Reviews of GIWA Fresh Korean Kitchen (Restaurant)

Carl Stuart

Dol sot bibimpop is the best

James Jackson

A wonderfully wide selection of Korean street food items, but served in a mid-to-upscale way. Great spot for a not crowded lunch in Center City.

Akshar Patel

Awesome korean food..should definitely try it

Amirah Hester

Is really wonderful place to eat the staff are warm and welcoming

Kahi

GREAT food

Elizabeth Harris

Korean food here - very tasty. looking forward to coming back with my coworkers.

Thomas C

Prefer their old location & menu. Side dishes have changed, not to my liking.

Michelle Mirick

Food is always delicious love this place

Jackie Banks

Ordered take out food was great and the staff was super friendly

Qi Lai

The staff is friendly and made great suggestions for sauce mixtures and combinations. It's all you can't eat per person.

Jon Joseph

Try the tacos! Perfect sized lunch.

Julia RB

The interior of Giwa is modern and clean. Ordering on the touch screen was easy -- being able to see pictures of the menu items is a nice touch, however depending on what you order it can be quite expensive. I had the cold bibimbap which was fully customizable. I had two proteins: spicy chicken, and beef, and then substituted kale (instead of rice). The sides that were included were also amazing.

Ilhan uzel

Consistently excellent food!

Daniel Marut

Awesome hot pot. New great location closer to Rittenhouse

Micah Pak

Relocated to a roomier setting but food is great just the same.

Samuel Son

No nonsense place with hearty bowls for which I ordered a marinated chicken bowl. The chicken was juicy and tender and the food was a tasteful fusion of the Korean and American sensibilities. Also, the place is very clean and the ambiance is nice, what with the lighting. Only slight criticism is that they have dated beverage dispensers. Otherwise excellent service and establishment. They are very friendly and greet you as soon as you enter and also thank you upon your leaving.

Victoria Petite

Great food, can get a bit crowded during lunchtime.

Sarah Monheim

Giwa tacos are delicious - just the perfect flavors on a soft taco with shredded lettuce, and the hot sauce is spicy but not too spicy.

George Ceniviva

Very very good Bibimbap. Freaking delicious. Perfect amount of crispy rice.

Dell Meriwether

Best Korean tacos in town. Buy 4 get one free. But dont tell anybody.

Charles Andris

this place is great! the food is simply delicious. always cooked fresh and served hot. the owners and staff are all really friendly people too; they usually give me extra sides for free!

Don_Papo

Love that place n the food. The glass noodle with beef is my fave dish ever.

Raisa Velthuis

The new Giwa is more spacious, more efficient and modernized with touch screen ordering stations, while just as tasty as before. Giwa now focuses on its signature bibimbap, Korean BBQ, and taco dishes, which you can customize to your liking. This is my favorite bibimbap place in Center City.

Utau Sakura

The interior is very nice but small. My favorite place to sit is in front of the cooks where the tables are like bar club tables. It's my favorite place to sit because on the table there is unique art preserved on it. The food is nice too. :)

Sean McCarthy

Small, but I've always come on the off hours on weekends so it's never been a problem to get a seat. I could imagine the work week lunch crowd must pile in here. I've tried a lot of bibimbap but this is the best I've had so far in Philly and surrounding PA/NJ. No frills, nothing fancy, just good crispy rice. They give you the standard fixings as well. Well spiced, extra sauce, big portions, warms your bellly and no lettuce in the bowl which I like.

Carla McFarlin

Food was delicious

Sven FD

Food is Fine and is served in traditional stone/porcelain dishes. The taste is not really outstanding, but all ingredients are very fresh. The tables could profit from a proper cleaning. You pay about 15 USD for a serving.

