I love the short rib koja! I get so excited when we head out to Emeryville to shop . Ahhhh and then we grab a bite to eat At THE MARKET . I go straight to the KOJA kitchen. I haven't tried anything else because I'm hooked on the short rib koja. . Just noticed on the menu that there are tacos , yummy. so much To Try . I love this place and ignore all the negative . It's thick delicious and reasonable! read more

I got the beef koja and fries in an effort to try something new. This definitely was new so mission accomplished! The rice "buns" were interesting and a little odd, but I enjoyed it. The beef was tender, but I found it under seasoned. The fries were good but nothing spectacular. The food was filling, interesting, and I hope you enjoy it! read more

My favorite spot here! Always the first stop. Lots of flavor! lots of goodness! My goto ! read more

KoJa Kitchen - Braised Short Rib Rice or Salad Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

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Been to different Kojas and in general, they are all similar (fast casual chain), heavy sauce, but you can get it in salad form. I would say this meets expectation of the other Koja location. You order on a kiosk and it's basically a self serve option. I did want them to put out extra plate/utensils because have to yell over their kitchen station for these basics can be hard. read more

I really wanted to like KoJa Kitchen, but I just can't give it a great review. Here's why: First off, the menu is super appealing--lots of tasty-sounding options. Ordering at the kiosk was a little slow, but since we were the first ones there, it wasn't a big deal. We got the braised pork bowl, the short rib koja (because seriously, when do short ribs ever disappoint?), and the soy fried chicken wings. But it took 25 minutes for our food to come out, and no one else was waiting. There were three people working, so I'm not sure why it took that long. At least the seating area is pretty nice with good vibes. Unfortunately, the food didn't live up to the hype. The wings were hot, so they seemed freshly cooked, but the short rib and braised pork were just scooped out of a big container without even being warmed up. I know because I watched them make it. Plus, everything was drenched in sauce--not really my style. The wings were decent. Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside... but again, smothered in super sticky, sweet sauce. For the wait time and the price, I definitely expected better. ‍ read more

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Man - so terribly disappointed with Koja Kitchen today. But let's start with a positive- my pork taco was delicious! 5 stars for that! Self ordering kiosk was easy to use. Food came out in a decent amount of time. Now the bad. The beef was ALL gristle! The beef taco terrible. My fries also full of gristle. WTH - the entire reason I went to Koja today was for the kamikazi fries! I'm glad I decided on the pork taco or I wouldn't have eaten. I normally love this place so what a huge let down. I may not go back especially with so many offerings at the public market! read more

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Good food and reasonable priced. All orders are done from the machine , food came pretty quick read more

KoJa Kitchen - Fried chicken - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

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Flavorful food for a decent portion size and price. After walking a lap around the public market, I settled for Koja. I got the short rib rice bowl and was surprised by the portion size. The meat was flavorful and tender. The salad was drenched in dressing and honestly got a bit too salty at the end. I would ask for dressing on the side next time. Rice was a little mushy, but overall, a decent meal for $13. Limited staff interaction. Ordering is via snackpass tablet. Food is placed on the counter and you receive a text when it is ready. It took me a few minutes to flag someone down for a cup of water even though they had no orders at the time. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Short Rib Rice or Salad Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

It was my first time here. Service: You order through a tablet with no interaction with the staff. It's a bit slow for first time users like me. Also, it would be very easy for someone to take your food from the counter they place it on when it's ready. It was too impersonal for my taste. Wait time: I ordered three or four items and it took at least 25 minutes. Not sure why since they were 3 people in the kitchen. Food: -Coconut shrimp with plantains. A great tasty snack. Would definitely get again. -Chicken wings were crispy, but slathered in excessive amount of sticky sweet sauce. Would not order again. -Pork bowl. The pork had no flavor, really none. Overall, the wait was too long to justify the food. I might pre-order but I think I will explore other similar options. Even with the delicious coconut shrimp and plantains, I am unlikely to go back because it is too slow and too impersonal for my taste. read more

Whole menu here is super solid. There is very little interaction with staff here, as ordering is through a kiosk. I'd say it's one of the most consistent places in the public market though. read more

