I have been craving Korean food for a while!! My standards are pretty high considering I've only had authentic, homemade Korean food. My husband and I decided to try Maru for the first time as a treat for our 1 year anniversary. Maru did not disappoint! I had been craving some tteokbeoki and wow was theirs good! It had the perfect amount of spice. My husband ordered the wonton soup & loved it. The server was super friendly and helpful. Only outside seating & take out at the moment so plan ahead. Can't wait to return, next time I'll be trying their jaepche bap! Maru has a big menu with lots of yummy k food. The icing on the cake was BTS playing inside the restaurant. Be sure to stop by at Maru, I highly recommend it. read more

Maru - Tteokbokki with steamed rice - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

Yum yum Korean bbq in my tum tum. I thought staying in borrego springs was a good idea but coming here might just be my best one yet. The beef brisket is the tits. Thanks Kai for the great service read more

I've been to Maru numerous times with my family and overall, think it's a great find. The dak bulgogi is to die for and it's very reasonable as a lunch special. The food is fresh and made to your spice level. It came with rice, miso, salad, kim chee, and gyoza for $12. It's a very filling meal. The ambience is comfortable but I must admit that a pet peeve of mine is t.v.s in restaurants (unless you're a sports bar.) There are 2 large t.v.s here, one with a Korean channel, the other with sports. Otherwise, nice decor. Service is very friendly and we always feel that our patronage is appreciated. Service is a bit slow at times so we make sure to visit when we have a little extra time. We tried the Korean bbq once but I think the burner was set too low and the food took forever to cook. I prefer getting the precooked meals at lunch because it's quicker and more reasonable in price. We'll keep visiting as one of our go-to lunch spots. read more

Food was amazing and service was great. They have a server named Kai who's super dope and a good conversationalist. Coming back again soon

The food was great today. I recommend the Yangnyum Chicken, Yakisoba beef, and the spicy ramen read more

Maru - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

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I just had yang nyum galbi and sobulgogi. Perfect! Me and my husband loved the gogi here so much. We are definitely gonna come here again. read more

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

Love this spot! Amazing galbi to go during the pandemic. Love their japchae as well! Owner is super sweet.

We went here with my brother to check out the reputedly best Korean BBQ place in the desert, and were pretty satisfied with the results. Maru opened in 2011 and it seems from the initial reviews that it had a rough first few months. However, that seems to have been sorted out. Service was polite and prompt, and the decor very standard for a casual Korean BBQ place. While the food is not on the level of some of the better places in Koreatown in Los Angeles (where they have some 200,000 Koreans to keep up standards for and to supply them with ingredients), it's pretty authentic. A few notes: Half of the restaurant (the booths) have grills in the tables for BBQ. If you want to grill meat, be sure to tell the staff that you need a BBQ table. Food overall is authentic and authentically flavored, but dialed down in spiciness for their fairly Anglo clientele in the desert. We asked for chile sauce to add to the Yuk Ge Jang (a fairly flavorful beef and vegetable stew) and were each given a small bowl of what was clearly sriracha. However, when I asked for kochujang (the Korean spicy bean paste), the hostess immediately brought us some. A couple spoons of kochujang and a bit of the kimchi juice and it tasted just like in K-town. When we next visit, I will ask if dishes can be made Korean-spicy to begin with. For the actual meat, we ordered chadol (thin-sliced frozen brisket) and jumuluk (thicker slices of ribeye, marinated in sesame). The jumuluk was described as being in a "sweet soy marinade" but it was actually the standard sesame oil marinade, as it's supposed to be done. Meat was good quality. I've seen the sesame oil & salt dipping sauce in different restaurants varying from entirely coarse salt with some roasted sesame seeds, to almost entirely sesame oil. This was clearly on the latter end. I like about a 2:1 sesame:salt ratio, and a bit of salt fixed it immediately. Panchan: the side dishes were of pretty good quality. The pickled cucumbers were particularly good. Kimchi is definitely on the more fermented end of the spectrum, but everyone in my group liked it; I think that mostly comes down to a matter of personal taste, and most people are going to go with how their mom (or their roommate) made it when they first had it. I agree with yelpers who complain that the panchan are not very numerous. We had 5 sides, and none of the fish cake or more exotic condiments. All in all, we were quite happy with the experience. It's as good as any Korean food I had in San Diego, if not quite up to standards of K-town or the East Bay in SF. It made a great change from the French/New American cuisine of most of the local restaurants. I'm looking forward to going back the next time I'm in the desert. read more

We came here one night because Korean BBQ sounded really good. We ordered a lot of dishes including the brisket and the pork. We cooked the food in front of us, with help from our waitress, who gave us many tips on how to cook our food right. The food was all excellent. My favorite was the brisket. The bathroom and restaurant were pretty clean and well maintained. The parking was also very easy with many parking spots. I would definitely come back here, when visiting La Quinta. read more

