Soju Cafe & Club

I hate driving so the fact that Soju Café is right up the street for me is a big plus. My boyfriend and I have come a few times for dinner and I must say that I haven’t had a bad meal yet. I’ve read other reviews about it being a bit dim, but each time we’ve gone, it’s been light inside.
The different banchan you get at the beginning is great. Of course you get the typical kimchi and radish but every thing else changed each time we went. Food is delicious and seasoned well. It’s a bit pricey but I don’t know any Korean place around richmond that isn’t
The owner knows us by now and is always so friendly. A overall a great place to get your Korean food fix.

Went here for lunch today with some friends the lighting was pretty dark so it was hard to see my food. I ordered the dolsot bibimbap and it was overall good in flavor with really crispy rice on the bottom (the best part!) although I wish there was more beef on it because I couldn’t really taste it. By the end of the meal they brought the check but never came to pick it up. So we brought it up ourselves. Also there were multiple fruit flies flying around our food so we didn’t really want to take leftovers.
Overall 3 stars for food. service and ambience were lacking a little.

I got sick after eating here. VERY overpriced… At least compared to what I’m used to from back in Korea. My food was waaaayyy too hot I had to wait a few minutes and still felt like I was about to burn my tongue. Their bulgogi was pretty good though! Taste wise it’s pretty much the same as what you get in Korea. Just too pricey id much rather cook for myself.

I love korean food, but I am not a connoisseur in korean food. Apparently, my mom is able to decipher the authentic from the Americanized ones, but to me i like them all. I came here with my mom for my bday lunch. I ordered their galbi served in super hot clay pot and just mixed everything together. super fun to do and delicious to eat. My mom got the squid and i enjoyed that too!

I went the other day with my friend for lunch. The place was pretty dim, which made it hard for me to read the menu, and quiet. The waitress was very friendly, especially when I spoke a little Korean to her. She didn’t come by often like American wait staff does, which was nice but off-​putting at the same time because I’m not used to it.
The food was great. My friend and I shared dukkboki and galbi dolset. I’m bad at rating spiciness, but after eating a little there was a pleasant spicy tingle in my mouth. The side dishes were decent. I’ve had better kimchi, but it wasn’t the worst either. It’s oddly sweet which Americans who aren’t used to it might like.
I’m giving four stars because the food was good, the waitress didn’t rush us, and my general bias towards the nice waitress. :)

Been here several times.
The bulgogi and galbi are consistently good. Go back for these.
The kimchi jigae lacked flavor, brisket in it was a tough and stringy, and very little. Jajjang sauce was not made well, hardly any ingredients aside from the bean sauce, no meat and practically no vegetables. Expensive, poor quality.
Tried the bibimbop, generous serving of veggies and rice. Not bad, I’d get this again if in the mood.
Service is excellent, they are very friendly and attentive.
Overall good korean place to go, with some poor dishes on the menu.

I’m revising my opinion of this place. The first time we went there a man served us and he was friendly and helpful. Tonight we went in for dinner. There was one couple finishing up their dinner, no one seated us, we had to go upstairs and stand near the bar for quite some time before a woman begrudgingly seated us. I ordered water and a lot of lemon. She brought two glasses of water with one paper thin slice of lemon on each. When I asked for more lemon she pulled a face, rolled her eyes and stomped off. I remarked to my husband that I did not want my birthday dinner there so we left for 88 Garden.

I was really. Excited to go Sochi restaurant as I love Korean barbecue. However this place was kind of disappointing; we didn’t get the unlimited quantities of vegetables which you always get at Korean restaurants. We got the rice bowl with beef and it was plateful of beef and a bowl of rice. We also got the beef barbecue which was good but nothing exciting.

Saturday 9pm-​2am DJ G MONEE & live band Second Soul Band newest grown and sexy party in the west end.

I have been anxious to try the SoJu Café, so one afternoon I decided to stop. When I walked in, I was surprise how dark it was with the large screen playing Rock Videos on the upper left hand wall… I had to walk up the steps and I found seating. I was amazed in how little seating they had, and with the Black furniture, along with the low lighting… I felt like I was eating in a Cave.
I never had Korean food before, so I was given a menu and the Owner/​Manager upon asking… explained many of the dishes for me. A great help, as I was really curious about everything on the Menu. So, I decided on the Soonduba Soup which has Tofu and my choice of meat was Pork… While waiting they brought out several small dishes which I understood later… these are your sides. I enjoyed each, by the time my food came… I had eaten it all. To say the least, I was hungry.
The Soondubu Soup, came out bubbling HOT! The broth looked excellent and when I dipped into it, it had an excellent taste. However, as I scooped more into the soup… I discovered it was LOADED with Tofu and not as much of the Pork. Personally, I would like to have seen less Tofu and more Pork, so I could have enjoyed the Broth more… The Tofu was a BIT overwhelming for me, and way too much. Later when the manager came around, he explained how this is a favorite dish with a lot of Vegetarians as they order it without the meat.
Even though it said «Spicy» on the Menu, and I asked for it to be Extra Spicy… After tasting it, I felt like it needed a LOT more. The broth had an excellent taste and flavor. I however, was disappointed in the very small amount Pork which was suppose to be part of the dish. They give you plenty, and I am anxious to try SoJu again. I saw several items on the menu in which I want to try.
I am giving it 4 stars as I did not want to see Rock Videos during lunch, and the place is VERY lack luster in atmosphere. Also, I am not fond of feeling like I am in a Cave as it feels Dark & Dingy. It needs to be brighten up… I suggest giving SoJu a try. I really enjoyed my meal and I am glad they are now in the neighborhood.