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I have eaten at Koja many time over the years but haven't been in awhile. The quality of the food has decreased rather significantly. The rice was terrible, the salad is garbage, kimchi no longer come with the food, the meat was still decent but I imagine you have cut costs there as well. Very disappointed and I won't be returning. Cutting costs can only be taken so far before you start losing customers. read more

I believe they should put the fries into two different containers. At least asks one was for one person and the other was for someone else! One was pork! The beef one didn't want theirs bc it was with a pork deal! Waste of money. Last week when I came the gentleman act line he didn't know why the mayo. I was asking for! So today I looked up the name! The Picture we not gonna play ignorant today! He says it's .35 cent! Me no problem I have a $5! I knew his energy if laziness he wouldn't go to the register! Udon t care for his energy! So I might stop getting food from here! I hope he straightens up! Also I picked up my food! 15 min later I get the text in my cell! Interesting do better! I use to love this place! The 2 is bc the food does look lovely! read more

My absolute favorite at Emeryville's Public Market. I mean... Japanese AND Korean. My two absolute favorite cuisines! I always get the shortrib koja and always think it's too small to be enough and then I am always stuffed afterwards. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

Worst Koja ever! We experienced this business back when they were in food trucks way before they were in the actual brick & mortar buildings. This shortrib Koja is their signature dish but the rice buns were extremely thick, no flavor & gross. The short rib was hardly edible but the rest was far from their actual fusion dish. We will not ever order from here ever again which you have to do only via the computer. No person to person ordering or contact. We won't ever come back. They will certainly put Koja kitchen out of business. Seriously. I can't see this lasting another year. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Short Rib Koja - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

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This place used to be great. At some point unfortunately, they decided to completely abandon all customer service. It seems like the world's most angry and/or miserable people work here. They never smile, they're avoid all eye contact (probably so you can't ask for anything), they are extremely irate all of the time and respond very poorly to any requests - good forbid you need utensils or a box or something. The food is ok though so I have a couple stars for that. Fortunately, you can mobile order or use the kiosk to order now... but hopefully you don't have questions or any special or normal requests. Parking is easy at public market and there is a live and active scene. There is indoor and outdoor seating at the market as well as Tesla super chargers. read more

The rice patty was so hard it hurt my mouth . I was also bringing a friend there for the first time and his experience was ruined read more

KoJa Kitchen - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

To my Vegetarian Folks! You have to try the Zen Burger! Imagine biting into a saucy, juicy, thick veggie burger and shredded cabbage, embraced by two cooked rice "buns". The buns have a crispy edge and fluffy middle that allows all of goodness to remain together! read more

I love KoJa Kitchen but this location is awful. I ordered the 5 piece chicken wings and the fries with beef. They took so long, enough time for me to receive my meal from another location from the food court and finish it before getting my KoJa order. Also my fries did not come with the toppings stated in the description, practically no toppings were added just meat and sauce (I've ordered this item before and it comes with many more toppings). This is my last chance here, I've had many troubles each time I have gone here. read more

I ordered kamikaze fries for pickup, they were prepared quickly. They were delicious, nicely savory and salty with also a bit of sourness and not too much spiciness for those who can't handle spicy food. Since this location is inside of Emeryville Public Market, there's both indoor and outdoor seating (it tends to be windy and cold outdoors) and bathrooms available. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Kamikaze fries - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

I was excited to try their chicken bowl, I was very disappointed with what I got. I feel like I got 3 little tiny chicken pieces and the rest was just rice and kimchi very stingy with their protein. At the end I was not full off my meal very disappointed. read more

The man who took my order was nice, while looking at the menu he asked if I was ready or I had any questions. I ended up ordering the short ribs bowl and the ahi tuna bowl along with just plain waffle fries. After taking my order they offered water while I waited for my order. It didn't take long. Maria ( I knew her name because the man taking my order said the lady making the food's name was Maria too) she packaged ketchup on the side of the fries in a little container and mentioned she added salt to them. I wish I would of ate right away because I had to wait a while while running errands. The food is really good it probably would have been better if I ate my food first instead of waiting to get home to the other side of the bay. The food tasted fresh, good portions it has a kick to it but it's really good. Next time I'll try the fries with everything on them next time. My partner wanted regular fries without anything on them. read more

