Very tasteful but spartan interior with super friendly staff. Must be busier on the weekends because it looked like only the bar area was open. Could be because just had a few on staff. My order was taken and quickly came out piping hot. Since I had to wait for the Chandol Doenjang Stew to cool down, I munched on the banchan (sides) that accompanied the stew and rice. It consisted of soybean sprouts, broccoli with sauce, pickled cucumber and tomato, kimchi and something that was tasty that I didn't recognize, maybe spiced tofu strips. The stew was really more of a soup with more tofu and jalapeños and zucchini than brisket if that's what the meat was. That being said, it was still very tasty and satisfying. I'll have to come back and give some of their other menu items a try. read more

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I was skeptical about finding good Korean food in North Carolina, but Okja proved that cozy Korean food exists. My group got the tang soo took, jjampong, and the jja jjang noodles. This was just the right amount of food for my group of three. The side dish spread wasn't very robust. But the restaurant was clean. Interesting eating Korean food in a well lit pub setting. Staff was nice and very attentive. Lots of parking outside. read more

Okja K-Pub & Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

The restaurant is nice and service was good. My husband ordered the bibimbap and I ordered the seasoned pork belly entree. We also ordered the fried dumplings. The meals came with 6 side dishes and rice. The fried dumplings were tasty. I thought my husband's meal was seasoned well and the taste was good. I wasn't a fan of the pork belly and only because it wasn't seasoned when they served it. I like my porkbelly seasoned and charred a little. This seemed like it was served boiled and you add the seasoning which I'm not a fan of. I thought the porkbelly at the restaurant Zest was better. I also think their pricing is a little high but that's just my opinion. That being said I still think this is a nice restaurant and will definitely try some of their other dishes. read more

The food was excellent and I would have given five stars based on that. We were there celebrating a birthday and we were very disappointed in the service. The five of us shared a bottle of Makgeolli and then we were never asked if we wanted anything else after that. But the biggest disappointment was four of us had been served and mostly finished with our meals before the fifth person was ever served their meal. When he was finally served his meal (Beef Bulgogi), he was given a half-hearted "sorry" and that was it. They were busy but it didn't appear anyone was overwhelmed. Again, the food was excellent, but at least one of us will not go back. read more

We booked a karaoke room here recently. The karaoke was top notch, and the room was reasonably soundproofed. The room for karaoke was also very nice and classy. However, the beef stew I ordered was completely tasteless. They even gave me salt and pepper to season it myself. It was so dreadful I had to go to another restaurant after to order food to eat. Service was only okay. The lady who helped us kinda had an attitude. The waiter was new and seemed somewhat inexperienced. read more

Okja K-Pub & Restaurant - Beef soup - Korean Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Wow!! One of the most authentic Korean places I've been to in the triangle. The staff was super friendly, our food came quick, and everything was absolutely delicious. A quick note -- the inside of this restaurant is beautiful, and the outside is super fun. They have a jungle gym for kids and a ping pong table. After ordering some kimchi Jiggae, they first brought out the banchan (side dishes), all of which were perfectly seasoned and fresh. Then, the kimchi jiggae came out boiling hot -- perfect for a cold day. It was the tastiest kimchi jiggae I've had in the triangle -- not too salty, not too spicy, just the right amount of everything. I can't wait to come back and try some other dishes! read more

Okja K-Pub & Restaurant - Kimchi Jjigae - Korean Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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This is the best Korean food in the Triangle! Thr squid is the best i've ever had. Nice atmosphere in the restaurant and very friendly staff as well. Definitely stop by and try the food if you haven't yet! read more

Okja K-Pub & Restaurant - Spicy Squid Bulgogi (Ojinguh Bokkeum) - 오징어볶음 - Korean Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

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Moment walk in OKJA the warm gracious Kim Madame greets makes at home. Ready for delight many have not known! Each dish so perfect we drive past great Korean Restaurants! Highly recommend. OKJA your new must go to spot! Our guests impressed with the food, called from TX, RGV to return! Ask for Kim Madame get the Best treatment, service & Korean. Food West of the Mississippi ! You have try it! OKJA now! read more

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We did a pickup order today and everything was delicious, fast, high quality, my son is very picky eater and he loved the fried chicken cutlets and the sides were fantastic can't wait to go back there again and dine in next time. Kenneth R. read more

