JOA, a new concept from former Nuri Grill creators and located in the same space at 2254 Royal Lane, Suite 100, Dallas, Texas 75229 in Koreatown is now open.
Formerly Nuri Grill, the restaurant has been transformed into an approachable, fun, bright and more casual way to bring authentic traditional Korean food to market and created by the same owner, Wan Kim of Restaurant K Roy Restaurant Group and CEO of Smoothie King.
Kim says of the new concept, “JOA will offer DFW locals authentic traditional Korean food, made by the same Michelin chefs from Korea and the same team that brought DFW Nuri Grill and is planning to bring Nuri Steakhouse to Uptown next year. We’ve repurposed the Nuri Grill into a new concept that will serve as another test kitchen for potential growth concepts for Restaurant K Roy Restaurant Group.”
JOA’s authentically traditional Korean food should make guests feel as if they’ve taken a trip to Korea and inspire them to embrace the different cultures of the world through cuisine.
The menu focuses around meats including beef, pork, shrimp and rack of lamb as well as hot pot. A la carte items are also available such as soups and stews, fried rice, cold noodles, hot noodles and sides.
Appetizers include the Fried Galbi – traditional pan-fried marinated Galbi with Korean shredded perilla leaves wraps; Beef Tukbokki – rice cake sauteed in spicy red chili, beef and pepper sauce; Fresh Oysters from Canada – special house vinaigrette sauce; and Yuk Hoe – raw sesame marinated beef tartare seasoned with garlic and soy.
All meat selections are served with a kimchi radish, napa cabbage and green onion, potato salad, green onion salad, pickled vegetables, beef and radish soup, chilled cucumber soup and steamed rice. Meat options are available such as Flower Galbisal – prime boneless short rib; Ribeye – Black Angus ribeye; Marinated Galbi – Black Angus smoked beef short rib; Salted Neuggansal – Black Angus, salt, garlic and sesame oil seasoned rib finger; and Porterhouse (for 2); Duroc Pork Belly; Hangjeongsal – pork jowl; and Rack of Lamb. The Mountain Bulgogi Hot Pot feeds two and is available as either spicy or mild. It consists of bulgogi, glass noodles, and mushroom with beef broth.
A la carte items are featured as well such as Beef Doenjang Jiggae – soybean paste, tofu, beef, squash, mushroom and onion; Pork Gochujang Jiggae – vegetable and pork in red chili paste stew; Kimchi Fried Rice – radish kimchi and beef fried rice; Mini Bibim Naengmyun – chilled buckwheat noodles in spicy sauce; and Steak Noodles – stir fried noodles, beef and black bean paste.
The beverage program offers traditional Korean Soju, sake, bottled beer including popular Asian beers, handcrafted cocktails, and an impressive wine and Japanese whiskey collection. Some of the standout cocktails include Ultimate Pink Martini – vodka, cranberry juice, peach schnapps, lime; Whiskey Sour Crush – whiskey, sweet and sour, Coke; Yuzu Mojito – Yuzuri liqueur, lime, mint, club soda, Sprite.
The 4,000 square foot space seats 110 people and is designed to bring its guests together as they enjoy traditional Korean BBQ. In Korean, “JOA” means “I like it”, so the restaurant has an inviting, playful and casual atmosphere providing guests a full-service dining experience with exceptional food from two Michelin chefs at a fair price.
JOA is open for dinner Tuesday – Thursday from 4:30 pm – 10 pm, Friday – Saturday from 4:30 pm – 11 pm, and Sunday from 4:30 pm – 10 pm.
ABOUT CHEFS MINJI KIM & BEN LEE
Female Chef Minji Kim owned a renowned restaurant in Seoul, Korea that was a prominent force within the dining landscape in the area from its inception in 2007 to when it was closed in 2020 due to Kim and husband/Executive Chef Ben Lee moving to Dallas to work on Nuri Grill. Lee was Kim’s Executive Chef at her restaurant, aptly named Min’s Kitchen, where he oversaw and developed the Korean cuisine.
He is most well-known for the creation of the menus and recipes that are famous in Modern Korean Fusion. Min’s Kitchen was listed in the Michelin guide for many years and was also recognized as the Michelin Plate in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Since the opening of the first location, Kim and Lee have opened four more locations which are now run by Kim’s sister. Both Lee and Kim moved to the United States in February 2020 to work for their mentor and friend (as well as past dining guest) Wan Kim, Creator of Nuri Grill and bring their 30+ years of experience to Dallas’ culinary scene.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER, WAN KIM
Wan Kim grew up in Korea and traveled as a very young child to adulthood all over Asia with his family experiencing differing Asian culture and cuisine. At the age of 19, he left Korea to attend college in Boston. He then acquired his MBA in California and moved back to Korea to work for his father’s business. In 2003, Kim decided to branch out from his family’s business to open Korea’s first Smooth King franchise. It took a few years but in 2007, the concept blew up.
Kim went from 1 – 120 stores from 2003 – 2010. By then, the market was saturated in Asia. He approached the Smoothie King founders and ended up purchasing the company and moving his family to New Orleans in 2013.Kim grew Smoothie King from producing $160 million in annual revenue to an impressive $600 million and ultimately moving his family and corporate headquarters to Dallas in 2018. Today, Kim brings Nuri Grill to Dallas diners Fall 2021.
