Restaurant GIWA

Sidd Vincent (7 reviews)

16 Feb 2026

Source: Google

5.0

First off, I have to mention how cozy the place is. Very homey vibe; you’re literally walking into an apartment, but it’s setup like a resto. It does feel a bit small, but I enjoyed that aspect. Feels a bit more.. private, I suppose. Next up, food and service. The food was absolutely amazing! We had ordered the seafood platter to share, along with the banchan sides and a few extra appetizers (yuhkwe(beef tartar) and dakgangjeong(fried chicken)). Every bite was incredible and fresh; by the end of the meal, I was soo stuffed, but I still wanted more, hahah. Service itself was great! Servers were attentive, and explained the menu clearly. We barely had to ask any questions. Although, we did have a slight timing issue with the food.. but that was easily resolved. Everything made it to our table in the end, and satisfaction was achieved! Thanks again for the food! We’ll definitely be coming back. 🤤

Eibhleann Alexander (136 reviews)

14 Feb 2026

Source: Google

5.0

This was such a lovely dining experience. The staff here are really nice and the food is so flavourful and fresh. This is a set menu restaurant and I love how they perfected everything on it.

ll_ay_ll (17 reviews)

13 Feb 2026

Source: Google

5.0

Friend recommended, so expected it to be good, but was better than we thought. We had the ribs and brownie dessert. Super tasty and great value for the price. Def coming back. Friendly staff too.

K. Short (9 reviews)

5 Feb 2026

Source: Google

4.7

Took my partner here to celebrate for a birthday dinner. The food was delicious and exactly what they wanted as they love little dishes and such. The atmosphere is almost there. My best suggestion is that they match the light bulbs that are in the lanterns and only keep a couple screwed in or get rid of the brighter lights altogether. The “bar” area can also use some thoughtfulness. There’s stacks of boxes or something that make it an eye-sore and the lighting in the kitchen disrupts the lighting in the dining area. I’d put a wall up, separator and match the lighting altogether. Beyond the lighting, the I’m really here to comment on the service that Hailey provided, which was sweet and thoughtful. With the customer service bar so low these days, a smile goes a long way! She did that and so much more by not only being patient in our decision making process, but also, treating my partner to a little birthday ice cream. Will be back to try other dishes, but hopefully the lighting is adjusted by then. Kudos to Hailey!

me (31 reviews)

14 Jan 2026

Source: Google

5.0

Restaurant Giwa is not a “Korean restaurant” in the way that term has come to mean lately. It is something far rarer. The focus here is 솥밥 (sotbap): rice cooked to order in an individual heavy metal pot, layered with carefully chosen ingredients, then finished so that the rice develops structure and contrast (soft grains at the top and a crisp, nutty crust at the bottom). It’s a dish that demands precision and there is nowhere to hide mistakes. This is one of the reasons sotbap is uncommon even in Korea and almost never the central focus of a restaurant. I lived in Seoul for over a decade and only encountered sotbap in one neighborhood (ie Seoul’s Seongbuk-dong) where it tends to appear in restrained tradition-minded kitchens, rather than the mainstream spots that one can find anywhere. In my lifetime of actively seeking out quality Korean cuisine, I have never seen a restaurant outside Korea with sotbap on the menu, let alone a place dedicated to the dish, and I would be genuinely surprised if anything comparable exists even in major Koreatowns like Los Angeles. What makes Giwa exceptional is not rigid adherence to recipes or performative authenticity, but care. The menu is deliberately narrow, which is exactly what you want for a dish like this. This restraint signals confidence and quality, particularly when compared to the “all you can eat meat” restos of dubious quality or the “every Korean dish our chef is willing to cook” format. The sotbap itself is outstanding across the board. Every version we’ve tried has been excellent, from the vegetarian mushroom to the cod, and the rice is granted the role it deserves, as the true foundation of the meal, rather than as some sort of neutral filler or side. The level of technique throughout the meal is striking. The appetizers are prepared with a precision on par with the sort of well-reviewed 한정식 restaurants in Seoul (formal Korean dining where a sequence of meticulously composed dishes replaces the idea of a single “main.”). The execution feels closer to high-end French or Japanese kitchens than to the casual Korean dining most people expect. There is clear thought behind every element. And there’s also some creativity here: a doen-jang crème brûlée should not work on paper, but it does and it’s memorable, it’s the dish that some friends are still talking about a month after our last visit. The banchan (side dishes) deserve special mention. In Montreal, banchan are nearly always an afterthought: bulk kimchi, nuclear-yellow danmuji and barely-seasoned bean sprouts that are interchangeable and forgettable. At Giwa, the banchan are clearly handmade, clearly intentional, and clearly cared for. You’re served a generous spread, I think 10-12 items, and each one feels considered. This alone puts Giwa in a different category from nearly every other Korean restaurant in the city, if not the country. (We drove to Tofino and back last summer, and ate as much Korean as we could along the way, so I feel fairly qualified to say this.) Context matters. Montreal is full of Korean restaurants right now, many of them middling, many not even Korean-run. Most seem to be lazily riding the rise of the K-food/K-pop/K-whatever trend without any sort of commitment to quality. Giwa cuts through that noise completely. It is traditional without being rigid, refined without being precious, and ambitious in the best sense. This restaurant is genuinely unique in Montreal and arguably one of the most serious, thoughtful presentations of Korean food you can find outside Korea. The fact that it hasn’t yet been written up properly in the local media is baffling. Giwa deserves attention, not because it’s trendy but because it’s excellent.

Anthony Boxell (55 reviews)

10 Jan 2026

Source: Google

5.0

Went there for the first time before Christmas, it was so delicious, generous portions, nice presentation and friendly service. Very cute place and top quality authentic Korean food. I'll be back for sure!

Sara F (464 reviews)

9 Jan 2026

Source: Google

3.5

I didn’t like the beef noodle dish. The flavours were lacking and the pasta they used looked like fettuccine. The veg didn’t complement the meat. The menu is weirdly priced where the appetizers are almost the same as the mains. We were not full after and went to another asan restaurant which was much better. For montreal, the quality of cooking and flavour balance of this place is not at the right level especially for the price point

Maria Diaz (30 reviews)

8 Jan 2026

Source: Google

4.3

Great spot for a cozy dinner! Food was great and portions were big. The vegetarian main was super tasty. The service was friendly and welcoming

Kira (35 reviews)

7 Jan 2026

Source: Google

5.0

Just wow. Everything paired so well together. Service was great too. Super worth it.

JiYeon Seok (7 reviews)

6 Jan 2026

Source: Google

5.0

honestly the best korean food I had since I've been here in Canada. 존맛탱구리 맛집