Tian Ya BBQ - (Near Barrie, ON)

3 /5 Reva Leste: Ive eaten here several times and I love it. Its been a while so I ordered delivery an got my favourite item which is the seafood bim bap and I swear it used to come with a fried egg on top, but this time it didnt which was dissapointing. After a couple of bites I felt something was off and I finally realized it was because the shrimp werent de-veined and that resulted in a weird after taste. Not sure if they were just in a rush today but I hope next time is better.

1 /5 Lizaveta Ksenafontava: Hard pass. Canned pineapples, cheap and watery with zero taste. Meat was dark already when served. No heat level changing. No welcoming attitude. Not a single time seen anyone asking if we needed anything or so. We thanked waiters for the food they brought but they just turn around with attitude. That crazy music from Chinese chopping mall from 80th. Charging more than all you can eat sushi near by. But it’s not even about the price because dinner for 35$ is nothing there days, it’s about the food quality. I wish I can pay more but get better but there is no other Korean bbq in Barrie. I literally have nothing to say positively about the place. Maybe toilet is clean? That’s all.

5 /5 Tim W.: We’ve been coming here for a while now and it remains one of my favourite places in Barrie. The staff are always friendly and the restaurant atmosphere is usually very calm. The food is delicious, with both the lunch and dinner options being delicious. Most recently I came here for dinner and the kalbi short ribs and pork slices were by far the highlights of the meal. The hot dishes like the General Tao chicken or their sushi deserve a mention too along with the sides and other goodies they offer. I will continue coming back and recommending this to my friends and colleagues!

1 /5 Ernest Cheung: The foods are terrible. I’ve never seen Korean BBQ marinated meat look like this before — the color was dull and unappetizing, nothing like the fresh, vibrant cuts you’d expect from authentic Korean BBQ. The meat was very lean, full of sinew, and extremely tough to chew. Authentic Korean BBQ (or Asian BBQ) should have rich, evenly distributed marbling. The miso soup and hot & sour soup were completely off in flavor — nothing like how authentic versions should taste. The seafood wasn’t fresh and had a frozen taste. The grill wasn’t hot enough, making it hard to cook the food properly and lacking that nice charred aroma. The “ventilation” hood above the grill was just for decoration — though it hardly mattered, since the grill was so weak there was barely any smoke to begin with. On top of that, the waiter was rude — she turned off our grill before we had even finished cooking.

3 /5 Cassandra Mae: This place had an ambiance that made you feel cozy and at home. The service was fast too. We liked how the server was attentive and had a warm smile all the time. It’s our first time here at Tian Ya BBQ which is a decent Korean-style AYCE BBQ restaurant in Barrie. We usually go to ones in Markham and/or North York. Their fried spring rolls and scallops (4/5) were delicious with a good crisp on the outside, giving you a crunch with every bite. The spring rolls could use some more filling. The Volcano Roll was enjoyable (3.5/5). We liked how they had fried batter on the outside to elevate the texture of the dish. The cream cheese was a delight. The portions were big. The actual Korean-style BBQ was okay (3/5). The kimchi was a bit salty for us. We were hoping it would have more of the tangy, fermented taste to it as well. We liked that it was crunchy and tasted fresh. Their lettuce was also fresh. They did use iceberg lettuce instead of romaine which was different from what we regularly have at other places. We had pork, beef, beef short ribs and squid for grilling. Both the pork and beef were thinly sliced and tender. The beef short ribs were marinated well. Maybe a bit more sesame oil, garlic and ginger to the marinade mixture would really help bring out the sweetness and the umami of the meat. The cuts were okay; the meats could have been balanced with some fat/marbling to keep them juicy. We were also looking to have some ssamjang (fermented soybean paste) and sesame oil with salt to go with the meat. Overall, an okay place to go for AYCE Korean BBQ in Barrie.