Bienvenue chez GIWA, où les saveurs authentiques de la Corée rencontrent la créativité moderne. Savourez des plats à partager, des vins locaux et des mets frais de saison au cœur de Verdun. Rejoignez-nous pour une expérience culinaire unique !
GIWA propose une cuisine coréenne moderne et raffinée, centrée sur le sotbap servi dans des pots et accompagnée de banchan faits maison, avec des plats et desserts créatifs utilisant des ingrédients rares comme l omija ou l huile de perilla. Le cadre intime et le soin apporté à chaque assiette donnent une impression de gastronomie maîtrisée et accueillante, et la carte volontairement reduite favorise une vraie concentration sur la qualité. Le service est en grande partie apprécié pour sa gentillesse et sa connaissance du menu, mais quelques avis soulignent des retards ou des questions de gestion des reservations et du bruit. Les plats phares tels que le sot bap, le tartare de boeuf yukhoe, le dakgangjeon et le gimbap, ainsi que des desserts originaux autour du doen jang creme brulee et du sorbet perilla, réussissent a allier authenticite et finesse. Dans l ensemble, GIWA est percue comme une perle rare a Montreal, offrant une experience coreenne moderne et memorable qui donne envie de revenir.
I have no pictures of the food & the vibe of the place, but trust when I tell you this restaurant is a must! 💯
The service was good, the food tasted authentic & delicious, & the portions were perfect for us! Don't go there expecting oversized North American portions. But you'll definitely leave feeling full & satisfied.
We had 2 appetizers (seaweed rolls & fried chicken), & we had the braised short ribs for our main. It came with rice, radish, & kimchi on the side.
FYI, the kimchi was fire! Loved it 😋
We were way too full to order a dessert, but we'll be back!
Première visite & j'ai vraiment aimé l'expérience. Ce fut mon introduction à la nourriture coréenne & j'ai été rapidement conquise. Nous avons débuté par le tartare de boeuf en entrée, suivi du SOT-BAQ au poisson & des nouilles au boeuf. J'anticipais un peu que ce soit trop piquant pour moi, qui trouve la sriracha presque too much, mais finalement le niveau de piquant était très tolérable.
Pour terminer, nous avons pris le Hodomaru, un délicieux dessert chocolaté présenté avec beaucoup d'élégance & énormément de saveur. Le tout accompagné d'une tisane à l'orge très réconfortante.
Le service était sympathique & convivial. On pouvait vraiment sentir que le serveur était fier de présenter les plats de son pays d'origine, avec toutes leurs saveurs & leur complexité.
Le seul point à améliorer serait, selon moi, la carte des vins, qui ne comporte que deux ou trois choix au verre, pas très intéressants. Autrement, tout était parfait ! Merci!
5 mars 2026
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A Korean gem to have in Montreal! If there's one thing to emphasize it's their showcasing Korean ingredients & flavours not found elsewhere: omija in a cocktail, mugwort in their tiramisu dessert, marinated egg yolks for the rice dishes, perilla oil ice cream! The menu is small & well thought out, every dish showcases strong elements of Korean favourites & has great variety. The sot-bap (rice dishes) are beautifully presented & come with tasty banchan. The gimbap is airy, crunchy & packed with flavour. The fried chicken is a MUST, the smoked Gouda foam sends it through the roof. & do ask what the chef's dessert is because he's always coming up with a creative combo of Korean ingredients. Sharing some pictures from their holiday special set menu, features regular menu items but in a smaller format for this special menu.
Made a reservation here for someone who loves Korean food on their birthday; the food was surely the highlight of our night. Each meal was served with sides, & you could clearly see the chef's creativity shine through with the unusual ingredients they chose for their dishes; they all complemented each other perfectly well, each bite tasting different. The Giwa was perhaps one of the best desserts I've been served since a very long time: with matcha mousse, chocolate & vanilla ice cream hiding a biscuit cake underneath it all. All in all, I would go back without a hesitation.
Small menu but everything was so tasty, well prepared, authentic flavours & beautifully presented. I was a bit apprehensive coming here after having read the bad reviews, I worried for nothing. From their appetizers to their creative desserts, every dish was so delicious. The fried chicken was the best I had in years, the sauce not drenched with cheap syrup, so perfect. The galbi jjim was flavourful, not oily, so tender, filling as it came with rice & banchan. The beef sotbap was so good too. Beef was tender, rice cooked perfectly, & the sauce seasoned just right. The noodle soups didn't disappoint either. Don't forget to be blown away by their desserts. Loved their chocolate brownie, the chef creation, & sorbet. If any thing to be improved I'd say is their service. Never been to a restaurant where we were not greeted upon entering nor leaving. Also it took awhile before the waitress brought us water & asked us if we had any questions. This is not Korean hospitality. But we will be back for it's the best Korean restaurant in town.
19 nov. 2025
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I had such a wonderful dining experience at Giwa! The food was absolutely amazing. The appetizers were delicious; especially the dakgangjeong. The cheese sauce on top perfectly complemented the sweet & spicy chicken, making it so addictive! The beef sot-bap was also incredible, the meat was full of flavor, & the side dishes paired perfectly with the meal.
& the dessert... wow! I loved how it wasn't overly sweet but still so satisfying & delicious. You can truly taste the time, care, & love the owners put into every dish.
