Maru is actually good kbbq in the middle of the desert. Honestly, really impressed. We're from LA and surrounded by tons of spots and Maru is better than a lot of those. Ordered the stir fried squid which was really delicious. Great flavor, we loveeee squid. The tofu soup was really good too. Love that they give an egg to crack on top - that set it apart and took it up a level. The kimchi pancake was decent too, but not as crispy as I usually like it. Side dishes hit the spot! Especially the fish cake. When we ran out, they quickly brought more. Highly recommend Maru. Amazing service and great atmosphere. The best kbbq in the desert! read more

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YELP SHORT ANSWER: Maybe, Not sure we ordered correctly and found the overall experience expensive and too much food but most of the food was good we cooked on our own. LOCATION: Very nice retail location with lots of parking options. FACILITY: Excellent buildout, functional for the grill set up but not huge. MENU: Not totally easy to understand so we tried to ask questions but ended up a bit frustrated and just went for combo thinking we'd find what we liked. FOOD PREP: Raw plate was very professional and easy on the eyes. FOOD QUALITY: For the few things we liked it was good, not amazing but since we cooked ourselves maybe we screwed it up. Came to find out you can have their cooks grill for you and serve your table. As I lived in Asia I have visited many similar grills I am a rookie but never had these issues. WAITSTAFF: Not very helpful and maybe a bit on the rude side. We asked questions and got answers that made no sense. I wish I could have asked the robot. I did have to use my phone to understand what some of the offering were. OVERALL VALUE: Not good, very expensive and a disappointing experience for our visit. TIP: Maybe study the menu online before arriving, there is a lot of food. Our leftovers we had to cook at our table before we left as they can't send you home with raw meat I get tht. While it said $107 F1 combo would serve 1-2 people, in my world it could have easily served 4. read more

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Do not get the short rib soup number 24. It's a bowl of water with flavorless bones with a little meat on them. A few noodles. And that's it. Zero flavor just some hot water . $30 for this. I'm being absolutely serious. I would be more satisfied with a top Ramen. read more

Maru - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

I'll keep it short because if I start to go long, I won't stop. I'll never eat here again , I rather starve. This is purely based on the food, the menu, the options and the ridiculous prices. This place should not be called Korean bbq and not sure how it's still in business. Calling my experience disappointing is a compliment to this place. read more

Very expensive, no flavor. The steak was inedible, and they refused to do anything about it. Couldn't cut it with scissors. Do not recommend ever going here. Service was slow, and they bring you a can of soda and no refills. One bowl of rice and we were told it would cost for extra. Then we were offered more and told they never charge for it. No one seems to know what is happening. read more

I'm not really sure I can wholeheartedly recommend this restaurant for Korean food. I'm not a Korean food "expert "... but I'm SURE the flavors could be so Much MORE. Years and years have gone by whereby I've dined at various Korean restaurants all over the US and in Korea itself ... and as a non-Korean person I can say that I have a clue as to what these dishes are supposed to taste like. There is something missing in the flavor(s) profile here .... And I can't quite put my finger on it ( scratching head ) You can also smell it in the air when you walk into the restaurant .... It's heavy in the grease coming from the kitchen ... Come and taste the food for yourself .. maybe you can shed some light on it read more

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First of all, food was excellent. Now for the rest: never took our drink order. They had water at the table and never refilled it after we asked. We never recieved rice with our dinner but watched as everybody else did. When the check was brought to the table, it was mentioned that we never recieved rice. "Oh I'm so sorrry" , here's your check with an automatic gratuity added for...wait for it...4 people! What a mess. read more

I completely agree with the reviews... first, the place is clean, so that's good. Next, the chairs all have tape on them - owner won't fix properly. Waitstaff is terrible, not friendly, doesn't know to bring out tongs and snips when you order certain food (causing us to have the food just sit there until I had to ask for the tools that should have come to the table from the beginning), the food was good but expensive, and they wouldn't clear our table when we were done - but the waitstaff was sure to lay the bill on our table anyways! (Message: We're not going to finish our job, but. you need to pay and tip us anyways.) I can't say that I'll go back... I like You Grill down the street - more friendly, all you can eat, etc. My son wanted to go here so we did... next.... :) read more

