Completely fell in love with joule! I came for my birthday and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect experience! Thrilled I was able to sit at the counter and watch the magic happen right in front of my eyes. We started with their most popular dish, the rice cakes with chorizo and man was it AMAZING! I have had rice cakes before and they pale in comparison to the ones I had here. These were perfectly seasoned and had an incredible crunch on the outsides of them. The chorizo gave them a great hint of heat. Second we had the new truffles potato lumpia which was also so tasty. A mix of my two favorite things, lumpia and truffle! The last savory plate we tried was the tartare. I loved the cod roe aoli that came with it, made it taste a bit like sushi which I loved. We ended the evening with their signature dessert; the joule box. Our waitress told us it was the chefs sweet take on the classic bento box. On the bottom laid tapioca pearls. On top was a coconut semifreddo with a brûlée'd grapefruit and toasted coconut. Who knew coconut and grapefruit was such an amazing combination! I'll definitely be back read more

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Everything was great! Food was amazing, especially the bone marrow and the rice cakes. Wow. Our server, Donna was so engaging and made us feel really special and took great care of us. We will definitely be back! read more

Loved it! Making reservations for dinner was easy - signup online and they'll call to confirm. 4 of us, sat outside... toasty near the fire pit. Definitely recommend that. There were 4 of us and we ate family style. * Spicy rice cake, chorizo, pickled mustard green - They can make this with mushroom if someone in your party doesn't eat meat. Delicious! Crunchy, good texture and flavor * Crispy eggplant, pickled garlic, black bean sauce - Delicious!!! Not to miss * "that" short rib steak, kalbi, grilled kimchi - Was so good, we were fighting for the pieces * Octopus, bok choy, hot bacon vinaigrette - Something was off about this, the texture didn't feel great. Was our least favorite item Definitely pricey - around $40 per person, with 20% automatic tip included. read more

Started with smoked tofu salad which was amazing. Sun chokes and beef tartare were great. Short rib was superb and rice cake were delicious. Would definitely order the short rib and smoked tofu again. The bread pudding for dessert was great as well. read more

I stopped in here for brunch when I had a friend visiting from out of town. I'd been by for dinner so knew the food was high quality. My visitor was an Elite Yelper, so who was I to disappoint? We didn't have reservations and were fortunate to get a table right as we arrived. All of the staff were friendly and attentive. There was some confusion with the brunch menu and how it works. We tried a few times to get clarification from our server on how it worked to no end. We decided instead, that one way or another we were going to end up with a bunch of good food so who cares. We accidentally ended up ordering two full brunch meals each, whoops. We both had the fried steak and waffle...let's just take a moment of silence to worship this plate of magnificence. Honestly, holy s*%+! Don't go here for brunch and pass this plate up. We also ended up with hash and, "revel breakfast." Everything was great. I almost gave it 4 stars because we felt the server could have done a better job explaining the menu, but neither of us were mad because we had brunch and were then gifted a second brunch to bring home with us. So THANKS. 10/10 would eat the fried steak and waffle every day if I could. read more

Terrible service and very rude staff. Food was mediocre at best. We were very disappointed overall and do not recommend.

Every single dish at Joule is creative, delicious, and has me wanting to come back before I've even left! Such a cute restaurant. It's my favorite for date night and for bringing out of town friends! read more

I have trouble with the whole "let's take typically inexpensive food and fancy it up and make the portions smaller and more expensive" trend. With that being said the dishes at Joule are small portioned and expensive. I had several items and thought that a couple were good but the rest were just okay. For the price it's just not worth it. In addition, the restaurant is unbearably loud. The acoustics in there are atrocious. I'm glad I tried Joule because I had been very curious. My curiosity is satisfied. I would go back for drinks but not again for dinner. Sorry, Joule! read more

We went back here for dinner recently and it was SOLID. We tried 14 different dishes including: -smoked tofu salad: refreshing, fresh, unique and surprisingly delightful -lemongrass eggplant -pickled yellow beets-beets at their finest -bone marrow: I didn't try but everyone else seemed to love it -rice cakes and chorizo -black sesame noodles- this was probably my favorite dish. These noodles are fresh and made with love. -bread -barley risotto and mushrooms-yum -pork belly -winter squash and lentils: another crowd pleaser -2 types of beef- the rest of the group thought it was very tender and well done -tapioca, coconut and panna cotta- well put together and flavored -brown sugar cake- delicious There was not a bad dish in the bunch. Everything was thoughtful, well-composed and the flavors were thought through. Joule is definitely the well put together, older sister of the also-delicious Revel. The service here is good as well. They forgot one of our beef dishes so they gave us both desserts free. All in all, our big group had a great time here. I've had two solid experiences here so Joule gets 5 very enthusiastic stars from me! read more

