dining room @Dodo62
The menu is short and offers a few starters, best shared, as well as some main dishes. We started with Haemul Pajeon, a savory pancake with seafood, and kimchi. Dodo62 offers kimchi with either cabbage or cucumber. Unfortunately, the cucumber version was sold out, so we ordered the regular one. It arrived together with the pancake, and before I could take a picture, someone had already emptied most of the small bowl. There was definitely more in it than as seen in the picture.
The kimchi had a fruity taste and was not overly spicy. Very delicious, especially in combination with the pancake. The seafood pancake broke into small pieces the moment it touched the sauce, which made it a bit tricky to eat. The seafood itself was excellent, with just the right texture. None of the usual chewy calamari. At Dodo62 the seafood was tender and juicy, and the pancake made for a delicious starter, albeit a bit greasy. The kimchi was perfect with it to cut through the richness.
salty pancake with seafood and kimchi @Dodo62
As a main dish we ordered two Bibimbap with egg, spinach, carrots, beansprouts, and mushrooms. The spicy gochujang sauce arrived in a separate bowl to mix in according to your own liking.
Bibimbap @Dodo62
The mushrooms and the Nori flakes were not appreciated by everyone. On the advice of the waitress, the egg was mixed into the rice and then the sauce added liberally. Still, both diners found it just acceptable, but no one was raving about this dish. It looked good enough though, but the overall impression was that it contained mostly rice. With a bit more of the vegetables maybe it could have been more interesting.
Another dish we ordered was Bulgogi, also a staple of Korean cuisine. The Bulgogi at Dodo62 arrived in a hot iron pan with meat and mushrooms, accompanied by a bowl of rice, a small bowl of kimchi, a different kind of hot sauce (gochujang mixed with chili flakes or so), and salad leaves with chili peppers. This dish can be shared and is probably more enjoyable that way. It was a bit too much, especially after the shared pancake at the beginning, so my friend got a doggy bag for the rest. She liked it, but there was no excitement about this dish either.
Bulgogi @Dodo62
Bulgogi and all its extras @Dodo62
I ordered the dish of the day, which was pork belly with kimchi. It also arrived in a hot iron pan with the meat and kimchi together, three slices of silky tofu, and a waxy egg. It looked appetizing, but the flavor was lacking. There was too much meat and not enough kimchi, and therefore none of the typical fermented gochujang depth. With all the rice it also lacked any kind of sauce. I took a bit of the gochujang from my friends, but even that did not make it more exciting. Unfortunately, this dish was just acceptable, but it lacked all the flavor I was hoping for.
pork belly with kimchi @Dodo62
Expectations are often the killjoy of all good things. While the food at Dodo62 was perfectly fine, it was not the revelation that other critics made it out to be. This small family-run restaurant might also struggle with its sudden popularity, as the place was busy when we left and more people were waiting to take over our table. The starter was very enjoyable, but I missed the usual depth of flavor in the other dishes. Yours, Pollybert
Dodo62
1090 Wien, Hebragasse 11
Tel: +43 664 3450615
Tue-Sun: 17:00–22:00
https://www.instagram.com/dodosixtytwo/?hl=en
