Kisa — Restaurant in New York

This place is both one-of-a-kind and a first in NYC. KISA means "taxi driver" in Korean but the full name gisa-sikdang are places (in Korea) where busy taxi drivers could enjoy a nice meal.

The concept from owners David JoonWu Yun, Steve JaeWoo Choi and Yong Min Kim arose from their recent visits back to their homeland. They noticed that this type of restaurant was not as abundant as they were years ago. The concept was brought over to NYC last April and the momentum has been strong ever since. The awning and signage are all in Korean and they are at the corner. You cannot miss them if you ever walk or drive by.

There is of course a very large Korean Community in NYC who love this concept. But it is not just the Koreans. New Yorkers who work or live and eat near LES (Lower East Side) and who do not work have eaten there. In order to snag a table for the opening time, you would have had to be on the line at least a half hour to an hour before. Due to work and travel, there was no way I was able to make it for opening dinner time.

I clearly remember my first time visiting. It was during their first month. I took a drive into Manhattan after work and arrived there around 8:30p. It did not look busy so I thought I was definitely getting a table. When I walked up to the front door, there was a hand written sign notifying people that they were "sold out" of all the dinner ingredients for that night. I was simultaneously devastated yet I was happy for their success. The owners are from the same team that brought us C as In Charlie (which is not too far actually).

A short time later they transitioned to a waitlist system (no reservations) where you get notified via text that your table is ready. I dined in on four separate occasions with different guests). My Korean bro said he felt like he was in Korea. The interior has a very nostalgic feel to it....an older model fan mounted to the wall, older style mini tube television playing vintage Korean pop songs. I am not Korean but I could feel the nostalgia too.

'Now the food! As of this review, the offer both a limited lunch (FRI-SUN 11a-2:30p) and daily dinner 5p-11p. I stopped in randomly for lunch on a Sunday recently. I must be cursed with bad timing. When I got there they informed me that out of the two menu items, one was sold out. They offer a tasty pork katsu with a mini salad and rice and a delicious sounding pork back bone soup spicy stew called gamja-tang (I say "delicious sounding because this was sold out lol). The pork cutlet was crispy with the right amount of sauce on top.

The dinner menu consist of traditional Korean style meals served at a taxi restaurant. You get your choice of one main entree (marinated beef, spicy pork, stir fried squid or vegetable bibimbap. Each dish comes with 7 seasonal banchan. Initially they had kimchi, marinated shrimps, ricecake and sausage skewer, seaweed, korean eggroll/omelete, beef and potatoes and some assorted vegetables to round things out. Later they updated some of the side dishes to offer maple jelly, seaweed rolls and another shrimp. You get a total of three refills for your banchan. All my guests loved each entree they picked. The beef and pork were savory and delicious. The squid was good as well but has a toughness to it when chewing. The bimbimbap will definitely fill you up. Before each meal you get a some tofu soup and some rice puff snacks. Compliments to Chef Lee.

At the end of the meal, you are given a US quarter to use on their vintage coffee / drink machine. There are a few different flavors (milk coffe, black bean latte or hot chocolate). The little cup drops down and fills up at the bottom of the machine. Also a nice hand warmer for these icy chilly winter months.

Service I would have to say is quite impeccable. The staff and servers (which sometimes include the owners) are always checking on you and the food comes to the table in a very reasonable amount of time considering they are usually very busy. As of this writing I am planning...

I came here around 9pm on a Sunday with a friend for dinner. We technically did have a reservation but came early and walk ins were being sat quickly. The atmosphere is absolutely adorable. I love how it perfectly captures that universal homey feeling but also just like we're in a shop in Korea in the 80s. There's obviously a lot of love and someone's personal memories poured into the space you can see it in the small details like the old rotating fan plugged into the wall blowing away across the dining room to the little coffee machine that has the complimentary black bean lattes, it's worth visiting here for this alone.

I think Kisa's strength is in its concept. The decor and vibe is already adorable and the menu exists as a complete set with soup, rice, banchan, and an entree of your choosing served in a traditional metal tray across smaller serving bowls. We picked the spicy squid and the bulgogi and the banchan we were served included kimchi, steamed egg, turnip salad, marinated raw salmon, popcorn chicken, marinated squid, and a fried fishcake and radish cake. The bulgogi was fine it had a nice grilled flavor and was cooked well but it was just bulgogi like most other good Korean spots in the city. The squid was the better entree, a little bit rubbery and not as spicy as expected, but it was the more interesting one of the two.

The banchan were hit or miss. I did not like the steamed egg (it was just kind of like wet and warm egg I just was not into it it could just be me) or turnip salad (this is a personal problem I do not like a lot of types of turnips). The kimchi was not very impressive, it was missing the spicy tanginess and fermented funkiness a lot of kimchis have like this batch wasn't fermented for long enough maybe. The squid, marinated salmon, and popcorn chicken banchan were all good and the soup was remarkably flavorful for how it's just a simple clear broth. Based on previous reviews, I saw different banchans mentioned. so I'm hoping they change them out frequently.

Customer service is also good. Our waitress was nice and professional. She did not feel smothering but was always there if we needed something. Towards the end of our meal, there was a customer who had a meltdown and stormed out after yelling at the manager and some other people at the restaurant. The manager went around and apologized to the guests for the inconvenience and he came to our table and offered my friend and I some shots of a strawberry liquor explaining the situation. He was very sweet and personable and handled that obnoxious situation professionally and very well. Overall for the value (two entrees and two glasses of Korean wine after tax and tip came to about $60 per person) and experience I will definitely come back and try the other...

Seriously this nonsense hype train needs to stop. As a korean native, this was a very mediocre experience. In fact i hardly follow social media recommendations on food trends and am more inclined towards hands on experience and making judgement for myself. I only waited in line to get in here before opening because my wife wanted to come so badly because her favorite tiktoker was gushing about this place and at this point, I would rather believe these are paid influencers who hype up places and followers will be curious enough to pay visits. My biggest gripe was not waiting in line in cold or the fact they had cramped tables but rather it was the main act itself, the food. I got the spicy pork and wife ordered the stir fry squid. Both had some smokiness to them but were just average meat serving you can get from any banchan store in Flushing or Palisades park. For $32 per platter you can get authentic homemade style and freshly made meal with amazing banchan at a real korean restaurant in Flushing, Palisades park or Fort Lee.The platter arrived rather quickly after ordering and sure enough, main dishes were barely warm and banchan or side dishes that accompany the meal were unremarkable. This only meant that they prepare these platters not freshly made to order but pre-made and sitting cold due to high demands and to streamline the table turnovers quickly. It further solidified my opinion that this was indeed a hype that quickly died down as soon as it started when I saw that there was no one waiting in line after we had finished our meal in just 35 minutes from ordering to paying the check. The only remarkable aspect of the whole experience was the server who was kind and friendly. Additionally none of the choices from the free coffee and tea vending machine taste like the real deal from South Korea. If you must try regardless just go with lowered expectations then you won't be disappointed as...