Group-Friendly, Late-Night Korean Food and Big Soju Highballs Arrive on Restaurant Row

Restaurateur Tommy Shin is mostly known for his ramen restaurants in Portland, but on Tuesday, March 11, he’s debuting a new Korean restaurant dubbed Moon Pocha alongside chef Sun Moon. It’s not Shin’s first attempt at a Korean restaurant; he opened Korean ramyun stall Sari at NE Sandy’s food hall in 2019 with a business partner, where Moon once worked, although it eventually closed. Now with Moon Pocha, he’s looking to bring more of a snacky, late-night dining scene to the neighborhood. “Pocha in Korea, it’s like, ‘let’s meet up,’ or, ‘let’s grab a meal,’” Shin says. “Then usually [groups] go to pocha, and it’s very casual; they go there to celebrate good news, or talk through problems with friends, or just hang out.”

For relatable terms, Shin likens Moon Pocha’s menu to “Korean tapas,” indicating that dishes will be smaller, snacky bites to compose a meal. Pocha is short for pojangmacha, Korea’s tented street pubs. The portions at the restaurant will be shareable between a couple, rather than the “big casserole” portions typically associated with Korean restaurants, Shin says. Pricing for the menu will typically be between $9 and $25, with items such as spicy tteokbokki, or Korean rice cakes, kimchi pancakes, plus drinking favorite corn cheese. On the heftier side, there’s also Korean fried chicken, soups and stews, and gochujang samgyupsal, or pan-roasted spicy pork belly. “There’s a lot of great Korean barbecue and homestyle restaurants around,” Shin says, “but pocha focuses on small plates, late-night drinking, and social dining.”

For those late-night drinks, the standout is the restaurant’s list of dae-pos, or what Shin likens to soju highballs. Shin is of Korean descent and says his dad and uncles would share soju in dae-po, or big cups, rather than smaller drinking cups. The dae-pos at Moon Pocha will incorporate soju with tonic water or ginger ale, but then dressed with different syrups. Moon is drying fruits for those syrups, such as grape syrup for the Itaewon dae-po, mixed with soju, ginger ale, and dried grapefruit. Another dae-po will incorporate quince, while the Joseon dae-po mixes in plum syrup; meanwhile, soju will also be folded into more classic cocktails such as an Old Fashioned. There will be soju available by the bottle, Korean wines by glass or bottle, and three nonalcoholic mixed drinks for diners, as well.

In talking about Moon Pocha, Shin says that 10 years ago when he was working at Samurai Blue Sushi, the team would often go to now-closed izakaya Biwa for late-night drinks and snacks. Now is his chance to add another option for that in the neighborhood. “I want to bring that kind of vibe, like casual, lively, drinking culture,” Shin says. “I want to bring that close to my house,” he adds, chuckling.

Moon Pocha (28 NE 28th Avenue) debuts on Tuesday, March 11, and is open from 4:30 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday to Saturday.