KoJa Kitchen Emeryville — Restaurant in Emeryville

I really wanted to like KoJa Kitchen, but I just can’t give it a great review. Here’s why:

First off, the menu is super appealing—lots of tasty-sounding options. Ordering at the kiosk was a little slow, but since we were the first ones there, it wasn’t a big deal.

We got the braised pork bowl, the short rib koja (because seriously, when do short ribs ever disappoint?), and the soy fried chicken wings. But it took 25 minutes for our food to come out, and no one else was waiting. There were three people working, so I’m not sure why it took that long. At least the seating area is pretty nice with good vibes.

Unfortunately, the food didn’t live up to the hype. The wings were hot, so they seemed freshly cooked, but the short rib and braised pork were just scooped out of a big container without even being warmed up. I know because I watched them make it. Plus, everything was drenched in sauce—not really my style.

The wings were decent, though. Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside… but again, smothered in super sticky, sweet sauce.

For the wait time and the price, I definitely expected...

The only reason I am giving this place a 2 star is because the food is excellent but unfortunately they’ve lost a loyal customer due to their disrespectful, rude and arrogant manager by the name of Maria. I believe she may have lied about her name as she refused to provide the info to me today. I have escalated her blatant disrespect to the corporate office. Everyone else is pretty nice but ironically as a manager her attitude and disrespect is mind goggling. I truly hope she undergoes management classes and how to speak to people. This is her 3rd time attempting to bully and harass me to a point where she refused to provide a refund after I placed my order the way she advised me to do so then she attempted to recharge me. I’m shedding light on the harassment and discrimination by the manager at Public...

Since the food was good, it doesn't get a one star but other than that, horrible experience. Ordered our food online and gave sufficient time to have it ready. By the time I arrive, no one helps at the pick up window and when the girl finally does, she has a stank face on her as if she just drank some bitter beer. She prints out a receipt and gives it to the cook and tells me it'll be ready in 5 min. I see that they didn't even start on my order. Why place it online for pick up if I could've just went in line and placed it then. I get my food after waiting even longer. People can't just sit around and wait, especially after placing it ahead of time. Only 2 people were working, the girl taking orders and 1 cook. The girl taking orders actually stopped from taking orders to help the cook....