Best Korean food in Raleigh/ Cary. The owners used to own Seoul Garden which my Raleigh- natives would know was the original korean spot in Raleigh. The soft tofu stee and the seafood pancakes are my favorite but hubby liked the wings (half and half) and the bibimbap. The staff is so nice- very authentic korean aunties! read more

Okja K-Pub & Restaurant - Soft tofu stew, Galbi Dolsot Bibimbab, chicken Wings - Korean Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

*3.5 stars* Didn't know what to expect since I'm from NY and this is my first Korean restaurant in North Carolina but I left pleasantly surprised. You walk in and you definitely get that authentic vibe but found it interesting that one side was more casual dining, the other a bar scene, and then a karaoke party room in between. Nonetheless, I can see it work and it was fine. We ordered the following dishes: 1. kimchi pancake - Good and pretty large portion. 2. kan poong ki - It was good but not authentic. I thought it belonged in a Chinese restaurant. 3. grilled mackerel - Done very well. Good size. 4. beef bulgogi - Good but way too expensive for such a small portion. I would stay away. 5. yookgaejang - Good. 6. soft tofu stew - Good. 7. kan jja jang - Lacked black bean sauce. Stay away. Banchan was decent and service was attentive. I would go back. read more

We were in the karaoke room but, they have only Korean songs, the food is not bad. The service is good, but there is not options to choose other songs or play YouTube on Tv. read more

This is some authentic Korean food, and you owe it to yourself to check it out. Pretty much everything on the menu here seemed delicious, but what I ordered (the kimchi pancake, some fried chicken, and soju) hit the spot perfectly. The kimchi pancake was absolutely fantastic, I'm surprised at how much I loved such a straightforward dish. As others have noted on here, the fried chicken here is really solid - the style is closer to chicken wings than the fried chicken you might get at chain Korean fried chicken places, so it's a bit heavier on the sauce than you might initially expect. The service is super friendly, too. I was quickly seated, my order was quickly taken, and I got fresh food extremely quickly. No complaints here. read more

This place definitely is more of a pub than a restaurant. Just with my one experience I give a closer to 3.5 stars but deserving to be rounded up since I will try this place again. I am always skeptical when a restaurant offers more than two different types of ethnic cuisine. I ordered the army stew ($18.99) and it had the general essentials for it to be an army stew (부대찌개). The odd meatball (?) did not taste good at all, but I appreciated the kimchi quality although there could have been more of it. I would rather add more ham/spam instead of that mystery meat. The place has a private room in the corner and can slow down service for the rest of the restaurant if there is a large party. Their price is comparable to all the other Korean restaurants in North Carolina. I also note that it's more of a pub than a restaurant because there are no traditional side dishes served. read more

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I ordered seafood pancake(a must), grilled salmon(cooked perfectly) and seafood wheat noodles soup(broth delicious). This is one of the best Korean restaurants that I have had. They were shorted staff but they worked very hard to accommodate their customers. read more

Never even heard of this place but Korean food is a favorite of mine. It wasn't too crowded when we went there so we were sat fast. It took a while for our server to come over but after that she was great. She gave us suggestions and even a sample of a drink. We went with the spring rolls which are basic. The crab wontons were handmade by the store owners and were very delicious! We got the soja flight which was a good price and strong to me! We ordered the spicy pork, jap chae and sushi. Everything was delicious! The service, the atmosphere and prices were good! Can't wait to return!! read more

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Came here due to my sister's recommendation. We got a variety of food to try and got the naengmyun ($15.99), grilled mackerel ($16.99), large tang soo yook ($25.99), and 2 sushi rolls ($14.99 each). The tang soo yook was crispy and had a good flavor to their sauce. My parents liked the grilled mackerel as it was a comfort food to them. The naengmyun was okay as I didn't really like the tangy broth that came with it. The sushi rolls were also good however the okja special had a wasabi sauce that I wasn't crazy about as well as both rolls having stale (?) seaweed but the flavor of the san's special was pretty good. The service was super quick and our waitress was nice and remembered my sister even though she only came here one other time with her friends. Overall I would definitely recommend this place as there's a good variety of food for everyone and the food is pretty good! read more

