Pocha 32, New York NY

To be honest, I felt really disrespected by this establishment in general. First off the host rushed my friend and I to our table and asked us to order for our other friends even before they arrived. Our waitress was no good either, we tried to get her attention to order our meals but she seemed to ignore us every time we tried to get her attention. After we got our meals, I inquired for bowls of rice to accompany our meal and never got it. At this point not only did we feel ignored, but now it seemed the waitress wanted to waste our time. It took 30 extra minutes for us to get our bill, and and other 10 to wait for my card to get back to me. I get that it was busy at the time, however there were guests that were served after us and were able to get attentive service from the same waitress. I don’t know if it was the way we looked or what, but I felt very disrespected and mistreated. I have served this country and city for years, so I always give everyone I encounter a sense of respect no matter age, religion, race, gender, etc. Why is it I didn’t get it from the employees of Pocha 32? ! I don’t wish ill on anyone, however you need to do better with customer service, because it matters!

This is my first ever review on any restaurant. So you know how impacted I was.

The server was very very rude. We sat at the corner near the entrance to the kitchen last night. When we asked questions of some items on the menu, server responded saying he is very busy. When we asked how long would it take for food to come out, the server responded saying he is very busy and I should be asking the chef inside. He was outright disrespectful. I also saw few women of color just walk out of the restaurant as they experienced somewhat similar experience with the same server.

I also saw that few folks were taking the trash out in between the tables. Not a pleasant experience at all. I've been to Pocha 32 once a long time back, I feel like this place is piece of trash now with bad food and service.

Not too bad. We came on a Monday night at 5: 30. Server was quite attentive to us and the food tasted great. We got the buddae jiggae, extra spicy chicken gizzard and watermelon soju. LOVED the buddae jiggae and chicken gizzard. The watermelon soju was ok, tasted very diluted and essentially was juice. Apparently itaewon pocha is owned by the same owner but has a more pub feeling to it if that’s what you prefer. It is 10% off if you pay in cash and they recommend paying for tip in cash but it’s honestly fine to pay in card if that’s what you used. Overall, I enjoyed my experience.

Update:
If I could give a negative review, I WOULD.

Pocha 32 on Friday is the worst experience. Their waitlist was simply a scam. Random people kept skipping in front of us and yet we kept getting pushed back. We waited 2 hours on line just for randos that just got here to be in front of us. They only allowed the meekest person amongst us to go up to talk to the host and so we kept getting ignored. Clearly they don’t care for their customers.

Whatever positive feelings I had towards this place dissipated quickly. Will spend this money in other ktown stores, will not be wasting my money at this place, they clearly don’t deserve it.

Great Korean spot for party of 2+ with required reservation. We had the melon and pineapple soju which are alcoholic beverages. We tried the seafood jungol, which is a mix of seafood, vegetables, and tofu with udon noodles in a spicy broth and can be shared among 2-4 people.

They’re closed at 2am. We came at 12: 15am. The guy’s down stair told us sign-in and wait for the text. We did it. After 12: 35am. Another guy came down and said they made an last order. They won’t take any more customers. I thought we were last one. Even we’re there and waited, they still kicked us out. I told him my wife’s pregnant and we haven’t had dinner yet. He said he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t control on the top.

I’m totally understand. But you should have connection from the top to the guy in the front. Don’t let the customers waiting and tell them you can’t take them.

Very unique ambiance bar with great food and party drinks! The watermelon one is obviously a classic, I also recommend trying the squid sundae and pork BBQ! If you love Soju and you're in the mood for a Korean pub then definitely go here!

Solid spot for good comfort/bar Korean food. I used to come here a lot for pre-game drinks and food before a night out, so I’d only been here on the weekends. But, have come on a weekday a few times more recently and the food just isn’t as good as I remember it being!

Corn cheese was watery and just barely melted, not the gooey, goodness that I had a few times prior. The seafood pancake batter was a bit grainy and fell apart a little too much; it was that chewy, delicious texture that seafood pancakes usually have! But, the BBQ Squid Soondae was delish as usual, and the kimchi was great.

For how expensive everything is, I also would have hoped the banchan had a better variety, however.

In general, I have seen a decline in the food quality from previous visits, but I wonder if it was simply a bad night in the kitchen. The next time I go to Pocha 32, I’ll probably update my review, but in general I’d recommend this place for the good environment, good main dishes, and their drinks menu.

It's a bar. The bouncers were a bit rude, and the bar itself is very very loud. We got the watermelon drink and it was very tasty. Food was good too but expensive. There was very little room around the table and anytime someone wanted to get up we all had to shift or stand to make room.

I literally never write reviews but I had a terrible time here it was overprices with small portions and a terrible wait staff my food looked nothing like the photo like It wasn’t cooked with enough spices Im not sure of its because I came later on a Sunday I asked can I exchange it for something else and they refused it was bland and tasted terrible on top of that they automatically added the tip to my bill when it was a party of 2 terrible time extremely frustrating

Not hospitable and organized. Try to avoid this one. This one is the only exception from many Korean establishments around the world that are hospitable and organized to their guests. The food is just ordinary too. We are party of 8 people and we put in line and waited for our turn. They put us in one table good for 4 people. Our plates and orders are messily served. Putting food on top of each other and touching the bottom of one pot to another food. It’s a disaster.

