Tucked behind a nondescript door in East Atlanta Village, Gaja serves up hip, affordable Korean small plates with a punk-rock vibe and killer fried chicken.
"Glass Noodle Gaja is a warm, industrial restaurant in EAV that's hard to miss if you're not looking. When you eventually find the entrance on the back side of a mini market building, take your seat in one of the booths along the wall or at the long bar that stretches through the restaurant. Their japchae is the show stopper here. You'll get the dish's customary peppers and shitake mushrooms, however, they replace the bulgogi with a beef bone marrow that tastes like it’s been marinated in Korean BBQ sauce and given a hearty char. These gluten-free sweet potato glass noodles are also finished in that fatty marrow instead of the usual sesame oil. Drool, squeal, whatever—just make sure you scrape the marrow into the noodles and mix thoroughly to get its full impact." - lamara davidson
"If Gaja Korean Bar feels hidden, it’s because it kind of is. Aside from the tiny sign with its name in red lettering above the door, it’s an easy-to-miss entrance on the back side of a brick building shared by a mini market and CBD store. You’ll know you're getting warm when you pull into a parking lot that definitely hasn’t been re-paved since the ’70s. No windows, concrete walls, and mustard yellow neon lights make Gaja feel just as secretive inside. Nothing on the menu at this Korean small plates spot in EAV is more than $15, and the smallish space serves up some of the best beef bulgogi this side of I-20." - juli horsford
"Weeknight dinners don’t get more casual than this restaurant, which sits on the backend of a brick building shared by a mini market and a CBD store. So when we want to feast on tasty beef bulgogi or braised pork belly in an oversized T-shirt, we head to Gaja Korean Bar in EAV. A massive concrete wall backdrops the space that’s lit up by mustard yellow neon lights and dotted with a handful of tables and booths. But the real selling point is that nothing on the menu at this Korean small plates spot is more than $15. You don’t have to sacrifice taste to wear sweats, and you’ll spend less than it costs to park at most other ATL restaurants. What are you still doing reading this?" - demarco williams, nina reeder, juli horsford
"If Gaja Korean Bar feels hidden, it’s because it kind of is. Aside from the tiny sign with its name in red lettering above the door, it’s an easy-to-miss entrance on the back side of a brick building shared by a mini market and CBD store. You’ll know you're getting warm when you pull into a parking lot that definitely hasn’t been re-paved since the ’70s. No windows, concrete walls, and mustard yellow neon lights make Gaja feel just as secretive inside. Nothing on the menu at this Korean small plates spot in EAV is more than $15, and the smallish space serves up some of the best beef bulgogi this side of I-20. photo credit: Amy Sinclair photo credit: Amy Sinclair photo credit: Amy Sinclair photo credit: Amy Sinclair" - Juli Horsford
"Gaja is a good enough fix [for Korean food] when I can’t make it back home." - Sarra Sedghi
