In the place of former cafe Seventh Home is a new, hip bar & restaurant called Nolza ("Let's Play" in Korean). It's located in a somewhat hard to find spot if you don't know the area, but has plenty of parking. As you walk in, you're greeted by the smell of barbecue meats, which they offer on their extensive menu alongside other popular dishes that go perfectly with drinks.
There's outdoor seating, but my two friends and I opted to sit inside to avoid the night chill (though there are heat lamps if you prefer to sit outside). Inside, there are booths that can comfortably sit four people, maybe six people max, so might not be ideal if you have a really large party as the table dividers are quite high. There's music playing throughout the place at a loud but not totally uncomfortable level, enough so you can chat with your friends. The playlist seems to be a good mix of old and new Kpop artists, with hits ranging from BLACKPINK to H.O.T. The bathroom was clean and smelled nice, though that might be because they're still a new and recently renovated restaurant.
The menu is accessed via a QR code as per usual with new restaurants these days. What we got:
- Avocado with salsa (아카사) for $14.99. Four avocados with salsa and a sweet sauce (maybe something like balsamic glaze?) drizzled in between. They give you long spoons to scoop up the deliciousness. Love the concept and devoured mine quickly, though the sweetness got to me later (a common theme for the night). Would recommend.
- Rose tteokbokki for $19.99, a creamy and mild version of the dish that's popular with those who aren't so good with spice. Very good, but also sweet - I think this might be popular with a younger crowd? I might go for the cheese tteokbokki next time so that I can get some more balance. Make sure to eat it before it gets cold and congeals into a clump. Though, you can ask a server to reheat it - when we did so, they added a generous sprinkling of chopped green onions on top to enhance the freshness!
- Okonomiyaki for $13.99 - was debating between this and the seafood pancake, but ultimately went with this out of curiosity. Very generous portion, enough so my friends and I could only finish half of it (not because it tasted bad or anything, but just because we had no more room after eating all the other food). The sauce is also sweet, so be aware if you prefer your pancakes to be more salty/savory.
- Chicken skewers (닭꼬치), usually $13.99 but were on the house. Loved these, especially since I'm a big fan of grilled green onions and the like. The spicy variant is less "spicy" (at least in my opinion) and again a little sweet. The taste reminded me of the sweet glazed tteokbokki chips you might find at Korean markets?
- Black sesame salad: not sure if this was on the menu, but was offered to us by a woman who seemed to be the manager. Loved the freshness of the vegetables here and the unique black sesame sauce - but again, a bit on the sweet side.
- Hangover ramen (해장라면) for $13.99. It's mildly spicy with a generous amount of pollack fish (북어) and bean sprouts, just like in traditional Korean hangover soup. I really liked the "clean" taste of this ramen, and would recommend for anyone looking for a chaser or sorta after drinking!
- Good ol' somaek, with soju being $12.99 and bottles of beer being $8.99 each. We got a beer on the house, and also had our last bottle of soju get the "tornado" treatment (shaking the bottle to get a tornado effect) by an employee!
Overall, all the food we got tasted delicious, with the caveat that it leaned towards the sweet side and seemed to try to appeal to a younger or more Westernized crowd - definitely far from the heavily salty or savory taste you'd get at older/traditional Korean drinking spots. Funnily enough, when we asked for a bit of kimchi (not on the menu) to try to cut through the sweetness and balance things out, we actually got some.
And that's a tip I'll give out here: don't be afraid to speak up and ask a server for something. While occasionally someone might pass by and check on you, this isn't a fancy white-cloth sit-down restaurant, so be prepared to flag down someone if you need a drink refill or something, especially later in the night when they get busy.
The employees are all friendly and incredibly helpful with menu recommendations (caveat: my friends and I speak Korean, so not sure how conversations may go in English), and with the food being delicious and the space being clean and comfy, would definitely go again to try out their other dishes! read more