Every pop song about unrequited love describes my relationship with the bullshit that is fusion food. The more experience I have eating at fusion restaurants, the more I think that "fusion" is simply a more concise way of saying, "we have absolutely no idea what we are doing and in the process, we are going to delude you into thinking we do by being ambiguous in a very un-cute way." How easy is it to put that tag on an otherwise bad dish? "What, you don't like my pork belly pot pie with miso-glazed bok choy topped with cronut crumbles? It's fusion." Also, if I ever see that in a restaurant one day, I'll have to start charging royalties. With that said, Joule is nothing special and the fusion-inspired dishes are amazingly lackluster. As in, I was blown away by how average the food was. We ordered the octopus and bok choy, kalbi burger, and the beef tartare. I would say the best mediocre dish out of those three was the kalbi burger. The guy on the grill cooked the beef well and it remained tender. Being that the beef was practically the only thing inside the burger, well, that's all that needs to be said. We both wished that there was more sauce that actually had some flavor or spice. It hardly had any vegetables, the meat itself isn't marinated in magic, and the buns are too big for the patty. I got over this burger really fast. The sauce they had for the beef tartare was overpowering and suddenly I lost sense of what I was eating, whether it be beef or tuna or some other safe-to-consume raw meat. Whatever miso sauce or soy or something along the Korean lines they were using was unnecessary. This was a sad excuse for beef tartare. I'd pay you not to order it. I hadn't eaten octopus for over 6 years so when the opportunity arose, I grabbed by its spongy legs and spun it around my head. I had the grilled octopus with bok choy that had bacon bits sprinkled on it. Surprisingly, the octopus didn't end up overly chewy or dry. This dish is overpriced at $17.00 though, given that they gave me two pieces of bok choy with a tablespoon of bacon bits and inedible hot, red peppers that did nothing. There was so much grease at the bottom of the pan, it was as if the octopus was swimming in its own filth. It wasn't a bad dish but it could have been a lot better and they'd still make a profit if they, I don't know, added more vegetables. Essentially another overrated restaurant that feeds off current food trends and loses all sense of creativity in the fusion arena. Just quit. read more

I'm surprised Joule is getting such mixed reviews. Maybe it's the fusion factor--the fact that they do tongue-in-cheek renderings of American favorites which taste almost nothing like those things, because unlike the inspiration itself, Joule's food actually tastes GOOD. Their menu is unabashedly coy, giving you precious little information. You could argue this is a bit irritating, because you do get the sense that the food you'll be getting is not going to mimic some of the names it's given on the menu. But I think this device encourages questions and discussion with your server, which-because I take pleasure in helpful, informative and opinionated servers-is one of the many things I love about going out to dinner. If I were in the mood to anticipate to the last modicum of seasoning exactly what my food will taste like, I suppose I'd cook. So my date (a Christian who claims to not really be a Christian anymore, but who got really, really offended when I espoused my theory surrounding the success of that mini-series "The Thorn Birds," saying it had to do with an immature female fantasy of having such towering sexual power she could pull a man away from God)...well, that conversation actually happened at Tango, not here. But still. If he's that scandalized by me saying "Women liked the idea of seducing a priest because they could think, 'Man, my p_ _ _y is even bigger than God!'" he's not exactly out of the church's loving embrace. Just sayin.' Anyway, where were we? Oh yes. The food! So we ordered (now, it's been a while, so memory of details is foggy) something which I think was billed as a Green Bean Casserole, a riff on the string bean and crispy-fried onion concoctions so many of us barfed over as children. This one, however, was voluptuous (yet oddly light-feeling, as it featured soy beans). I, who had never considered baking soy beans into a casserole, thought this was fantastic, and creative, and also, happily, delicious. Buttery gravy within, crispy fried onions (but done yummy, in-house) atop succulent soy beans. God, it was so good. Better than Richard Chamberlain's crisp white priest collar besmirched with the sands of sin. Then there was the pork belly. I am tempted to say it was pork shoulder, because I can't find it on the menu anymore, but no; it had to be pork belly, because it had that exquisite melting fat...heavenly. We also got the cornbread, served soft, in a bowl, delicious under gruyere and cream. Decadent, not wholesome at all, and really just perfect. The cocktails-wine- and sake-based, it must be noted- also deserve their own accolades, as they were inventive, refreshing, and absolutely perfect. Maybe Joule's been uneven for some people. Maybe people just don't know what to make of it (which is understandable). Unlike some reviewers, I didn't think these dishes were adventurous just for the sake of whimsy, at the cost of harmony and taste. On the contrary, I found them outrageously tasty--almost pornographically so. Ours was an indulgent and decadent meal with no missteps whatsoever. Joule: a unit of measurement blah blah blah...don't bother to define it; just, by all means, eat it. read more

