Gogi Jip Korean BBQ Restaurant — Restaurant in South Island

Good food but extremely disappointing experience for families with kids today.

We have been patronising GojiJip for the past 10 years, from when it was only the two of us to now with our 3 kids below 5. I would even go as far as saying that it serves the best Korean food in the South Island. Unfortunately, as much as it is our top go-to restaurant in Wanaka which we have on many occasions drove the Crown Range just to eat here, I doubt we can visit again as we were today told that we can’t feed our kids the painstakingly prepared home-cooked nutritious pasta that they are more accustomed to in the restaurant. I understand a no outside food policy, but we didn’t bring in food purchased from other restaurants that they serve and ordered the necessary portions that the 5 of us could finish. Korean food is typically spicy and heavily seasoned which suits the adults tastebuds and diet but can be quite unforgiving for the little ones with limited spice tolerance. There is no kids menu, the limited child-friendly options available don’t suit the kids taste, and you have to be pretty lucky to score the one and only high seat available in the entire restaurant. I also couldn’t reconcile why we couldn’t sit at our preferred table and had to sit at a table where the kids can reach the boiling stews, when we were told we could sit anywhere we want on a pretty slow day. We are genuine loyal patrons of this restaurant (we brought our babies here when they were one week old) and are honestly taken aback today as this is the only place that refuses our kids consuming...

Soondubu jjigae and side dishes were not bad but chicken was terrible, they used the frozen chicken for the fried chicken and it was too tough. Even the chicken meat and bones color was changed. I think it has been frozen too long and used it. It was not worth it even though it is much more expensive than other restaurants, i don’t wanna pay $45 for the frozen chicken so i asked it to the staff “are u using frozen chicken” and she even didn’t hesitate not even 1sec to say “yes”. she is maybe proud to use frozen chicken. In addition, i had to pay $1 to take my leftover food away because they are saying they are using paper stuff. Haha thank you for frozen food and saving the earth. They are pursuing only money, not quality and customer service. Really disappointed

순두부찌개랑 반찬은 나쁘지않있습니다 하지만 치킨을 냉동으로쓰네요 그것도 냉동오래된거같던데 치킨 색도 변하고 뼈도 완전히 뻘겋게뜨고 다른집보다 가격도 훨비싸고 이렇게 비싼돈주고 냉동치킨을 먹어야된다는게 너무화가나네요 치킨양념은 계피가 좀많이들어갔고 간이좀약한게 현지인입맛맞추려고 그랬다고 생각은들수있지만 조금 뭔가빠진느낌이더라고요 그리고 직원한테 이거냉동이냐고하니까 1초에망설임도없이 ‘네’ 라 하네요 냉동쓰는걸 자랑인마냥 너무실망이네요 남는거싸가겠다니 테이커웨이 종이박스 1불내라고 하고 너무 돈만...

Disappointing experience for locals – Avoid if you’re not in a tour group

As a Wānaka local, I was excited to try Goji Jip, but unfortunately, it seems they’re only interested in catering to large tour groups rather than welcoming individual diners. I arrived at 12:59 pm—well within their posted lunch hours (11 am – 2 pm)—only to be told they no longer do dine-in, only takeaway. Yet, the restaurant was full of people clearly enjoying table service.

It’s hard not to feel discriminated against as a solo diner when a restaurant refuses to seat you despite being open and having space. If they only want big-spending groups, they should be upfront about it instead of misleading customers with posted hours that don’t reflect reality.

If you’re a local or a small group looking for a warm, welcoming dining experience, I’d suggest taking your business elsewhere. Plenty of other restaurants in Wānaka actually appreciate the people...