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I've only had Korean food in San Francisco and Korea, so I may be spoiled. I'd been wanting to try this place for a long time and I left so very disappointed. First off, I've never had a Korean meal without banchan. All those little side dishes are meant to enhance your main. Our server brought out a large-ish bowl of kimchi before we ordered. Appetizer? Weird. Soft tofu stew is my go-to dish. Maru's was almost bland. Plus, no vegetables?! Very strange. I dumped in the kimchi and the hot sauce and it was ok. At least it was hot. I don't eat beef, but my husband said his dish was nothing special either. The server was just ok. Not friendly. Not unfriendly. Just meh. The place was clearly meant for take-out only. Despite the lavish exterior, the interior was cold and sterile. In addition, there was dried food on the window ledge next to my seat and fruit flies buzzing around everywhere. I shuddered to think what the kitchen looked like. Overall? Bland, uninspired, and overpriced.
Everything that we had at Maru was perfection. From sitting down at the table. Our server was well knowledgeable and able to explain to all of the different options to us. The ambiance was calm and relaxing. I ordered the Bimibop Stone bowl and it was so tasty and perfectly fresh. We also ordered the Black Bean Tofu Ramen which was super tasty. Would totally come again.
My husband and I had a date night here on a recent Saturday evening and our experience was...very average. We had reservations for 7:30, but we got there around 7pm due to an earlier event ending sooner than we thought. We were prepared to wait if the place was exceedingly busy, but that's not why we ended up having to wait. We got to the front desk and noted that there was a larger group of guests but then only 2-3 other tables with customers. Despite it being not as busy as we were expecting, no one noticed we had been waiting to be seated for about 20 minutes. The waitress who did finally notice and seat us was very pleasant and did let us know that because the larger group had just put in their orders, our food may be delayed a bit, which was fine with us. We got a bottle of soju which was tasty (but we were served dirty cups) and the sweet and spicy veggie dumplings to start with. Before our app came out, our waitress brought out complimentary seaweed salad and kimchi, both of which were very tasty! The kimchi didn't taste super fermented, but it did taste good. The dumplings themselves were a little bit chewier than I like and the sauce was very sweet without really any heat. They were overall fine and we finished them, but would probably not order again - at least not with the sauce. My husband got the crispy chicken which came highly recommended by our waitress. I wanted to get the jap chae, but after putting in my order, our waitress came back to tell us that the kitchen was out of the noodles needed for the dish. I ended up getting the stir fried noodles with vegetables and made spicy. My dish was definitely spicy, no doubt about that! But the flavor otherwise was disappointing - it just didn't taste like much. My husband was similarly disappointed, saying the chicken didn't have a lot of flavor. Throughout our meal, there were several guests that came in and were told that the restaurant wasn't seating any more guests for the rest of the night due to higher demand earlier in the day. Overall our meals were fine, but the whole experience was odd and I probably wouldn't return. Our waitress was super sweet throughout though!
I don't know why not enough people come here but whenever I want to get my Korean food craving satisfied, this place is my go to! The food is warm and tastes delicious! The ban chan is okay, would love more for the price but it is enough to pair with meals.
I'm always happy to see Milwaukee get more Korean food. There's a lot to try, but I'm partial to the spicy stews and noodle dishes. I have dined in at Maru a couple times and also gotten delivery. The food has been consistently good, if slightly pricey. The decor at the restaurant is cheerful and the service is nice even at off-peak hours. I tried the soft tofu stew on my first visit because it's one of my favorite dishes ever. Maru's is good. It's pleasantly spicy, comes with purple rice, and you can get an egg on it. The budae jigae is something I was trying for the first time. It's also nicely spicy and as filling as it sounds. I would get it again. I also had the spicy chicken when I ordered delivery and I thought the sauce was really addictive. The same purple rice was excellent for soaking it up. I had the duk mandu soup and it was delicious and not spicy. The restaurant is clean and bright inside, with signs advertising the food and flowers in the window. I'm in this area quite a bit on the weekends so Maru is getting added to my restaurant rotation.
