Ga Bo Ja Restaurant

Removing 1 star due to service. It seems they don’t know how to handle a busy Saturday night very effectively. Communication is not a strong point here and I literally had to ask 3 times on when the starter side dishes were arriving because we had already received the entrees by then. If you are delivering the entrees to the table before the starter banchan dishes, at least update your customers on the reasons. Then when the banchan dishes finally arrived, it was not the full set that the other tables were getting (Having been here so many times, I had a feel for what dishes you get so I knew we were missing almost half the items). We’ve been to Ga Bo Ja six times already and it’s been great every time until last night. It’s still a recommended place to go but the service issues on a busy night make me feel rather cautious.

Great service. Great food. Great atmosphere. Definitely recommend this place to korean food/​sushi lovers out there.

I’ve come here twice now after 12:30 am and have never been disappointed even if the full menu isn’t available that late at night. I know for sure sushi isn’t available during the late night hours.
The service is excellent. You are greeted upon entering and they are very friendly. The staff is very helpful with recommendations and has been so kind during both experiences. They are courteous and check up on you during the meal and will refill the side dishes if you ask.
I definitely recommend the Hoe Deopbap which has fresh assorted sashimi with a salad mix, rice, and a delicious spicy red sauce. So deliciously worth it!
The Haemul Dolsot Bibimbap is quite good as well. It’s a seafood bibimbap in a hot stone pot — you should mix it up once you get it as the rice can get hard and stick at the bottom.
The Daegu Tang Korean Stew is fantastic! It’s boiled codfish stew in spicy sauce. So good especially with rice. The Al Tang is also great if you want another stew. It’s Pollack fish egg casserole with spicy sauce.
Love this place and highly recommend it.

The restaurant is pretty large and can accommodate a large party (this is probably a place that you’d want to come with as a group anyways).
We were greeted upon arrival and the staff was friendly — definitely a plus if you’re not Korean. The selection of food is pretty large but you might get confused with the sashimi platters. We asked for clarification on what types of fish were included since it wasn’t listed on the menu.
All in all, the sashimi was fresh and the sides were plenty. We ordered the small sashimi platter (the $ 49.99 one) and were amazed by the freshness of the fish. They also give so many sides that we literally got full off of those before the platter even arrived. I’d definitely recommend going on an empty stomach and with a group of at least 4 people based on what we ordered.
Service, taste, quality and convenience (open from 9:30am-2am) gets them 5 stars. Unfortunately, I’m docking one star for a lack of why’s included on the platters and the large platters are extremely pricey if you’re going with just two people (unless you can really eat that much).

Came here on a whim with a friend on a Friday night. I saw the reviews and was craving some fresh sashimi, my favorite.
The parking lot was full and so we had to park in the back. Aside from the difficult parking experience, the dining experience was quite nice. To be honest, it exceeded my expectations as I have been to most Korean restaurants in Annandale, where only a handful either have good service or good food. Well to my surprise, Ga Bo Ja had both! I ordered the Hoedeopbap or I think can also be known as the chirashi bowl, which I’ve heard it called in other places. Basically it is a dish consisting of steamed rice, various vegetables, lettuce, cucumber, sesame leaves, and etc. with fresh sashimi or slices of fish. It was a very delicious dish and came with its own sauce. My friend ordered the dolsot bibimbap and I thought it tasted pretty good too. Also, I ordered the Kimchi Jigae and was a kimchi stew that I thought was made pretty well, balanced between the broth and the kimchi. I didn’t want to order two dishes but that’s what you get when you’re as indecisive as I am and you want to try like… everything. Also, they have a pretty extensive menu, which has many appealing dishes. Oh well, it was worth it because the food came out pretty good.
As usual, most Korean restaurants will offer many side dishes. They one thing about this place is there weren’t as many dishes as you would normally expect, but from the ones that were there, they were plentiful and tasty enough.
Overall the place gave off a very cozy and inviting atmosphere. The service was great and the lady waitresses were very welcoming and helpful. I very much enjoyed my first dining experience here and will definitely be coming back.
Also, they also give you complimentary yogurt drink at the end of your meal. I thought that it was a great way to freshen your palate from all the food you’ve been eating. Can’t wait to try other dishes here~

I got the sashimi salad dish for lunch. The sashimi was fresh and tasted good, and the salad was crisp and delicious. It came with miso soup and pan chan too. And it only cost $ 9!

This is a really good place to get seafood and the amount of seafood you get is amazing. We got the special seafood plate where it has raw abalone, lobster, sea cucumber and the sashimi. It also comes with so many side dishes that all 5 of us was fulled after the meal. IT also comes with a lobster soup at the end so every part of the animal is used.
I do have to say this is the only place that I was overwhelmed with the seafood and it was too much raw seafood for me. But overall it was good.