** This review is about a takeout order.
Ever bought something that you regret seconds after you bought it? That’s how I felt about my takeout order at Soju. I took three dishes to go few nights ago as I was suffering from a Korean food fever. I should’ve known better not to take food out from a place that looked more like a dive bar… I got ttukboki, spicy squid stir fry and spicy pork stir fry. The service was fine. I had no trouble ordering and picking up the food. My dishes came with three banchan containers, which was a nice bonus. But my excitement ends there. Banchan was baechoo (napa cabbage) gimchi, radish gimchi and pickled radish. Pickled radish is normally reserved for people who eat galbi or other Korean BBQ and definitely not fitting to anything I was having that day. So in short, I got 100% gimchi/​pickled veggie banchan. I was pretty disappointed. The two gimchi dishes were not very good at all (they tasted like those terrible gimchi in a jar you buy at Young Bin).
Main dishes can be summarized in one word: sweet.
Ttukboki needed more fish cakes (and way too sweet. Sweetest of the three.) & spicy squid stir fry had veggies so limp and soggy I couldn’t enjoy them. Btw, who needs a hunk of white rice with ttukboki? A cup of rice and cabbage salad was taking over the half of the takeout box. This was the case for all 3 dishes. I felt certain sense of «ripoff» at this point when I paid 42 bucks for 3 dishes. When you order ttukboki, you get a plate of ttukboki. That’s it. To me this rice and salad business seemed very strange. It’s like a triple dose of carb extravaganza. Rice cake, sugar in sauce, and more rice! Besides, as you can tell in the items I ordered, I was craving something spicy… If I wanted something sweet I would’ve gotten a dessert.
In the end the saving grace was the spicy pork stir fry (Jae Yuk Bok Eum). This was sweet as well, but pork wasn’t overly dried out.
This seems like a place I might go when I feel like a bottle of soju and some seafood pancakes in a rainy day, but not when I want some Korean home cooking. I should’ve just gotten a takeout from Mekong instead. Sigh. Live and learn.

Pretty good Korean north of the River. The baechan was delicious but I never got a second helping which kinda discouraged me. I highly recommend it

I *loved* this place. It was right down the street from the hotel I was staying at in Richmond. Just the doors at the entrance were enough to make me fall in love. It was like being in Seoul again, I had the kimbap, which was perfect, and soondubu jigae — it had the little clams just like in Seoul, the only improvement could have been making it spicier. They gave us a nice array of banchan, the service was really attentive to us. They even had Hite beer! I also saw a variery of soju, and even Makgeolli! If I hadn’t had to give a presentation the next day, I would have been all over that. All in all, a very enjoyable experience.

This was my first time going to a Korean place and I was glad to go with my Korean friend so I had an idea what I was doing (Thanks Tiffany Y!). This was definitely a divey place. It has 2 entrances, so if you can’t find parking in the front, there’s plenty in the back and it’s not a long walk to get to the place. Once you get inside, you’ll see and hear Korean pop music videos. Gangnam Style! Other than that, the place doesn’t give much to talk about. It is a nightclub in the later evenings as you’ll notice.
The Food.
–Banchan (sp?) sides (pictured): There’s about 8 different sides that comes out and you get refills! My friend kept it coming by asking for us. My faves were the rice noodles and a sweet mashed potatoes.
–Seafood pancake (pictured): I loved this dish! I wished I had ordered it myself! It’s a huge portion of food! It’s almost like an omelette in my opinion.
–Bibimbap (pictured): So I love breaking the yolk of an egg! I wished there was more egg to go around, but I guess that’s how this dish works. I also wished there was more meats than greens, but again that’s might just be my personal preference.
The Service.
The guy who served us was super friendly. Kinda got me to put more red bean paste onto my bibimbap since that’s the more authentic way to go, but my palette can’t really do spice that well. At the end of the meal, I offered my student ID for a discount and he was nice enough to apply it to my friends as well! So don’t forget those student ID’s for 10% off!
Overall, don’t have high expectations about the décor, but one of the few places to get some authentic Korean food in town.

Service made the dinner very exhausting. They need more help. It doesn’t help that there is seating upstairs and only 1 waitress. Ordered the seafood pancake which came out at room temperature. The two soups we ordered weren’t that great. We’ve been to every korean restaurant in Richmond. None are outstanding which is a shame because it’s not cheap.