I find it rare that I have a truly superlative dining experience in Seattle. No, it's not that I'm a hater. I love my old hometown. But honestly I tend to find the food in Portland to be of higher quality and offered with less pretense at a more reasonable price. So in my mind, of the many, many high-end food experiences I've had in Seattle, Joule stands as an outlier - a cut above the rest. This smoky, semi-casual spot offers up a truly dynamic mix of Korean flavors that have been jumped-up into bouge-y concoctions, but not in a bad way. Every dish I've tried here (and they number in the many) offers an incredible balance of depth, flavor, spice and salt. You could call it drinking food (for the spice and salt) but that would imply too heavy on both counts. You could call it Korean but then you expect more traditional dishes. This is one very talented chef's take on a dynamic cuisine, and it shines through. The number one must-try dish here is the rice cakes with chorizo. The cakes have been crisped up just enough, and float in a gochujang-heavy sauce mixed with a tasty, spicy chorizo. It's an incredible dish. Also tops are the smoked tofu, bavette steak, sesame noodles (almost a carbonara) and the celeriac with smoked trout. I'm sure the menu rotates here, but if you see any of these dishes on when you visit, try them. I recently attended a group dinner here and we sampled most of the items on the menu. There were no duds. Consistency of balance and flavor across menu items shows a true skilled hand. Often times the quality of a meal can depend on ordering right. I feel that it would be difficult to order wrong here. A signal of a truly top-notch restaurant. Joule plays to many of my favorite things - strong Asian flavors, inventive dishes, solid service, casual atmosphere, and oh, did I mention great drinks? A very solid cocktail menu. This place is dialed in. Protip: This joint gets smoky from all the grilling going on. Be prepared to walk out smelling like you were at a BBQ. On the upside, it will remind you even the next day of the incredible meal you had here the night prior. read more

I grew up eating Korean food, and I've taken great pleasure in seeing this new wave of Korean-inflected cooking make a splash on the American urban culinary scene. My fellow Korean-American and gluttonous counterpart Michael K. brought me to Joule on my recent visit to Seattle. He noted that he'd disliked the place when it first opened--too on the nose with the Korean fusion--but that it had turned into something remarkable over the last few years. I went for Sunday night dinner with Mike, Gino G., and Melissa K.--it was the last meal of a fantastic weekend trip. We had a 7:00 reservation, and the place was bumping when we arrived. We got a deep corner table, which was comfortable except for its great distance from the bathroom, which took some real navigational ability to find. The space was lovely, modern and open with cool turquoise wallpaper I couldn't stop staring at. Service was also great--our server was friendly and helpful, and the food came out at a good pace, split into several courses. There was a full bar, and Mike and I partook in a couple cocktails, both excellent. The Jalisco Campfire was a refreshing mix of tequila and lapsang souchong tea with agave, Thai chili and lime. The 35 Stone Buck had a similar balance of weight and lightness, with bourbon, Asian pear, cinnamon honey, Peychaud's bitters, and Rachel's ginger beer. I like my small plates restaurants to have good cocktail programs, and I was pleased with Joule's selection. To my great delight, the food was spectacular. There was no banchan--banchan would really put small plates spots out of business--but our meal started with a tremendous tofu dish, not entirely unlike the cold sauced tofu you see at a lot of Korean restaurants. This one was clearly worth paying for, though, the luscious smoked tofu topped with honshimeji mushroom confit, soy truffle vinaigrette, and a bright scattering of scallions. The mushrooms were beautifully textured, and the vinaigrette brought a blast of flavor. This is one of Joule's signature dishes, and I can see why--it was deceptively simple and very, very memorable. We chowed down on some noodles and rice for the next chunk of our meal, and both were slam dunks. The chilled sesame noodles were pleasantly chewy, topped with pickled chanterelles in a pool of mushroom togarashi sauce, which we mixed in ourselves. There was a ton of heat and complex flavor in this dish--I never wanted to stop eating it. The geoduck fried rice was comparatively understated, a mild fried rice with bits of geoduck, pork rind, and scallions, mixed with a plentiful green dusting of powdery seaweed. More geoduck in bigger pieces would've been nice (and likely prohibitively expensive), but I enjoyed the calm, penetrating flavors in this dish, and the fluffy fried rice texture was impeccable. We finished the savory portion of our dinner with some meat and sides. The octopus was a great small plate, cooked tender with just the right chew, served with bok choy, grilled lemon, and a hot bacon vinaigrette that included great little nuggets of diced hot bacon. "That" short rib steak was a fantastic interpretation of Korean barbecue, itself a semi-Americanized corner of Korean cuisine. This was six ounces of juicy kalbi, carved up and served with grilled kimchi, blistered pepper, and a gochujang sauce. Not groundbreaking, but super satisfying. The vegetable sides were also on point. Chinese broccoli, cooked to ideal firmness, came with a chunky walnut pesto and fat cloves of garlic. Savory roasted cauliflower shared a bowl with smokey yogurt and a heap of bonito flakes. Dessert was its own event. We shared three, each one fun and unique. The Devil's food cake was a rich square of chocolate cake with a light crumb, served with buttercream, pecans, banana miso ice cream, and passionfruit caramel and marshmallows. The miso wasn't apparent in the ice cream, which meant this was basically a chocolate, passionfruit, and banana dessert, but no complaints there. The other two desserts were just splendid. The tres leches was so moist it was practically falling apart, and it came with créme fraiche whip, fennel jam, and a honey feta crumble, all of which countered the milky sweetness of the cake while adding their own blasts of flavor. The Joule box was as pretty and delicious as could be, a bed of white pearl tapioca topped with ruby grapefruit brûlée, a heap of toasted coconut on the side. I loved the bursting tapioca with the loose cream and torched grapefruit of the brûlée. So light, with such restrained sweetness. I was extremely happy with our dinner at Joule. Every dish struck me as interesting and innovative, and several of them impressed me with their incorporation of not just generically Asian, but distinctly Korean flavors. This felt like a true second generation Korean-American restaurant, the work of a talented chef who grew up on the same flavors I did. I don't live in Seattle, but I fully intend to eat this food again. read more

