Gia Ba

Good authentic szechuan in Monkland Village neighborhood. The restaurant is basically a hole in the wall with very basic decor but food is good and were doing brisk take-out business while I was there. They serve alcohol including Chang and Tsingtao beer and a few wine and saké choices at reasonable prices.

Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs . Happy Easter everybody and to my fellow Jews Happy Passover 😊. I know that this dish is not exactly Kosher for Passover, but it sure will turn a God fearing Jew over to the dark side real quick because it's so dam delicious 🤤. . Gia Ba was one of those stumble upon happy accidents. One night I was out with some friends walking along Monkland and we had planned to eat at Al Dente. I looked up and say Gia Ba right above it with a craving for Asian food and said "let's go and take a walk on the wild side guys". . We walked in and honestly was nothing crazy, dacor was decent, sites around 30-35 people and was empty when we came. I looked back at my friends and said I think I just made a mistake 😅. Regardless we sat down and said let's give it a try. . That night we ordered 5 dishes, the fried dumplings, sweet and sour spare ribs, cumin beef, singaporean vermicelli and green beans with chili. Everything we ordered... Was a Banger🌶️🔥. . My favourite dish and the one thag game me the FOODGASMIC 💦 moment was the spare ribs. Sticky yummy sauce, fall off the bone tender... What more can a guy ask for?! ❤️

Great authentic Chinese and Taiwanese dishes. The ingredients are fresh and it does not feel like you're stuffing your mouth with food additives/preservatives. Excellent service and prices are comparable to other Chinese restaurants. Some dishes are very spicy. Would definitely recommend.

Excellent food. The chicken was one of the best ive ever had. The flavours in all the dishes was top notch. The dumplings in the wonton soup may have had too much wrapping. I must visit again and try multiple dishes and see the consistency of the wiality but I suspect it'll deserve a spot in my top chinese restaurants.

I ordered the fried rice to go. The fried rice was nicely packed, and they had the order ready immediately. The fried rice though had no flavour, tasted like expensive (10.95$) cooked rice 😏. I so much miss the great Taiwanese fried rice in Taiwan, they are usually in strong garlic/scallion wok stir fried flavour with generous ingredients. The fried rice in Gia Ba wasn’t anything close to that kind of home fried rice. I should have ordered other dishes to go together with their fried rice. I wish the lady taking the order would have let me know. It was a tasteless lunch; sorry to be so blunt. Their washroom is super clean.

Great dishes bursting with flavour. Very good vegetarian options. Definitely recommend the brussel sprouts. Portion sizes are decent for the price and service is good. No complaints and can’t wait to try again!

If you have never had REAL Szechuan, this is where you need to go to get it, flavours are amazing. Do yourself a favor try something spicy!

Ordered from Uber Eats, I can say this szechuan spot is legit. Our food came plentiful, flavourful and SPICY with the RIGHT taste. Quite grateful this place exists. Quite worth the wait. Would love to visit.

Needed something to eat after hot yoga so figured I could find something at Gia Ba. Technically, it's a Taiwanese/Szechuan place but I forgot Szechuan isn't exactly the best for solo dining. I came 30 minutes before closing Friday night but they didn't rush me to finish my meal. They ate their own dinner after they served me. Service was better than normal and they even accept credit cards! Must be catering to the Monkland clientele. - Dan dan noodles (#59) ($8.50) - their menu says $8.00 so they overcharged me. Bowl was decent; acceptable noodles, spicy, crushed peanuts and bok choy. Problem was there no meat at all. Never had a dan dan without some meat in it so that was unsatisfactory. Wasn't too impressed with my bowl but maybe stick with the Szechuan dishes.

Our food was so-so, but small portions and very expensive. The ginger beef with onions was really good but sadly a small amount. The Ma Po tofu was marginal. For some odd reason, no matter what city I travel to, I always go to a Chinese restaurant and order this dish. This Ma Pi tofu was a huge disappointment. Our other dishes were ok. So would I go back? Not really. The price/quantity to dining experience was not there for me. But give it a try. Maybe I ordered on a bad night. And maybe I'm cheap and was expecting a bigger quantity.