Every time I come here I leave with a huge smile and full belly. Amazingly fresh sushi with Korean food is the most perfect combination I could ever ask for. When I say fresh, I mean fresh. They pull a live flounder from the tank, filet it and serve. Meals start with jook (last time was hobakjook – yay!) and a beautiful spread of banchan. They also end the meal with yugurutuh which just puts a cherry on top and huge bonus points for the nostalgic factor.

Ordered Sashimi but was told they were short staffed and it would be a while… We were there for that so we waited. It was yummy. Suggest you order San Nak Chi if you want to freak your friends out. Sashimi and Sushi were quite yummy.

Used to come here all the time– they renovated in the past year or so and the restaurant is cleaner and more spacious than before. However, they seriously skimp on the portions and side dishes now. Very overpriced for what you get (if you order the medium sashimi combo $ 99 which used to be $ 79) compared to similar restaurants in the DC area. I would highly recommend another place for sashimi. I’ve never left a restaurant like this hungry until today– usually everyone is uncomfortably full by the end of the meal since you get so many side dishes with a sashimi boat/​platter at a Korean sashimi restaurant.

«Good deal sashimi/​sushi» It usually mean the restaurant has to sacrifice the quality somewhat. Ga Bo Ja is an exception.
While its traditional Korean dishes (Bulgogi, Galbi, seafood pancake, dumplings) are top notch, you will miss out if you don’t try one of Ga Bo Ja’s sashimi combos.
The first time I tried the sashimi for one with side dishes, I knew I was going back for more with larger group of people. Even the variety of the fish on the entry-​level set is not anything spectacular (the usual suspect Salmon, Tuna, Yellowtail, Founder, etc.), the quality and quantity are both superb. All the fish is fresh, buttery delicious. The chef got skill!
If you order the medium sashimi platter for large group ($ 99 as time of review), it will additionally come with Escolar (the so-​called white tuna), flounder fin and even more side dishes. Warning: some people cannot digest Escolar very well which resulted in upset stomach. Try just one piece the first time (if you can resist). If you feel like Andrew Zimmern for the night, you can choose more adventurous sets that include lobster, abalone, sea squirt, sea cucumber, etc.
Let me tell you, you can get full just eating the side dishes that consisted of various types of preserved vegetables (of course Gimchi is one of them), grilled fish, fried small fishes, cold and hot appetizers. The variety (and the surprise) of those side dishes is one of the best features of Ga Bo Ja’s combo/​platter sets. The ending of most sets is a bowl of spicy grilled fish bones soup with rice cake and a bowl of rice. The fact that they grilled the fish bones (flounder?) before putting them in the spicy broth actually added depth to the flavor of this traditional soup. Very hearty, warm-​your-​stomach-​and-​your-​soul soup ending to the perfect meal. Free yogurt drink after the meal was also a nice touch.
Service was always good and attentive. I was never once disappointed.

Quality and service are standout here, especially for Annandale which boasts quite a few awesome choices for Korean food as well as many more mediocre choices.
This is a great choice if you’re looking to have sushi or sashimi, Korean style at value prices.
Ive come here twice, once for lunch and once for dinner. Our dinner was a lovely weeknight one. We ordered the baked mussles, hoe deopbap, and some sashimi.
They’re very generous with the Banchan (small complimentary plates) which are more plentiful and of better quality than many offered by other restaurants in the area.
While everything was delicious both times, I highly recommend the hoe deopbap, sliced fish, vegetables, sushi rice, and sesame oil accompanies by chili sauce. It’s light, refreshing and only $ 7 for lunch or $ 13 for dinner.
Once you finish your meal, you see ever will bring you both the bill and one of those tiny bottles or Korean yogurt drink… Love this place.

This place is awesome. Their hwe dup bop is a great lunch deal and a generous portion. Service has been outstanding every visit. They even give free special dishes (in addition to the banchan)!

Oh man. Here we go again. I love love sashimi, and all things Korean, so when I had a sudden urge for sushi, but did not want to trek to my usual spot, so decided to give this place a whirl.
This place has lots of different fish cuts, but personally the side dishes were OUT OF THIS WORLD. We got the specialty fish to try things like sea cucumber (omg so disgusting) and the conch (YUM). When I talked to the lady we were ordering from she said Koreans LOVE sea cucumber. uhh I guess I must be a black sheep of Koreans, because to me it was nasty. It was hard, slimy, salty, and wayyyy bitter. AHHHHHH okay. Next time, stick to the normal sashimi. I’m adventurous, but never again.
The side dishes were plentiful with yumminess ranging from the acorn jelly thing, to tang su yuk (korean sweetnsour pork), there was even chicken as a side dish. The meal comes with the egg pot and deng jjang jigae (fermented bean soup). At the end they bring you the maeuntang (spicy cod fish soup).
I wanted desserts somewhere else in Annandale (bing sooo) but didn’t, scratch that, couldn’t make it there after this awesome belly stuffing meal.

