Pocha is Back

Saw this place on TikTok and knew I had to try it! It was such an amazing and authentic experience, place was clean,service was nice, food was tasty! I loved the decorations and how they had K-pop playing !!! If you are part of the k- wave you have to give this place a chance ! I know I’ll be back !

It’s a super casual place, the service was really good. I love how they transformed this little hole in the wall into a Korean pub, they definitely nailed the vibes. Korean music on the TV, music videos, which is cool. Period I wasn’t that impressed with the food, though, it was all right. Definitely overpriced in my opinion, but I guess you’re paying for the whole experience so that counts for something. Also, really cool that the metro rail is really close by if you use it.

I came here because of the free wifi and what looked like really good food from the reviews as I needed to get some work done on my laptop. My visit was very pleasant 😊 The staff were so kind, the food was delicious, and y'all really need to try their ramen and iced coffee ☕️ 🥰 It's definitely a place y'all need to visit that I am glad exists 😊🙏 Super fun atmosphere with people just enjoying life and good food. The owners are so sweet. They gave everyone free slices of watermelon toward the end of closing. I loved their vibes and will be back again soon! I loved it so much that I told some of my friends about it and that we should come here next week to visit. Can't wait to return!

This is first time dinning here. The foods are so delicious, the service is wonderful. Price, he is our waiter, he is so good and fast in service. Highly recommended and we will come back for more !!!!

Extremely friendly staff. My partner and I came about an hour before close. I believe one of the owners was outside seemingly taking a break. I was afraid that they were closing early, but when we stepped outside of the car she went, “you guys want to eat here?” She then excitedly brought us inside. The service was incredible, and I felt so at ease here. I didn’t feel rushed at all to finish up my food. The food itself is incredible. The owner told us that the soy garlic wings recipe is a secret recipe from a popular food stall in South Korea. It was incredible and so was the pork katsu. The atmosphere is very cute. It’s a sort of maximalist decor in a charming way. The music wasn’t too loud or too soft. The owner was super attentive, and she warmed our hearts by just being authentically herself. She made our night.

Cool spot open late night with amazing authentic food! The owners are wonderful and the staff is great too.

The food was super delicious. We had the soy garlic wings and regular fried chicken wings. They were crispy and tasty. The corn cheese was sweet and had that fun cheese pull that makes your mouth water. The Tteok-bokki (rice cakes) were perfectly soft and chewy with a slightly spicy sauce and fish cakes. Service was kind, friendly and fast. Appreciated it being open very late, nothing like it in Austin! Fun vibe and good drinks - We will definitely be back!

We were craving galbi and found this place, it is our First time trying Pocha. The interior of the place is small and cute, decorated in a Korean theme. They have tv that play the popular kpop MVs and songs. We order the galbi, bossam, makgeoli (rice alcohol) and 2 rice bowls. The bossam was well seasoned, moist, and delicious in the radish wrap. The galbi looked dry but actually taste pretty good, they gave us a decent portion size. The kimchi they have tasted very good and fresh, I liked it alot. The makgeoli bottle was expensive but not surprised with todays economy lol. I would come back here again for some Korean food~ also, this place gets packed the later it is! People around us all drinking and eating some good food.

Summary: cute, cozy place with tasty Korean "pub" food. They were amazing in accommodating the huge party we walk-in in as. I think we took up almost the whole place!