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Really enjoy the food here. Definitely one of my go to spots when coming to the market. Love how everything goes together. Love the flavor on the meat. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

My first time at Koja kitchen and it did not disappoint!! It was so amazing that we even placed a second order. We had the short rib koja and the pork koja. Both were fabulous. So much flavor, meats were tender and juicy. I can't get over the rice patty "bun" they use. I'm craving going back soon. Definitely give this place a try in the Emeryville public market. So many places to check out. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Short rib koja - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

Honestly, so yummy and filling. Love the vibe at public market and was left very satisfied after KoJa. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Braised pork bowl - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

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The woman working there was incredibly rude. After waiting 20 minutes I went up to ask and she said, "you'll get your food when it's ready". Fun! read more

KoJa Kitchen - Windows - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

i would give a zero for this location. Do not buy the kamikaze fries from this location. they only give you half the amount compare to all the other locations. they charge the same amount but half the food. never going back here again. read more

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I'm in Emeryville . Stopped by for lunch on my way to Home Depot. Shellmound st . Omg. This is a KOJA short rib type sandwich. Instead of bread, it's crispy rice w short ribs, sauce, Cole slaw inside . Serves like a taco actually but bigger. Absolutely excellent. 11.00 April 18, I'm here again!!! Love this place ! Just found out there's one in San Francisco so now I don't have to drive across the bay ! Lots in the menu to choose from . And... Very generous servings , very filling . So so good. Wonder what's in this sauce? read more

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KoJa Kitchen used to be really good when they started off as a food truck. The quality of their food and service is terrible now. At the Emeryville location you are forced to order through a kisok, the food quality is more like fast food. Before the staff used to be better now they are just minimum wage employees who don't care. Also, they charge a service fee with every order. They don't state what it is for and there is no way to opt out of it because there is no human interaction. Also, the chicken koja sandwich is not good. It's just a bun made from unseasoned burnt rice, bland chicken, some lettuce and a lemon wedge on the side with a little sauce. I was so disappointed. Me and KoJa Kitchen are no longer friends. read more

A bit disappointing ! I ordered the short ribs with half rice and half salad green with an add on of avocado. The meat was tender but it definitely wasn't short ribs! There was also suppose to be masago on there and if I think about it hard enough, MAYBE I might've seen some on there .. or was that Kimchee chilli flakes? The flavor was just ok nothing to write home about! I guess the girl making it was more concerned about the conversations she was having with her co-workers than she was paying attention to my order as it WASN'T busy at all! Sadly I don't know that I would give this another try as those was the second or third time ordering there and well... it just didn't have that "wow" factor for me let alone the mistakes to my order! read more

Unfortunately, employees are not wearing face masks as ordered by California state law. the woman that served me was wearing a face mask. But the person handing the food to the customer was not. It's hard to imagine how, at this stage in this kind of it, there are still employees failing to comply with the law. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Unmasked employee - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

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Sorry, no photo. I thought the food was delicious. I got the spicy sauce on the side. It was a big portion. Reasonable price and with extra meat. Plenty for two people who don't eat a large portion. I like the public market because there were so many food options there. The woman who was working, the counter was quite rude. Other than that I enjoyed it read more

So, I've been to their location in Berkeley and I would say their food quality is the same! I only ordered the kamikaze fries this time however, so I can't say if their burgers are the same. The fries themselves were pretty good and meaty, but this place really needs to figure out their service/flow in the kitchen. It took about 30 minutes to get my fries with only a few people ahead of me. When there were about 3 people in line, I ordered on Yelp instead of getting in line (I was guarding our shopping bag/seats). The order was accepted right away. I saw the people who had been in line slowly get their food while I waited. One person got called back shortly after he picked up his order (only two dishes), had to return the food he was given, and wait again for the correct order to be made. 10 minutes before my order was actually ready, it was marked as ready on the app. They even put up their closed sign for about 20 minutes as they caught up in the kitchen. I'm not sure if/when they opened back up, but it was in the middle of the day during their normal business hours. The fries were decent, but next time I'll probably order somewhere else to avoid the wait. No fries should take this long. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Kamikaze Fries - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

