Pyung Taik Korean Restaurant — Restaurant in City of Niagara Falls

Man, this is like a small ajumma restaurant you'd imagine in Korea except the space is a bit bigger and spacious with the food being made by an ahjussi. He's the sole cook and owner! His English is pretty good and he even brought out our food :)

The ban chan was okay. Broccoli and bean sprouts clean and simple, radish slightly acidic sweet, beans interesting. The kimchi is the highlight. It's not fresh kimchi so it's not crisp but still has some bite with the flavorful mixture seeped deep into the leaves and body of the cabbage. The ahjussi was nice enough to check up on us and ask if we wanted more ban chan and despite declining, he still gave us another saucer of kimchi. That was really nice. The urge to call him samchon (uncle) was strong haha.

We ordered the PYUNG TAIK JUNGOL. It serves three people and has beef, rice cakes, shrimp, oyster, squid, mussel, udon noodles, zucchini, scallions, and bean sprouts in a spicy broth. Arrived faster than expected. Despite the broth tasting essentially like an upgraded Shin ramen that's sweet thanks to the seafood and vegetables, that didn't deter from my enjoyment of it. It's satisfying. Sweet, salty, slightly spicy. Realy hit the spot on a below freezing day! I'll admit it was smaller and proportionally less than expected (aside from the shrimp, there were only a few small pieces of the rest of the seafood). And it's quite overpriced at $50. Really the overall menu is overpriced.

However, this is a small business and that is felt from the interior to the service, from the ahjussi to the young likely family member who set our table and took our order. It's a different tone from other places that's not bad at all. A traditional, humbling, simplistic no fuss vibe. That respectful yet caring distance in manner found in eateries run by Korean ajummas but in this case an ahjussi. It's honest and direct. You leave feeling indirectly taken cared of.

Considering this is likely the only Korean restaurant in the city and assuming business must be slow this season with Korean/Chinese tourists waiting till summer to visit, business must be really tough. To think ahjussi is the only cook! And he runs everything! I can't imagine the stress of having only a few customers in the winter or of handling a large volume of tourists in the summer. In that regard, I respect him and can understand why the menu is overpriced. Being the only Korean restaurant in the area, why not take advantage of that?

Note: the night we came, it was an hour and a half before closing and on that day they only accepted cash. But there is free wifi.

With a 3.5 star rating, I would absolutely come back to try everything else on their gratefully small menu and let me tell you, that photo album of dishes really helps in the decision process. I'm genuinely curious if there's a specialty of ahjussi's in there. Besides, I would be sad if this place ever closed. So please give Pyung...

I had a great time at Pyung Taik Restaurant. The bibimbap was absolutely delicious. I’m not used to having it cooked raw and assembling it myself, but it made for a fun and unique experience. The owner was super friendly and even recommended adding the red sauce to the bibimbap, which really took it to the next level.

My girlfriend had the spicy noodles, which she also loved. She kept complimenting the kimchi, saying it was especially tasty. The flavors were spot-on, and everything felt fresh.

One thing to note is that they don’t accept credit cards, but PayPal is fine if you need a cashless option. The location is a bit tucked away in a sketchy area behind the casino, so definitely be cautious if you're walking around at night.

It is a little on the pricey side, but considering the quality and the experience, it's definitely worth a visit. If you're planning to get bulgogi, be sure to call ahead...

Discriminatory behavior – refused service twice

My husband and I had two disappointing experiences at this restaurant. On July 4rd, we stopped by around 5:00 PM and were told the restaurant was closed. We accepted it without issue.

However, the next day (July 5th), we went back at the same time — 2:30 PM, well before their posted 4:00 PM closing time — and again were told it was “closed.”

What made this very upsetting is that there were clearly several people eating inside when we arrived, and they all appeared to be Korean. We were not offered an explanation or a wait time — just told to leave.

We strongly believe we were denied service. This made us feel excluded, disrespected, and deeply disappointed.

No one should be treated differently. I hope the owners take this seriously and reflect on the message they are sending...