Jeju Vancouver has finally opened – and the hype started long before the doors did. The original Jeju in Tofino built a loyal following for its modern Korean cooking, and the Vancouver location followed the same trajectory. By the time the soft-launch was announced, every reservation for the rest of 2025 was already booked out.
As someone who’s been a fan of the Tofino restaurant for years, I had the chance to preview the Vancouver menu before opening day. The format is similar to their Tofino location but with a few dishes I haven’t seen before. Like the Tofino menu, the menu is divided into three parts: dishes from Mama Julie, dishes from her son Dylan, and two shared centrepieces where their styles meet — The Galbi and Bossam. It’s a simple structure that shows where the restaurant comes from and where it’s going.
The room feels like Jeju: warm, clean lines with traditional elements incorporated throughout. The room is moody, which really sets a great vibe. I am fully biased when it comes to Jeju, and I can say with certainty that this meal is worth waiting for. Check out my full Jeju Vancouver review below.
Jeju Vancouver – Mama Julie and Dylan’s Menu
The menu is simple with traditional Korean dishes meshed with modern twists. See the full menu here:
To start our meal, we got an appetizer from Mama Julie’s side and one from Dylan’s side:
- Wagyu Tartare ($26.00) – sourdough, gochujang, korean pear
- Octopus ($28.00) – seaweed, perilla oil, aged kimchi
The Wagyu Tartare is a straightforward plate with good balance. Rich wagyu, sweetness from the pear, heat from the gochujang. The hazelnuts also add a nice crunch and are an interesting addition that I have not seen before in tartare.
The sourdough is nice and thick which makes for a great vehicle for the tartare. No breaking chips here!
The Octopus is very tender and not chewy at all. The perilla oil gives it a fresh, almost herbal push, and the aged kimchi keeps it sharp. It’s a good example of the more modern side of the menu, familiar flavours but through a different lens.
For our larger plates we got:
- Sung’s Style Rib ($39.00) – baby back ribs, soybean paste, garlic, chives, rice and arugula
- Japchae ($27.00) – stir fried sweet potato noodles, seasonal vegetables, pork loin
Sung’s Style Rib is everything and more. The ribs are literally fall off the bone and the dish is so soft and savoury. The The doenjang (soybean paste) gives it depth without being too salty and the bed of white rice underneath goes perfectly with the sauce and tender pork. It remind me a bit of Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan. The accompanying side salad is bright and refreshing – really cuts through the overall richness of the dish. The menu description says arugula but we got a mix of lettuces and thinly sliced apples.
The Japchae here is a classic dish done properly: glossy noodles, not too sweet with lots of crisp vegetables. The pork loin gives it weight without making it heavy. It tastes like something your Korean mom made for you when you went over after school (but better).
Jeju Vancouver – Menu Intersection
If you look at Jeju Vancouver’s menu you will see that it forms a Venn diagram. And in the centre of that are their two larger dishes at Jeju which combines the flavours, technique and skills of Mama Julie and her son Dylan. Those two dishes are:
- ‘The’ Galbi ($175.00) – aged 35 days prime short rib, arugula salad, kimchi, ssamjang, ssam-mu, jangajji, lettuce and rice
- Bossam ($97.00) – sakura pork belly, arugula salad, cabbage kimchi, ssamjang, musaengchae, ssam mu, lettuce and rice.
However, if there is one dish you need to try in this lifetime, it is ‘The’ Galbi. I had it for the first time 2 years ago and I haven’t been able to shut up about it since. The dish is beautifully presented with the most perfectly marbled pieces of beef. It is so tender, so melt in your mouth and so flavourful. If you love beef you will love this dish. If you don’t love beef, you will after you eat this dish. The crisp lettuce, the ultra savoury and slightly spicy arugula salad, and all the additional accrotrumants all work so beautifully together.
Jeju Vancouver – Cocktail Menu
The bar menu is created with Byungjin Lim of Seoul’s Bar Cham, currently ranked #6 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2025. This menu is titled ‘Four Seasons’ and features four cocktails to express the different seasons. On the menu:
- Jeju Old Fashioned ($21.00) – ghee butter, lot 40 whisky, maple
- Soju Martini ($18.00) – hwayo 41, dry vermouth, seasonal pickle
- Bloody Mary ($19.00) – clarified tomato, basil & black pepper infused vodka, celery seed
- Herb Negroni ($20.00) – basil & cheese infused gin, campari, sweet vermouth
My table got the Jeju Old Fashioned and Bloody Mary. Both drinks were beautifully presented with very distinct flavour profiles. I’ll definitely be back to try the other seasons.
Worth a Try?
Jeju Vancouver is already one of the best new restaurants in Vancouver for me, simply because it knows exactly what it wants to serve. No overdesign, no unnecessary twists, just Korean dishes done properly with a few modern twists. The hype is real, and so are the booked-out reservations. They are fully booked until the end of this year, so keep your eye out for January 2026 reservations (it will be worth it).
JEJU Vancouver
Address: 540 E Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5T 1X4
Website: https://jeju-restaurant.com/
