Gaja Korean Bar
Korean restaurant · Atlanta
491 Flat Shoals Ave SE A, Atlanta, GA 30316
Highlights
Korean punk bar with unique spins on traditional dishes
Korean punk bar with unique spins on traditional dishes
"The back side of a brick building shared by a mini-market and CBD store hides the entrance to Gaja Korean Bar. There’s a tiny sign with red lettering above the door, but it’s easy to miss if you haven’t been to this EAV spot before. No windows, concrete walls, and mustard yellow neon lights make Gaja feel just as secretive inside. Few things on the small plates menu cost more than $15 and everything is good enough to tempt you with a second round. So the move is to order until your tabletop disappears under dishes. Just make sure you get the beef bulgogi, the best on this side of I-20." - jacinta howard, juli horsford, nina reeder
"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, jacinta howard
"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
"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