Been to this restaurant twice and I love the food. The flavors are very tasteful. If you like spice, I would recommend the soft tofu stew and the spicy bulgogi stone. Both are my favorite dish. Very nice atmosphere and clean.
Highlights 1. Amazing (and authentic) Korean Food 2. Friendly Service 3. Generous Portions Visited Maru on Saturday night for a birthday dinner. We had 5 in our party, did not have a reservation, and were able to be seated immediately. I would say you probably don't need a reservation (even on weekends) to get seated fairly quickly, but of course it's all dependent on what is going on that night/party size/etc. Korean Food is typically shared family style (my favorite way to eat!) so our table ordered a ton of plates to share. The portions are GENEROUS. All 5 of us went home with leftovers. Everything we ordered was loaded with flavor and had just the right amount of kick. We tried the bibimbap, beef bulgogi, sweet potato noodles, a very delicious kimchi stir fry tofu type dish, Korean wings and of course a few delicious Sojus. Service was fast and friendly. We didn't realize when we arrived at 8pm that they actually close at 9pm but the staffed stayed a little late and let us finish up our meal. I'm still thinking about the food and can't wait to come back!
Wow yum! So glad there is a new option for Korean food in the Milwaukee area! Stopped by on a Friday afternoon with some friends, and we decided to share a bunch of things to try out the place. Between the 3 of us, we ordered the rice cakes, stir fried noodles with seafood, dol sot bibimbap with beef, and the beef bulgogi. Parking was actually not an issue, which I was really surprised by especially on a Friday night! Service here is great, everyone is incredibly friendly. The food came out fresh and absolutely delicious! I think my favorite definitely had to be the stir fried noodles. The noodles I would akin to a chewier udon noodle. There was the perfect amount of flavor coated on each noodle. I also really appreciated that the dishes here aren't super salty, and the natural flavors are really hi-lighted in each dish. Love that they do purple rice here, so good! Unfortunately there was only one type of ban chan available-- the spicy cucumber. It was incredibly delicious, but I was really hoping there would be more variety!
We were so excited to finally see a traditional Korean restaurant open in Milwaukee again! The food was overall decent, traditional, and homey. The dining and pick-up area was bright and very clean. We tried Rice Cake, Kimchi Beef Fried Rice, Jap Chae, Spicy Squid, and Beef Bulgogi (all pick-up). Nothing went wrong. They even included yummy banchan (side dishes) for free! If I am being picky, the Bulgogi and Jap Chae could be a bit more flavorful with a bit more oil and seasoning. But we enjoyed our meal and will go back often for sure! If you like or miss traditional Korean food, this is definitely the place to be! And just don't compare the only traditional Korean restaurant here w LA or NYC's.
Such an adorable looking space. The decor/seating is very nice for a date night, or special occasion. The complimentary pickles veggie plates were one of my favorite things, soooo much nicer than bread rolls or things you get at American restaurants! I asked for the glass noodle dish to be spicy and over all I think the heat could have been higher but the flavor was delicious and well rounded! - this was my first time having soju and it wasn't bad but also not my favorite. Very sweet and zero carbonation. So If that's what you are looking for go for it!
Great authentic place for Korean food in the Milwaukee area! I ordered the tofu stew with Kimchi and it came with a bowl of rice and unlimited amounts of kimchi. I love good kimchi and this one tasted fresh and well spiced! I obviously loved the fact that there was no limit on how many bowls of kimchi I could get and took full advantage of it by eating 3 full bowls of it. The tofu stew was warm and hearty, perfect for a cold winter day. I'm a fan of Korean food and this place hit the spot for me! So thankful that I found a great Korean restaurant in the area!