Carolina Pino

Just received an order I placed for delivery...the food was good, but I continue to have issues with their food value. I ordered a seafood pancake which was delivered in a small box with three hamburger sized patties of pancake...basically half the size of what you’d receive in any other Korean restaurant (or if I remember well, what you got at Giwa in their old location). All this for $12.50!! That’s a LOT of money. Yes I get it there’s seafood involved, but it wasn’t so plentiful that it justifies the price/quantity. The Dolsot bimbimbop was good but also not great. The texture of the rice tells me that the rice probably spent less than 5 seconds in the hot stone, so why bother? The point of the hot stone is for the rice to crisp at least a bit. The portion size also left much to be desired, especially after spending $18.50 on this dish (most of which came about because of the hit stone that barely touched my rice). Dolsot with brown rice, egg, beef, and for additional ingredients tomato and broccoli. Again mucho dinero...not a happy belly. GIWA, I love you, but I have a hard time supporting you with the ongoing value issues since you moved to the new location...I hope you’ll reconsider your strategy. Good luck.

This is Me

nice taco

Jason M

Food was great. Cool little spot but little annoying they blast Korean pop music at full blast.

Timur Usman

It tells on google that place is open , but in reality they say kitchen is closed

Chris C.

What a great place! I've always walked by before because from the outside it looks like they're trying too hard. But it's consistently semi-full so I finally checked it out. Glad I did! The place is warm and inviting and the staff is very friendly, greeting me the minute I stepped in. The Giwa tacos were delicious (though a bit overpriced) and the vegan-friendly rice bowls looked tasty and healthy. Definitely in my top ten of Philly restaurants.

J D

Korean. Tacos

권양우

Honestly, as I am Korean, the food was not authentic and not delicious. If you wanna taste authentic Korean food, don't go there. If you wanna try, it would be not bad. Price is expensive with that quality...... They serve food looks decorative but meaningless a lot.

Kyle Armstrong

I love the Dol Sot Bibimbop (Special Sizzling Stone Bowl) lunch special... so does everyone else. There is a reason why... try it out!

Michael Draugelis

Really helpful staff. Food is amazing. My favorite lunch spot right now.

CJ Burdulis

Good place for a quick lunch. The bulgogi and spicy pork is very good. Bowls are always fresh.

HuuCindy Tran

Very friendly services. Good food. Definitely come back.

young lee

(Translated by Google) too expensive (Original) 너무 비싸다

너도와주

(Translated by Google) The modern management style is familiar to young people, but it is a little less familiar with the traditional Korean style concept of the generation. (Original) 현대적인 경영스타일로 젊은이들에겐 익숙하지만 트레디션한 세대들의 한식 개념에선 약간 덜 친숙하다.깔끔하고 모던한 디자인.

Timaree Schmit

(Translated by Google) Name name bibimbap (Original) Nom nom bibimbap

Joseph Kim

Probably as authentically Korean as you can get in the area.

Henry Ouyang

Pork belly has bone? Pretty sure it's not pork belly. Meat is not warm either.

Youngho Chung

Great! Never expected to see this mich good Korean restaurant in downtonw of philly

Dr. Shine

Good food!

Alexander Flores

Loved it! Fresh food and amazing taste!

Ibrahim Alsh

Good on the go "express" Korean BBQ place.

Danielle Traitz

Love the hot stone bowls

Greg Konrad

One of my favorite stops for lunch. A must whenever I'm in town

Andrea Lewis

Terrific service, friendly and fast, very clean too. Food was delicious, but I would have liked more kimchi and different banchan. the tteokbokki was just a little off from how I usually like it but it was still very good. Fantastic little find.

Kai

Great updated look to the place. Food is awesome

Greg Dembs

Fabulous food - can't beat the hot stone Bibimbap!

Claire Zheng

New location, still good food. A little price increase.hope can have more soup options.

BJ L

It is hard finding really good Korean food and I'm so glad I found Giwa. My go-to food is anything with the marinated beef and in the case of Giwa the meat was extremely well seasoned/marinated and the quality of the meat was superb, not chewy or gristly. I can't wait to go back again.

Betty Davis

I usually get the spicy chicken tacos, only problem is..... sometimes they are hot.. other times not so much

Gina Chung

the food has significantly declined in taste and flavor, even the presentation. the personalization of the korean experience is no longer there at the new location. the bulgogi meat was not good quality as it was before. the paper menu is confusing and ordering through the computer is reminiscent of a fast food philly joint. my entire family went there for dinner yesterday and we were sorely disappointed. we didnt feel well after eating either..... we wont be going back :(

Steve Logan

Ahhhhh yeahhhhhh delicious!!