Ordered dinner and though it was delivered only after 1 1/2 hours (it was Xmas day!) it was excellent. Ordered I l'y vegetarian dishes and it did not disappoint. Unusual combinations, flavourful with just the right amount of spice and ample portions. We have enough for a second meal tonight. Reasonably priced as well. Will definitely return!

Yyaaasss! Such amazing authentic Szechuan food here. It's an unsuspecting restaurant you can surprise your friends with when in Monkland village and if you are feeling like partying it up you can drop by Typhoon's which is right next to it. Definitely start with the dumplings in Chili sauce which are...drool. Also you must have the twiced cooked pork which is crispy slightly chewy and so well seasoned. They have an alcohol license so you can buy alcohol if you want a cold one while you devour their dishes. I would recommend this place for families and a group of friends. The staff too are quite sweet. All in all 5 star experience.

over a couple years, friends move out from Montréal, and we back to hunt a best Taiwanese people's kitchen. place is small and you may think why a good bz only offering small place, I think this is not the tourist place. The owner are particular only cook when the life and business can balance. The business hours has been changed.

Food is okay, but seriously rude service! My friend and I would probably never go back.

We went last night, partially because of the good Yelp reviews, partially because it is 3 blocks away from our home. I honestly left quite disappointed. Lovely woman serving us who unfortunately had problems expressing herself easily in English or French but I won't take points away for that. She was very nice, quick to smile and quick to apologize or offer suggestions. The first issue - we immediately ordered a couple of Sapporo beers. They arrived warm. Really warm. I called the woman over and asked if I could get cold beer or icy glasses. She said she didn't have cold beer or cold glasses but she could bring me some ice cubes. So that's what we had to do......put 8 small ice cubes into our beer to bring them to a cool (not cold) temperature. Not a great start to a nice meal.....the ice melted very quickly so now we are just drinking watery beer. The second issue - it was 30 degrees outside and it's extremely warm in there. Air conditioning is not really a "nice to have" in a Monkland Avenue restaurant that has dishes on the menu that are $40. We looked at the menu and the seasonal menu up on the chalkboard for some time and decided on dumplings with peanut sauce, seasonal soft shell crab, an order of rice, seasonal asparagus and chicken vermicelli. All of the food was good, not great. The third issue - half of the restaurant looks run down, slapped together and not welcoming at all. Extension cords haphazardly strewn across the wall, boxes of supplies stored at the front door under some really old and very ugly bit of furniture from someone's basement, very large and unattractive fridge and supplies in the dining room, angry older woman in the open kitchen in a baseball hat yelling at the staff, giant television playing The Food Network's "You Gotta Eat Here" as the center display of the grill and bar area, bin of peppers waiting for some staff to get to it with scissors sticking out of it in the middle of a table in the dining room.....all of it was pretty tacky. We have no problem paying $90 for dinner for 2 (plus 2 beers) but you've got to clean yourself up a little here. I wouldn't go back. I would probably order takeout over the phone and go pick it up one of these days. Gia Ba.....take a day to cover up that extension cord, put away your supplies, get rid off the television because you are not a sports bar, don't store food on tables in the dining room, put a screen up in front of the fridge and just put some nice lounge music on. Little things go a long way :-) .

Major fan favourite among my family for their noodle dishes with fresh, crisp veggies. I have ordered some of their other dishes which were spicy and flavourful, but would be best done as a large group so you can get a well-rounded meal. My one time dining in was good but unremarkable -- I think it's best suited to bigger tables.

I really enjoyed my time here. I got the taiwanese beef noodle soup which was hugely dissapointing; the poached fish (amazing); the eggplant (also amazing). My dining companion said the hot and sour was great too. Got 2 beers at $8 each friendly and fast and accommodating service I would give it 4.5 if I could but have to dock one star for the super mediocre soup Can't wait to go back

The food tasteless and unauthentic. They used a frozen vegetable pack for the fried rice that we ended up picking out it tasted so bad. Would not order again, don't order if you are looking for decent authentic food and flavours.