2.5 out of 3. I wanted to give this place a better score, but with other areas such as SOHA nearby, it's hard not to compare and contrast. Here's the review below. ---- Pros: - Plenty of parking - Full menu for food and drinks - Nice decor + Korean ambiance - Korean content playing on TVs Side Notes: - Closed Sundays and opens at 5 PM daily - Not too busy right at opening What We Got: - Fried chicken (sauce on the side) - Kim-mal-i (Fried Seaweed Rolls) 김말이 - Gamjatang (Spicy pork soup) 감자탕 - Corn cheese - Terra ---- Design/Space: Pocha is Back is a cozy spot tucked away in North Austin, with a lively K-pop soundtrack playing on their TVs, and a fun, urban vibe that channels the Korean pub experience. The interior is simple yet inviting, with ample seating for groups and a casual, laid-back atmosphere that makes it easy to settle in for a long meal or drinks with friends. Services/Staff: The service is friendly, but not as lively as it could be for a pocha. Our server was nice, but seemed a bit reserved, unlike SOHA or Seoulju, where you were met with a warm greeting and felt the vibe of a drinking place. Drinks and water were refilled when asked, and the staff seemed happy to answer questions about the menu. We did have to flag the waiter a few times, but perhaps it was opening time, so they were busy doing beginning-of-shift activities. Food/Drinks: Ranking the food that we ordered accordingly: Terra (5/5) - Can't go wrong with an ice-cold beer! Corn Cheese (4/5) - Nothing to complain about, lots of cheese, and wasn't the sweetest corn, but cooked well + hit the spot! Kim-mal-i (2/5) - Was undercooked on a couple of rolls from the batter; overly greasy; the breading tasted a bit as if it was old oil or something (couldn't put my finger on it). The filling was good, though. Gamjatang (4/5) - A TON of pork, and the broth was excellent. I loved the portable gas grill to keep the soup piping hot. Portions are enormous and worth the $30 price tag. Fried Chicken (1/5) - The inside of the chicken skin was not fully fried (although it was fully cooked), resulting in a soggy interior (chicken skin), while the outside remained crispy. The flavor of the oil tasted the same as the kim-mal-i, too, which threw the flavor off for me. The sauces were great on the side, but I couldn't get over the chewy texture of the skin, which wasn't fully crispy. Opportunities to Improve: A couple of suggestions. One, ensure that the staff is lively, as we are at a drinking spot, and that the "bar vibe" is maintained. The staff is kind and friendly, but a little extra attention would be great. Secondly, the quality of the food needed some TLC for us. Some things were great, others were undercooked and didn't taste as good as expected. ---- Summary: It's a great place to grab a drink and some bites. I hope the food quality improves a bit, as I'm willing to give it another chance. However, with other options like SOHA, it's challenging to justify the spend without some adjustments. Perhaps it was the day, but as a fried chicken lover, I was disappointed in the wings, as I had been craving them that day.

Food: 4/5 it was delicious. Portions are generous. Value: 2/5 we got 2 plates, appetizer, beer for $75 less tip. Service: 5/5 Atmosphere: Fun. Urban. Asian pub on point. Parking: Easy on a Thursday night. Personally, the value is tough for me to reconcile and we will not be back. However, if you're looking to be transported to an immersive urban Asian pub, I highly recommend you try!

Came here with a big group to celebrate a birthday and this place was perfect for it. I did get busy as the night went on, but we had reservations. The mussel soup was probably the best thing we ordered here. The broth was so delicious and there were plenty of mussels for sharing. The bossam was a huge portion too, perfect for sharing. The pork itself was tender and seasoned with sesame oil. It was a good bite with the radish and ssamjang, although I wish it included kimchi as well as lettuce to wrap it all in. The mackerel was cooked perfectly and seasoned well. The original boneless chicken was very crispy, but had no flavor. It could've used some salt, but instead we squeezed lemon on it for some flavor. The cheese bukdak was so rich. It's best to eat it when it first comes out piping hot or else the cheese will harden. It wasn't very spicy at all. Plenty of parking outside and service was ok. There are only a hand full of spots around Austin with Korean pub fare, and while this hit the mark on some dishes, it was a convenient way to get a big group to dine together.

Chicken katsu was decent. Music was too loud but they were nice to turn it down some. Speaking of nice, the service was most kind. I thought it was pricey for the offerings or I might have tried something more complex.

I actually really enjoyed this place as it wasn't too dark and the music wasn't too loud either for a pocha place. As for the food, the tteokbokki was really good and very much my style with it having a good gochujang flavor. Soondae was decent too and I liked the addition of the sesame seeds. It is pricey but I would still recommend for a night out!

The food was amazing. My girlfriend and I got the pork bulgogi, the ramen, and the corn cheese. The corn cheese is definitely on the better side of corn cheese's I've had and they do not hold back on the cheese. The pork bulgogi was good, but for 25$ and no side dishes it is a little expensive. Our server was attentive and nice and took our order fast. The ambiance is dark and they play lots of kpop. Would definitely come back.

FYI - 20% tip is added automatically for parties 4+ (I should add that they were not sneaky about it at all, but felt it's worth mentioning) The Katsu Chicken was good, but they poured a really sweet sauce all over it and really wished that would have been on the side. The kimchi was also great!

Korean "hang out with friends, beer, and soju" happiness It's pretty much a classic Korean pub (for Austin)- good selection of highly shareable foods, beers, soju, and more. Friendly staff, very tasty foods, and chill vibe - defo worth going to. And yeah, the prices are high (sigh. Austin these days...) but it usually also corresponds to the portion sizes - a $40 thingy probably suffices quite happily for 3...

