Restaurant review: Space Jaru's got Korean fried chicken that's out of this world

Some of the astronomical fare at Space Jaru

• Space Jaru
• 67-68 Meath Street, The Liberties, Dublin 8, D08X959
• Mon-Tues: Closed Wed-Fri: 12-2pm & 5-10pm Sat: 12-3pm & 5-10pm Sun: 12-3pm & 5-9pm - no booking required
• www.jaru.ie/spacejaru

I am old enough to remember when the first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant opened on O’Connell St; it was exotic and exciting, though my little lefty student heart was uncomfortable with yet another example of American hegemony.

These days if you mention KFC, it can surprisingly often mean ‘Korean Fried Chicken’ given how ubiquitous the Korean version has become; not all Korean ‘KFC’ is perfect of course but even the worst Korean Fried Chicken beats the Kentucky version in my book.

Space Jaru is the creation of Gunmoo Kim who first came to Ireland as an English language student in 2010 and thankfully stayed on. Space Jaru is his first restaurant but Jaru also has stands at seven weekly food markets serving Korean bbq and rice bowls as well as meal kits for home delivery. Jaru uses Irish ingredients where possible and has a focus on modern Korean food.

The restaurant has a welcoming canteen feel about it with a bustling open kitchen and friendly staff. There are tables for two and four but also a large table for 10, perfect for ordering the entire menu to share among friends (with extra ‘KFC’ of course).

The menu is long enough to interest but short enough not to intimidate with a mix of rice bowls, fried chicken and small plates. The first small plate to arrive was Tteokbokki (€11.50), Korean tubular rice cakes mixed with spicy gochujang pork and topped with a soft cooked egg and they proved a highlight, pleasingly firm texture and with umami-rich sweet, spicy and tender pork to add contrast.

Gochujang (aka Yangnyeom sauce) is the ubiquitous fermented sweet-savoury-spicy red chilli paste that is used to flavour everything from rice bowls to fried chicken and Jaru’s version is particularly well balanced with a little more heat than others I’ve tried. The sauce proved particularly effective in adding heft and character to our crunchy double-fried Yangnyum Chicken (€12.50) made from boneless chicken thighs.

Kimchi Jjigae (€12.50) is another classic dish so had to be tried, and it also had some gochujang in the sauce, but that was just background to the tender tofu cubes, sweet pork and pungent kimchi – a bowl of this on a winter’s day has to be the perfect cure-all, banishing blues, hunger and snuffy noses.

Mandu (€9.50) dumplings were filled with slow cooked beef short-rib with a soy dipping sauce and fried until crisp these proved unexpectedly bland, perhaps because of the rich flavours in the other dishes in front of us.

Next came our rice bowls with the Chicken Dakgalbi (€14.50) by far the more successful of the two - savoury chicken pieces, flavourful kimchi rice, edamame beans and salad all of which we mixed through with yet more of the excellent gochujang. The Aubergine wasn’t unpleasant but it was rather unexciting, and less successful at absorbing and mixing with the other flavours.

Finally our Appa ‘KFC’ Burger in a brioche bun has to be one of the best in the country. The joy of a quality fried chicken burger is all about the contrasts between the soft (brioche) bun, the crunchy chicken and the tender meat, but here the addition of soft sweet bulgogi beef, aioli and bbq sauce, plus sticky cheddar cheese slices ensured it all melded into perfection, the kind of one you might imagine finding in original KFC heaven.

The wine list is short but useful and I chose a bottle of Caminante Joven Tempranillo that was light and fruity and cost a mere €28. An even better choice if you can stretch to it would be either the Judith Beck Zweigelt (€40) or the Von Winning Pfalz Riesling (€50).

Of course we couldn’t finish our meal and as I write this I am surrounded by three boxes of leftovers to remind me of flavours and I’m finding difficulty concentrating on writing rather than eating.

In conclusion: less of the American deep-fried hegemony, more Korean soft (and crispy) power!

The Tab:

Dinner for 4 including shared starters, mains and side dishes plus a bottle of Asahi beer and a bottle of wine cost just €130.50 

Space Jaru, The Verdict:

• Food: 8/10 
• Wine: 8/10 
• Service: 9/10 
• Ambiance: 8/10 
• Value: 9/10 

In a Sentence:

Space Jaru offers great value tasty Korean food that will appeal to both Korean natives, and anyone else that loves good food.