Food - 3 Service - 3 Value - 3 This place seems popular to the younger crowd that's high school/college/twentysomethings, but for my older palette, I found the food overly sweet/seasoned. I really wanted to like both the Koja Burger and the Soy Garlic Wings more, but alas it was not to be. read more

After walking around and checking out the Public Market, there were several restaurants I wanted to try so I was just ordering a little bit from each restaurant. I only ordered the kamikaze fries since a few of my friends had told me I had to try it if I was ever at a koja kitchen. The fries came out hot and crispy. The combination of the minced Korean bbq beef, kimchi, red sauce and Japanese mayo made the fries very flavorful. The only issue I had was that it was missing the green onions which I know would have made the fries taste that much better. I didn't notice it until I had already left to eat at the park. There was nobody in line except me when I ordered the fries but still seemed like I was waiting a while for them to be done with my food. Not a lot of communication since you just order with cashier and get your food at the pick up area. I'm not sure what went wrong but I felt like they should have said something if they were out of green onions. I was looking at the menu and all their fries have green onions so no excuse for not including them. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Kamikaze Fries missing the green onions - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

5 stars based on the chicken tacos and staff alone. I love tacos and I love when restaurants add a unique flavor to how they make theirs. KoJa's chicken tacos are an example of a unique flavor done right! First, the Korean bbq flavor is always a great and never disappoints. The sesame vinaigrette lettuce is unique and nice, but the stand out flavor by far is the wasabi-lime mayo that is drizzled over the top. Man, it really is the tastiest mayo-based dressing I've ever had, and topped on the best quick eat, the combo is one that you can easily crave! I do think there could have been a bit more chicken, but still no complaints! The kamikaze fries are also really good. I think it's topped with a beyond meat. It's $6 for a veryyyy small serving, and that was a slight let down. The staff was super friendly and moved quickly to get the line moving. I didn't wait long at all before my food was ready! Great people work here! read more

KoJa Kitchen - Kamikaze Fries - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

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I absolutely loved the truck so much. It was amazing and I've had good experiences. However, my experience here has been a bit meh... My picture shows food that isn't quite so appetizing. Brown meat, on a white rice bun, with a grey/brownish gravy. Not very appealing looking. It tasted ok, but didn't look very good. Then, there's the fact that they close rather early. Or at least they used to. I would decide to go there and they'd be closed or announce that they were closing. I used to be disappointed, but not any longer. I realize that I'm not missing much. I'd like to say that this is their second brick and mortar (or is it train car) that didn't live up to the truck. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Short Rib Koja - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

I've been to this location a few times now and the food is solid. Easy to order at the counter, Apple/Google Pay friendly. At 1pm on a Friday afternoon it was a short wait for food, maybe five minutes. The ahi poke bowl is great if you have a lighter appetite. I didn't expect to eat all the rice, but ended up chowing down the whole thing. Piggy me. I noted a couple of vegan options on the menu as well. read more

KoJa Kitchen - Ahi tuna bowl - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

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Located in Emeryville Public Market. Parking lot across the street out front, parking spots in the back and street parking available as well. This is one of my top places to go in Emeryville Public Market. For first timers I would recommend trying the kamikaze fries. My go to pick is the Ahi Tuna Bowl. I love the seaweed salad in it and the sauces too. The service is pretty quick, once you order you just wait for them to call out your name and you pick it up at the other counter. If you come on Tuesday they have Trivia Night but you can eat at any of the other restaurants there while you participate. It's my go to place there, it may not be my favorite Japanese place ever, but I don't have any complaints and the food is consistently good. read more

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The food was simply yumalicious!!! Truly enjoy the kamikaze fries the buffalo wings out of this world also one of my most favorite the sweet plantains with Japanese mayonnaise the plantains took me back home simply the best for the best price. The service was wonderful the manager and her team were wonderful caring and super friendly and attentive to our needs. The ambiance is great food music feels like outdoor setting simple and relax. It is must go back for me and try a different dish for sure Kudos to the team and the food read more

KoJa Kitchen - Japanese Near Me - Emeryville, California

The lady who works here was very rude. Someone took my order and she did not even said sorry. I had to wait for 40 min for my order. I will never come back here. read more