Allen Flickinger

Delicious Korean fast casual, albiet a little pricey.

Julian Henry

Warm customer service, delicious hot food on the fly!

Joe Croll

Good tacos and I like the buy 3 get one free special.

Michael C

Food is great. A little expensive.

Janet Follmeyer

Great lunch spot

Chris Bovasso

Place is tiny but food and service was awesome.

NorCal Exotics

Horrible. Ronda the person who answered the phone was unhelpful and defensive rather than accommodating. Our order was missing sauce entirely which no one wants to eat dry rice and tiny beef tidbits for $50.00! Garbage and horrible customer service. Should have kept the place the way it was instead of transitioning to high quantity over quality. Regards, A former customer

Susan Lee

Love the food! Very fresh, huge portions (bowls) and so so yummy. Highly recommend!

Koba Khitalishvili

Bulgogi with beef was magnificent. Good place for a stuffing meal.

Matthew Winik

First time here and ordered the Korean tacos. Really awesome! and will def be back. Food was fresh and delicious and the service was good to. Update: They moved to a new location and the atmosphere is way better. Good food good atmosphere.

C. Pixie

Came in and ordered a BYOB (build your own bowl) and was in love! Served in a sizzling hot stone bowl (yes it is literally sizzling). The veggies were extremely fresh and crisp. The atmosphere is simple, relaxed and quiet. They play K-Pop/R&B music at a nice mid-level volume. You can sit on a stool at a large table or get a little cozy in the booth. Bathroom was crazy clean with alot of room. On top of good food and a nice clean shop, the staff was SUPER friendly. From the two ladies up front to the cook who even laughed and joked with me, everyone was very pleasant and welcoming. My only complaint is they have no desserts/sweet treats. Solid 9/10 and would definitely go again. Just hoping they start serving ice cream or something in the future.

Taiba Borhamah

friendly staff (ask for order recommendations)

Erik Arias

Great food and really clean and modern look. It's pricey though.

David Lee

Giwa is good, but on the pricey side of things.

Ji Lee

As a korean American, very embarrassed korean food experience. Meat and veggie taste not fresh and too sweet almost mimicking dishes they put shame to korean cuisine. People will know if it is good food or not even to people with no korean food experices!

Dan Sigmans

I don't know what happened. It used to be a mom and pop feeling restaurant with authentic-tasting Korean food. Now it's bland Korean-inspired fast food bowl restaurant. Prices have risen and they nickel and dime you for things that should be included. You order through an electronic ordering system which is very impersonal. Regarding the food itself, we shared a chicken bibimbap bowl. The chicken chunks were too large and were dry. American vegetables like broccoli and spinach have replaced traditional Korean items that are usually included in Bibimbap. The portion size was big enough for two people which made us feel better about the situation. The staff were also very nice. All in all, I feel sad for the loss of the original Giwa, a place I used to recommend to people visiting center city. I also think that management can't really go back on their decision to take this path since the new location's computer system and renovation were likely very expensive.

J Vance

Small place. Good food. If you go on your lunch break, get it to go.

jen davis

Good food good experience great hot sauce

bunnycakez bryant

Great staff, excellent modern day Korean inspired meals. Everything is always fresh! Not enough stars to rate this restaurant.

Alr Lova

Their Korean tacos are the bomb!

Andrew Pandolfino

Awesome food!!

Nicholas Goss

Quick fast casual Korean BBQ? Count me in! Oh and it was delicious

Tomo Takebe

Decent fast food Korean. I really like the touch-pad ordering system that is efficient and easy to understand. The food is ok; nothing spectacular but no complaint for the price. The convenience is definitely the selling point.

Matt Ruby

Excellent soft tofu soup, and a nice array of side dishes.

Matthew Cowell

Amazing. I love everything on the menu. Decently priced for being in the city.

Emily Mangiaracina

Great food and reasonable prices!

