I am Korean and I love seeing elevated Korean food restaurants and love to support them! I had two places in mind and decided to give Paju a try for my mom's birthday trip to Seattle. It was a Friday night around 6PM, to my surprise it was a bit quiet. We were seated right away, I was also very surprised to see that the chef was greeting guests, it's a pleasant surprise! Disappointingly, I didn't feel like we were very welcomed in the restaurant, just ... cold and quiet HAHA onto the food! Octopus: My friend recommended I try this dish and it was delicious. The octopus was cooked nicely, the dashima beurre blanc *chef's kiss* almost licked the dish Hamachi Crudo with Nengmyun broth: I was debating between this dish and the steak tartare; with a little encouragement from the server we decided on the yellowtail and I am glad I did! It was a very familiar taste but with unfamiliar combinations? The nengmyun broth and yellowtail harmoniously balanced each other; not one overwhelming the other. Mushrooms: I do not care what you say this is by far the BEST FREAKING thing I ate in Seattle. Please keep in mind this is my review and this is my opinion hehe I LOVED everything about this dish. Literally a flavor festival inside your mouth. Really enjoyed the kimchi inside that gave a punch of tang. I .. took it togo to eat it at the hotel ... HAHHA Bugak: I think this is a dish that can be loved by everybody. Korean elevated taco hehehe Duck Special: This was not on the menu but was a special that night. The good was that the duck was cooked to perfection, it was pink with the skin nicely grilled and not chewy. It also came with a small side of duck...wellington? duck tarte? THAT was delicious! This dish comes with a few side banchans. Bingsu: I ... want to bring home a TUB of that ginger cream. Dear lawd I was so full but I couldn't stop eating it, I can bathe in that ginger cream HAHA Overall it was a great dinner. I'm not familiar with the history of Paju but it was just shy of perfection. Not sure what it was, everything was good and the restaurant was pretty but something was... off. We did get two glasses of wine, maybe I should've tried their cocktails.

The food here is really good. I enjoyed the spicy pork bibimbab. Place is clean and bright. Food came out quickly. Service could be slightly improved. Otherwise it's a great little restaurant and an exciting addition to SLU.

Ordered: - Beef tartare (5/5): A surprisingly delicate flavor that paired really well with the perfectly roasted seaweed chips. The roasted seaweed "chip" was very clever as it was sturdy enough to hold the beef tartare without breaking. Perfect portion as well and felt like the flavors really let the beef shine through with textures and taste. - Octopus (5/5): Textures were really complex and worked well together with a slightly crispy outside crust on the octopus, a softer chewiness of the actual octopus meat, and even the addition of smoky trout roes that had a nice bounce and unexpected flavor that we loved on its own as well. The sauce used with the octopus also had a lot of different dimensions and was tangy and creamy. Unfortunately forgot all of the details that the bartender shared but it was definitely the star of the meal! - Seafood jeon (4/5): A very interesting twist that we were pretty tripped up on while eating. It has the sauce and appearance of a Japanese okonomiyaki but the taste of a traditional Korean seafood jeon (although I will say there was not much seafood in it and seemed more like a leek/vegetable pancake). Really solid "main" for us to share and end our meal on. Also really liked that they served it like a traditional okonomiyaki -- definite bonus points from that! - Paju vesper (5/5): A combo of soju and gin. The gin taste was at the forefront of the cocktail followed by notes of soju and lemon. - Gochujang margarita (5/5): The bartender said it was one of his favorites on the drink menu so we knew we had to try it and it didn't disappoint. We expected a punchy flavor but the gochujang was actually really subtle and it all worked together well. The salt rim also had some red pepper so it gave it a spicy afternotes too. - Overall (4.5/5): We really enjoyed sitting at the bar and chatting with the bartender about his drink creations and finding out more about Paju. Drinks are on the stronger side which was perfect for our preference. We saw most tables available on a Friday at 5 but they were probably already reserved so we couldn't sit at one, and we were only offered the chef's counter or bar. The place isn't that big either so for anyone interested in a more private vibe we recommend booking an early reservation. The food here was overall amazing but also pretty expensive, especially in terms of portion size, so do keep your expectations tempered in that regard. We'd definitely return in the future though if we get a chance!

