Restaurant GIWA

Mila

5.0

Fantastic experience!
We had an amazing time at this new Korean restaurant! Even though it's only been open for a month, everything felt smooth & welcoming. The service was exceptional-Shaun took great care of us, explaining each dish in detail & even guiding us on the best way to enjoy them. It made the experience feel personal & authentic. The food was fresh, flavorful, & beautifully presented. You can tell a lot of care goes into both the cooking & the customer experience. We'll definitely be coming back-& bringing friends!

The only downside was that it was a little hard to have a conversation because of the noise.

Aaron

5.0

Really outstanding Korean food. Short menu but the quality is on another level. Highly recommended!

Ellie

3.0

A bit below expectation to be honest. The marinated seafoods are too salty & can't taste any freshness. Too much soy sauce & lack of depth in flavor.

The Sotbap has very few thin slices of beef. It seems small in portion & too cooked. Flavor is average. Would not recommend.

Desserts are better though. Both the chocolate brownie & ice cream have interesting Korean twists to them.

Kit

2.0

I want to love this place more than I did! The seafood platter was a very tiny amount of food for the cost (MP, $85) & the flavours were underwhelming - It left both of us totally unsatisfied & had no sides or accompaniments. The appetizers were delicious but also very small
re: portions. The dessert was fantastic, & the service was decent, but overall I wasn't impressed & wondering what I'm not getting as everyone else is raving about the place.There are lots of great Korean restaurants to go to in Montreal, so I'll skip this one next time.

Sylvaro

5.0

C'était juste parfait. Dessert incroyable aussi.

Y.

5.0

Everything was so delicious, Korean food with a modern / fine twist. Service was impeccable!

Yilin

5.0

Went for the sot-bap & marinated seafood plate. I believe this is the only place offering these two plats in Montreal. Both were beyond our expectations & we loved the side dishes for sot-bap. The only off is we thought there would be a whole marinated crab, since we really wanted to try the carapace. It turned out there were only snow crab legs.

We ordered gochujang chocolate mousse, perilla oil ice cream, & peach sorbet. The mousse has a strong chocolate taste, & it is a fun with a small hit of gochujang. I LOVE the perilla oil ice cream. It brought me back to the summer in Korea🥹 I would say one scoop is a good portion. Otherwise, the taste might be too heavy. My friend prefers the pear sorbet tho.

The service was good. I reserved a table on a wrong day, so we almost didn't get a chance to dine. However, they were really nice & made it work for us. The place is cozy & quiet, good for dates, friend hangout, & even small family dinner.

The playlist won the bonus:)

Yena

5.0

GIWA was such a lovely experience! The sogogi sot bap (steak rice bowl) was delicious & was perfectly seasoned. The side dishes that came with it were also great pairings.

I also got the marinated seafood platter which brings my rating down just a tiny bit because the of the crab which I was most excited for. It was soy-marinated crab but it had their own spin on it which was still good, however since the crab changes everyday we got the snow crab.. & the legs didn't have a lot of meat 😭 I was expecting what's shown on their instagram however, it was still good & the salmon & shrimp really blew my mind away!
The rice is cooked to perfection & I could eat 8 bowls of it too.

The steak tartare was amazing, I highly recommend it & next time I'd try the other appetizers.

We finished with pear & perilla oil sorbet & it was the perfect sweet treat. It's hard finding delicious korean restaurants in MTL, & this one was not like anything else I've tried! I'd come back again :)

Carolina

5.0

Le service est la nourriture est vraiment excellent. On a apprécie beaucoup la accueille & la présentation des plats.

Kolbie

5.0

Yummy food & a refreshing take on korean food with innovative modern twists. Came for the soft opening & was very satisfied with the dish selection. The staff was attentive & the chef Alex & team was very hospitable. Tried a variety of the menu but the marinated crab sharing platter was a great experience & a highlight of the meal together with the Sot Bap. Also the stuffed peppers were an exceptional starter. Highly recommend if you're looking to try a change from your typical korean food!