Place is clean and bright. Japchae was good but very small portion. If you are only interested in BBQ this place is ok. They are not authentic as they are not giving you the lettuce to wrap the BBQ in. The Ban Chan was ok. Dumplings were dry and over cooked. Fried chicken was ok, a little heavy on the breading. Will have to think about coming again as it' has a limited menu of Korean food. read more

Maru - Robotic server - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

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Great little find. Large menu with lots of interesting things to try and prices are quite reasonable for the quality. Each dish comes with rice and five sides. I had the marinated beef which was very tasty. Love the robot server too. read more

Maru - Marinated beef and sides - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

Don't get caught of their 4 star. They could have someone posting positive reviews to bring more customer in. Me and two family were in palm spring for little get away. Maru was the only Korean restaurant in the area with 4 star. We stop by for dinner around 7pm and order combo (calbi & tofu soup). Their hour saids open between 4pm-9pm. Some of our order came out 30 min. And one of the waitress told us they are closing early. That's fine. After the last two dishes came out they didn't give us the rice that came with the combo until we ask them. They told us they ran out of rice. Wow!!! We argue with the waitress about how can you eat calbi without the rice. She only say I'm sorry, we had to close early and walked away. I was wondering can we not pay and say I'm sorry and walk away??? read more

No good. Not going back. Bon Chan is lacking flavor except for the cucumbers. Tofu soup was very small with indescribable meat bits. read more

Maru - I ordered Suduabu with meat. This is the meat that you get for $20. Worst Korean that I have had in a long time. - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

This is our go to Korean place in the desert. The quality is quite good and we are from the Bay Area. The service is good and the place is clean. read more

Maru - Inside the restaurant. - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

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Service was bad. We have to go kitchen area many times to order, ask something. Better hire more servers.

Grabbed a to-go order.. was craving tteokbokki. First time here, smelled really good when I walked in and the hostess and quick to greet me me. My order was ready in 10 minutes I was pleased! The tteokbokki was a bit watery but flavor was there. I forgot to snap a pic but I also ordered the squid, it was very good. Next time I'd like to dine in! read more

Maru - Side dishes yum - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

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So so so good Clean, attentive, food fresh and tasty, and that plum wine in crystal glass read more

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Ok. I've had my share of kbbq spots and this was the least appealing and most expensive. When asked about how the ordering process is, it was explained to us that we can order a minimum of 2 plates and we can "get refills of the plates". It was described to us as we're paying for the one plate but get more meat as it is similar to kbbq. It was not the case. It was 35-50$ EACH plate for the smallest amount of meat possible. Coming from Orange County, paying 200$ with 18% gratuity included for subpar service is WILD. I'd rather have Gen or Cham soot gol as that price can easily pay for 6-8 people for AYCE. This place obviously feels the need to charge this much because it's La Quinta. You don't even get the full Bonchan and no steamed egg Oh yeah 18% gratuity is automatically included for just a group of 4 people, the waitress obviously didn't know how to explain the ordering process properly and only got decent service when everyone around us was leaving Save your money and go to Gen, Cham soot gol, or even any other kbbq place that's not in Palm Desert. So Disappointing. read more

The food was delicious! Very nice servers who took care of us! Will be back for sure! Thank you Maru staff and chefs!

Great customers service. Food is good, I like the galbi and cold noddle. The place is warm, plenty of seats and sometimes they have K-pop music! read more

Ordered the Bibim Naengmyeon, which is a cold dish. It came with one small, thinly sliced, piece of what seemed to be dry meat and half a boiled egg. I've had cold noodle dishes before. I promise you it is not supposed to come out where all the noodles are clumped together and you can't even pick it up with chopsticks. There was also maybe a centimeter of broth in the bowl. When I asked if I could send it back, the waitress said "let me confirm if you can do that". Whoever was in charge that day said "we can remake it or it's nothing at all". What a fantastic ultimatum. I really wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. read more

We've been going there for a few years, food is always reliable. When you see a lot of Koreans eating there, you know it's good. Don't be surprised to run into Korean PGA and LPGA golfers eating there when they are in town, it also tells you their food must be good! but lately, I noticed the size of the dishes had shrunk a bit. read more

I don't know how they got stuck with that picture but the food was good. The naengmyun soup was great and they gave us tons of noodles. The bibim Naengmyun in also hit the spot. Noodles were nice and chewy. Bibimbap was flavorful. The staff was so friendly and attentive. read more

So glad to find the 'real deal' Korean food in the desert. They have a diverse menu and the taste Was Spot on. Very fair prices. Nice staff. Nice atmosphere. I hope to come often. Happy wife--happy life. read more