I am torn writing this review. I would have to rate joule a 3.5 and here's why. The food is definitely delicious. All of the dishes were cooked well with great spices and flavor. I tried the broccoli, the rice cakes and "that" short rib and all were very good. Top quality food. They also have a good wine and cocktail list. The downfall is the price for that food and portions. They suggest you order a bunch of dishes and do family style. The waiter suggested at least 2 dishes per person as each dish isn't meant to be an entire meal on its own. To top it off, the portions are small for each dish. I think 2 dishes per person might be a sufficient amount of food but that also means you are spending $30 ish per person trying to make your own meal. I am all for paying for good quality food but I'm not sure this place is entirely worth it. read more

Our landlord got us a $100 gift card here as an apology for not fixing any of the 42 things that are broken in our apartment. SCORE!!!! His plan to turn two annoyed nerds plotting vengeance into giggling, forgiving school girls in a food coma totally worked! We wanted to spend all $100 at once and be completely decadent, even though we could have easily had two meals each for $100. So here's what we ordered: 1. Two bottles of the ruby cider. Don't ask me what brand it was, but it was very very good. Had a great aftertaste and wasn't too dry. 2. Beef tartare to start. I've never had beef tartare before, but I LOVED this! The pine nuts were awesome and the tiny beef bits melted in my mouth like butter. 3. The clams. If I had to undo ordering anything it would be this one. It was really tasty and hearty and a BIG portion, but out of everything it was my least favorite. It has basically stroganoff noodles and a dark sauce with the clams. It was filling and the fennel was pretty awesome, but the beef tartare had a more complex flavor. 4.The broccoli. I was a HUGE fan of this perfectly cooked broccoli, but my roommate wasn't as in to it. It was firm without being tough. Well-seasoned. Had a lovely flavor. 5. The fingerling potatoes. This had olives in it- YUM! The potatoes were a little dry. Maybe this one was my least favorite. If I had a do-over I'd try something else and not order the clams or the potatoes. They were good enough, sure, but nothing amazing. 6. My roommate got the pork chops and let me try some. HUGE portion! Oh man, she ate like 10% and took the rest home. It had a great sauce and was pleasantly charred. Mmmm... 7. I got the Coulotte. It's just a fancy way of saying sirloin, apparently. It was good. I like rare steak and it really was a good cut of meat. However, the sauce didn't do it for me and it lacked the flavor and wow-factor that the pork chops had. Overall I loved my experience here! After all was said and done our bill came to $125 for all of that. Good service. Make reservations! read more

This place is awesome, solid 4.5 stars! A bit of a random conglomeration of food, but definitely high quality and delicious food. I came here one afternoon for brunch with my boyfriend in October, when they featured Mediterranean buffet with our meal. At first I was kind of confused how it worked, but you basically get to eat anything at the buffet when you order a main dish on the brunch menu. I ended up getting the house made chorizo stew with brussels sprouts - it was light, delicious, flavorful and was served with a side of toasted bread. The house-made chorizo was delicious as well, and the portion was just right. My boyfriend got the green curry french toast, which was also great, but dense and seemed like too much curry flavor to handle, but he enjoyed it. Overall, service, ambiance and food was great. It is on the pricier side, but definitely worth a try! read more

Some really good stuff here like "that steak" and the rice cakes, but also some misses (mackerel). The biggest disappointment for me is I had a reservation, but still had to stand around waiting for 20 minutes after the reservation time to be seated. Most of my my party arrived well in advance and had some drinks, so they clearly knew we were there. Skip it and go to Whale Wins next door. read more

I came here for Sunday brunch and there's really nothing to complain about here. We did not have reservations so we were first in line in the morning at around 20 minutes before opening. Within minutes, a line had formed behind us. All of the indoor tables were booked so we chose to sat at the chef's bar instead of at a table outside. I had the porchetta and he had the steak. We shared a side of bacon. The porchetta was very tender and the side of pickled scallion was very unique. Bf loved his steak and thought it was a very good portion. The bacon was a very thick slice and probably the best bacon I have ever had. The buffet of sides were all very tasty. This month's theme is France. Nothing had meat in it so keep that in mind as you choose your entree. They even had two desserts -- roasted grape bread pudding and a chocolate sugar cookie. I would definitely come again for brunch. While sitting at the chef's bar, I thought the shrimp and grits and the waffle and chicken steak looked especially good! I almost wish I had ordered one of those instead. There's always next time. read more

