Jaya’s Authentic Foods

We ordered Korean bulgogi and Korean spicy pork. They tasted like some Chinese dishes. Maybe really bad Mongolian beef and pork. (70% cabbage). Quality of the meat was horrible. Also they don’t have Korean sides dishes. really??? And she charged extra for this awful overly fermented kimchi!!! This was just awful.

Great food. Best sushi in town. Friendly service. We always have a great time every time that we go.

Being Korean, I was curious to see how this restaurant was since I don’t live here and often pass through for work.
I liked how the menu offered a variety of Korean dishes. On my first visit I ordered the Dol Sot bibimbop (stone bowl mixed rice) entrée. Lunch price was $ 10.95. I had to pay an extra $ 1.50 for meat. The server asked me if I wanted meat but didn’t tell me about the extra charge.
Then when the food came out, there was no «Pon chon» aka side dishes… That meant no kimchee. When I asked about the side dishes, he said kimchee was an extra charge and listed on the menu as an appetizer. So I wasn’t too happy about that.
As for the bibimbop dish, it was ok. They used a variety of ingredients, which I liked, but it didn’t taste very fresh either.
Because of the location and the type of personnel that frequent this restaurant, I assume the owner/​chef does not have to try to hard to impress Koreans since they are probably rare in this area. I gave it a 4 because of the location and demographic it catered to. But if it were in a bigger city, I would have given this place a 2 or 3…

It’s sad to see this restaurant decline in quality and in spirit. There is a heaviness in the staff and weariness in the environment. Unfortunately, it also transfers into the food. I had the Agadashi tofu appetizer. It was lukewarm. The crispy batter was soft. The soy based sauce was very watered down. My dining partners had the stir fry vegetable and the other had the sweet and sour chicken. I tried both, it was tasteless and both dishes the sauces were watered down. I’m Asian, I have a good palette for Asian cuisine. The flavors at Jayas were sad. The servers and wait staff were nice. I gave them out feedback. Immediately, our server sighed and looked discouraged. It seemed like he knew we had bad news. It seemed to me, he hears bad news often. The wait staff was polite, but no going over and beyond to make the dining experience better. I’ve been here about four times. Sadly to say, this was my last.

I really wanted to like this place, I really did. It was the only Korean place in Evansville, so I was hoping it would be good and we could go there often.
Sadly, I’m not sure I would go there for anything else either based on my experience. We got there a little late for lunch, so there were no other customers in the restaurant. We were seated, given our menus, and I excitedly flipped to the Korean section.
So the variety wasn’t extensive, but it wasn’t too bad. My husband got the spicy pork and rice and I got the dumpling soup (it was rainy and chilly that day, perfect soup weather). The food comes out and… that’s it.
No side dishes. Huh. I then remembered that the kimchi was an «appetizer» that had to be ordered. I’m Korean, and this is an abomination. Koreans get really mad when you have to pay for side dishes because it’s supposed to be a part of every meal. You have to offer at least a bowl of kimchi if you can’t offer anything else — that’s just good, hospitable, Korean restaurant manners.
Needless to say, the food wasn’t very good. The broth of my soup wasn’t anything stand-​out — pretty clear broth that was salted with what seemed like MSG. There weren’t a lot of dumplings either. Overall, the bowl was pretty small too, and for the price, it wasn’t really worth it. I asked my husband what he thought of his dish and he wasn’t impressed either.
I hate to leave a bad review because I want to support fellow Koreans when they are running a business, but honestly, I can’t say something’s good when it’s not. I hope they get it together and really churn out good, authentic Korean food. If they can’t, I suggest they take it off the menu and concentrate of what they can do well because trying to do too many things can make the business suffer if you can’t keep up with the quality.

Somewhat unique for the area and a nice change of pace. Obviously has a Korean focus, but also has plenty of options for those more accustomed to «chinese food», plus sushi.
We’ll come again.

Unfortunately, this place exhibits the classic symptoms of a failing restaurant. They start not making enough money, then skimp on the food to make up for it, and what you’re left with is a $ 13 bowl of rice. I’ve been here 3 times and it gets worse every time. This last time, I was part of a birthday party. Our end of the table all ordered a vegetarian version of the bibimbop which, according to the pictures on their own menu (and common sense), should have a lot of fresh vegetables over rice. What we got was rice plus 2 leaves of something green, 4 carrot shoots, and about 3 tablespoons of tofu. We couldn’t believe it. It was a $ 13 bowl of rice. So we asked the waitress about the vegetables and she went to go talk to the kitchen. The kitchen’s response was to send out one small bowl of veggies — the amount that should have been on one dish — for 4 people to split. And the veggies were frozen. The woman in the kitchen couldn’t be bothered to even heat them up to the point where they didn’t have ice crystals on them. The waitress apologized profusely and I giver her tons of credit for being so nice, but services aside, this place is awful and whomever is in the kitchen clearly resents having to actually make food. No worries, lady, you probably won’t have to make it much longer.

