Barn Joo Grand Opening Impressions

Last night was the official grand opening of new Korean tapas spot, Barn Joo, the latest addition to the Flat Iron District and to New York’s growing love affair with Korean food and culture.

The first thing that makes it unique is its location. As previously mentioned, you won’t find Barn Joo in the tight streets of K-Town but in the wide open blocks of the historic Union Square. Here, nestled under Hotel Verite, Barn Joo is a long, two level, wood paneled hall.

The next thing you’ll definitely notice as you walk in are the ropes. Lots of them. Lining the walls from the entry way to your seats right up to the wooden chair swing you’ll find in front of your host. The ropes are there to symbolize “tying or connecting people together”, according to owner and entrepreneur Charles Chong.

But on to what is most important; the food. Delicious.

Whether it was the BJ Sea Salt Wings, the ‘Fly the Coop Wings’ made with soy sauce and garlic, the spicy BJ Fries with three dipping sauces, or the Ramen with Pork Belly everything came in just the right portion to make you ask, “Should I order some more or something else?”

If you’re not going to Barn Joo to satisfy yourself with finger foods, you can always stop in for a drink and a little entertainment. Music played through a nice sound system with a mix of popular music and a big screen in the middle of the floor, under the glow of the moon on the ceiling. They’ve also promised for potential live performances from K-Pop stars in the future.

Also for its grand opening, accompanied by a complimentary Soju shot, which went well after our carafe of pear soju recommended by my awesome server, (Whose name I forget sadly, she rocked!) around 8:00 o’clock last night, dance group I Love Dance performed a routine to popular K-Pop group, Girl’s Generation’s “I Got A Boy,’ which part of can be seen at our Tout page.

We left shortly thereafter so we weren’t able to see the second performance that night but if it was like the first we’re sure it was fun. We briefly got to say hello and thank you to Mr. Chong himself and take a quick picture, but we’d definitely go back to Barn Joo and hope it sticks around for quite a while or at least till we can find out the exact recipe behind their soy sauce garlic wings.

A gallery of promotional and personal shots can be seen below.