Kaya Sushi Restaurant
“For all you veggie-loving ladies out there – or all you health-eating fanatics – knock yourself out by ordering their "Ssam Bap" jungshik.”
“This waitress taught us how to eat the raw crab in the most proper and efficient/strategic manner.”
“Never tried their Sushi but they have great Ssambap Jungshik and good choice of korean BBQ.”
Kaya Sushi Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Nice Korean restaurant in Leonia. I heard about this restaurant with delicious gae jang and Ssam bap from Korean friends. Ssam bap generally comes with bunch of fresh vegetables to wrap, grilled spicy pork, soy paste based sauce, soy bean soup and rice. Gae-jang is raw blue crabs marinated with soy sauce based dressing.
Lunch specials were all worth to try. Lunch special Ssam bap was $29 but for 2 people, Gae-jang with soy bean soup combo was $11. Dinner price is different, it's $35- $39 range. But portions are a little bigger.
Gae jang was delicious and fresh, but I didn't learn how to enjoy them properly. My husband and my friend told me it was very delicious. Ssam bap was very delicious. Wrapped meat and rice on vegetables with soy bean paste sauce. It was very refreshing and healthy. Loved it. Our hands were bit messy but it was fulfilling. We also enjoyed sautéed squid with spicy sauce and noodle. Foods were all delicious and well prepared. We also try Makgeaoli. Makgeaoli is Korean alcoholic beverage made out of wheat and rice. It was refreshing! It went really well with our meal. It was smooth and bit of mild sweet finish to it. I think how they store Makgeaoli and how to serve is different than other Korean restaurant.
Service was fast on lunch hours but dinner was kinda slow because tables were packed. There were group of people whose waiting for tables also. I'll definitely go back but I'll try to avoid busy time.
Parking in the street.
The wait staff seems friendly. It was almost like having my own mother take care of me because they'd come over and check in on us, even telling us what the dishes were, and serving us.
A bit slow on trying to get our check but other than that, cute little place.
Nothing special here. Side dishes were bland, service okay, place was not very clean, and dishes were nothing special. I would not go back.
Clean Korean place with nice staff (yes, nice, I am not Korean and they were pretty kind to me.)
Was in the mood for something light and this place hit the spot (light in terms of flavor, not in terms of well portion size)
Banchan included some Kkakdugi (cucumber made a similar way as kimchi,) a salad, and my favorite Kongjaban (sweet and salty soybeans.) They asked me if I wanted extra of the latter as soon as I basically finished it. Free corn (maybe buckwheat?) tea as usual.
I had the tteok-manduguk for dinner (was on the last page) and some stewed tofu with chili sauce as an appetizer. I think it was Dubu-jorim which means they gave me a banchan in other places as an appetizer (not sure what happened here)
tteok-manduguk is tteok (rice cakes, in this case made into a half moon) and mandu (or dumplings) in guk (soup) or in short a rice cake/dumpling soup. It was 12.99 here and I was able to take half of it home.
the dumping had some green vegetables in it and the soup also contained some egg, mushrooms, a little bit of beef, and the well tteok which had the proper texture.
The broth was as expected, flavorful enough and it was quite warming. It reminded me a bit of congee like flavor but without the rice.
The majority of people here were having spicy fish dishes. I'd go back to try some of the fishier dishes.
After hearing about their ssam jungshik (their beef/spicy pork combo with veggie variety) my bf and I gave this place a try. The spicy pork was really not that great- it was salty and very boring. Their wasn't that spicy kick to the jaeyook(spicy pork) which I usually find and was overall disappointed. There were like 4 side dishes that were all mediocre. I would recommend MIGA not too far from this restaurant if you'd like to eat ssam jungshik !
This is a hidden gem in this crowded area of Korean restaurants… it's a small hole in the wall type of restaurant that has a small sushi bar and enough seating for probably 30 people at max… at any night, you can find older men and women eating and drinking to the awesome taste of Kaya style GyeJang (soy sauce dipped raw crabs), SsamBop (authentic vegetables and meat unlike MomoFuku fake fusion crappy food), and sizzling sound of Pork BBQ on stone grille… top it off with some SOJU and you are good to go…
I have missed this place to avoid my crazy EX but i might have to make a triumphant return… here we go!! BOOM!!!
Updating my review 2 years later (and 15-20 more visits since), and still just as delicious.
This is the spot you go to in Bergen County for consistently good Korean food. Everything is clean and tastes fresh. Never been disappointed. Our family has been going for the past 5 years.
Things you should order (though not all at once):
– Spicy pork ssam jang
– Gohdunguh gui (mackarel)
– Dwenjang jjjigae
– Marinated raw crabs
went here for quick dinner before going to King Sauna. wasn't very impressed with the spicy beef stew i had ordered. Friend enjoyed his sushi/salad/rice dish. I think the next time I come here, I will get the BBQ that other reviewers raved about.
the banchans were good and varied, but mostly veggies. The steamed egg was yummy.
service was decent but didn't refill water at all.