Came here cause Seoulju had a 1.5 hour wait on Saturday and I was craving Korean pub food. The menu was a lot pricier than expected for Korean pub food. We ordered seafood pancake, Korean fried chicken and cheese rice cake combo. The Korean fried chicken was a big portion and pretty good taste wise as well. The seafood pancake was rather soggy even though it does have ample seafood in it. The cheese rice cake combo was pretty good but maybe a tad too much cheese this time. Overall, I think it's a bit pricy for Korean pub food but I guess that's the standard in Austin. Not to mention a bottle of soju is like $15 and it's like $4 at total wine.

I thought it was a pretty decent pocha place! My friends and I came and ordered drinks and food, and everything was pretty yummy. Their corn cheese is really delicious. We also tried their army stew, and it was decent and filling too! I would say that prices are a bit steep, but I think that's standard for Korean establishments. I love the vibe, and it gives a great ambience for a night of drinking. I definitely recommend, and I think Pocha is Back is a great addition to the Austin Asian food scene.

Very modern and fun interiors, complete with TVs playing kpop music videos. Pretty quality food for decent pricing. Good service as it was not very busy on a weekend. All their food is great and even better for sharing amongst friends or other people. Tteokbokki - good texture and chewiness with spicy sauce. Also good portion for about 3 people to share, even if it looks pretty small. Seafood pancake - lots of seafood in each pre-cut slice. Great quality octopus, although I'm not sure what other seafood they had. Fried chicken - not a lot variety of fried chicken flavors, as they only had soy sauce and garlic or something like that. It was super hot temperature wise and they did provide gloves but it stayed hot the whole time. I have had better and do perfect specific fried chicken places, but it was not bad.

I went for dinner and would come back. Loved the atmosphere here and enjoyed how friendly the workers were. We tried the steamed egg, cheese buldak, kimchi volcano, and budae jjigae. Everything was good but the standouts was the kimchi volcano. I wished the budae jjigae had more stuff in it

Good service and vibe, pretty good food that is very shareable which is good because it is a tad expensive.

Place is i Open late. Good stop to eat after UT football night game. They had all the traditional Korean bar food and drinks.

Flavor was good but wings were way too soggy. Texture threw me off so I couldn't eat it.

Great food and great ambience. Always a great place to go when you're looking to eat out after a night out. The people are nice as well

The urge to gatekeep this place is so strong, but I also want to keep this place open so here is my review! Ambiance: not as loud as Soha or Seoulju, so you can have an actual conversation without shouting. It is just lively enough where it was a busy and fun environment, but we easily grabbed a seat on a Friday night. Food: We got the gamjatang (pork bone soup with a distinctive perilla leaf flavor). It was really tasty--flavorful and came with lots of meat. I have actually been raving about it for weeks. I even mentioned the dish to two Korean friends on separate occasions, and they BOTH praised the one they also tried here (not in my presence). If you are not averse to the taste of perilla, I really recommend it. One of my friends said it is better than his (former) favorite gamjatang in Flushing. I WILL BE BACK SOON!

This place is a legit Korean style Pocha (pub) with great food. The layout and decors remind me of Korea so much. The service is always kind, and the food tastes amazing! My recommendation is the Cheese Buldak, for those who love spicy stuff. I really like their kimchi too

This place is such a hidden gem! The restaurant is tucked within a Korean plaza. My boyfriend and I were looking for a late dinner spot that was open late on a weekday, and we found this place while scrolling for places nearby. It was fairly empty on a weekday night, and our server gave us caring and kind service the entire night. My boyfriend and I got the spicy rice cakes, fish cake stew, and soy garlic wings. Everything came out one by one fairly quickly and piping hot. The spicy rice cakes came out first as an appetizer, and it was so delicious and chewy! The rice cakes tasted fresh and came in different sizes with fish cake. The fish stew came after, placed on a butane stove in a huge pot. The dish made me feel cozy and warm inside; the fish cake was tasty and the broth was homey. Lastly, the soy garlic wings came out steaming and fresh. They gave us gloves to eat with, which was a nice touch. The wings were flavorful and amazing as well. All in all, everything was a hit and I can't wait to come back and try the other dishes.