Aria Srinivasan

I came on Friday during lunch time and there was a huge line and a 30min wait for the food. Yikes! Plan accordingly. I also really wanted to try the "famous" Korean tacos but they couldn't replace the meat for tofu which was annoying because they do have tofu options. Would recommend they add this option! I opted for a tofu bimpbop and they forgot tofu ughhh after I waited 30min and of course I didn't notice til I got to my desk. It's incredibly filling and plenty of food and the rice is crispy which is nice. It's flavorful and like my last review, very Korean. The stew was yum and perfect for the weather. I just think this place is ridiculously overpriced for a lunch spot. My bimbop came out to $13. Like that's ridic for a takeout-y type spot. Other nearby Asian spots are max $7 for entrees. I do want to come again to eat in so I can try the hot pot noodle looking things that looked amazinggg.

Candace Brown

Great food, came out sizzling and was hot throughout the entire meal. Everything tasted fresh. Definitely recommend!

Barb B

Unique restaurant with fresh tasting food

Bobby L

Waited 30 mins only to find out I wasn't even in the next 15 orders in line. If you cant handle the lunch rush in Philly, at least stop taking new orders at some point.

workwork ism

Main bibimbap ok at best. Sides horrendous. Price terrible. With a few options my bibimbap ended up being like 18 bucks. That's truly laughable. Do not recommend.

John Toffey

I was a little confused at my first visit by their ordering system of little touch screens. I've always had my bap cool with a friend egg, but was perplexed by not being about to get an egg on my cold bowl. The bowl ended up still being very delicious, even without the egg! And I later learned that you can get egg, they just have to be a hot bowl, which I finally got around to trying and was also delicious! Almost too hot to eat for a surprisingly long time, so delicious if only a little painful too haha

SRIH

so affordable and tasty. definitely not posh, but economy class good food.

John Ogden

Best Korean lunch. Hot hot hot! Stone bowls. Good kimchi.

Eunhee Kim

they have some typical traditional items and some street food items too. traditional does not mean that they are served in the most authentic korean way. that said, i was very satisfied with the quality of food even though banchan (sidedishes) could be a lot better. however, considering the quality of main dish and the care that seemed to have been put in, it was money well spent and i will be going back for more.

Caleb Radens

Delicious stone hot pots! Definitely will be back! Yum!

ivy liu

The kbb box is actually really good, the only thing is that the location is off, the shop is actually near raven lounge.

Maurice Glasgow

Good, nice service, and good atmosphere.

Joseph Stefanick

Awesome, great fresh food!

Zachary Virgin

Love this place. Healthy, clean, and fast service. Their sizzling stone bowls are the best I’ve ever had.

Jessica Caraluzzo

Excellent food and great staff! Highly recommend this place!

bokyung choi

really delicious

Mark Miller

Design your own bi bim bap and more

Katherine Schneider

Nice bibimbap to go - they were able to make the hot version to go - minus the fun and crunch of the stone pot but quite good (I don't like the cold kind). They do not do the usual runny fried egg which adds a certain special quality - rather they use omelet strips - I will definitely get again though especially for take out. Friendly and fast but made to order.

Jared Gastrock

Great food and good prices!

Earl White

Lovely place in Rittenhouse square area,lunch is key.

Jacklin Altman

Had an excellent meal at Giwa! Beautiful, modern, clean space with a lot of seating. Prices are super reasonable, and service was excellent. We tried a variety of dishes, each of which was more delicious than the last. The japchae noodles are EXCELLENT and I loved building my own bowl. There are so many fun flavors to play with that you can go there 10 times and still be surprised. Overall, awesome experience that I would highly recommend for anyone looking for a quick tasty bite!

Lauw Efenrys

Good food with a nice atmosphere, staff is friendly and helpful.

J C

Gotta go if you haven't!!

Daniel Gildenbrand

Too hungry to take a picture but the Bulgogi bowl was great, nice tender meat, not too sweet sauce. Would recommend for a quick bite.

Stephen Marshall

2 of my favorite lunch dishes at this spot. The transition to the larger location hit some bumps which they have since worked out. The touch screen ordering is a little tough for a new customer but they usually can help or just take your order at the counter. Hot things are served dangerously hot so take care or ask for help and don't rush.

