Korea’s Spicy Beef Noodle Soup Experts Expanding to San Diego

Known for its excellent yukgaejang, a comforting Korean stew of shredded brisket and vegetables in a fiery, crimson-hued ox bone broth, Yuk Dae Jang operates over 200 stores in Korea and several in the greater Los Angeles area, including in Koreatown. One of Eater LA’s standout spots for irresistibly spicy dishes, the Seoul-based chain is opening its first location in San Diego this fall.

Its menu features the spicy soup with tofu, ramen noodles, or a special kind of thick, hand-cut noodle, and uses it as the base for a hearty hot pot-style dish called budae jjigae, or Korean army stew, that includes sausage and Spam. Yuk Dae Jang also offers seolleongtang, a milder bone broth that’s the specialty of Convoy Street’s Woomiok, as well as naengmyeon, a Korean dish of chilled buckwheat noodles, hand-made mandu (dumplings), and bossam, boiled sliced pork belly served with cabbage leaf wraps, dipping sauces, and sides.

Flocke & Avoyer’s Sullivan Roache and Brian Quinn facilitated the lease that’s bringing the Korean chain to Clairemont Mesa Boulevard’s Independence Square shopping center where it’ll share the plaza with Lolita’s and Tea Station. A rep for the Yuk Dae Jang tells Eater that the 1,700-square-foot restaurant is currently targeting an early September opening.

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