Joodooboo

A spot in Oakland that I’ve been curious for a good amount of time and finally got the chance to go to! They serve very healthy/traditional Korean meals and some of their banchan. Taking one star off because it is a little pricey for the portion they give you ($24) I got the fried dooboo set which comes with fried tofu as a main and a couple sides of banchan (rly loved the spinach one on the top left) and soup. You can tell that everything is made fresh and with quality ingredients, leaving you guiltfree cause it’s such a healthy meal! My friend got the acorn noodle which was also rly yummy! It’s topped with some kind of vinegar dressing which makes it super refreshing but you can taste some sesame and seaweed flavors which I liked. Vibes are nice as well but not too much seating inside.

Came for a pop-up menu they had with Bazaar Sonoma, and all the food was great. Regarding the Joodooboo items, the tofu quality is superb, really loved their dessert, super silky tofu with a brown butter syrup and granola, perfect level of sweetness and playful textures. Variety of food and drinks are great and everything is on theme and authentic. Definetely will stop by again if Im in the area and if you want to buy tofu, this is the place to buy it for sure.

The food is pretty good and tastes healthy but the portions are small. I spent $24 on a soup and noodle bowl and room to eat more 🙈 It took 2 hrs for us to order, wait for a table (you also can’t find a table in advance - must get seated by staff), get our food, and eat. Don’t expect it to be in and out quickly if you’re dining there, esp at 12:15pm which is when we arrived. The soup was good but TINY and $5 🥲 (see pink bowl in picture)

*Amazing food, DIY service at luxury prices* Joodooboo, oh Joodooboo. The food? Absolutely delicious — fresh, authentic, and with that “homemade but make it fancy” vibe. We cleaned every plate and loved the flavors. But then the reality check: $22 for a meatless dooboo set and $19 for a rice bowl that’s just rice and veggies. At that price point I expect a sit-down restaurant with real service, not a “line up at the cashier, fight for a seat, scan a QR code that doesn’t work, and beg the one stressed-out server to help” setup. Saturday was packed, things were sold out online but not in person, and honestly it just felt messy. And then after you finish your premium-priced meal (having already tipped at the register, because of course the screen asks you to), you’re expected to bus your own mountain of plates. Cute station, sure, but… come on. I didn’t sign up for dish duty after dropping $60 on two meatless dishes and a soda. Bottom line: Joodooboo serves fantastic food but the service model feels like the owner is pinching pennies while charging a premium (i get it that you need to run short in order to make money in that industry but yes it felt like too much) . I’ll be dreaming about the flavors, but not so much about the vibe.

The chef was featured as Food and Wine top Korean chef. He didn’t disappoint. The menu was limited to fresh ingredients of the day. The tofu and banchan were all very tasty and cooked just right. The place was quaint and had the perfect ambience of a neighborhood cafe. Service was good and attentive. I would certainly go back if I’m in the area.