Danny C

Friendly staff. Great food. One day I'll let the owner drive my car...:)

Kelly inPhilly

Kinda good we can order thorough machine and food is great ...(also delivery is fast with good condition)

Allison Vaughn

I am in Philly for a few days and I had been really craving Korean food. I decided on Giwa because they delivered, had what I wanted (somewhat), and had reasonable reviews. The delivery was really fast. Ordered and at my doorstep within half an hour. I loved that! However, that is when I stopped being impressed. I’ve eaten a lot of Korean food and I don’t know what this was. I ordered the spicy rice/dish cake and what I got was a bunch of burnt fish cakes in an incredibly spicy red pepper sauce. The kick of spice was definitely there but all the flavor that is USUALLY in fishcakes/rice cake meal was not there— at all. In fact the red pepper sauce tasted more like a tomato sauce than anything. A very spicy tomato sauce — but not the same. The choice of ban chan was disappointing and you only get two choices with your meal. They arrived in such small portions that they were in condiment cups! I’ve never been to a Korean restaurant where you didn’t get less than four sides with at least half a cup each. So disappointing. Further discovery made me realize that this was like .. Chipotle for Korean food. Meaning it was fast food and lacked in the care that probably goes into Mom and Pop restaurants. I ate my entire meal because I was hungry — but it didn’t satisfy my Korean-tooth, only satiated hunger in general. Was it edible? Yes. Was it authentic? Absolutely not. I’ll try somewhere else, next time.

Mr. Palm

Great food.

Donald Samuels

Great service and outstanding Korean food

M Sagi

Good! As a first-time customer, would have been helpful to have more assistance when ordering.

Patrick Madden

Love the Tacos. Buy 3 get 1 to go during weekday lunchtime.

Vera Saul

Delicious food. You can choose the ingredients and assemble your plate.

Lauren-Ashley Daley

Got a couple of appetizers, which were between mediocre and good, but for the price it really wasn't up to the quality that I expected. If you don't eat Korean food too often though I'm sure you'll like this place well enough.

Sarah Marie Wilkins

This is a full service Korean fastfood. They have large selection of korean dishes, great place to go if you are hungry large portions. This is real Korean dishes.

Brian Lyttle

Giwa is my favourite spot to stop for a quick bite when I’m in the city on my own.

Hilda Kong

American version of hot stone bibimbap. Selected my own ingredients. Taste was ok. The best part was the rice crust formed by the hot stone pot. It was the best that I've had. I was worried about it coming off the pot with the normal hot water soak (usually the tea). It was well oiled without being greasy and up came the delicious, golden, thick crust. YUM!! Love the crunch! Portions of the protein & vegs initially didn't seem like it was enough but once all mixed together it was just right. The egg is a definite MUST, adding another depth of flavor! The kimchi was ok, definitely not the kimichi you get in NY. Would forego it. Would go back to try other menu items.

Koo Kim

(Translated by Google) I hope you have a simple soup on the side menu. I get a little thirsty when I eat staple rice. The pork kimchi stew is OK. (Original) 사이드메뉴에 간단한 국물이 있으면 좋겠다. 돌솥밥을 먹는데 좀 목이 마르네. 돼지김치찌개는 오케이.

Jeremy .Song

As a Korean American, every dish here(even Kimchi) outside of bibimbap is mediocre, and not authentic. However the place seems to satisfy regular Americans. I honestly hope they improve on non-bibimbap dishes and stay in business.

Ryan Weddle

Outstanding Korean place. I keep coming back from the Dol Sot Bibimbop. It's not cheap, but it's my favorite Bibimbop in the city.

Joanne Olsen

I got a Bim Bim Bop Bowl. I'm not even home yet and I had to take a bite. It is absolutely delicious. I can't wait till I get home because it can only get better

David Yoon

Good for a quick bite. Will be disappointed if you are looking for authentic korean food

Douglas Watts

Great "Korean tacos", they have a lunch special on them daily. The menu is deep though and full of culinary gems. Seating is limited, but the restaurant is a gem...of you like Korean food.

Matthew Zagwoski

Korean Tacos are amazing