon in a creamy sauce. Expect a delicate blend of flavors with enough heat to make you notice it, but not overwhelm your senses.
Budae Jjigae or army stew: Imagine all your favorite versions of pork — ham, meatballs, bacon, sausage and more — now take them and put them in a soup laden with delicious noodles and a broth that warms you not just because of its physical heat but because of the comforting flavors it offers up. That's what you get with this dish and why it came in as a close second for Vinluan on favorites of the night.
Cheese corn: Vinluan's favorite dish "Because everything is better with cheese and the tableside presentation is so cool." This was also Smith's favorite dish of the evening and, to be fair, who doesn't love a dish that involves a handheld torch melting a cheese layer to create delicious cheese pulling goodness?
Stir-fried kimchi with pork and tofu: It's no surprise that there are several dishes featuring kimchi on the menu at Seoul Pocha. The stir-fried kimchi boasted bright flavors, delicious bites of pork and soft tofu. The textural variety offered between the tofu, cabbage and pork made the dish exciting.
Kimchi pancake: Crispy edges give way to a delightful texture and flavor of bacon and kimchi blending in the Seoul Pocha kimchi pancake. Unlike some scallion pancakes I've eaten in the past this version avoided being bland or missing the mark buy being too dense. Of course that could have just been because there was bacon involved.
Steamed egg bomb: My favorite dish of the night, think of everything you ever hoped the eggs in an omelet could taste like, only lighter and fluffier. Perhaps the most simple dish of the night in ingredients, it still held complex flavors including deep savory notes from the seasoning used in the eggs and light char notes from the stoneware vessel used to cook and serve it.
"I honestly wish I had a larger stomach to try more of the food. Even I, who grew up a picky eater, found dish after dish to my liking," Fish said. "Half of the time, I had no idea what I was trying but not a single dish disappointed."
Seoul Pocha also offers an extensive variety of reasonably priced soju cocktails, shots and more. Better than that, the staff included our sober dining mate in our fun by crafting a non-alcoholic shot for him.
Which leads me to the final shining star at Seoul Pocha: The staff. Perhaps one of the largest keys to guests having great and memorable experiences is the team helping to craft them. From the minute you walk in, you're greeted with friendly faces, working together to provide top-notch service. Missing something or have a question? Any member of the staff is willing to help or quickly find the person who can take care of whatever concerns you may have.
If you're in need of a family outing, great adventure for friends, birthday party or way to mark any other fun or festive occasion, Seoul Pocha is worth a look. Go to https://seoulpocha.com/ for more information.
This article has been updated to include the address for Seoul Pocha.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Grab a bite, belt a tune at OKC restaurant, karaoke bar Seoul Pocha
