Paju

We live in the neighborhood and love this place! The chef is infinitely creative, the ingredients are fresh and thoughtful, the service and ambience are phenomenal, and the flavors authentic yet playful. One thing to be mindful of when ordering is that some dishes can be heavier than others, so be sure to ask what's fried, as it's not always clear on the menu, and mix and match appropriately.

I was hesitant looking at the menu. I don't eat a lot of these ingredients as I've had bad experiences with some and convinced myself I don't like them. Then the food came to the table. My eyes said, "oh! Try that!" My nose said,"hells yes!" And my mouth said,"I'll take another bowl of Bulgogi all for myself."What a fantastic presentation and product. Well done. My mouth is watering just writing this review and already dreaming of my next visit.

Absolutely fantastic spot all around! I've been looking for a place that can deliver on ambiance, service, food quality, and overall experience. This is definitely one of my new favorite restaurants in Seattle. We made a reservation ahead of time which I believe you are highly recommended to do. Their menu is quite limited but has so many appetizing dishes that you're sure to love. They are served family style, so everything is meant to be shared! We got the sujebi, paju fried rice, and truffle ribeye bulgogi.All three dishes were absolutely scrumptious! The flavor profile was spot on. The squid ink fried rice had the perfect umami-savory taste which was accompanied by the salty seaweed and smoky bacon that was so addicting. Their other famous dish, the truffle bulgogi was also so well crafted -- the tender bulgogi with was enveloped by the delicious sauce that the rice soaked up. I also loved the enoki mushrooms on top. Finally, the actual surprise of the night was the sujebi -- this was the classic korean rice cake (tteok) but in a bolognese sauce with crispy quinoa and thin slices of pear on top. My goodness was this so delicious! I know it sounds strange, but their bolognese sauce was the perfect salty savory yet slightly sweet flavor and on top of the chewy rice cakes I was hooked. Definitely try this too. Honestly everything on the menu is probably fantastic, but I'd highly recommend the dishes we ordered. Service was so friendly and efficient too which is always a plus! Prices are definitely on the higher end but nothing too outrageous, just what you'd expect for a higher end meal. Thank you for the fantastic experience Paju!

I made a reservation here on a Thursday evening. This place was recommended by a coworker for my boyfriend and I's anniversary dinner. After being seated, the server informed us that they were out of 3 menu items. This is pretty substantial, since that's already about 1/3 of the menu options. That was pretty disappointing, since that eliminated some of the things I wanted to try. We ended up getting the rice cake ragu dish, truffle bulgogi, and the seafood pancake. The dishes all looked great and also tasted very good. Pretty high price point, so would only come here for special occasions.

I've been curious about Paju for a while and I finally got to try it out! i was pretty happy with my experience and would definitely come back. We made a reservation about a week in advance and had to put down a reservation deposit, but it was refunded as soon as we got to the restaurant.Our server was extremely knowledgeable and answered all our questions before ordering. When bringing out the food, he introduced it fully and pointed out each element of the dish! I felt like the dishes came out at the right time so I was happy with the pace of the meal. My friend and I ordered four dishes and we felt full afterwards, so I'd recommend getting that amount depending on your party size.Tartare: 5/5, I thought this was great. The nori crisps are thick yet crunchy and the tartare tastes heavenly. I'd get this again.Yellowtail: 4/5, was expecting a little more from the "naengmyeon soup" but it was overpowered by the lime taste. The fish itself was pretty great.Mushrooms: 5/5, whatever truffle sauce they use for this is amazing. This is a must have!Sujebi: 3.5/5, nothing really special. I thought the Korean pear and sujebi were cool substitutions but it was overall a regular bolognese dish. The crumbs on top did not contribute. This was our "main" course so I felt a little disappointed by this one.

Birthday dinner at Paju! We went on a Thursday around 6pm and snagged one of the 3 walk-up tables, the other two were taken with 15 minutes. The interior of Paju is modern and clean, and the place settings were elegant. For appetizers, we started off with the Mushroom dish and the Octopus. The Octopus was likely the star of the whole meal for me, it was tender, flavorful, and beautifully presented. We especially loved the addition of salmon roe in the sauce. For main dishes we shared the Truffle rib eye steak bulgogi and the Paju Crispy Pancake. The crispy pancake was especially delicious, while the bulgogi didn't necessarily stand out (Though still delicious). We ended the night with the Sujeonggwa Binysu which was similar to a shaved ice with a ginger cream and puffed rice, we quite enjoyed it.

Awesome spot for a luxe experience and good food at a reasonable price. We ordered the Kimchi Fried Rice, Yellowtail, and Pancake and these were all modern takes and Korean inspired (very non-traditional) dishes with high-quality ingredients and exciting flavours. Our favorite was the pancake. The yellowtail was also great in terms of freshness and textures. Every dish arrived in a reasonable amount of time with a server talking through the features and thought process behind the dish -- we really enjoyed this! The ambience was dark and modern, which could be fun for dates. Overall great experience, will be back!