Cute, Korean styled bar with solid food and drinks. They specialize in their fruit soju cocktails, which for sure the watermelon is the best, but make sure to buy another bottle of soju to add in there to make it just right! A bit loud but just goes to show how popular this place is.

@pocha32
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What an amazing meal to end the night. We were out celebrating a friends bday, we went bar hopping from 3-9, and I don’t even drink. I did loose count of how many gingerales I drank…
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Even with all that liquid, the 8 of us managed to devour all the food we ordered at @pocha32 in Ktown.there were more than what’s in the reel that we ordered. I didn’t get a chance to take pics of all the food but from my recollection - here is what we ordered…
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Beef Bibimbob, Chicken Rice, Kimchi Fried Rice, Corn Cheese, Seafood Pancake, Stone Pot Bulgogi, BBQ Beef (x2) BBQ Pork, The Whole Squid and Watermelon Soju… the deal was to one order per person, we ended up ordering more than that.but no regrets whatsoever
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Food was delicious. Place was packed so you already know the food was going to be good. Someone told me, all the good places are located on the 2nd floor… Pocha32 happens to be on the 2nd floor. This is not to say street level places aren’t good… but could be most 2nd places WILL be good … ‍️‍️
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Anyways, the tables are all the same size, so it can fit 2-8, but we got lucky and the table next to us left and they were nice enough to let us spread out, we were literally elbow to elbow… but If that were the case, then it is what it is… we weren’t gonna let some elbow to elbow ruin our meal…
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The grilled meats were so smokey and full of flavor. All are cooked in the kitchen, so you don’t have to worry about smelling like KBBQ after your meal. All you have to do is eat and not worry about cooking or worse, food being under and over cooked. None of that at Pocha32 for sure….
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It’s definitely a younger crowd for the most part but if the food is good, there is really no age limitation if you ask me…

Pocha 32 is a decent restaurant if you wanna have fun with a semi-large group of friends. I like their watermelon soju, but I do not like their pineapple soju. The Korean food is pretty decent, but you will find much better food at more authentic restaurants. You will find that the food is somewhat basic.

Additionally, I wish they had larger cups for water. You're going to be drinking a lot of alcohol and you may forget to drink enough water to not get a hangover.

Personally, I do not ever see myself going in without my friends, nor would I order takeout.

Pretty disappointed with the food. The fried chicken has way to much flour and was not crunchy enough to withstand the sauce. The seafood pancake lacked flour and crispness… we also order the grilled mushroom. I guess that’s ok. And a pitcher of beer. Maybe other food is better but from what I ordered I expected it to be better.

I love pocha. The space is very chill and fun to be in. It gets a little crowded and usually has a wait but it's worth it. The army stew is my favorite as well as getting a fruit filled with soju punch.

Update: the long line may deter some people but it's always been worth it. They usually have a wait after 6pm but can always grab a drink nearby.

Food was ok not worth the wait and price, beside being over priced the waiter sat us down outside which smelled like urine. When we were done and have given a 10% tip the waitress had the audacity to chase us down the street demanding we tip 18% and up saying it was common sense. Over some appetizers and juice I’m sorry but since when was that even a thing. Hate being like this but let’s remember tipping is optional nowhere did they have a policy saying other wise.

Customer service is terrible. The servers inssisted customers to pay the bill even before my friend and I finish food or drink. She kept checking our table for the bill every other minute while we were talking. Also they asked me to pay the tip in cash. Then started cleaning loudly around 2AM on Friday-Saturday. I couldn't even finish food and drink but had to leave. Won't go back again!

We had the chicken feet, octopus stir fried dish & watermelon alcohol drink. The chicken feet was good! I don’t know much about how to cook octopus but it just didn’t taste right. I tasted the octopus instead of all the flavors that would be combined with it. Also, it was EXPENSIVE for such a SMALL portion. Most Korean places I’ve gone to would give me a big portion for such a great price and I don’t ever finish it. I’d have to take it to go.

The ambiance is cute but the music was kinda wack tbh. I was hoping for more Korean R&B. Super loud, which makes sense since it’s a bar but I had to raise my voice a bit. I felt like I couldn’t hear myself either.

Kinda disappointed. The waiter chased us down saying we NEEDED to tip 15%. But I literally tipped 15% for such an average service & food & they said it was only 10%. I literally did the math.

Girl.

Actually delicious choices. The wings were crispy and flavorful without being drowned out by a bunch of sauce. Even the starting kimchi was tasty. Egg fried rice was also worth while. We had the watermelon soju and melon soju. The watermelon is the better choice, but neither of them tasted much like alcohol at all. There is deceptively a lot of alcohol there for multiple people. The atmosphere is small and cozy. It sort of feels a little run down and busy but once you sit there for awhile you realize it's more friendly and welcoming.