My husband and I have been meaning to try this place since it first opened a few months ago, but we were scared to be let down by another Korean restaurant in ATX for not being authentic enough. But we finally built up the courage to try it when my husband was craving for a nice, hot pot of gamjatang --and as far as we were aware of, this was the only place where we could find it in Austin. Per description on the menu at Pocha is Back, gamjatang is "broth made from pork backbone, steamed potatoes assorted vegetables and spash of spice with a dash of Korean chili powder." We ordered one to share between the two of us, and the stew came with two bowls of rice, kimchi, and peanuts dusted in seasoning. At first, my husband found the stew to be watery, but after letting it boil long enough and adding extra ramen noodles to suck up the liquid, it tasted amazing! I've been to the more "authentic" Korean stew places in Dallas, but the gamjatang here tops it. Although we didn't get a chance to try it, I would also love to try their fried chicken next time since I heard great things about their spicy fried chicken!

Randomly found this place while looking for a new Korean restaurant to try. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of food for this new restaurant. The kimchi fried rice volcano was delicious, flavorful and not too heavy. The grilled mackerel was juicy and seasoned nicely. The waitress was nice and attentive as well. Pocha is a high quality addition to the Austin Korean food scene.

Atmosphere and service (which were absolutely charming and lovely, respectively) significantly outpaced the deliciousness of the food. We got a seafood pancake and the chef special chicken dish with spicy sauce and cheese. Everything was quite expensive in a relative and absolute sense. I guess I am a Soha girl although if someone else were paying and I just wanted to drink and watch them eat, I would pick Pocha. Glad I tried it!

Great atmosphere, fast and friendly service, excellent food. We got seafood pancake, fried chicken wings, galbi, and clam soup. Everything was made fresh and tasted awesome. We moved to Austin area a year ago and have been slowly finding places that stand up to the places we were used to back in Houston. Will be coming back and recommending regularly.

Actually, the food tastes not 'that' good, and music was little bit loud so we have to shout out to talk. But the point is staff was really nice. Everytime we order, they treat us very quickly.

Excellent food. Friendly service. The owner makes you feel so welcomed and taken care of. Please come visit! It's worth every penny! The restaurant plays k pop music! The vibe is relaxed and welcoming.

I love this place! It's a pub where you can hang out with your friends. You can actually have conversations with your friends since they don't play music loudly like other pubs. The food is all sharable. We ordered chicken wings which were plump and juicy, steamed egg which was flavorful and fluffy and seafood pancakes was the best I have ever eaten. The food all had good made from scratch flavor to it. The server was attentive, and everything was served quickly. I highly recommend this place.

Had dinner twice here. Both time food wa taste delicious. The second time, service was bit slacking off, not as attractive compared to first time (different staffs) and they automatically charged 20% tip at party of 4. Restaurant itself is not too big but pub style. Young, vibrant atmosphere with multiple KPoP MTV playing. Overall I high recommend, for the food I'd go there again.

The moment I walked in I knew the food was going to be fire. I was welcomed with a very vocal greeting that made me feel like I was pulling up to my aunts house. Table for 1, had to grab a quick bite. The young lady, Hannah saw me taking time with the menu and politely suggested La Gabi but I went with the Bulgogi instead. One bite in, I instantly knew I was going to kill this thing. I turned around and told her how effing delicious it was. She's like my auntie for real. The sliced beef was perfectly sautéed. Came with a side of white rice that I forgot about cause I was face deep in the skillet. Ouff, came out hot af too which is so important to me. We were making small talk over dinner and she offered me kimchi. I've had poor experiences in the past with kimchi so I politely declined. Her expression of my refusal made me give it a second thought so I told her to bring me a sample. One bite in, I knew the kimchi was made from scratch and I asked for more. God bless this woman and her chef. Jun, I think that's how it's spelled was my server and was prompt and attentive with service. Hannah, if you're reading this, I want you to know that I felt loved in your establishment and I love you back. To whomever is reading this, go try you some POCHA IS BACK.

The soy garlic friend chicken is so good! So is the tteokbokki. Quick service and amazing staff. The vibe is cool and they have good music playing 24/7.

I had seen this Korean pub open up on my way to the nearby Korean grocery store a few times and wanted to try it! I went to Pocha with a group of 6 around 7pm on a week night. There was no wait for a table and our food came out quickly. The workers were all very friendly and helped us pick what to order. We tried the army stew, volcano kimchi fried rice, cheese buldak, and steamed egg. The army stew was okay, thought it wasn't packed with as many fun ingredients as it normally is at other places. I would recommend trying the cheese buldak and volcano kimchi fried rice though.

