Jaya's Authentic Foods — Restaurant in Evansville

We.l9ved the beautiful setting of Jaya's. When we first walked in we thought it was a bit dark inside, but we were able to read the menu without the aid of our phones. It is beautifully and tastefully decorated. For a Friday night, we were surprised to find the huge restaurant nearly empty. It was nice for us to have the quiet, but I worried about the business' survival. The sweet lady who took care of everything in the dining room assured me they do a lot of carryout business. I really do recommend taking a large group there to dine. They have 2 tables set up to accommodate 10 each. The seats are comfortable. I had a spinal fusion a couple of years ago, so seat comfort is important. The food was good. I can't say it tasted unique. Portions were generous and cost reasonable. That nice woman who served us even showed us how my husband's dish was to be eaten. It was a new one for us, so I asked. He liked his. I had the stir fried Crab meat. It had a generous amount of the Crab along with lots of vegetables of many varieties. We started with the Yaki Gyoza, pork wontons with spicy soy sauce. I love pork wontons and these did...

We tried Jaya's for lunch today based on its strong reputation. While other reviewers had Jaya make their dish personally, this was not the case for us. Perhaps that explains why we decided to cut lunch short and leave early. I doubt I will try it again given the high price tag. Why pay $23 for terrible food, when I can pay $3 for terrible food?

PROS: The stone bowl was hot. There are nice pictures on the wall. The disposable chopsticks were clean.

CONS: Unfortunately, none of our other cutlery was clean, which prompted us to use disposable chopsticks while dining in. The bathroom was worse than some gas stations. The toilet was moldy. Heck, even the soap dispenser was moldy. The food was bland. They didn't season the egg or vegetables on the bibimbap. The beef bulgogi was not marinated, had absolutely no browning, and was tough and chewy.

CONCLUSION: I'd rather eat...

I've now been to two Korean restaurants in Evansville. At the other one, everything is gleaming and dark and cold, and they play obnoxious, lewd K-Pop videos on a large tv right by the booth. The menu there is good but complex, and they are crewed by a large group of affable young Americans .

This is NOT that restaurant. This is the restaurant where the floor, tables, and chairs are crafted of warm and beautiful wood, where everything is quiet and clean and comfortable and balanced, where lighting and decor is timeless, and where a white-haired Korean lady brings you food from a simple though ample menu of real Korean food.

This is also the restaurant where the Kimchi is so crisp you could play percussion by chewing it, and so refreshing you drink the juice leftover in the bottom of the bowl.

If you are reading this, you should know by now which of the two...