I just got back from dinner here, and I now believe every one that has raved about this place since it opened. There was even a bite that I'd put in my top 10 in all of Seattle!Finding an available slot to come here can be difficult, but we were lucky to get a day-of reservation for dinner. Be cognizant of events happening at Climate Pledge nearby, because that can often dictate how busy this place will be.All of the plates are meant to be served family-style, meaning that they're meant to be shared by everyone at the table. My girlfriend and I ordered five dishes total: the Octopus, Sujebi, Paju Crispy Pancake, Paju Fried Rice, and Truffle Bulgogi.The octopus came out first, and what a way to start. The octopus was cooked perfectly, and then it was coated in a rich, creamy beurre blanc and accompanied by smoked trout roe which provided a textural contrast to the octopus. The furikake powder sprinkled throughout really adds a familiar flavor to this elegant dish for those of us that use furikake for more rustic, home-y cooking.The Sujebi was next, and this was the bite that I'd put in my top 10 bites in all of Seattle. The bolognese was extremely flavorful and umami-filled. It was the perfect balance of salty and slightly sweet. The rice cakes underneath were cooked perfectly as well, resulting in a chewy rice cake that resembles the shape of a flattened rigatoni (without any ridges). The dish was topped with toasted breadcrumbs that provided an amazing crunch throughout each bite. And the small cut outs of Korean Pear provided a nice fresh crunch to offset the savoriness of the dish. I'd come back to Paju just for this.The crispy pancake came next, and it seemed to be a mix of a Korean seafood pancake and Japanese okonomiyaki. The interior was filled with various bits of seafood, green onion, and onion. The entire pancake is fried to develop a crispy exterior, and then topped with traditional okonomiyaki toppings (kewpie, okonomiyaki sauce, and katsuobushi). It was a very flavorful pancake, and I appreciated the Korean-Japanese fusion.The acclaimed fried rice was next, and the squid ink-covered rice was packed with flavor from accompanying bacon, kimchi, and smoked quail egg that you mix throughout the rice (similar to what you'd do with bibimbap). The rice texture was perfect.Lastly was the truffle bulgogi, which was amazing. The bulgogi is made with rib-eye, so it's incredibly tender. The bulgogi is perfectly balanced with salty and sweet elements, and the sauce naturally is soaked up by the rice underneath the meat, so the rice becomes extremely flavorful on its own. The crispy quinoa on top adds a nice crunch to the dish as well.This place is small, so I wouldn't recommend coming in a large group. There are several tables that look to fit 2-4 people, with a few larger ones that can probably fit 6-8 max. I wouldn't come with any more than that - it's already tough to get a slot here to begin with.Service was excellent during our dinner. Our waitress took the time to explain each dish on the limited menu, and she also explained best times to come and how often the menu rotates. With the space being so small, they're all able to be very attentive to their guests.Pricing is slightly higher than what you'd pay at a traditional Korean or Asian fusion spot, and part of that is because of the ingredients and techniques used here. For 5 dishes, we ended up paying around $145, with no drinks (tip included). This leans towards the fancier side of dining, especially with the dimly lit, tableside candle interior. Being so close to Climate Pledge in Queen Anne, parking options include street and parking lots. It shouldn't be too difficult to find a spot, assuming nothing is happening at Climate Pledge when you plan to go.If you ever need a good date night spot, this should be considered as an option. I'm definitely coming back to try other items as they rotate their menu.

Paju was amazing from food, presentation to the ambience. For 2, they recommended about 4 dishes but we ordered 5 and we were struggling to finish it at the end. Every dish plays around different texture and flavor profiles and it was amazing.Yellow tail - refreshing cold broth with crunchy pairs Octopus - creamy spicy sauce with perfectly charred octopusSujebi - chewy noodles with sweet bolognese sauce Paju fried rice - umami packed rice Truffle bulgogi - great dish but I this didn't stands out much for us. Overall 10/10

what an exquisite dining experience! paju is a korean fusion small plates restaurant with a small menu that seems to have remained the same for some time, but each dish is tried and true.reservations can be made online with a $50 deposit that is refunded as soon as you are seated.the ambiance is a small, dimly lit space that is suitable for date nights or small group gatherings, probably best less than 6 people.we got the yellowtail, beef tartare, pancake, octopus, fried rice, and the bulgogi. it's recommended to order 2 dishes per person. some of the dishes are frankly difficult to share (such as the yellow tail). the pancake and the octopus were delicious and i'd highly recommend. the bonito flakes on top of the pancake was a perfect crunch that complemented the sweet, gooey texture of the fried dough. and the garnish on the octopus was impeccable, i could wipe the plate clean!the fried rice is a bit overrated.we finished every morsel and grain of rice.