Maru - Sign - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

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Recently, I had a fantastic dining experience at Maru where the manager was extremely pleasant and even assisted in cooking our meat. She taught me how to take a soju shot with sprite, which was incredible. The ambiance itself was very comforting and I recommend bringing lots of friends or family. I enjoyed their yuk gae jang soup and wings along with various options of mouth-watering meat. The accompanying salad was incredibly delicious and added a refreshing touch to the meal.. Additionally, they had a robot cat service that I found incredibly fascinating (It played hotel california every delivery it made lol). Overall, the food was delicious, and the service was top-notch. I would strongly recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking an unforgettable dining experience. An extra thank you to the kind woman I assume is the manager with the fantastic bob haircut. read more

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I love Korean food I live east bay area long time so many good Korean restaurants Last year we move to Rancho Mirage OMG not good Korean restaurants we try 2 other restaurants Unbelievable bad taste not Korean food This Time someone told me Maru not so bad We oder 3 dishes Soup no umami Flavor not good Other dishes it Ok We miss real Korean food Only go to LA get good Korean food I'm a not recommended read more

This spot was something I found yelping tteobokki. I miss Korean food and haven't found a decent spot that serves even the basics out here. Enter Maru. I was pleasantly surprised with the 'tobboki', which came out in a jiffy. My husband ordered a pancake which he barely finished half of, but very much enjoyed. We both ordered soups. I had a tofu soup with beef and he ordered a wonton soup. Both had unique flavors. Yummy is a good word to describe. The service was wonderful. Our server was quick and knowledgable. If she didn't know the answer she quickly ducked into the kitchen to ask the chef. The seating was very small. Three tables on the patio, but it wasn't super busy, so no worries there. This is definitely a restaurant we will be returning to again and again. read more

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We came here for the lunch specials day after Christmas (weekday) and we're told we couldn't order off that menu until after the new year because the whole week was a holiday. I ordered the kimchi soup for $13.99 and got a couple skimpy pieces of pork belly. I was willing to pay for more meat after being jipped and was told that it would cost me another $8.99, lol. You do the math. No thanks, not worth it. Average banchan options (korean side dishes) purchased in bulk. Clean restaurant and friendly service. read more

Maru - My two pieces of pork belly that came with my soup - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

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I agree with some of these reviews that the food quality and service have declined significantly since my last visit. There also seems to be a clear issue with customer management. The server puts people on a waitlist while other customers just walk in and grab a table, and the server remains silent and takes no action. read more

I just moved to the area and was looking for Korean BBQ. Since this was the only spot, we gave it a try. In San Diego, most of Korean BBQ is All-You-Can-Eat for $25-30 so I was surprised to see that they didn't have that option. The prices were VERY high, with each plate of meat option around $20-25. We had brisket and bulgogi. Salad and potato salad were good. Not many side options. Overall, the meat was excellent. However, the service was definitely not good. The place was not busy at all and they had lots of staff working. We had to continually wait, ask for drinks, sides, and even water. When I got up and waited at the host stand to ask for water, the waitress was just eating and chatting with the staff in the kitchen. They also kicked us out at 8:30pm, as in asked us to leave. If you are looking for decent Korean BBQ, this place is good but don't expect to be wowed by the service. They also close at 8pm...strange for Korean BBQ. FYI- Kitchen closes at 7:30pm so get your orders in before then. read more

Had an amazing dinner with the family last night. Service was great, love the Robot and the food was delicious

There was no one at the front to seat my party. It was awkward, but an employee finally saw us and seated us. We got the yookgaejang and soondubu soups. We also got a ddukbokki to-go. The soups were really good for a Korean restaurant in the Palm Desert area. However, they brought out the beef soondubu even though I ordered the seafood one, but it was still yummy. The ddukbokki was not good at all, which was disappointing. It's such a basic dish that shouldn't be ruined. It tasted watery and didn't taste rich. Side note: their restroom locks don't work for the women's restroom. They should fix that. read more

We got in a bit before closing and nearly all the tables were full. However they made room for us and provided us with a very delicious meal. We had a few extra requests like a dish to keep our wine chilled and they were nice enough to also prove that. Thanks for the meal and service! read more

