The owners of two established Prospect Heights dining/drinking institutions, Le Gamin and Soda Bar, have joined forces, opening Noo Na Korean Kitchen. Their inaugural effort isn’t as interesting as one would predict, given its forebears—and its Korean owner (who runs the nearby Le Gamin).

Though Chinese restaurants proliferate beyond Chinatown, Korean restaurants in the boroughs are not in abundance outside of the limits of Koreatown in Chelsea. So, when Noo Na (an endearment a Korean boy uses for his older sister), opened on burgeoning Vanderbilt Avenue less than a month ago, it drew notice. If it’s true that Vanderbilt Avenue is the new Flatbush Avenue, perhaps this newcomer shouldn’t be so surprising. Since a tapas restaurant, a seafood soul café, a pierogie-serving bar and a casual French bistro have all managed to survive on this stretch, a Korean joint might not be so risky after all. Up until now, though, Noo Na’s crowds have yet to come; higher attendance is expected when everything on the menu actually becomes available (such as dessert and alcohol, both currently M.I.A.). 

On an industrial-feeling corner across from the rusty shell of an abandoned diner, not far from Atlantic Avenue’s gas stations and storage warehouses, red lanterns hang from a high ceiling and reflect a toasty glow off the polished wood floor. Tables for eight people create an aura of festivity, a booth lines one wall, and wooden accents are reminiscent of a sushi joint. The staff is as warm and amiable as the décor.

Sip your choice of tea (we tried passion fruit) out of bowls while tasting the pan chan (assorted Korean relishes) that kick off your meal on a traditional note—ours consisted of a delicious, sweet pickled daikon radish, along with kimchi and sardines. Given the tasty radish and beaming staff, I had high hopes for what was to come.

Alas, the pa jun (a seafood and scallion pancake with lemon soy sauce appetizer, $6), though visually lovely and as large as a pizza, fell flat. In its unexpected thickness, it lacked an essential crispiness. Picking up a slice, it drooped under its oily weight, much like a slice of pizza would. This could have something to do with its undercooked quality. Our theory: the pan wasn’t hot enough.

Next we tried the du bu jun (sautéed tofu with mushroom flavor, $7). It’s hard for most places to make a dish like this anything except taste-free. Unfortunately, Noo Na falls in with most places in this regard. Not recommended unless you’re a vegetarian eating here with your meat-loving friends.

And indeed this place is for meat lovers. Pork, beef, cod, octopus and shrimp are found in most dishes. But there are mesclun greens salads, seaweed soups and fried rice for the herbivores. You could also try the dol sot bi bim bab—mountain vegetables with rice served in a hot stone bowl with fried egg, with or without beef, pork or spicy octopus, $12-$14)—the only thing on the menu with “not available for delivery” scrawled beside it. According to the management, this is the dish that repeat-customers can’t get enough of and order over and over again.

The codfish fritters sounded appetizing, but the saeng sun jun ($6), with its eggy batter and greasy texture, didn’t meet our expectations.

For $4, the mi yuk gug (seaweed soup with tofu) is a deal. A bowl as big as a child’s head holds hot, salty miso broth with wide, pleasantly chewy ribbons of seaweed amid tofu cubes. 

But despite the nice prices and pleasant (if uninventive) ambiance, blandness was fast prevailing. The kimchi jjigae (kimchee with pork and tofu stew, $10) was no exception. My dining companion remarked that it was almost scaldingly hot and after 15 minutes it was still much too hot to eat comfortably. The abundant kimchi lent the stew an overwhelming vinegar flavor that also made it difficult to eat. 

Verdict: The food is underwhelming, but the rest of the dining experience is nice enough that I think I might just return to give that all-pleasing dol sot bi bim bab another chance.

Noo Na Korean Kitchen

565 Vanderbilt Ave. (at Pacific Ave.), B’klyn

718-398-6662