We really enjoyed this! Some very surprising taste combinations! The highlights were the chips & dip and the oxtail "tacos." Excellent ideas perfectly done, beautiful presentation and such contrasts in flavor and texture! We also had the seafood pancake and the fried rice. Both were yummy but just not as stellar / surprising as the others. The jeun was topped like a Japanese okonomiyaki, so if you haven't had those, you're in for a treat. Will definitely go again.

First time dining here and the service was pretty good and food was tasty. We started off with a glass of makgeolli and it was a pretty decent pour for $9. For dinner, we ordered the little gem, beef tartare, octopus, cauliflower, and fried rice. Definitely skip the little gem - the lettuce didn't taste fresh at all and it was overdressed I'd come back for the octopus and cauliflower - both dishes where the main ingredient was the star and everything else on the plate complemented it. Beef tartare was ok. Beautiful presentation but the smoked cheese overpowered the beef. I wanted to taste the beef more. Paju fried rice was a bit of a letdown. It was unique but taste wasn't anything to rave about. It could've used some protein in it.

The food, cocktails and service were all amazing! We did family style and tried several dishes: - octopus - tartar - bugak - squid rice - mushrooms - bolognese - branzino Everything was very good. My favorites were the bugak, rice and mushrooms. I would come just for the bugak, which were so good!! Reservations are recommended.

Overall quite impressed, though not all the dishes were hits. We ordered the Octopus, Paju Fried Rice, Sujebi, and Duck. The octopus and duck were incredible. The octopus had a nice crisp and char on the outside while being so tender on the inside. The sauce, while it had lots of seafood elements, was surprisingly balanced without being too fishy. The duck was a special item not on the menu, and came with a duck breast and another part that was almost like a pate. The breast was juicy with crisp skin, and the other dish really exceeded our expectations. It was so fragrant, the deboned duck meat was juicy and tender, and the pastry was nice and crisp. Really unique dish you can't find in this area. The sujebi and fried rice were ok - the sujebi is a Korean rice cake dish with bolognese and breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs gave some good crunch but being so rich with rice cake and bolognese I wish there were another fresh crisp element. There was Asian pear but it got steamed and heated under the breadcrumbs. The fried rice is a pretty basic dish but it certainly looks nice with the squid ink and seaweed powder - if not for the black color, it's basically a plain fried rice with a quail yolk. I did like the seaweed powder but this fried rice needs another protein element, maybe shrimp. It could use much more kimchi, it was barely noticeable. The rice was nice and chewy though - but overpriced. Overall - definitely try the octopus and, if it's available, the duck. Contrary to popular belief and the name, the fried rice isn't a must.

There are so many Asian fusion restaurants in Seattle, but I feel like paju has done an incredible job in comparison with its competitors. I was really impressed by how compatible the flavors were and appreciated, comfy intimate ambience, it was a perfect date spot. I was too busy to take pictures of everything I ordered, but the octopus and oxtail tacos were my favorite! The octopus was so fresh and the sauce was so good, light, and tasted actually homemade rather than like an aïoli. All the toppings seemed intentional rather than just for presentation. I was impressed by the bugak tacos because the Nori/taco shells were so crunchy despite us not eating it right away, and the filling was strongly seasoned. The mushrooms were really creamy, but I felt that it was a little too salty. The black squid fried rice was not too special, expected it to be the star of the menu, but it was fun in terms of presentation. the bulgogi was really good! I could taste the truffle. i was very pleasantly surprised bc they actually did asian fusion well, not just give small portions of korean food and label it upscale- i am excited to come back again to try whatever else is on their menu. My only con was that we got like 5 dishes + dessert but was not very full The dessert was not memorable and I think that I only ate one bite. Definitely come here for the main meals!