One of the area's most thoughtful Korean restaurants is in Haverhill

Boston Globe

a day ago

Chef-owners Yu Gin Kim (left) and Walter Gorrell preparing dishes at their Haverhill restaurant, Damgeuda. The two met working at Tasting Counter in Somerville.
JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE/Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe
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All of this came together as preparation for Damgeuda, which Gorrell and Kim opened late last year, after hosting pop-ups at places like
The word 'damgeuda' means to immerse or soak; it is the initial step in fermentation, Gorrell explains — an appropriate name for a first restaurant that is both growing into itself and becoming a destination, and where fermented ingredients feature prominently on the menu.
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'We're just doing a small menu. It's just the two of us working,' Gorrell says. 'We keep everything simple but try to make as many things as we can ourselves — whether it's bread or gochujang or kimchi or soy sauce, we'll try to make it.' (They also built out much of the restaurant themselves; the space came with plumbing and not much else.)
A Swiss chard dish features house-made tofu, house-made soy sauce, and house-made miso.
JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE/Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe
On a recent evening, we take two seats at the counter. There are also a few tables, but perching here makes the meal more communal, more about the experience. We can see how Gorrell and Kim prepare the dishes; we can exchange pleasantries with the other diners, two couples who also choose counter seats.
We eat dubu jorim, a dish of firm braised tofu tossed with chile crisp, sliced cucumbers, fresh green herbs, and mushroom chips with an appealingly airy, Styrofoam-adjacent texture. The tofu is made in house.
Gorrell and Kim also make a soft tofu, which recently appeared in a dish of Swiss chard lightly cooked in sesame-miso sauce, dressed with their house-made soy, and dolloped with the fresh tofu curd. They also make the miso that goes into the sesame-miso sauce, using the solids strained from house-made soy milk.
Scallion mandu are plump vegetable dumplings bathed in an orange-miso sauce and drizzled with house-made soy. Since our visit, the menu has featured iterations including onion mandu (using steamed onions as the skins) and beef mandu with green garlic sauce, breadcrumbs, and radishes. The menus change constantly, according to the seasons, availability of ingredients, and what's holding the chefs' interest.
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Banchan include (clockwise from front) Napa cabbage kimchi, daikon kimchi, and eggplant pickles with garlic oil.
JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE/Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe
'We like vegetables and like cooking vegetables,' Gorrell says. 'We were lucky enough to find a farm in Haverhill we really like working with.' Late Bloom Farm is just a 10-minute drive away, and they try to use as many of its ingredients as possible. 'It's organic, no-till, very minimal, very natural.' This fits in with Damgeuda's ethos. The chefs have worked at restaurants that focus on minimal waste, and they carry that along here, trying to use everything.
Jjolmyeon is the perfect dish to bridge the seasons: spicy cold noodles in a sauce of gochujang with braised beef and mustard greens, a pile of icy orange kimchi granita melting alongside. It's simultaneously hearty and refreshing (and can also be made vegan).
In addition to dinner Thursday through Saturday, Damgeuda serves Saturday lunch and Sunday brunch. A recently introduced burger has been a popular Sunday order: The chefs grind brisket, then season it like the Korean dish tteok-galbi — with scallions, garlic, soy sauce, and more — and serve it on a house-made bun with house-made mayonnaise and cabbage slaw.
The brunch burger, made with ground brisket seasoned like the Korean dish tteok-galbi, with scallions, garlic, soy sauce, and more.
JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE/Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe
Banchan, traditional vegetable side dishes, are always a highlight of the meal. We order Napa cabbage kimchi, daikon kimchi, cucumber miso pickles, and eggplant pickles with garlic oil. Made by Kim, they are all excellent. Although they are an ideal accompaniment to other dishes, they are also good snacks on their own, and Gorrell says people will come in just for pickles and a drink. Damgeuda has a highly curated beverage menu: a few bottles of wine, a few local beers, a half-dozen kinds of sake (most made by Farthest Star), and a couple of cocktails.
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I sip a milk punch made with roasted bananas and soju; there's also a house spritz, made with Damgeuda's version of Aperol. The cocktails change seasonally, too, and a tiki drink with rum, coconut milk, sunflower orgeat, and lime recently appeared for warmer weather. I quite like the nonalcoholic drinks, including a refreshing pear-ginger soda and a warm cup of burdock chai welcome at the end of the meal.
For dessert, we try sweet potato ice cream with citrus granita, two textures of frozen, with blueberries and omija, or schisandra berry. Kim's aunt makes omija cheong, a syrup from the berry; the chefs, who just returned from a trip to Korea, planned to bring some back, along with other ingredients that travel well. They are sure to return, too, with plenty of new ideas for the ever-evolving menus at their ever-evolving restaurant by the Merrimack River.
21 Washington St., Haverhill,
. E-mail
for a reservation. Dishes $9-$34.
Chef-owners Walter Gorrell (left) and Yu Gin Kim beside the counter at Damgeuda, their Korean restaurant in Haverhill.
JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE/Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe
Devra First can be reached at