The food was Good, the service was really good. They have a nice patio. Overall a positive experience

Talk about yummy. We enjoyed our dining experience here, and ordered several dishes to try. Although, as Heather W. mentioned, we came on a cold winter evening and the draught from the open door every time a customer came/left was a little bit unpleasant. First off, was the beef noodle soup. A very good dish, beef was quite tender and broth was tasty. Although enjoyable, to be honest, Nudo restaurant (with fresh handmade noodles) does a better job in this department. The twice cooked fish was really savory and delicious, and the veggies also took on the wonderful flavour from the sauce. The MaPo tofu was delightfully spicy, and both dishes paired excellently with steamed rice. Prices were a bit higher than expected, but overall we thought the meal was worth the money. Great place to get your Taiwanese/Szechuan comfort food fix.

Authentic Taiwanese and Chinese food just like from the old country. The Kung bao chicken was very good as was the fried tofu. So many good things on the menu

Authentic Szechuan & Taiwanese cuisine in NDG? Yessir. I have been here twice now, both times during dinner time and they are starting to get a bit busier. My wife and I tried their Ma Po Tofu dish first and man, did it transport me back to my travels in Asia. You can tell they made their chili oil fresh here and make sure to get a bowl of rice to go along side this one. The next dish we sampled was their Taiwanese beef noodle in soup. The beef shanks were super tender, noodles were a bit softer than I would like, but the broth helped bouy this dish back to an excellent rating, The last dish we had was the twice cooked fish, which was pan fried first and then quickly deep fried. Lots of garlic, onions and green peppers garnish this dish with some black fungus. It's spicy. it's delicious. I think this was my favourite one. They are licensed now, so grab a cold bottle of Kirin and enjoy some great food.

Decent resto in Monkland village. Really enjoy the spicy green beans. And delicious Dan Dan noodles. Good cumin beef & 13 spice chicken w potatoes. A solid 3 star meal.

Okay I read all about this place and was very excited to try it out. I went there with a group so we could try multiple everything was very good. The service was great for a large group they have one table that pulls 10 people overlooking the street, and that was just perfect for our group. Overall it was a really good dinner experience especially for this area of town. My main challenge is that I found the dishes didn't blow my mind, it was just good. I suggest you try it out for yourself. Enjoy.

Absolutely awesome, best szechuan in Montreal! I've been a regular for a few years and love that they actually use szechuan peppers. The twice-cooked fish is a must, but everything on their menu is well-curated, reasonably priced and delicious. The pork belly burger, sweet and spicy eggplant, cumin beef and the pepper cabbage are all also favourites. Well worth checking out, you won't be disappointed!!

Gia Ba has some delicious dishes to offer. Hidden away on Monkland avenue this may not be your first choice of restaurant as it requires some good walk from the metro station, but parking is easy and the food deserves the effort. The restaurant is more suitable for small groups unless you manage to reserve the surrounded by windows table that can accommodate ten people without a problem. The very same table is not superbly comfortable as you have to sit the entire evening on wooden benches, without back support on a thin cushion, but allowed us to have enjoyable family style dinner. We ordered a lot of dishes and I managed to taste most of them. My five stars go to the dumplings with peanut butter sauce, the absolutely amazing mushrooms with walnuts, and the yummy Yu Xiang eggplant. The eggplant is orgasmically delicious, but beware, heavy and kind of oily dish. Four stars for the chicken with peanuts and the cumin beef (a little but overcrowded with onions, but so tender). The fried spinach was too sweet and just ok. I really wanted to try the fried green beans, crispy and delicious as expected, they blended well in the endless mix of flavours during dinner, but my last bite left an aftertaste of oil that has been used for frying a little bit more than I would like. What a pleasure to have such an endless variety of beers from the Far East, almost every brew available in Montreal was on the beer list, including Sapporo on tap and tall bottles of Kirin. The Gia Ba menu is long and I'm sure it is full of more surprises, good reason to stop for dinner again!

Flavourful, spicy, garlic-y. Service was ok. Food was decent. Everything was fine but nothing stood out. Price is a bit more than what I usually pay, but I didn't feel ripped off.

We found this place out of desperation for chinese food and what a great find it was. I needed my spice fix and spice fix I got. As I have always said they should allow us to do half stars as this place is a 4.5 star. Their dumplings in their home made spice was just totally amazing. WOW!!! Along with their beans and potatoe strips. Their fried dumplings were a little disappointing. They tasted frozen and not home made. Their chicken with 10 spices was also amazing. This place was so good I am going back friday.

