Cafe Ganadara — Restaurant in St. Louis

Ganadara is a small, Korean restaurant with the best fried chicken (labeled as rice krispie chicken), and the best tteokbokki. I'll start by describing the dishes, then go into the service and atmosphere.

Fried chicken: Ganadara makes this fried chicken was a delicacy I had the pleasure to try. The outside is maybe the most crispy breading I have tried in my years on this planet, and the meat was so tender that I could eat it using braces. I wouldn't call the flavor divine, but for a dish such as fried chicken, I believe that they have reached perfection. (Note: This food was greasy) Tteokbokki: Most Korean restaurants serve this dish as simply a rice cake with a red-pepper broth, but they've "took it to another level," as it were. They added a variety of different foods to this classic, such as cabbage, beef sausage, chives, and glass noodles. Despite it being such a simple addition, it gives it a more complex flavor and texture. (Note: It is spicy, but it's not as hot as some other companies. I'd describe it as "manageable," which is one of the reasons I like it) Drinks: I won't go to in-depth into the drinks. It's not because they aren't good, but I'm still ignorant when it comes to rating any drink except for a chai latte. I ordered the green tea boba, and it tasted like how a boba should taste; A sweet drink, with the desired flavor, and a potent, little tapioca pearl at the end of every sip, which adds both an unfamiliar and excellent texture.

Service: The person waiting on us was really nice, and truly valued her customer's opinion. Actually, because I only finished about a quarter of my meal, she was asking if it's to spicy, and offered a different dish. I said no, because before that, I actually ate quite a large breakfast compared to what I usually eat.

Atmosphere: Ganadara is a quaint little restaurant, with a small roof. It looked completely normal from the outside, but inside, it showed its modernity through the wooden tables, white paint, and some windows through a wall. (Note: They do play a TV show meant for children in the background, which might make it easier for kids if they are to get restless)

Conclusion: I believe this to be one of the best of the few Korean restaurants I have visited, and I will surely...

New St. Louis Restaurant Alert!!

Cafe Ganadara opened last month serving Korean breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert by chefs/owners Erica Park & Sean Lee. The sweetest people!

We visited at the sweet spot right between breakfast and lunch, so we got a little bit of both:

Breakfast: We started with the Ganadara Korean okonomi toast. It has a fluffy egg patty, ham, cabbage and carrot shreds, bonito flakes, and pickled jalapeño. It's drizzled with savory sweet sauces. Definitely my idea of comfort food.

Lunch: We ordered the kimbap rice roll (Korean sushi) with tuna and an order of potstickers. We also mad sure to get an order of the SDSD (sausage & rice cake on a stick) since it was my favorite from their other restaurant @chickenseven_stl.

Dessert: We had the strawberry sandwich. Super fluffy bread with giant ripe strawberries surrounded by cream. The best way to end a meal. We thought about ordering the bingsu (Korean shaved ice cream) but we had reached capacity!

Tag a friend that needs to know about this new Korean restaurant in South St. Louis!

@cafe_ganadara 6413 Hampton Ave, St. Louis Hills (near Loughborough)

Hours: Mon-Tues 9am-7pm, Closed Wed, Thurs-Sat 9am-8pm, Sun 12pm-7pm

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Ordered through Uber Eats. Part of my order was 1 bulgogi kimbop and 2 spicy tuna kimbops. I was sent 3 kimbops that all had bulgogi, no spicy tuna, and all had imitation crab which is not supposed to be in the bulgogi kimbop or the spicy tuna kimbop. I called the cafe and was told they had run out of spicy tuna and that the Uber app should not have let me order it at all, and that the imitation crab being included was “weird.” Running out of ingredients shortly after opening for the day is a little odd, but sending customers items with wrong ingredients instead of canceling the items or calling to ask about replacements is wrong. People order based on dietary restrictions and allergies - you can’t just make food using whatever ingredients you have available. I called to let the cafe know about this in case they were doing this to other customers (especially ones who might have severe allergies), and the male employee who I spoke with was rather flippant and seemed eager to get me off the phone, which was frustrating. This was my first time ordering from this place and I am disappointed with how they run their business. If you have dietary restrictions or allergies, I suggest you check your food...