I was looking for a Korean food spot to go to for my birthday, and I was glad I went to Maru. The service was nice and very friendly. There was also a nice music selection (it was like they got a hold of my own Spotify playlist) and I was able to take my time and really enjoy the atmosphere. And aside from all that...I thought the food was AMAZING. My side of rice was nice and fluffy, and I've never had bulgogi that good. I'm glad I picked a really nice place to treat myself, and will definitely do it again. read more
Stumbled upon this spot with a friend and was impressed. Will be here again. I will say, I've had similar food options in Chicago and in Racine but this spot was good in the Milwaukee area. Good music that wasn't too loud and plenty of space in the dining area to not feel jammed in with other customers. Our server was knowledgeable about the menu and was very quick with service. Overall good spot. I'd recommend checking out another spot for the bibimbop but I'm partial to another location (check my other reviews for the location). read more
I've only had Korean food in San Francisco and Korea, so I may be spoiled. I'd been wanting to try this place for a long time and I left so very disappointed. First off, I've never had a Korean meal without banchan. All those little side dishes are meant to enhance your main. Our server brought out a large-ish bowl of kimchi before we ordered. Appetizer? Weird. Soft tofu stew is my go-to dish. Maru's was almost bland. Plus, no vegetables?! Very strange. I dumped in the kimchi and the hot sauce and it was ok. At least it was hot. I don't eat beef, but my husband said his dish was nothing special either. The server was just ok. Not friendly. Not unfriendly. Just meh. The place was clearly meant for take-out only. Despite the lavish exterior, the interior was cold and sterile. In addition, there was dried food on the window ledge next to my seat and fruit flies buzzing around everywhere. I shuddered to think what the kitchen looked like. Overall? Bland, uninspired, and overpriced. read more
1 year ago
Everything that we had at Maru was perfection. From sitting down at the table. Our server was well knowledgeable and able to explain to all of the different options to us. The ambiance was calm and relaxing. I ordered the Bimibop Stone bowl and it was so tasty and perfectly fresh. We also ordered the Black Bean Tofu Ramen which was super tasty. Would totally come again. read more
My husband and I had a date night here on a recent Saturday evening and our experience was...very average. We had reservations for 7:30, but we got there around 7pm due to an earlier event ending sooner than we thought. We were prepared to wait if the place was exceedingly busy, but that's not why we ended up having to wait. We got to the front desk and noted that there was a larger group of guests but then only 2-3 other tables with customers. Despite it being not as busy as we were expecting, no one noticed we had been waiting to be seated for about 20 minutes. The waitress who did finally notice and seat us was very pleasant and did let us know that because the larger group had just put in their orders, our food may be delayed a bit, which was fine with us. We got a bottle of soju which was tasty (but we were served dirty cups) and the sweet and spicy veggie dumplings to start with. Before our app came out, our waitress brought out complimentary seaweed salad and kimchi, both of which were very tasty! The kimchi didn't taste super fermented, but it did taste good. The dumplings themselves were a little bit chewier than I like and the sauce was very sweet without really any heat. They were overall fine and we finished them, but would probably not order again - at least not with the sauce. My husband got the crispy chicken which came highly recommended by our waitress. I wanted to get the jap chae, but after putting in my order, our waitress came back to tell us that the kitchen was out of the noodles needed for the dish. I ended up getting the stir fried noodles with vegetables and made spicy. My dish was definitely spicy, no doubt about that! But the flavor otherwise was disappointing - it just didn't taste like much. My husband was similarly disappointed, saying the chicken didn't have a lot of flavor. Throughout our meal, there were several guests that came in and were told that the restaurant wasn't seating any more guests for the rest of the night due to higher demand earlier in the day. Overall our meals were fine, but the whole experience was odd and I probably wouldn't return. Our waitress was super sweet throughout though! read more
I don't know why not enough people come here but whenever I want to get my Korean food craving satisfied, this place is my go to! The food is warm and tastes delicious! The ban chan is okay, would love more for the price but it is enough to pair with meals. read more