I'm puzzled by folks who don't know how to categorize Joule. Yes, fusion cuisine already feels like an 80's hair-doo or a hula hoop, but we can't keep eating the same dishes over and over again in the name of authenticity or tradition. I tasted things here I'd never tasted before, and a few of the dishes -- the smoked tofu, the edamame-shrimp potstickers, the gouda corn bread -- were stunning. When a restaurant is merely eclectic it's just different without actually being better, and when a menu is eclectic it probably means each dish works well but the meal somehow comes together all wrong, like a Las Vegas buffet. That wasn't the case here. Somehow, Joule delivered a weird, delicious, cohesive meal, as if it all came from a single tradition on a planet I'd never visited before. And that's why we go out to eat isn't it? Why not 5 stars then? The meal was mostly exquisite, except I thought a dourade dish was ably done, rather than mind-blowing. read more

We went last night, and admittedly, we were a large and unwieldly group (16). However, our service was horrendous. Our waitress took the initial drink order right away but did not come back to our table for at least 20 minutes. I watched her spend 10 minutes preparing a french press, that should have taken 1 minute. During the time she never looked up, never made eye contact. I was very unhappy. She was slow to take our order and slow to get our order in. Then the food came out very staggered so that we were not able to eat together. Very staggered. Like 20 mins apart staggered. WTF I was also not impressed with the food. While everything was cooked properly (I had the octopus, which was tender), the flavorings were not either french nor korean. Simply adding kimchi to a dish does not make it Korean. Morever, labeling something in French does not make is French. Overall, very disappointing and I have no plans of ever going back. Even for the weekend bbqs. read more

Ate here for dinner Christmas eve. The meat dishes were done well but quite expensive for the small amount you get. The smoked tofu lost the smokiness because of a tangy, strong sauce poured all over it. The mochi dish and the unusual, deliciousness of the crispy eggplant--also ruined by sauce. There was also a lot of oil that you noticed after you had eaten, which kind of made me feel ill. One more con: the 6 dishes ordered came out one-by-one so you could eat just one dish at a time. It is a very nice space though and accommodating to allergies. Maybe brunch is better. read more

I've always been very apprehensive about places that broadly announce that they are fusion. I think it's like a stupid way of saying, "I have no rules and can do whatever I want now." Instead, I much prefer places that have standard menus but would have an odd ingredient that the chef believes is a much better use than conventional ingredient. I ordered the side dishes - lasagna, pancake, and steamed tofu. The pancake is not something I'd pay 9 dollars for. The flavour wasn't there, consistency was lacking even if I judge it from a korean style seafood pancake or a taiwanese style seafood pancake - not there at all. It tasted fine, but I wouldn't call it a "OMG" experience. The steamed tofu was just odd. Again, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. You cannot taste the freshness of the tofu because it's smoked; so it has a hint of smokiness to it but it also does not add to the flavour. The side mushrooms also had no flavour. Finally the horrible lasagna - shitake and blue cheese. It deserves a paragraph of its own. Just think, there are a lot of ingredients out there that you put them together and you say, "hm, interesting." This one is like, can this possibly be good when shitake has such delicate flavour? I don't know why I ordered it, I think I was feeling more adventurous. But it was horrible. Lastly, service was really really s-l-o-w. We waited for a long time before ordering; all the while the restaurant had 6 other people in there. It's a little hard for me to imagine this restaurant lasting. read more

Joule, I have a confession... It's February now and I ate at your restaurant this past September. I don't like writing late reviews but I crossed you in my bookmark and couldn't help but to follow through and write this review. I may have ate there 5 months ago but I remember that dinner like it was yesterday. Here's why Joule is such a jewel (sorry, I couldn't help myself...) [ Ambiance ] - clean, cozy, contemporary (open kitchen) [ Service ] - great...one owner/chef is on the floor greeting tables while the other owner/chef is throwing down in the kitchen, I absolutely love it... [ Food ] - bread & 3 style butter (hand-whipped w/sea salt, bacon, wakame) - roasted corn ice tea (toasty, smokey, and sweet... loved it!) - "korean mochi" (chorizo + sesame leaf + sweet chili + rice cakes = thumbs up) - mac & cheese w/truffle (i would kill a unicorn to eat this right now!) - cornbread w/gouda (sweet, salty, cheesy, buttery) - fried chicken (crispy, juicy, tasty... everything fried chicken should be!) - sweet chili pork shoulder (TENDER and tasty meat, grilled radicchio, and pickled apricots that gave a nice tangy contrast) Joule does everything a good restaurant should... they serve awesome food in a great atmosphere and make a dinner more of an experience than just a meal. I'm glad my friend took me here and I am making an automatic trip back the next time I'm in Seattle. Joule, I have a confession.... I might be 5 months late on this review but you're delicious Korean/French fusion dishes have easily made you one of my favorite restaurants. read more