It’s definitely a lot bigger than when I came it it had about 5 tables! The good is good, pretty standard but I enjoy itvwhen I come in town. I prefer the medium spiciness, it leaves my lips minutely burning, lol! I usually have the chop chae, I like the mix of flavors. As for authentic… in Evansville, Idk about that but take it for what it is: pretty good food.

They’ve added sushi and in my opinion, it is the best in town. The Korean dishes I’ve tried we’re also really good, although I’ve not had any other Korean food to compare it to.

Bad, not authentic Korean food. The worst I’ve ever tried.
The dishes tasted like Chinese food. The rice was not warm. They couldn’t even take the time to heat it up. The chop chae is supposed to be noodles, but mine turned out to be and stir fry of meat mixed with deep fried noodles placed on top of cold rice.
This is not Korean food to me. My head was telling me that this place wasn’t going to be good the minute we parked, but I was so desperate for some kind of Korean food that I still tried it. Stupid decision. No one who worked there was even Asian. That should have been my first clue.

Always good food. Some of the best egg rolls in Evansville. My favorite is Jayas Chicken.

It wasn’t awful, but I have had much more authentic Korean food elsewhere. If you don’t know Korean food, maybe you will like this. To me, it tasted like Korean food changed to appeal to an American palate.

Kind of a sad experience. Was looking forward to bi bim bop and all of the best parts were missing! The pot was kind of lukewarm so the rice never crisped. When it came out, the egg on top was already completely cooked. The spicy bean paste helped perk up this dish but there was only so much that could be done. It was way expensive considering what I got, and the broken plastic wrapper with the weird chalky peppermint at the end of the meal really topped off the evening.

I can’t speak about the kitchen food, because I never get it, but I can say for sure this is the best sushi in Evansville. I refuse to go anywhere else, and anyone that says Nagasaki has good sushi is on drugs because it’s just crap. If you want good sushi come to Jaya’s. The Stop, Drop, and Roll and the Hot Tuna Sandwich are two of my favorites. I challenge anyone to find a better sushi place in Evansville. THIS is where it’s at.

We tried the Chop Chae and Mandarin Orange Cake recommended by fellow Unilocalers but weren’t impressed. We won’t be going back. :(

I don’t get the good reviews on this place. I ordered their kimchee bokumbap (kimchee fried rice) and it came out unceremoniously on a plate with absolutely no side dishes. Korean food is KNOWN for their side dishes. come on! And then, when I ordered hot tea, I was given a mug, hot water, and a lipton tea bag. I kid you not. I’m sorry, but this is nowhere near authentic Korean food.

been there twice, its ok but i wont recommend. the 1^st time, i was not impressed. the 2^nd time we wanted to try the shabu-​shabu but they couldnt serve it to us even if we are willing to wait.
if you really want good korean food, i suggest you check out the one up in indy.

Good Korean? In Evansville? Well, when you’re the only Korean restaurant you’ve got to represent, but luckily Jaya represents well.
The décor is nice and spacious, if not a big confusing (there are bits of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean culture strewn about). There menu isn’t as deep as it looks (especially when you eliminate the Chinese food fare), but what is there is good. I recommend the chop chae or their kimchee pork dish. Sadly, their dol sot bi bim bop was quite flavorless and something I wouldn’t order again.
They do have sushi there too, but it’s unremarkable and unmistakeably Japanese, not Korean. Oh well, I’ll still return for the chop chae (spicy, of course).

Great place for Korean, I just got back from Korea myself, and love this place. Been going here for years, and it is actually Jaya back in the kitchen cooking every meal for you.
I personally LOVE the Chicken Chop Chae Combination (comes with fried rice & egg roll)…the Bi Bim Bop – delicious! But if you go, you cannot leave without getting a slice of Orange Cake (warmed) for dessert. That’s just far too amazing!
It’s recently just been redone as well, so you go into a newly done place – nice.