Continuing in the tradition of his last restaurant (Cuisine Szechuan), Andy Su has finally brought great food to the overpriced, unimaginative Monkland strip. Gia Ba is the best restaurant in the area by far. The dumplings in chilli sauce are mind-altering. The eggplant is almost better than sex. Almost. His fantastic Cuisine Szechuan tofu flower chicken is retooled and done with poached fish, but is as amazing as the original (which they'll do on request) Cumin beef, the original Montreal love affair, is as delicious as ever. I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I've even tried the General Tao chicken, and it's really really yummy! Crispy and meaty.

Ordered for 30 people and we were amazed at the catering and delivery service given! Quality and freshness of ingredients were exceptional. Quantity of food was generous and taste of dishes brought us straight to Asia! We will definitely order again from this place.

The pork belly in house chilli sauce tasted like slightly flavoured water. The peanut butter dumplings were okay, the white rice was fine and the general tao was okay as well. My main issue is that i placed an order for delivery which took over an hour. I tried calling to get an update and they didn't give me much information. My total also came to $35.00 which i found to be pretty expensive especially for the quality of food that I received. It appears that its much better to just go physically to the restaurant otherwise I don't see how they could stay in business with the food they had given me.

Today, I went there to take out couples plats like green been with chilli ($11), YuXiang eggplant ($10), chicken cumin ($16.75), vegetable tiger shrimps 9pieces ($17.50) total for tonight supper with tax is $63.52. The portion is not worth the value specially chicken plat. It was only 10 small pieces of chicken, rest of the plat is full of red chilli. It is overpriced!!! Very disappointed. The taste wise is good. But is not filling up for 4 ppl. I'm still hungry after all.

We ate here on a Friday evening, around 8:30pm. We'd called to make a reservation but they only take them for 4 or more people. We didn't however have any trouble getting a table, despite the rave reviews the place has been getting lately. Those reviews are warranted. We started with (Chinese) Mushrooms and walnuts in Szechuan spices, which was spicy and citrusy, with succulent but springy mushrooms. The main dishes followed in rapid succession: Cumin beef (meat cooked and spiced just right), Giaba sweet and sour short ribs (you'll never want to eat BBQ sauce on your ribs again), Taiwanese radish, tofu, peanuts and celery (a mixture of crunch and softness, with tang from the pickled radish and an almost meaty taste from the tofu). They have a good selection of drinks, with two beers on tap, including Sapporo. The service was efficient and the staff ready to help with suggestions. We'll definitely be back but with more friends, to take advantage of the window seats and the ability to order a greater selection of dishes!

Previously I have given Gia Ba's a 5 star review. But I am really, really disappointed in recent service. We have loved the food from Gia Ba for a long time. We order it on an almost weekly basis. But our recent order took two hours and when it came the order was wrong. We had asked for pork and they delivered fish instead. When we called they didn't seem very willing to correct the mistake. Chef Andy, this is not the service that we have come to expect from your restaurant. I hope this a momentary blip.

Great food, quality ingredients, awesome portion/price ratio! We ordered braised beef, chicken cumin (instant favorite) and chicken with shitake mushroom (super delicious) Fried rice was great, not greasy and definitely flavorful. Highly recommend...

This little Szechuanese/Taiwanese restaurant is one of my favourite Asian restaurants in Montréal. Asian food can either be delicate and subtle (think Japanese or Cantonese) or a firework of complex spices and tastes that will knock your socks off. Gia Ba falls in the latter category and does it very well. Even though the menu contains some classic Cantonese dishes, it is the Szechuanese dishes that stand out for us. Our favourites include the green beans (crispy and full of flavour), the decadent and silky Yu Xiang eggplant, the cumin chicken, spare ribs and the Brussels sprouts (I usually dislike Brussels sprouts but this restaurant uses a 3-steps cooking technique that turns it in a delicious crispy and sweet and spicy dish, almost like if they were candied). In the appetizers, the mushrooms or cucumbers with nuts in a spicy home sauce are delicious and the hot and sour soup is one of the best I had. Their version of the classic general Tao chicken (in delicate and crispy panko) is one of the best I ever had, at par with l'Orchidée de Chine. There are also a few interesting Taiwanese dishes on the menu. The decor is simple and modern, and the owners Andy and Debbie are very friendly and hospitable.