I chose Joule as the location for a team dinner after work on a Tuesday, drawn in by the allure of Korean fusion. I left disappointed, but full. Generally, I try and make my reviews about the food, as a pretentious waiter or dirty floor can be forgotten with transcendent cuisine. In this case, I must deviate from the norm. The chilled glasses at Joule used to serve beer had a peculiar stale smell on them- our table surmised that this must be the odor of the fridge used to chill the glasses, which certainly put a bad taste in our mouths going into the meal. The roasted sunchoke and spicy rice cake were really quite good. Our table wolfed these down with gusto. The rest of the dishes sounded a lot better on paper. The seaweed chawanmushi and uni had a strange combination of serving temperatures, and textures were off- why serve mushy buckwheat with sea urchin, without any acid? The white stuffed kimchi tasted of rubbing alcohol and lacked any spice whatsoever. The smoked tofu embodied its name to a fault- I felt as if I was eating charcoal briquettes. Lastly, the kalbi. The steak was not cleaned properly, as large strands of connective tissue (gristle) ran through the steak. Really basic attention to detail was neglected, almost as if the collective experience of the chefs in the kitchen wasn't sufficient- Joule has a long way to go to compete with other local restaurants. read more

I've only been here for brunch but it was incredibly unique because they have a rotating buffet (changes to a different type of cuisine every month) and then they have a static menu of which you choose one item from. My friend and I selected the revel breakfast and grits -- the revel breakfast was good but the grits were amazing, I'd highly recommend that one. I'd probably recommend making a brunch reservation, the place was completely full when we arrived on a Sunday morning. I can appreciate this restaurant, but I'm just not a huge fan of fusion. I figure, if you're going to go for Asian food then just go full force. It's hard for me to fully enjoy and understand "trendy" or fusion Asian food. I think it's a little over-priced, I'd still recommend coming here and giving it a try. The service is good and the restaurant is adorable, just again, a little over-priced IMO. read more

So my girlfriend and I wandered into an almost empty Joule on the early evening of 2/13. We were just wandering the neighborhood looking for a casual place to eat and came upon Joule and although a little on the pricey side for our intentions for the evening, we decided to go in. C jokingly pointed to a baby eating with his parents and said, 'if he can afford it, we can.' We didn't have reservations, but it was early and the place was empty except for 2 tables. The hostess was looking at her reservation book when another woman came up behind her and brusquely told us that there was no availability. I naively walked out of there thinking that they must be busy being Valentines weekend and all until C pointed out that the place was empty! So, we felt some kind of way about being turned away. Initially we thought that it was a combination of things--a mixed queer couple joking about the cost-- that resulted in our being turned away. Upon reading some of the other reviews, I think that it may be that the place simply has poor service. For Joule's sake, I hope they are indiscriminately rude and that perhaps they'll get it together in the future. For the moment, we're turned off and don't have any plans of returning to see if we'll get turned away or turned off again. read more

The rice cakes are so good. Crispy outside and a chewy texture inside! Perfect spice level and a good portion for dinner. The gin cocktail is delicious too! read more

I want to be clear that the low rating is not for the food or service, which were both fine, but for the experience with the hostess while eating at Joule last night for a 6 pm reservation. We made reservations more than a month beforehand for four people. Called the day of, as per hostess' request, to confirm. We had drinks, dinner and dessert that totalled almost one hundred dollars per person. About fifteen minutes after our check arrived, within half an hour of receiving our desserts, the hostess came by. We assumed she was coming to ask us how our meal was. Instead, she said we needed to leave the table as there was another party waiting for it, and that we could move out to the cocktail area. We were taken aback; this had never happened to any of us in all the years of eating out. Completely unacceptable, and left a bad taste in our mouths. Essentially, the hostess marred our dining experience in thirty seconds of interaction. It is the hostess and management's job to move tables and deal with the logistics, not the patrons' job to leave as soon as the check is paid. We ate according to the timeliness of the dishes being served and the arrival of the dishes dictated how long we were at the table. Very weird, very rude/ declasse and all of us agreed they've lost us. Too many good restaurants in Seattle to return after a bad experience. When you are having a fine dining experience, you are paying not only for the food but the dynamics of the restaurant, and graciousness is a big part of that. A shame, because this was the first restaurant I visited when moving to Seattle and I had fond memories of it. read more