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Recently my wife and I were in the mood for Korean food and we decided we would try Okja restaurant for the first time. We went for dinner, expecting authentic Korean cuisine based on their menu. Unfortunately, the experience fell short. The service was atrocious; our main courses arrived before our appetizers, they don't give you dinner plates and the staff was extremely rude and unwelcoming. The food quality was underwhelming--our bulgogi was overly oily and lacked flavor, while the kimchi side dish tasted stale. On top of that one of the appetizers (that came out after the entrees) we ordered, Korean chicken wings, instead of giving us more napkins, the server gave us a 500 count box of gloves. Who does that??? I hope Okja can address these concerns. We won't be returning and wouldn't recommend it until improvements are made. read more

Okja K-Pub & Restaurant - Chicken wings with gloves - Korean Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

I was craving jajangmyeon and tangsuyuk because I don't have it where I live , so I was excited to go get some when I came to visit my parents. We got that and also some jampong and everything was delicious. So first the tangsuyuk was crispy and tender and the sauce gave the pork added the perfect amount of sweet and sour flavor. The sauce wasn't too thick or thin, and marinated the pork really well if it sits too long, it doesn't make the pork soggy like and soft so I do prefer the sauce on the side for me to dip. The jajangmyeon was top tier. The sauce to noodle ratio was honestly perfect and the noodles were cooked al dente. I'm not exactly sure how to describe the black bean taste but it comes with small pieces of pork, onions and zucchini. It adds a sweet but savory umami rich flavor. That with the tangsuyuk is the perfect pair. The jampong was also really good. My mom ordered that so I got a little plate of it. Same as the jajangmyeon, noodles were cooked perfectly. The spice in the soup was very potent because that thing was spicy but it was so good. I could definitely have that on a cold day or if I'm sick. The food itself was a 10/10 for me and I'll definitely be back next time I visit. The restaurant itself is beautiful, really cute aesthetic and the staff was so nice and very quick with their service. I think we were in and out within an hour maybe less. The kids just got nuggets and fries and they said their food was good too because they finished it all which is rare lol. Definitely check it out in Cary, NC if you have a chance. read more

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The food was skimpy. They brought the ribs which cost 36 dollars and they were just bones no meat. They seemed soggy and not cooked enough. The soup came Out warm and didn't have any meat In it. The rice bowls use to be full but now they only fill them half way. The side dishes were skimpy. The service was over all bad and terrible. Lastly they forgot my beer. After we had to go somewhere else to eat. read more

Please avoid this restaurant like the plague if you're a middle-aged couple looking to have a quiet dinner. The music is LOUD, and I mean deafening! There was a smell of cigarette smoke all over the place, even though no one was smoking indoors. Very poor ventilation. While the food wasn't bad, they wouldn't turn down the volume at all. We won't be returning. read more

The fried rice is one of my favorites. But that is it, everything else is a miss. The dumplings are not good and the crimes they committed against the short rib should be studied and avoided. I'm curious how the Galbi Tang can have no flavor whatsoever, just a bowl of high calorie water. This is not a spot where you can try everything. Stick to the easy dishes, like fired chicken and keep it moving. read more

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Did anyone else not know what a k-pub was?? I certainly found out today! So you've got a really cool and laid back bar scene mixed with k pop music videos. Honestly, if you didn't even know what k pop was or didn't like it, I don't think it would impede your dining experience. The servers were super nice and willing to offer suggestions on their favorite things. We started off with calamari. I'm not a big fan of calamari, it's never what I would choose to order, but this stuff was good! It was definitely because of the tempura batter and the sweet sauce served with them. So much better than the traditional version in my opinion. I got the beef bulgogi and it was quite yummy. Both of my friends enjoyed their meals too! I don't remember the name of the soup but the other dish was tofu bibimbap. I want to come back here because they had so many options on the menu and I need to try some more things, like the chicken kat-su. read more

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Stopped in today to try the food and found the Hot Stone Bone Broth w Beef and all the accompaniments, plus a hot rice ball, WONDERFUL! The stew/soup was boiling in the bowl when served. The service was excellent as was the ambiance! Very nice experience all around so will definitely go again and bring friends and family! Kathy Clark new Cary transplant read more

Okja K-Pub & Restaurant - Korean Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