I go to kbbq across SoCal and this one was below average save your money and go to an all you can eat instead. Food was ok, service was below average. There was a server there that didn't really check on us she was the taller one but whatever. But there was a nice blondish who was on top of our table cause she probably saw that the other server wasn't helping us. Combos are very underwhelming, sides are also not good. The only thing that stood out was the rice cakes. Meat was ok. One strange thing that I was was a table next to us left a whole steak leftover on the table and it was out in room temperature for about an hour it had also been touched by the customers but I saw an older lady who bussed that tables instead of throwing that meat away she took the meat to the back. It looked like she hesitated on throwing away and thought I could be recycled? But that's not safe to eat anymore for anyone even employees. I guess it was taken to the back to be served again to another customer. but I don't know that was pretty disgusting we stopped eating at that point. My guess is that they reuse the meat that's not eaten by other customers. Save your money and go anywhere else. read more

Food is wonderful but the service is better. Generous portions and reasonably priced. They even have a fun robot waiter that assists with bringing out the food read more

I've been going to this restaurant since it opened around 10 years ago. I've probably been to this place a total of 10 times over the years as it is quite expensive . Over the last couple of years there has been a steady and glaring decline in not only the food quality but overall value . My last visit Wed. 11/6/2024 will definately be the last time as enough is enough . My wife and I always get the same dishes at Maru (La Quinta ) . She orders the vegetarian bibimbap $23.99 . The online menu falsely states the price as being $18.99 . But the in restaurant menu is $23.99. I always order the L.A. Galbi $27.00 dollars . Firstly the food quality has dipped way below what it should be for any restaurant that claims to be authentic Korean . The side dishes no longer have much taste and did not or appear or taste fresh at all . Even the water (which is in a pitcher at the table) tasted and smelled horrible .So lazy ... My wife's vegitarian bibimbap was poorly and sparsely constructed and was half the portion it use to be . It was a ridiculously small portion of food considering it now cost $23.99.The egg on top was burnt even though she asked the server to make sure the egg was cooked so it would be runny not so over done it was burnt as this seems to always be an issue now . .So the server did not do her job either and the cook is terrible at his job . .Her dish was also mostly just rice with very little vegatables and nothing else . They also never ever give a discount even though she never gets meat with this dish .This restaurant has now become a complete and total ripoff . My L.A. Galbi use to be plentiful and tasty but now is also a ridiculously small portion of food for being close to $30.00 dollars .It was also bland and the onion bed underneath was tiny and under cooked . WTF ??? This place now totally sucks and you'd be a fool to waste your hard earned money buying bland tiny portion menu items for ripoff amounts of cash . If I sound a little pissed off I am as this has happened now the last 3 times I've been to Maru (La Quinta ) . Do yourself a favor and choose a different place to spend your money as there are many better choices in this area . read more

Food was ok, did not like the sides, service was fine. There really is not much ambiance. We would not go back read more

I can't believe how could this restaurant still survived. The price is soooo expensive and portion is super small. The seafood tofu soup only comes with 2 small shrimps and 2 clams and that's it. The pork tofu soup only has 3 tiny pork. Lived in Los Angeles area more than 20 years and this is the worst Korean restaurant I've ever tried. What a big waste money!!! read more

Maru - Trash - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

The portion was too small!!! Super made me miss LA Koren BBQ there is nothing worse than getting at a restaurant and leaving hungry.. Im a fatty so food is 95% of the rating... service is the on top!!! is wonderful when is there but it's hard to find good quality service now in days read more

We were the only customers here on a Monday afternoon but I guess 1) it's Monday and 2) this town probably isn't known for Korean BBQ. Even the waitress joked and asked why we were there.... Unfortunately Maru isn't an all-you-can-eat establishment but they do have grills! We ordered the galbi, bulgogi, and a kimchee pancake. For a party of 4, I think we were just under full enough, so I think we could've done 1-2 more orders of meat if we really wanted to be full. The meat was really good though. I wish they had more sides for the banchan since it only came with four. The kimchee pancake wasn't crispy like it normally should be, but I didn't mind it at all. Not the best Korean food I've had but probably as good as it gets here in the middle of the desert... read more

Maru - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

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This restaurant should be called Marpoo for the owners stinky attitude. The tofu soup was awful. The broth looked and tasted like water with no flavor. When I offered my feedback the owner's reply was poor at best and not customer oriented as she had a s***ty attitude. She did not offer to remake it etc and could care less about retaining her customers. read more