To be honest, our original intention was to dine at the adjacent restaurant Whale Wins. We were meeting another member of our dinner party who already started at Joule, and it wasn't until we started a bar tab that we arrived at our "Oh" moment. So, with a bar tab already started, we decided to stay at Joule for dinner. Joule has its name printed on a small area of a long glass wall that separates its dining room from the main entryway between said restaurant and Whale Wins. If people are standing in front of the wall and obfuscating the restaurant name, you should look up and notice the vintage neon sign with "Jewel" lit up. There is clever, and then there is "Oh come on now, really." Apparently Whale Wins is in the process of acquiring better signage. But I digress. The interior of Joule was the first thing I noticed, and by interior I mean its wallpaper, bless its heart. If I could immediately change one thing about the restaurant, aside from its menu, it would be the wallpaper. The menu can accommodate veg*n diners, as I would expect any decent restaurant in Seattle to do, but the dishes are small - "meant to be shared" - and a wee heavy on the salt. I've noticed that most restaurants that cater to omnivores also love to pinch them some salt into dishes. God only knows how you meat-eatin' folks are able to handle that much sodium in your diet. The veg options span the range of "decent" and "you need to try this." The smoked tofu and rice cakes sans chorizo are in the latter category; the creamed greens are Chinese broccoli in walnut pesto are in the former. But for the prices you pay at Joule, I would expect that every dish fall into the "you need to try this" category. We declined the dessert menu. If you love foie gras - and who doesn't? I ask you - then you will want to try the dessert featuring that key ingredient with some sort of apple-focused item. So many fussy items on the menu had us saying "let's go to Ballard for gelato." The diners seated next to me and my partner had similar plans, only they were planning to patron 7-11 and get Slurpees. No, really. I'd bet drugs that many of the patrons the night we dined were repeat customers. Bully for them, I say. At least we tried something new. read more

Went to joule with a family of four. Two kids 8&10. This is their review:(note they love chopped) It has really good presentation and good taste. You should try the steaks. The bavette was sweet and savory and the meat was medium rare which I think is the best. The geoduck rice is super good and very fishy. The octopus has a nice char and meaty taste. I'd recommend. Don't eat the decorative pepper. Adults advice. Sit on the outside seating when it's a nice day. Drink wine and beer. read more

Fun brunch place and for the price, the buffet style is fab. The only bummer was that our group of 5 was stuck in the corner of the restaurant so it was hard to get in and out. read more

The first time I came here was for dinner. It must have been a year or more so I don't recall what we ate. But it was fusion and not bad. I just came here last weekend for brunch, and I will be back for brunch again. Especially with visitors. It's just $20 for buffet and a full-sized entree. We had looked into reservations the day before but they were already booked up. However, we LINED UP before the restaurant opened and were able to snatch 4 seats at the bar. I ordered the Revel breakfast (bacon, scallion hash, two eggs, toast). It was a very generous portion as I was able to share almost half my entree. The bacon was interesting as it was a thick cut. My husband ordered the hash (potato hash, chili remoulade, smoked mackerel salad). Another cousin ordered the Pancake (scallion pancake, kale, poached egg). It looked delicious. Highlight of the buffet included the chilled sesame noodle, rapini, szechuan chili oil. The noodles were just the perfect chewy consistency. read more

Joule made me crap my pants. Well, almost. I *barely* made it to the bathroom in time, but I missed a few crucial scenes of Revolutionary Road because of this emergency. I went here about 2 years ago when this place was pretty new. The food was BOMB but a tad overpriced for the portion size. (I'm hungry, yo!) It would have been a solid 4 stars had I reviewed it within the 90 minutes immediately following my meal. I stopped in again with a pal last week, thinking things must have gotten better since it's still in business. Besides, I'm a nice girl and I try not to hold a grudge. It's still overpriced and the food was noticeably less bomb. (Perhaps food just tastes better in general when it's poisoned?) Salad was ok, mustard potatoes were drowning in their too mustard-y mustard sauce, and I was still hungry when I left for the movie. (Yes, I was dumb enough to go see a movie right after my meal...) My movie theater nachos were better than Joule's food. Sad, but true. The service was great and it's a great location, so I bumped it up a star. Note to Joule: DO HAPPY HOUR. Seriously. Why wouldn't you? read more

I think the food is pretty good if they tone down the salt level. For Asian fusion, this is not that bad. Portion sizes are small but sharing amongst a small group is just enough. I can definitely taste the alcohol in the drinks. Interior is sleek looking and service is friendly and very attentive. Finding street parking around the area is tough. It's not a bad place to do some catch up. You can't really have a private conversation since you are so close to your neighbors. You know people are listening to your conversations just like you're listening to theirs. I know I was. read more

It was an Italian brunch buffet when I ate there. I had Bao as entree and it was amazing. Authentic Chinese flavor! Joule is an Asian fusion restaurant btw. As for buffet, they had wonderful crackers, cheese, tiramisu, mousse etc.. read more