We staying here for the weekend and looked around came across this place on yelp & tried it out. Inside is very spacious. Big plus‼ The food was very good. The sushi fish was good flavor. The army stew had lots of flavor. The jajayuen was the perfect consistency. Our waitress was friendly & was attentive. If we come back to this side of town. We would defiantly come back. It was yummy read more

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Restaurant visit: 6/21/2025 @ 6:00p My friend and I visited this restaurant after seeing reviews on TikTok.. being that we loooove Korean food we were excited to try. Our server had to be prompted to assist us by the food runner (I'd assume is the owner). While I'm not strict when it comes to service over all.. it would've been nice if she'd checked on us at least once or even appeared to be friendly. Anyway, my friend and I pay & leave but i forgot my keys!!!! I had to return to the restaurant to retrieve them, upon retrieving them I was held hostage by the inattentive server who gave me a lecture on why tipping is important. While, I understand her stance, I believe that was an inappropriate conversation being that she was no where to be found from beginning to end. However, the food runner (again.. owner i believe) was amazing, great service and very very kind. With that being said, I will not return as the server left such a bad taste in my mouth that unfortunately the flavor of the food cannot compete with. read more

Wasn't super impressed. We decided to try this place in hopes of finding a new favorite place to eat. Inside, the restaurant has a fun and energetic vibe with Korean music videos playing on large screens and my teen loved this! So, we were hopeful for the food. We were not greeted by a server for awhile and we were the only ones seated in the entire bar area. Once our server arrived, she was attentive. We asked if they could make a scallion pancake as we did not see this on the menu but we did see that they had a seafood pancake. We were told this wouldn't be an issue. We were brought out a pancake and it was good. This was probably the best item from our meal. My daughter ordered the seafood Udon which had very little flavor. I ordered the hibachi which was just ok, not bad but not great. We both ordered tea, one sweet and one unsweet. Both teas tasted off. We imagine they have the gold peak fountain tea and not fresh brewed by the taste, this is likely just preference but fountain tea is just weird to us. We paid the check and left. Once i looked at my receipt later, I saw they had charged me $18 for a seafood pancake which is not what we received. The item we ordered had no seafood or meat of any kind. There is nowhere in Cary that currently charges $18 for a scallion pancake. Thats insane. We paid $18 for flour, oil and some green onion. We just feel we should have been charged according to what we had actually ordered and not for seafood that we did not get. At the very least, the server should have advised that they were still charging for the seafood even if we didn't want it. read more

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It was such a nice evening and we were looking for a place with a nice outdoor area. We've driven by Okja before and decided to give it a try. It was half an hour before they closed so we had a waiter all to ourselves and she was great. We played some ping pong before our food came. We shared some edamame, noodles with vegetables, and some eel rolls. We also a few pints of beer. Everything was pretty delicious. I think we will visit again. read more

Okja K-Pub & Restaurant - Noodles with vegetables - Korean Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

Delicious food. We got one of the stews which had a spicy up-front taste and a different spicy finish, so very addictive. I came for the JaJang noodles where it's not on many menus - and it was very delicious and well done. The atmosphere is low-key classy and elegant, so I would recommend it for anything really, a family dinner or a nice date-night place. This place has Korean waitstaff as well as patrons, so a winner in my book. read more

The food was amazing and I'll definitely will come back! I loved the kimchi fried rice read more

Okja K-Pub & Restaurant - Kimchi fried rice - Korean Near Me - Cary, North Carolina

My new favorite Korean restaurant since it changed the ownership earlier this year. The fried chicken wings that I ordered with spicy sauce were so crunch and flavorful. The LA kalbi was seasoned well and tender. I liked everything we ordered except Nangmuyn that noodles were all lumped together. Great prompt friendly service. They refilled our Banchan as needed. read more

A new favourite Korean. Great quality and well prepared dishes. The seafood pancake is excellent. Kimchi Jjigae is outstanding. read more

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Okja recently change hands so I was worried the food wouldn't be as good - but I was wrong it is still great! The tofu stew was full of seafood, the galbi soup flavorful, and the bulgogi really good. The japchae was a little over cooked but still tasted great. And the service was fantastic - even on a busy Saturday night. The team really worked well together to make it a fantastic experience. read more