4 years ago
I'm always happy to see Milwaukee get more Korean food. There's a lot to try, but I'm partial to the spicy stews and noodle dishes. I have dined in at Maru a couple times and also gotten delivery. The food has been consistently good, if slightly pricey. The decor at the restaurant is cheerful and the service is nice even at off-peak hours. I tried the soft tofu stew on my first visit because it's one of my favorite dishes ever. Maru's is good. It's pleasantly spicy, comes with purple rice, and you can get an egg on it. The budae jigae is something I was trying for the first time. It's also nicely spicy and as filling as it sounds. I would get it again. I also had the spicy chicken when I ordered delivery and I thought the sauce was really addictive. The same purple rice was excellent for soaking it up. I had the duk mandu soup and it was delicious and not spicy. The restaurant is clean and bright inside, with signs advertising the food and flowers in the window. I'm in this area quite a bit on the weekends so Maru is getting added to my restaurant rotation. read more
1 year ago
Maru was fantastic! I got the spicy Bibimbap / 비빔밥 bowl with Beef Bulgogi / 불고기 and it was fantastic! The rice became crisp the longer it sat in the hot stone bowl. Amazing read more
Been to this restaurant twice and I love the food. The flavors are very tasteful. If you like spice, I would recommend the soft tofu stew and the spicy bulgogi stone. Both are my favorite dish. Very nice atmosphere and clean. read more
1 year ago
Highlights 1. Amazing (and authentic) Korean Food 2. Friendly Service 3. Generous Portions Visited Maru on Saturday night for a birthday dinner. We had 5 in our party, did not have a reservation, and were able to be seated immediately. I would say you probably don't need a reservation (even on weekends) to get seated fairly quickly, but of course it's all dependent on what is going on that night/party size/etc. Korean Food is typically shared family style (my favorite way to eat!) so our table ordered a ton of plates to share. The portions are GENEROUS. All 5 of us went home with leftovers. Everything we ordered was loaded with flavor and had just the right amount of kick. We tried the bibimbap, beef bulgogi, sweet potato noodles, a very delicious kimchi stir fry tofu type dish, Korean wings and of course a few delicious Sojus. Service was fast and friendly. We didn't realize when we arrived at 8pm that they actually close at 9pm but the staffed stayed a little late and let us finish up our meal. I'm still thinking about the food and can't wait to come back! read more
Wow yum! So glad there is a new option for Korean food in the Milwaukee area! Stopped by on a Friday afternoon with some friends, and we decided to share a bunch of things to try out the place. Between the 3 of us, we ordered the rice cakes, stir fried noodles with seafood, dol sot bibimbap with beef, and the beef bulgogi. Parking was actually not an issue, which I was really surprised by especially on a Friday night! Service here is great, everyone is incredibly friendly. The food came out fresh and absolutely delicious! I think my favorite definitely had to be the stir fried noodles. The noodles I would akin to a chewier udon noodle. There was the perfect amount of flavor coated on each noodle. I also really appreciated that the dishes here aren't super salty, and the natural flavors are really hi-lighted in each dish. Love that they do purple rice here, so good! Unfortunately there was only one type of ban chan available-- the spicy cucumber. It was incredibly delicious, but I was really hoping there would be more variety! read more
We were so excited to finally see a traditional Korean restaurant open in Milwaukee again! The food was overall decent, traditional, and homey. The dining and pick-up area was bright and very clean. We tried Rice Cake, Kimchi Beef Fried Rice, Jap Chae, Spicy Squid, and Beef Bulgogi (all pick-up). Nothing went wrong. They even included yummy banchan (side dishes) for free! If I am being picky, the Bulgogi and Jap Chae could be a bit more flavorful with a bit more oil and seasoning. But we enjoyed our meal and will go back often for sure! If you like or miss traditional Korean food, this is definitely the place to be! And just don't compare the only traditional Korean restaurant here w LA or NYC's. read more
1 year ago
The stone bibimbap is always delicious. The service is always great and the servers are friendly. We were quickly seated and the food comes out in a reasonable amount of time. read more
Such an adorable looking space. The decor/seating is very nice for a date night, or special occasion. The complimentary pickles veggie plates were one of my favorite things, soooo much nicer than bread rolls or things you get at American restaurants! I asked for the glass noodle dish to be spicy and over all I think the heat could have been higher but the flavor was delicious and well rounded! - this was my first time having soju and it wasn't bad but also not my favorite. Very sweet and zero carbonation. So If that's what you are looking for go for it! read more
