Jikji Café

Disgusting place. Unfortunately I took the decision to stop at this place and eat something because the security line at JFK was too long. I thought, hell, I can wait here a while and grab a savoury bite. BIG MISTAKE. Bought a pre-​packed spicy tuna roll, and I could immediately tell the food was old, the rise tasted dry and leathery, like dirt. It was hard to bite down on the roll. I told the woman at the counter that the 13 dollar sushi was uneatable and asked for a refund. She spoke very bad english so our conversation was not very fluid. Nonetheless, she seemed unimpressed, argued that the food was one day old, and refused to give me a refund. I ended up throwing the rolls to the trash. For the next 20 minutes I warned anybody that approached Jikji against eating there, as a sort of catharsis. NEVER GOING BACK. I see from other reviews that my case is the norm, not the exception.

This place stinks. Charged $ 9 for instant noodles in water and called it soup. Manager did not even care that customer was not satisfied. Please don’t waste your money.

Food is too expensive for the quality and portion. It’s not fresh and they don’t have everything on the menu.

WIsh I had seen the previous reviews below before ate.
Pros: Location. Oh well. Try to be positive.
Cons: Price. Have to purchase Kimchee for Korean meals? Kidding? No tap water provided.

What was made to look like an divey Asian spot in the airport is just one of JFK’s many award losing masterpieces, a member of the mediocre club, and another lackluster airport eatery at its finest. Jikji might seem a little more Asian true compared to the average Panda Express in most food courts but even they be less disappointing than Jikji.
From the outside Jikji looks tons more interesting than its fast food neighbors. They sell lots of prepackaged Korean sushi, or kimbap, as well as noodle soups and rice combos. It’s nothing fancy, but certainly not anything to go gaga over either. The prices are just as outlandish as most patrons would come to expect at airports. Sadly some desperate individual is going to spend money here and it’s not going to be pretty.
I ended up buying a few rolls here once, each one cost me $ 7 and my grand total was $ 23 with tax. My work per diem at the time covered the cost, so the guilt associated with purchase was not there. The rolls were sad, dry and uninspiring, and a complete waste of money. I also went for a bowl of ramen during a later trip, it was as salty and as prepacked as I expected. The fact it was nearly $ 10 was just simply no bueno.
Terminal 1 might have the decent (fast food laden) food court, but Jikji is not among its stellar choices. The fact I’d recommend some Mickey Ds over this is a tall tale sign of how bad it really is.

Remember all of those local Asian «bodegas”/markets that are throughout the city? You know, the little ones that sell drinks, snacks, occasionally deli food, and sometimes a Latin dude on-​the-​side selling flowers?
Well think of that when you buy from Jikji. Then double or triple the price. That’s what it usually costs here, what you can get MUCH cheaper from your neighborhood Mkt. Over-​priced for sure, but it’s convenient… so that’s likely why.
You’re better off hopping over to Terminal 2, 4, or 8 and getting a better value.
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You can see the full on-​going list here:

Airport food is always overpriced, and rarely good. It was a pleasure, therefore, to find something different.

Korean fast food with a hefty price for one to be near bankrupt at airport standard 19% markup than non-​airport restaurants/​shops.
One mango flavored aloe vera tea priced at $ 2.75 is standard yet their food entrees will force travelers to be near bankrupt. Jikji Café opens at late night hours and sits on the second floor of Terminal One at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) above the Departure Gates. Service is somewhat efficient but courteous.

If you want a $ 9 ramen that is the same quality as the 99 cent cup of noodles you ate in college look no further.
Chances are if you are standing in front of this establishment you are headed to a land far away. I would never advocate what I about to suggest but in this case it is appropriate…
Look over your right shoulder and head for the golden arches because these words will haunt you when you a staring at the bowl of Kimchi in Seoul wishing you listened to me.

My husband, being Korean with a Korean radar, is quick to direct me to the pre-​security area upstairs in the food court of Terminal 1 at JFK. At first, we made the mistake of going through the TSA screening and then finding out there was no way upstairs post-​security. We then went back out through a hallway back to the pre-​screening area and went up the side escalators where only a McDonalds and Jikji Café was open at a late night hour. I spent an arm and a leg buying really cheap quality ramen and a drink. The employee behind the register was apathetic and non-​Korean. She spoke to other people and another airport staff member in Spanish, which was strange to me since this is a Korean quick service restaurant. I’m pretty sure all they did was boil water for our ramen and earned $ 8 – 9 dollars for it. The employee barely paid any attention to us and can barely speak English. She tried to tell me in what I thought was in a not too nice way that credit cards were not accepted. I ended up paying twenty something dollars in cash, which I wanted to save up for my trip ahead. Loud Spanish music booms in the Korean establishment. There’s nothing Korean about this place.
This place is a total rip off, but it’s seems to be a no better alternative than all the late night snacks, drinks, and sandwiches that are still open at night, post-​screening.
The worst part of it was that my husband insisted to go to McDonalds too so we can at least feel full.
The food court chairs aren’t new and most of the chairs have slits or ripped cushions, which sends my ripped cushion seat phobia on high alert.
PROS: open at night
CONS: rip-​off prices, imitation Korean establishment, not too knowledgeable in English, sub-​par food court chairs