Joule - Korean Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Iron Chef Joule! That's right, Wallingford's very own Rachel and Seif competed against Iron Chef Jose Garces on Iron Chef America. The show aired on January 17, 2010. Rachel and Seif operate a small, dare I say "community", bistro, not the typical profiles that appear on Iron Chef. I personally think they have great appeal because they are a real life wife and husband team and frankly, no one can beat their secret ingredient... love. Alright, enough with the cheese, on to the food! I was lucky enough to snag a reservation to their Winter Supper in celebration of their Iron Chef adventure. Winter Supper is a family style menu on select Sundays. It's just $25 for adults, $10 for kids, and $5 for a glass of wine; a great way to taste their signature style. Following the format of the Iron Chef show, Rachel and Seif picked a secret ingredient that peppered the menu. The secret ingredient was ... (wait for it)... KIMCHI! For those of you who aren't familiar with kimchi, it's basically spicy, preserved vegetables. I didn't know how they were going to weave this unique flavor throughout but I knew I was in for a treat. It was more like an awakening. The menu: 1) Bread, kimchi butter --- Kimchi was the shining star of this dish and didn't shy away from the spot light. Is it an everyday fare, probably not, but very innovative and unique. 2) Egg, smoky eggplant kimchi, kimchi crouton, scallion kimchi pesto --- My absolute favorite dish of the night. The flavors complemented each other perfectly and so unexpectedly. And the presentation was beautiful (see photo). 3) Green papaya kimchi gazpacho, kalbi marinated flank steak, grilled pearl onion kimchi --- The gazpacho was delish, the rest was kinda ordinary. Or maybe it was just too much of a transition from my love of the previous dish. 4) Shrimp and fennel kimchi ravioli, fennel crean, friend fennel kimchi --- The kimchi was very subtle in this dish. I'm so used to "hit me over the head kimchi"; I was surprised at how soft it could be. Excellent. 5) Pork belly, Asian lentil-braised kimchi, rasin-celery kimchi --- Listen up, this is how pork belly should be cooked. Melt in your mouth perfect. 6) Apple mint kimchi, honeyed yogurt, ginger syrup --- I would have swapped the apple for a Korean pear. Its sweetness would have carried the dish better. I haven't had such an inventive, special, cohesive meal in a very long time. I didn't love all the dishes (you can't please everyone) but I appreciate the thought and creativity. Hats off to Rachel and Seif for sharing their special day and creating an unforgettable experience for all. read more

Joule - Egg, smoky eggplant kimchi, kimchi crouton, scallion kimchi pesto. YUM! - Korean Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Joule is a gem. Usually the word fusion scares the beejebus out of me but these folks know that to make good fusion food you have to know how to first know how to cook non-fusion food and these folks do. Whatever you want to call the cuisine here is simply perfect. They were able to accomodate a pescatarian, a vegetarian and a gluten free girl but this is a place best for someone who doesn't have dietary restrictions. The service is relaxed but professional and attentive. The price are higher than at it's sister restaurant Revel but the quality and dishes are totally worth it. read more

Food not quite where it used to be, Friendly staff, Cornbread is a must... Will probably skip next time and try Revel. read more

I was hesitant to try this place, but a friend really wanted to go. So we found ourselves wandering in on a Saturday night. I should have known by the fact that the place was completely empty at 8:30pm, that we weren't in for a great dining experience. The menu was confusing. Billed as Asian Fusion, but more than half of the items were Mediterranean derived, with buffalo, beef and seafood being the primary meats on a very small menu. To be honest, nothing sounded very appealing to either of us, but we settled on two appetizers to start - the blue cheese lasagna and the kalamata olive gnocci. The lasagna was stellar. Amazing flavor with a slighty crunchy topping - I could have eaten three of these myself. The gnocci however, left a great deal to be desired. The flavor was quite good, but the texture was disturbing. Completely mushy, to the point of being unappetizing. ick We initially thought about trying more things after the apps, but decided that for the price and the 50/50 split of liking what we'd had, we'd be better off going elsewhere. That said, I don't really recommend it. read more

Really surprised at the negative reviews. Maybe I went on a good night, but the food was great. I'd say it is a good stand-by until you can make it to the great Momofuku Saam bar in New York. Smoked Tofu: Very creative, but also tasty. Maybe a bit too much truffle oil. Rice Cakes: AWESOME. Closest I've gotten to Momofuku's. (As you can see, I'm a Momofuku fan, and with the Korean influence and similar styles, it's easy to compare these two restaurants.) Kimchi Fritter: Okay. Rice and kimchi doesn't need to be fried, it's perfect the way it is, IMO. Sweetbread Spring Rolls: Great. This is a great way to get people into offal without it being overbearing. Bread & Bacon Butter: Very good, but much like Momofuku's, a bit of a letdown. First, paying for bread and butter is a no-no in my opinion. Second, the bacon butter just wasn't bacony enough. Fried Chicken Dinner: AWESOME. Some of the best fried chicken I've had, it was cooked perfectly with a crisp, but not too greasy crust. Also, it's enough to feed 3 or 4 at $22, which is not bad. Overall, we spent $80 with tip for 3 people. Not bad at all. read more