Great authentic place for Korean food in the Milwaukee area! I ordered the tofu stew with Kimchi and it came with a bowl of rice and unlimited amounts of kimchi. I love good kimchi and this one tasted fresh and well spiced! I obviously loved the fact that there was no limit on how many bowls of kimchi I could get and took full advantage of it by eating 3 full bowls of it. The tofu stew was warm and hearty, perfect for a cold winter day. I'm a fan of Korean food and this place hit the spot for me! So thankful that I found a great Korean restaurant in the area! read more
11 months ago
4 stars for the service, aesthetics, how quickly food gets there, how easy it is to get seated and how quickly we got seated. I came here with 2 friends without a reservation and was automatically seated at a table. The chairs and tables are very new and sleek. Warning their is only street parking so you may have problems finding parking if it's peak east side hours. They lose 1 star for the flavors and banchan. They only have 4 side dishes and only have kimchi if you ask for it. They side dishes aren't amazing like they're decent for MKE maybe even good for MKE but if you're familiar with Korean side dishes you may feel like it is lacking. The side dishes didn't get refilled and didn't come out quickly like a mom and pop Korean restaurant. The meat dishes were good though and the wrap set was good. We also ordered a soup and I feel like there was not enough protein in it for them to say it had pork belly in it, it was more so pork. The flavors are decent and will definitely hit the Korean food cravings. The spicy edemame is very goood and V tasty. It might be the tastiest thing that evening. The servers are very attentive and amazing. They surprised our friend for her birthday with dessert and are v thankful they had amazing timing for dinner and dessert surprise that we asked them to do. Very appreciative of the service hence the 4 stars. read more
Went here a few months ago and boy was this food delicious! We ordered pot stickers, Korean chicken wings, Bulgogi and a few other dishes. The food was so good. Chicken was cooked to perfect. I got the pork bulgogi instead of beef and wondered if I might like the beef better. The service was friendly. We were sat immediately when we got in, so wasn't too busy. I'm hoping they stay open because we need delicious Korean options in the milwaukee!! read more
2 years ago
Maru will hit the spot when you're craving Korean and are limited to Milwaukee's very sad, ethnic food options. Maru serves casual, home style Korean food - not elevated but are simple meals you can share with friends. Pros: - Thank you for being the only MOSTLY authentic Korean restaurant in the entire Great Milwaukee Area - It's not fusion - Portion sizes are large and good for sharing - Attentive service Cons: - Only two banchan (tiny side dishes) were served, a spicy pickled bok choy dish (which I'm not sure is even an authentic dish??) and a potato dish. Traditional Korean restaurants will give you at least 5-6. I guess this might be their way of cutting costs. But c'mon, how could you not even include kimchi as one of the Banchan?? - Price is steep for what you're paying for. Onto the food: - Food here will satisfy the craving, but it's definitely not the best Korean restaurant I've been to by FAR. - Tteokbokki was actually pretty good! My fave thing that we got. The tteok (rice cake) was cooked well (chewy, not soggy or undercooked) and sauce was yummy. Sauce wasn't too sweet and had a nice kick. I liked that it was actually spicy. - Bulgogi: Flavor was pretty good - tasted like bulgogi. Some pieces were huge and difficult to chew. The option to add egg is definitely not traditional. This was alright -- not the best meat quality. I'm guessing they probably have to import it or freeze the meat because this is Milwaukee and it's hard to get a hold of Asian ingredients. Sigh, am I being too picky? - Budae Jigae: Broth lacked real flavor or depth and just tasted like I was drinking kimchi juice. I'd skip on this. Also, I think they forgot to put tofu in it because I don't think I saw any in the soup. I think I'm being harsh on Maru because I'm from California and have had Korean food 20x better. Sorry Maru. For what you can get in Milwaukee, Maru is so, so great! For bringing mostly authentic Korean dishes to the Milwaukee food scene, Maru is awesome. read more
