Kisa

Got a reservation for 11 on a weekday it wasnt too busy. I ordered the squid set and the katsu. The katsu was crispy with a delicious mushroom sauce and came with a yummy macaroni salad and cabbage salad I definitely recommend. I squid set was spicy and the perfect chewy texture comes with rice soup and sides, the soup was just the right amount of spicy it had pieces of fish and some veggies probably one of my favorite parts of the meal. The banchan were well flavored and had enough to be a complete meal. If you can I recommend going early so you dont have to wait. They also have the self serve drink machine which has soy bean latte,coffee and hot chocolate. The service is great very attentive made sure water was filled and everything was amazing. Decorations and music were fun.

From the moment you step in, it’s like stepping back in time to an old-school Korean diner. The interior design is absolutely immaculate. It gets a little small and cramped but it’s super homely. The food was also honestly perfect and the right portions. They offer free refills of three side dishes but I didn’t even need it, as I left feeling very full and satisfied. The service was also great and the staff were very friendly. The little black bean latte at the end was also a great touch! As a Korean person, the food really hit the spot and I felt right at home. My only complaint is that it does run quite expensive for almost 40 per person including tax. However, I do feel like I got my money’s worth from the food and overall experience! Also: we got there at a good time almost right after it opened, but the restaurant fills up very fast. Be aware that it’s quite a busy spot especially since it’s small and limited seating.

The only Korean food I had eat before was in BCD restaurant so I didn’t know what to expect this, and my impression are positive. I just think tithe portion is big for a person, I’m ok with it because I’m a fatass but I saw other people beside me that didn’t finished, anyway the taste was good specially the tempura tofu was delicious with that oil they put and the machine with free coffee or chocolate was amazing lol thanks for the experience!!!

Kisa is a temple to banchan. I think it is a perfect restaurant. For $38, you get rice with nine dishes, all superbly delicious and with different flavor profiles that contrast and complement each other. You pick the main protein and it comes with all the side dishes. I’d take this over many of the uninspired tasting menus that cost 4-5x as much. All the flavor and variety, none of the pretension. They can also accommodate vegetarians without sacrificing any flavor. That spicy squid was perfect, geez. Such balanced sweet-spicy sauce, so many aromatics, tender supple meat, and some smoky char. For that matter, everything was perfect (except maybe the perilla soup could use a dash of Yondu). The crispy fried tofu with seaweed put the soy sauce aroma at the forefront. The cabbage namul had a fermented flavor that has to be something more than doenjang… perhaps nuruk? The shrimp cabbage salad seemed underwhelming at first but it’s really important to mix up the heat from gochugaru with heat from hot mustard. The yukhoe was so balanced in sweetness and sesame oil aroma. The tender braised pork ribs tasted intensely of gochujang. The fish cakes were sweet and full of seafood umami. And the kimchi was so soft with plenty of depth. The venue is modeled after Korean old-timey diners, complete with a vintage TV, a vintage fan, and a vintage drinks machine, among all the other decorations on the wall. It never felt kitschy. Very charming. They opened the restaurant with a clear concept in mind and delivered on all fronts. Huge recommend. Just make sure to come with an empty stomach as this was a lot of food.