This restaurant is truly a gem, & unlike anything else in the city.
The raw marinated seafood was one of my favorites - so thoughtful & intentional, especially the raw marinated crab, which is usually hard to eat with the shell but here felt effortless. The other seafood dishes were just as memorable.
The korean fried chicken was beautifully elevated, & the cheese foam complemented it perfectly. I also loved the sotbap with mackerel, made with seasonal ingredients that kept it fresh & special each time.
Other standouts were the beef tartare, the refreshing & beautifully presented watermelon salad, & the gimbap, which felt elevated & refined.
A special mention goes to the desserts. I'm usually not a dessert person, but their korean-fusion creations completely won me over.
Ultimately, Giwa is worth a visit if you're in Montréal. It's elevated Korean food with intention behind every dish.
Cozy little restaurant tucked away in Verdun; a hidden gem around Montreal. Service was amazing & the food is nothing else like I've tried here!
The menu is very well curated with each dish being delicious & purposeful. The sotbap, gimbap & dakgangjeon tasted so yummy & comforting while dishes like the hwachae & yukhwe were very bright & refreshing. The haemul jang is extremely unique & the way it's prepared makes this type of dish easy to enjoy-allowing you to focus on all the complex flavours. The desserts are also delicately prepared & the hodumaru is to die for; perfectly sweet with a little bit of umami spice.
Giwa is a modern take on Korean classics & they do it with lots of care & finesse. Wanted to try everything on the menu because it was all so amazing.. I will be back again!
31 août 2025
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Hidden gem. If you're tired of the typical korean restaurant food in Montréal, this is the place to go.
Also if you like marinated crabs, shrimp or whatever, this is the best place to go in Montréal. All appetizers were bomb (especially the gochu twigim & mulhwe).
Their main dishes ofc is also nice since they bring a bunch of side dishes along with a soup & it changes every week apparently. The portion was also filling. They also got soju & korean rice wine as well.
Belle découverte ! Les plats ne sont pas ceux que l'on retrouve dans les autres restaurants coréens. Présentation très soignée, poissons choisis du jour… Je conseille particulièrement les desserts, très originaux.
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.
We had a 7:30 PM reservation for two & arrived on time, expecting to be seated shortly. There were two empty four-top tables, so we assumed one might be for us. Instead, we were told there were no tables available & asked if we wanted to sit at the bar-which we declined, since we had made a reservation specifically for a table.
We were told to wait'just a second,' but several minutes passed with no update. Then, a group of four who arrived after us was seated immediately, while we were still left standing awkwardly near the entrance. One of the empty tables remained untouched for at least 10 minutes before we were finally seated there. The staff apologized multiple times, but the whole situation felt disorganized & frustrating-especially since the point of a reservation is to avoid this kind of confusion.
We were given tea, which we assumed was a nice gesture to make up for the wait, but no one came by to refill it or offer water, & we were left quite thirsty by the end of the meal.
As for the food:
- The yukhwe was fresh & tasty, though the portion was smaller than expected given the price.
- The sogogi sotbap looked great but lacked the buttery, rich flavor we were hoping for.
- The side dishes were unique & interesting-definitely a highlight.
- The crème brûlée for dessert was the star of the meal. We'd honestly return just to try more desserts.
We were there from 7:30 to about 9:30 & ordered one appetizer, two mains, & a dessert.
Overall, 3/5. The food has promise & the staff were kind, but the seating experience really soured the evening. Hopefully, as the restaurant settles in, they'll improve table management & service flow to match the level of care they clearly put into their food.
This cute little restaurant has very Instagramy food: the dishes are placed in a very esthetic way, nice presentation. However I find the appetizers portion are too small for the price they charge. For example the scallop salad is 22$ for a very small amount...
The wait for the sotbap took forever. The Bol of rice came lukewarm & lacking flavor. The small dishes of banchan are ok. Out of the 3 kinds, we like the vegetarian the best. Rosemary gives a unique flavor to the rice. The fish & beef were kind of underwhelming/bland.
The star of tonight Show is the dessert!!!
We order perilla oil ice cream, it was perfect! It has a roasted nutty flavor. Who knew this can taste so good.
Also the brownie with dark chocolate mousse with maple ice cream was decadent!! (Although we didn't taste the gochuchang in the chocolate, but who cares?)
So conclusion: we would come back for the desserts.
This restaurant just opened a few weeks ago & was intrigued by the menu. They serve more elevated Korean dishes with a twist. The menu is small but every dish was executed amazingly. We started off with their rendition on a gimbap & the beef tartare. Both were excellent & the texture of the fried seaweed was great! For mains we got the beef sotbap, fish sotbap & the haemul jang which was an assorted raw soy marinated seafood platter. All dishes were fresh & delicious. My fave being the beef sotbap. I really appreciated the attention to detail here as every side dish was tasty & well presented. To finish off the night we ordered desserts. DO NOT skip on the desserts because they were phenomenal! We got the gochuchang brownie & the pear, perilla & lime ginger sorbet/ice creams. There was so many different textures & flavours for all the desserts. The perilla ice cream was my fave! Never had tasted that flavour before & would recommend. Overall I really enjoyed this restaurant & will definitely be back. It's difficult to find restaurants at reasonable prices with high quality dishes & innovative ideas with almost flawless execution. GIWA definitely delivered!