Ordered Sweet & Spicy Wings, Pork Katsu, Kimchi and salad, everything was amazing! Flavors galore, the wings were huge! You won't be disappointed, so glad we gave it a shot! Late night dining we ordered at almost 10pm and we're so glad we did :) thank you!!! Forgot to take pics cause it was just so tasty

I had their seafood pancakes about a week ago or so and they were so amazing! Never had seafood pancreas before in my life never knew there was such a thing as that until I came here, but I haven't been out to too much Korean restaurants so maybe that's why. I also really liked the interior as well, pretty artsy and lots of Asian girl dance videos playing which suit me fine cuz I like Asian girls a lot haha. Going to try and come back here fairly soon want to try out their wings sometime. Also this place is expensive, don't come here if you're not trying to spend more than 20 dollars.

Food: 9/10: We ordered the Gam Ja Tang for 34.99. It was more than enough for two people. Compared to other Gam Ja Tangs, I enjoyed this one a lot more. The soup was creamier and more flavorful, and it had a lot of napa cabbage that was was stewed in the soup ,so it was extremely soft, which I like. The meat was also flavorful and quite tender - gnawing the bones is always fun. Service: 7/10: We went at a late hour, so there weren't many other tables, but it still took a little longer than expected for the food to come out. However, the server was extremely helpful, and the owner even came to help us pack our leftovers to go! Vibes: 9/10: The dim lighting and colorful strobe? lights makes the dining room seem fun and casual. There is also a lot of Korean artwork/signage on the walls, which contributes to the vibe. The TV was playing kpop as well. Overall: 8.3/10

Excellent food all around and it is open late. It's awesome to have some more good Korean food in the ATX area. The owner is also super nice and I really enjoyed checking out the restaurant a few months back.

I really can't emphasize how great the service here is. I showed up with a large group of 10+ and we're almost immediately seated. The waiters were very attentive and the owners were fun to talk to. This is a great place to grab some drinks and food that pairs well with drinking. I'll definitely be back!

Amazing food and great service! The place is small but reminds me of a cool little food stall you would find east. Super cool vibes and makes for a fun night out!

I really wish i liked this spot but honestly this place is just ok. All the food we ordered was very mediocre, the garlic chicken wing was just too chewy and not crispy at all. The kimchi pancakes were just alright and the spicy rice cakes were a bit disappointing with no fish cakes and lack of flavor. The drinks here are also pricey- around 14$ for a soju bottle. They also dont have any bigger beer bottles here and charge a 20% gratuity for party of 4 or more (which is not even that many people). Beware not to tip twice because they already include it. The ambiance here is pretty ok for drinking but tables are very close to each other.

Stumbled here on a Wednesday night - super pleasant surprise. Greeted by Hannah, who I assume is the owner. Recommended the fried chicken which is a special recipe from Korea. It was really, really good. Fat pieces of chicken with nice batter and tangy, spicy sauce. We also got a big udon bowl to share. This is definitely a bar, drinking spot and not your typical Korean restaurant. Highly recommend. Decor is great and I felt at home.

Service was really good! Our waiter was very attentive and friendly. He gave us a couple of good options and we loved everything. Definitely coming back.

the food was AMAZING and the service was even better. me and my friend were quickly helped with a joyful staff. the shrimp tempura wasnt like the regular light batter im used to for tempura but it was my favvv ! it was so good . THE KATSU WAS SO GOOD . especially the slaw salad it came with i ate that first .

Food was very good and everything was shareable. The service was wonderful and attentive. For the ambiance, definitely a place to come have drinks with friends.

10/10 experience! My friends and I were looking to go somewhere for authentic Korean food and we hit the jackpot. First off, the vibes were really nice. It's a intimate spot and our server was pretty attentive. We had their Korean fried chicken, seafood pancake, and squid tempura and everything tasted fresh and delicious! Will be coming here again.

Awesome spot, very fun ambiance and great food. Service was friendly and quick. We had two entrees and some apps

This place was great! Service was fast even tho it was a Friday night and they was packed. Only 2 waiters working the floor and they killed it! Once we ordered, our food came out within 15 mins and was so damn good. Ambiance was super chill and the soju was delish. 6/5 would totally go back!

Please go here for a true cultural experience and incredible cuisine. A must visit in ATX!

The experience was excellent!! We had the kimchi pancake, the soy garlic wings, and the bulgogi plate. As always Korean food is a bit expensive but it was worth it! The customer service was top notch too. The restaurant is tiny, so, probably not good for big groups. We went with a party of 3 and got sat right away. So good!! Adding this to my list of go-tos. I'm

I didn't go there. I need at least 85 characters. One of my earliest memories is almost drowning when a kid sat on me with a life jacket in a lake.

Super cute pocha with AMAZING food - really blown away by the freshness of food and how authentic and tasty everything was. The service was also so great and the owners and servers were sooo nice. Will definitely come again.