Korean-​style Japanese restaurant. My friend and I got… I think a medium sashimi combo and we ended up having way too much food when you include the banchan and extras that you get like the egg stew, boiled saury, or the fish stew that we got. Reasonable prices erring slightly towards high. The whole meal was, on an absolute cost basis, really expensive… but considering the amount of food we got, a good enough deal that I didn’t ding them a full star.
Fish tend to be fresh and instead of heaps of cheap tilapia, they use a lot of fluke (flounder) that makes it feel like it’s worth the price. They may as well be killing the fluke on premises. The other fish were standard salmon, tuna, etc. and they were fine, although we both noticed that the escolar was slightly frozen. That does ding them some points.
Overall, a nice little place in Annandale that stands out in a sea of Korean restaurant mediocrity. I don’t crave sushi from Ga Bo Ja but I’d certainly go again.

Worker pushed us. The service was uncomfortable.
Food was okay.
I’d like to go for lunch.

Favorite place for raw fish! Sashimi here is incredibly fresh… like I-​think-​they-​kill-​the-​fish-​on-​the-​spot fresh, and the cuts are generous. (I’m not sure about the killing-​on-​the-​spot thing, btw — if anything, this may only pertain to their flounder, but they all taste that fresh)! The flounder and assorted sashimi combos are awesome, because they come with a ton of side dishes, soup, and sometimes even raw oysters. If you haven’t had Korean-​style sashimi before, try dipping the raw fish in the cho-​gochujang (vinegar-​y red pepper sauce) instead of soy sauce. So tasty!
The ladies who work here are really friendly and have been pretty patient in explaining menu options. Their menu could use a lift though. Not only is most of it in Korean, but it’s not very descriptive. You’d have to ask how many people a «medium» boat would feed, or which menu items include the side dishes and soup. It is definitely worth the trouble though, and you won’t be disappointed!

Low key Korean and sushi place. Closer than Lighthouse Tofu. My Best girlfriend and I stopped here for lunch after our birthday facials. We shared the Mandu and both had the spicy monkfish stew. Arrived with plenty of banchan, steamed egg to share, and side of rice. Liked the spicy potato banchan. The rest was average. Didn’t care for the bones in the stew. Be careful not to swallow them! Looked real attractive spitting them out while I ate. Overall, lots of food to make our bellies full. Good service who made sure that we were satisfied throughout our meal.

Ordered the same — large sashimi combo deal with sides and fish. Side dishes were very good, better than last time; seafood was also very fresh. Excellent food and excellent service.
Definitely recommend Ga Bo Ja if you’re looking for a Korean style sashimi experience.

Go damn this place reaffirms my love for Annandale.
Bang for your buck sushi.
I’ve had more tender sushi at other places but who gives a shit you get a ton of sushi in the small sushi sashimi combo and for two people with all the sides you eat like a king.
The service was top notch and a broiled fish was given to us as an appetizer.
The broiled fish was a luxury that not everyone is going to understand, but I certainly do.
Open late.
I will be going back to this small oasis.

This is my go-​to place for Hwe-​dup-​bap for lunch. it used to be $ 6.99, but they kicked it up a dollar ($ 7.99 now). still fairly cheap for the amount they give you. The sushi is always fresh
It’s awesome that this place renovated. it looks great and they even now have «party rooms» in the back. The place is much larger and has way more tables. I’m happy that their business is doing well and I hope it continues to grow!

You like seafood? You like sashimi? Good, because GBJ is all about that.
When you come here, you’re not coming to get your run-​of-​the-​mill bulgogi or bibimbap. Sure, you could, because it’s a homey place that actually would do them very well. No, you’re here to get one of the various sashimi offerings that they have on the menu. Just imagine, a large platter of fresh-​sliced tuna, salmon, yellowtail, whitefish, etc … and a constant stream of interesting banchan. Top it off with a fresh seafood soup with flour dumplings at the end, and you’ve got a really complete meal.
The service here is very attentive and friendly, and because the space is small, it does feel like you’re at someone’s place just having a great dinner party. With excellent Korean/​Japanese food.
I’d recommend coming with a semi-​small group (4) to split one of the sashimi combos. They’re probably the best bang for your buck and a great way to experience GBJ’s offering.

Never have I ever… had my jaw drop for each menu course at a restaurant before. Granted there were 8 of us and we ordered their largest sashimi package on the menu… I was not prepared for the amount of food we were getting!
The bonchon was served immediately and we devoured everything from the bbq eel, to the steamed egg… THEN our sashimi came out on a luggage rack!!! A luggage rack!!! That is how much fresh sashimi we were served. It was fun being adventurous and trying all different kinds of fresh seafood… including a still kicking lobster sashimi. EEEE!!! The flounder and salmon were my favorite.
As if that wasn’t enough, our server took the lobster claw and made soup for us! Everything was finished off with an adorabley tiny yogurt drink.
Each course was amazing! Our server was so incredibly nice and accommodating to us non-​koreans. The non-​koreans of our group even got a high five as we exited! Such a fun experience and I would definitely go back again with a large group.
*Tip — our server informed us that they are expanding their restaurant and are now open 24 hours!