Gaya Korean Restaurant — Restaurant in Burnaby

I leave this review conflicted because I really want to support local Korean businesses during COVID but had a very negative experience today. While the food was fair, today the staff working at 3:20PM made derogatory comments in regards to my accent as I was leaving the restaurant.

I walked into the restaurant at 3:20PM and ordered the tofu soup. As a Korean-Canadian, I greeted the staff in Korean and made my order.

While I was waiting for my food, I could tell there was a bit of tension in the room. It was three of the staff members and myself so I figured it was a bout of awkwardness.

I paid, said thank you in Korean and as I was leaving, the male cook, whom had spoken perfect Korean with no Canadian accent said thank you in Korean while imitating my accent. The female employee working there laughed. The wait staff, to my appreciation did not participate in this unprofessional behavior.

I was quite hurt as I walked home, I had to collect my thoughts, ask myself if I was overreacting and after thinking it over I thought to myself that if the recipient of a "joke" finds it offensive, it isn't a joke anymore. I don't understand why a staff member at this establishment would say something so hurtful to a paying customer as they are leaving the restaurant.

It is 2022 and in Canada we cannot have this type of behavior. What I was most upset about was that my attempt to be respectful to people who share my heritage was responded in a derogatory way and I hope that in the future this doesn't happen to other customers.

The food was fair. For the price that I paid, $9.95 + tax, the rice, soup and side dish were good. This is not a commentary on the quality of the food at this restaurant but rather the lack of customer service that I received.

If you are thinking about coming to this restaurant, please understand the following, I am a Korean-Canadian and the staff who are Korean thought that it was appropriate to make fun of my English laden Korean as I was leaving the restaurant. If you are from a different culture, you may very well find that you receive the same treatment if you find yourself alone in this restaurant.

I hope that Gaya can work towards being a more inclusive restaurant moving forward in the future.

Thank you for your...

Its a decent little/cozy Korean restaurant, with excellent food. Reason why I personally gave this establishment one star shy of 5, is mainly because it doesn't serve liquor, which is strange for a place that serves Korean chicken. I mean, Korean chicken and beer go hand-in-hand. But don't let that discourage you from ordering here, in fact its probably a decent place to order take-out and drink at your leisure elsewhere if that's what you want to do. With regards to the overall quality of the food we've tried; if you like your chicken moist/tender/juicy, that's how it'll be. The batter is light but not very crunchy for that mouth feel; its still tasty in my books, as it's different than most chicken places. The teokbokki is something special, we had the carbonara version and it satiated our curiosities. We also tried the cheese dakgalbi which comes out ready-made on a portable gas cooker but I forgot to take a photo of that because my group was hungry and it looked so good. Assuredly, it does taste as great as it looked though. Portions are also "just enough" so if you're really hungry, look to order more. I say that's double edged because while you can try other things on the menu for variety, your bill can add up. Service was friendly although you need to assert yourself to flag them down if its busy. They also forgot to give us side dishes which they apologized for since the servers were fairly encumbered at the time (we went during dinner). Parking can be scarce but its available as the area isn't too heavily populated. The restaurant is clean, the staff will check your vaccination passport and properly verify your identity, although compact in space there are plexiglass partitions between tables, staff wear masks and sanitize tables, there is hand sanitizer...

I drive by this place everyday.

It is a relatively new establishment - opening up I believe just during COVID-19 period.

This is a family run place - small, clean and efficient.

This place is a gem in the making if they maintain their current path. They will become not just a neighborly staple, but perhaps even something on par with Hi Genki (Just closed and retired). I know, big shoes to fill, but there are no other Korean family run places like Gaya close by in Burnaby at their scale, skill and value.

Service is great.

Price is also rock solid value. Portions are big, tasty and ingredients are fresh. Expect to have leftovers to take home.

The menu is not big but the chef offers some of the more popular daily modern Korean items that are known worldwide - and are also traditional Korean dishes.

One thing I liked about this place is that the dishes aren't as salty as other Korean places. So one can enjoy Korean food without worrying about high blood pressure triggers.

Think of this place as your typical Korean restaurant that one could find in Korean neighborhoods with all the popular staples.

If the boss reads this, please add...