The food is excellent here. The service is exceptionally abrupt, cold, unhelpful, and unpleasant. Take the good with the bad, it's worth it. Probably best to take out.

Very good. Cut above other Chinese food in ndg or cote st-luc. Recomend the twice cooked fish. Prices 10-15 percent more than some. But the quality of ingredients seem a cut above. Taste is certainly better than the somewhat gloopy taste of other suburban Asian resto. Strange opening hours so check befre going (at this writing). Service friendly but explanations limited by some lack of eng or fr.

Caveat: this is from the perspective of someone who is vegetarian/vegan. I acknowledge that the culinary experience is different for someone eating meat or fish. The food is, I gather, not only adventuresome but delicious. But that wasn't my experience. I ordered two tofu dishes. They were both bland. B-L-A-N-D. Neither had exciting savory seasoning. It was frustrating -- as delicious aromas and concoctions were being served all around me. I wouldn't quite call the dishes "hospital food" - but it was close to it. For transparency sake, I come from LA, where veg restaurants are everywhere, and sprouting more, and there is a concerted movement and even multiple chains to create all the dishes, comfort foods, burgers, ethnic cuisine, to fulfill the palate. If the two tofu dishes were served in LA in vegetarian restaurants, they would be almost like the neutral side dishes, not something that would be a main course/centerpiece. My cousin ordered a fish dish with this flavorful dark sauce, and crisp breading. I felt like I should be putting on a hospital bib for my bland fare. Non-veg chefs unconsciously patronize vegetarians by projecting that they are satisfied grazing on greens, while they devote resources to create dynamic flavorful concoctions for meat eaters - as if we don't have the same culinary threshold. WRONG. My mother and I, who ordered those two tofu dishes, were extremely disappointed. Those tofu dishes would be ho-hum yawn by food critics in LA. As a side note to the veg bias, I specifically asked the server whether the two tofu dishes I ordered were too similar in flavor. Her response was to comment that the tofus were different, ignoring the fact that e real issue was that both had bland almost-nonexistent sauces. Fail. NOTE TO CHEF: expend your same culinary skills to make tofu dishes that are dynamic. Drive down to Yuan on St. Denis and Sherbooke to see how it's done. Our taste buds aren't comatose; they're just non-animal.

Food was delicious, but the portions a bit too small considering how expensive it was. I took my food to go so there is very little I could say about restaurant itself. Paid 40$ with barely enough food for 2 people with small appetites.

Great service both times I've been there. I enjoyed everything I've eaten there so far except the chicken and mushroom dish. It was bland.

I love this place! Excellent Chinese and Taiwanese food - anything with ma la, peppers very good. We've been a number of times, and it's a mainstay. Not for the faint of heart! Very spicy, very delicious. Gia Ba is really one of the best restaurants in Montreal, in my opinion.

WORSE RESTAURANT EVER! DO NOT EAT HERE! Came here with a group of 8 and was told to seat at 2 different table because they can't arrange another big table just for us. Waitress gave us attitude through out the entire time we were there which is ridiculous. Service and food was horrible, do not recommend anyone to come here. As a food lover, I have been to many different restaurants in Canada, I have never encounter such bad service in my life.

Read many good reviews of this restuarant. Unfortunately after three visits over three weeks I have to say I am very underwhelmed. I will give the chef credit for using great and unusual ingredients and thinking out of the box. That being said there is a certain lack of subtlety in the flavouring of the food....one is clubbed over the head with the dominant seasoning...the Cumin-spiced lamb ...all you taste is cumin, it overpowers the other flavours there is no hint of the lamb flavour or the other seasonings...same with the Chili crawfish...just chili..nothing else. Let me be clear....it wasn't that the food was ugh..bad....it was just disappointing. Which would be fine at half the price...but this place isn't cheap...so only two stars...I can't recommend this restuarant.