Not bad, nice space with good service. Wouldn't stay in business long in the Northwest end of Chicago, the Skokie-Niles area of the Chicago 'burbs, or any other area with a concentration of Korean-Americans but as things stand this is the best Korean restaurant in Southeast Wisconsin. They don't serve the standard array of appetizers, the barbeque choices aren't quite up to par so I would stick to the easier stuff like tofu stew and bi bim bap. read more
I usually make the trek out to Chicago-land for all Asian food but I was in the area for elite boba & was craving Korean food so here we are! My friend & I looked at the menu extensively all day to decide what to get for us & our boyfriends since they let us take charge. We decided on Korean fried chicken with the sweet & spicy garlic sauce on the side, the kimchi dumpling stew, the beef bulgogi add an egg, & the pork shoulder lettuce wrap set. We were so happy with our order haha. The Korean fried chicken came out first & the chicken itself was okay, my boyfriend did not like the breading at all. The sauce however? WOW. So good! I ended up dipping everything in that sauce haha. Then came the pork lettuce wrap & the bulgogi beef w egg. Both were delicious! Building a lettuce wrap felt so nostalgic I haven't done it for such a long time. The bulgogi beef was my favorite over the two it was so soft & I liked the flavor on it. Lastly but definitely not the least, the kimchi dumpling stew came out. This is what I was waiting for. I immediately took a sip & it hit the back of my throat so nicely just like I wanted. Perfectly spicy & oh so comforting. My friend & I split that since our boyfriends wanted no part of it but I honestly wish I got a whole one for myself. It was definitely my favorite thing of the night. Absolute perfect bite was the beef bulgogi dipped in the sweet & spicy garlic sauce with the purple rice soaked in that delicious kimchi stew broth. All the flavors just melded together it was so so good. It was sort of lacking in some things like tofu & pork bellies but I personally care more about broth so I didn't mind. Also they only gave two banchans which was unusual, kimchi was extra charge which was even more unusual lol. So I took off a star for that along with the Korean fried chicken just being okay. Overall we had a very good dinner & our server was wonderful especially with how busy they were! For being in Wisconsin this honestly exceeded my expectations, they were very low to begin though. I'll have to try char'd to see how they compare. read more
Maru has a lot of potential. We were informed it would be about 30-40 minutes for our food if we chose to dine in and so we knew things would be running slower. We got their sparkling sake which was listed as a grape flavor but it was grapefruit flavor. Tasted like drinking skittles so too sweet for us. Their green tea while delicious, the cups they served in were not heat proof and burned our fingers. We poured the tea in our sake glasses instead. We had the edamame, a bit over salted, spicy pork dumplings... YUM! And the kimchi beef fried rice. The fried rice was extremely plain and had very little flavor. Some side sauces would have been nice. The bathrooms could use an upgrade aesthetically as it felt quite sterile. Alec our server was amazing! Kind and informative. He and the pork dumplings are the 2 reasons why I gave this a 4 star instead of a 3. This could be a great spot and I look forward to trying it again down the road. read more
3 years ago
Great service, ambiance and amazing quality foods. The only thing is lack of side dishes comes with the entree. Two side dishes for Korean meal is not typical. read more
4 years ago
Yummy food, the Wings were delicious and everything was ok. The flavors didn't really stand out to me personally, things were just a little too bland. read more
We came here for a date night. The restaurant is quite and okay ambiance. The server is very friendly but the restaurant seems understaffed. We waited a very long time for our entry (probably more than 30min). The food is good and I really liked my Seoul Beef soup and rice cake as appetizer. There are only 2 side dishes, but knowing this is a more westernized Korean restaurant, I think 2 side dishes might be what is expected. read more
We are the middle children of history. Born too late to explore Seoul Restaurant, born too early to explore the Korean food boom in Milwaukee, born just in time to try out Maru... With the loss of Seoul leaving only San Dong as the sole traditional Korean restaurant in town, I was really gearing up to make the oh-so-arduous trek to Chicago, but as fate would have it, I happened to pass by Maru just prior to its opening week while on my way to Merge. I immediately had to text the Asian group chat- dining at Maru was quickly established to be a Mandatory Attendance Event. The space takes over what was formerly known as Maru Sushi; it is a large, modern space with plenty of tables and booths for small groups and a bar area. Posters of their dishes decorate the street-facing