I was very excited to have a larger Korean restaurant open up out west, because the only other ones I have been to in Richmond are south of the river and a bit of a drive. I often head out west to get groceries, so this location is perfect (it is in the same plaza as Mekong).
The restaurant itself is a bit lackluster on the inside. Yes, it’s clean and decorated, but kind of plain and not very dazzling for a grand opening/​new restaurant that is supposed to double as a nightclub.
However, what matters to me is food. My waitress was very friendly, and throughout the meal, I was also waited upon by an older Korean lady (think ajumma). She was very motherly, and after helping me decide on ordering the spicy squid dish, encouraged me to order the larger dinner portion which was only a dollar or so more but twice the volume.
My dish was great, and indeed a generous portion. I kind of wish there were more banchan dishes (I think I got about three or four), but they were not bad. The menu itself isn’t the most extensive, but it has a lot of Korean staples.

Its a complete dive but so YUM! Being deprived of good Korean food in Richmond for so long I was grateful for Soju opening in the West End. Yes, Ive been to the couple on the southside & they were good. But when its in you’re backyard, its awesome! The food is very good but not as spicy as one would expect from a Korean restaurant. You have to request it extra hot. I love their seafood pancakes (its thick & filled with seafood), dukbokyi (sweet & spicy soft rice cakes) was delicious, beef or squid dubap was perfect meal with rice & salad, and the jigae hit the spot with their spicy seafood broth. Comfort food at a pretty good price compared to southside Korean restaurants. Not sure why its a nightclub, really no room to dance unless its upstairs in the back… but if they had Karaōke with the big projector TV, Im sure it would start hopping. LOL

Saw the sign out for a while but finally gave this place a shot. As others have mentioned the interior isn’t the nicest, but food is good. Our server was funny and made sure we were comfortable with the menu. We enjoyed that he brought out extra banchan (small side dishes) without us asking, and I also appreciated they were not all kim chi.
I think 3 out of 4 of us enjoyed our meals. One complaint was that one dish wasn’t made as spicy as requested. The ddukboki (rice cake in a spicy sauce and veggies) was good, but I was a little tired of eating it at the end. The spicy pork was very good and spicier than expected but yum. The non-​bbq dishes are actually fairly priced. I don’t know if they offer cooking bbq at the tables, but doesn’t look like it is set up for it like Korean Garden.
Really nice surprise of a Korean restaurant in Richmond proper. The inside looks kind of like a gutted out bar with tables placed and while we were there a projection of korean music videos and then Brittany Spears. Definitely want to come back.

Food ordered:
haemul pajeon
dukbokgi
fried mandoo
tang soo yook
yook gae jjang
cod fish stew
sang-​gyup sal
Good Korean food is very elusive in Richmond. I’ve tried a couple places (mama’s kitchen, 88 garden) and neither are places I’d recommend or go back to again myself. I must disclose the fact that I’m Korean, so I may be pickier than others.
With that said, Soju Café is what Korean food should taste like. Not like the lesser, aforementioned Korean restaurants in Richmond, VA.
Fried mandoo — perfect crispness on the outside and very flavorful on the inside. Use the given soy sauce and vinegar to dip, and you’re set.
Tang soo yook — pork was fried to a good crisp, and didn’t turn soggy in the sweet tang soo yook sauce.
Haemul pajeon — Soju Café does their pancakes THICK. That’s a preference thing, but I thought it was delicious. Copious amounts of seafood and large cuts of green onion, onion, and bell peppers.
Yook gae jjang — my favorite dish if the meal; they know how to make yook gae jjang. The beef flavor in the soup is usually what is lacking in other restaurants which makes the dish bland at some places. Here, the soup was flavorful and filled with all the proper ingredients, including the clear noodles (potato noodles) at the bottom that cheaper places omit.
Sang-​gyup sal — standard, thin cut portions of pork belly. ask for the sesame oil with salt and pepper, and enjoy.
highly recommend this place!

The food here is pretty good and probably one of the best korean restaurants I’ve been to in Richmond thus far. They also have a pretty extensive menu and offer an array of appetizers, soups, korean barbecues, and many other traditional korean dishes. I ordered the La Galbi, and it was very tender, delicious, and flavored well. The food isn’t cooked in front of you, but instead in the kitchen and served on a cast iron at the table. However, it is a little bit on the pricier side… as is all Korean food in Richmond is.
The service was very friendly, but one thing that bothered me is that they clearly had two very large banners in the restaurant promoting a happy hour until 9PM monday-​fridays and did not honor their pricing. I ordered a yeungling and was told that it was not included in the happy hour when it was obviously listed on the banner under $ 2 drinks. Instead I was charged the regular $ 4. I was not bothered because I could not pay for it, it was just the principle at hand. I was given the excuse of the restaurant being new and that they had changed their minds about having a happy hour. I can understand that, but they should have taken down those banners or honored the advertised pricing for their own mistake.
Despite that little problem that turned the end of dinner a bit sour, I will probably return if I ever have another korean barbecue craving and am too lazy to cook myself – they did give us 10% off the bill for being students.