Pleasant surprise in terms of taste profile for most of what we ate- spices were beautifully balanced and meats were perfectly cooked... almost everything is good here. The only two downsides for this resto was 1. When it is very cold outside sitting near the windows is not pleasant... we were very cold until we had tea to warm up with and 2. The "fried rice" was way over priced and a disappointment. While everything else on our table seemed to be prepared with fresh veggies ... the fried rice obviously had been made with frozen peas and carrots added to it and cost way too much. That being said... the portions of most dishes are large and the presentation of everything else was beautifully done. Would come back for sure... we would just sit away from the window and avoid the fried rice. Wish they would offer delivery

The third time we go there, first time 9:45 they're closed. 2nd time 9:40 there telling us they are closed we argue about closing time they still serve us. The food was very good. Third time we get there 9:30 the door is locked. Its real good chinese food but without the chinese buisness mentallity. By the way if you say you have opening hours you respect them or else what good are they for?! That's why i give it a 1 star rating. The foor was really good but we asked them for rice for two and they served us a 1 person portion of rice. You know the small ball of rice they serve you for single people.. Ne way thats all i have to say... Ho yeah a bit on the expensive side for an asian restaurant....

The food is excellent! We had the beef with garlic stems, the chicken with crispy spinach and sezchuan style tiger shrimp. All were excellent. Remember to ask what the seasonal specials are, they are on a board near the door.

Really good and fresh food. I went during the Monkland Street festival so the menu was limited, but I did try the General Tao and it was perfectly crispy. Will be coming back for more. Hope they start to offer delivery soon, great addition to the neighbourhood.

I love everything Chef Andy cooks! The food is delicious, pristine, and just fabulous. Try the smoked duck, chicken Kon Pao, even something as simple green beans are turned into splendour! I haven't been back to Chinatown since he arrived in NDG!

Personally don't think you should review a place if you haven't eaten there...maybe that's just me...Went here, had yu xian eggplant w du ban jiang - nice sweet, smoky, maple flavour - can't say i've had anything like this; dumplings in spicy sauce - also amazing and as described with nice garlic and ginger flavour; on special we had chili soft shell crab. WOW. i'll be back.

Just finished a fantastic meal of szechuan dumplings, stir fried green beans and shrimp with szechuan sauce. Delicious!

I am really disappointed. My friends and I went all the way to Gia Ba restaurant at 6pm to try their food. However, the waitress refused to give us a table. There were 3 free tables. When we asked if she can add 1 extra chair, she answered "if I add 1 chair to your table, and there will be missing a chair to another table. So, what about my next coming customers? Will I tell them to stand there and eat?" Also, she didn't tell us that all 3 tables were reserved in the beginning. She found all kinds of excuses to refuse offering us a table. Then she finally said "they are all reserved." Is it the appropriate attitude to serve customers? She could nicely tell us to wait or come back later. HOWEVER, she NEVER tried to accommodate us.

On the fence about posting yet another positive review because now that I've been there, I don't want everyone to know how great it is! Called first but they don't take reservations for 2 people, they told us they had 2 tables open so we rushed on over. Wow! Food was miles ahead of any other local Chinese/Szechuan restaurant...on a totally different level. We had the steamed fish, salt and pepper shrimps, Dan Dan noodles and green beans with chili - all beautifully prepared, fresh, right level of spice and so delicious. Can't wait to come back with a larger group so we can try more. Also the service was great, really friendly and took an interest in helping us and making sure we enjoyed our meal.

very very bad service，the lady asks me to pay her 15% tip, also, we can find the preservative film from the dish

I'd love to try Gia Ba's food but Debby the waitress and chef Andy's wife refused to give us a table. My friends and I (there were 5 of us) arrived at the restaurant on a Tuesday evening at 6, so it wasn't that busy and there were 3 free tables, which can sit 4 people each. However, Debby refused to add an extra chair at the end of one table, her excuse being that they would be missing a chair if more patrons were to come later. She never tried to accomodate us even when we explained that we came all the way to try their food, instead she kind of blamed us for not making a reservation. She never even offered us to wait and just dismissed us. Again, there were 3 free tables and not reserved. Moreover, it was only 6 pm so the restaurant wasn't going to close soon. It's really a shame since my friends and I were really looking forward to eat at Gia Ba but unfortunately, their unwillingness to accomodate us and their poor customer service left us all in disbelief and I don't think my friends and I would ever want to go back.