windows. Overall, the restaurant is clean and very simply decorated. The restaurant was not very busy on the Friday evening when we went, so I hope they can get more customers. It looks like few are aware that this restaurant has opened (though their Instagram has started being more active). The street parking situation isn't great because the location is close to so many other popular restaurants and venues, but there are spots on the back streets and the Kenilworth lot across the street. As opposed to Merge and Char'd (the other Korean popular restaurants downtown, we don't stan Stone Bowl) I would say the dishes at Maru are kind of traditional-modern. We started with the fried vegetable dumplings [$7.95 for 4 pieces], fried pork sweet & spicy dumplings [$9.95 for 6 pieces], and tteokbokki [$9.95]. The sauce on the sweet and spicy dumplings was really yummy- I think gochujang-based, just the right level of spice for my weak palate. The tteokbokki came out in a cute mini-skillet and had great flavor; this is a dish I make frequently at home and I liked Maru's drier (?) rendition, but the rice cakes were a little bit overcooked. Still solid, and I think it would be good if they could offer this in an entree size. I wasn't really huge on the banchan. They gave us really small amounts for the size of our group and didn't refill the banchan as other traditional places do...they also came out in the middle of the appetizers as opposed to right after ordering. Banchan we received this time were tempura sweet potato slices, eomuk, cucumber kimchi, and pickled radish. We went family-style with our entrees! The kimchi bulgogi fried rice [$15.95 + $1 for egg] was good, I think it could have had a little more bulgogi. I was a little skeptical to try the seolleongtang [$16.95] because it's not a restaurant that specializes in it, but I felt that it was pretty decent- very comforting and good flavor. I wish it came with salt and scallions on the side since I'm used to this soup being served in a way that allows you to add your own condiments, but I understand this maybe isn't an approach diners in Milwaukee would be familiar with. I wasn't a huge fan of the beef bulgogi [$17.95]. There was some flavor I couldn't quite place that wasn't something I am used to...however, the spicy squid pork belly [$19.95] was delicious- my favorite dish of the night! So savory, sweet, and tasty. I would definitely come back just for this dish. Some of the entrees come with purple rice on the side. Overall, I would say the flavors are definitely toned down from a more traditional restaurant, probably to cater to MKE tastes. However, I was still able to enjoy the food- it hit the spot and I'm really happy that we have a restaurant like this in town. For our group of 5, this was just the right amount of food. I think the portions could be a little larger for the price but maybe I'll need to try and eat an entree on my own before making a definitive assessment on the portion sizes. Having tried both Merge and Char'd, I think I would be most inclined to recommend Maru for Korean food. Our server was really friendly and very passionate about the food. I feel bad because she and another girl were the only servers in the restaurant that night, and even if the restaurant wasn't busy, it was still a lot for them to handle. We chatted with her a bit and learned that the owners are the ones cooking in the kitchen of this restaurant, and that they also own Merge (so I assume by extension Char'd as well, since I think I remember reading that Char'd and Merge have the same owners?). That's great for them, to have opened 3 Korean restaurants in town. Our server had high praise for the owners. It sounds like all the staff is very hardworking. I hope that Maru can get more customers, but in turn I hope they'll be able to hire more staff. It seems they've already added several new dishes (including samgyeopsal!) since my friends and I were there, so I'll certainly be back for more. Maru is no big-city Korean restaurant, but it's decent at what it's trying to do and I hope it'll find success over these next years. Hopefully they can amp up the flavors too! read more
4 years ago
5 years ago
5 years ago
Everything we tried was so delicious! Definitely recommend the pork bulgogi and rice cakes. Those two were the favorites. We also tried the raspberry wine which was delicious too. Definitely recommend if you're looking for a new restaurant to try! read more
3 years ago
Won'r be visiting this spot anymore, got charged for extra ban chan (side dishes). Cardinal rule to not charge for side dishes at Korean restaurants. No one does that. Prices are exhorbitant. read more
4 years ago
One of the better Korean options in mke. Food can have a little more flavor to it, but overall, would return and recommend! read more
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