Saw this small family owned establishment featured on the news one night so decided to try it. Although we did takeout so we weren't able to enjoy the typical Korean experience, the food was very good and we will definitely go again, and hopefully can sit inside! read more

Excellent Bulgogi and Chap Jae, was variety of authentic Korean food. Great value for money and not too noisy too. Great family restaurant, and friendly staff. read more

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I dine in and it was empty the food was really not bad! It was pretty good! Better than aqua pazza and many other fancy places, for Korean it seemed homestyle meals which is an experience to say at best, I enjoyed the Korean style ramen, the reason I'm not sure if I'll be back, is because when we dined in, after voting as a family that we would definitely come back, the owner approached us after we paid and she questioned our tip.... she asked if we did not like the food because we left a small tip.. but that wasn't really the case, it was lunch time and it wasn't busy, it was laid back, and it was only my mom and my son. The tip was decent, but it humiliated me. I know it's a stretch I'm not sure if it's custom or what, but it's not like i left a dollar... read more

Maru - It's the Korean ramen! It's good! - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

Overpriced Korean food and the quality is ewwww... I would definitely Not recommend it... But there's not too many choices for Korean food in this location though. read more

I loved it here! My first Korean bbq. Service was exceptional. We did the grill. I had pork belly n hubby had roast beef. So good with all the condiments, prefect high quality cuts. Our server suggested Hite to go with what my hubby was having. He liked it. Def gotta make our way back here. It was the bomb! Oh - btw.... If u order the grill, it's minimum 2 orders. We thought it would be fine, but ended up being so much we had take home left. I suggest double date, going as a group of 4 or being 2 hella hungry ppl with huge appetites. read more

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Love the food here and the presentation of the lunch items are just phenomenal. Just as it's presented it's even better flavor. Definitely recommend this place read more

Maru - Lunch item - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

First time in palm desert. We wanted to try the Korean food over here and see how good it was and It was fantastic. The tofu soup was so delicious. I will recommend this place to my friends family. Delicious definitely coming back!! The lady treated us very nicely. Thank you! read more

Service was quick and courteous. Small plates are free. Prices are fair. Food is yummy! Will definitely come here again next time we're in La Quinta! read more

It is closed, for remodeling. Cannot you update the hour and avoid people from finding out in person?

Walked in the door and was pretty sure this place would be a 3 Star at best. It was clean, but maybe a tad cold and the greeting was a little weak, but they were busy. So deep breath and plow forward But then i looked at the menu and began getting a little excited. It had many of my favorite entrées. I started with kimchijeon. One of my favorite appetizers. This is not the best I've had, but was pretty damn good. For my entree i had the Ohjingeo Bokkeum. The spice was pretty good, but wouldn't have minded had they kicked it up a notch. But enjoyed it all the same. The nice thing about Korean bbq is the aroma from the bbq...omg. Love it. Just makes me hungry sitting there. The service ended up being fantastic. My server was Thai, so she couldn't suffer through my very poor Korean. Or, maybe she did in fact suffer. It's pretty bad :) Highly recommend this place. Only here for a couple of days, but definitely going back. read more

The food wasn't bad, but they were definitely not prepared for a large party to show up. They also didn't know how to handle it. Some of us got our food really fast, and finished it. The others still didn't get their food. Then two more people got their food.... then that was finished. Then the last thing came. I don't know, but it seems like if you are going to be in town and planning to eat here with a large party, call them one week ahead of time and plan out what you are going to eat so they are ready for you. The food wasn't bad, but honestly, I don't really remember it with all the drama and upset friends. read more

The food is horrible! We ordered 6 soups and I think the chief forgot to add salt in all of them. I got a ox bone soup for myself but there is only three pieces of slice meat in that. I don't understand how they get 3.5stars. Never ever come here again! read more

Maru - OX bone soup without any taste. There is only three pieces of meat. Horrible! - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

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This is our first time coming to this Korean place and we were so happy with the outcome! The food was SO good and the customer service was even better! We ordered the bibimbap and the fried egg on top was so smooth and runny, just how we like it! We will definitely be back for more! read more

Maru - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

If you are looking for delicious Asian food in Coachella Valley, Maru is it. Very impressed with the food quality, authenticity, and customer service. There's the choice of BBQ tables and regular tables. Lunch specials Mon-Fri. If you are unfamiliar with Korean cuisine they have delicious chicken/beef teriyaki and vegetarian options as well. They also serve sake. I took my family here and they loved it! Now I will only come here anytime I want Asian food. It's a no brainer. The meats and vegetables are also very high quality and fresh. Wonderful food and customer service. Love the family who runs this establishment. There are not a lot of options for Asian food in Coachella Valley so please take it seriously when I say Come to Maru for a delicious meal!!!! Thank you!!! We will of course be back!!! read more

Glad to find a yummy Korean option in the desert. We ordered - Beef Bulgogi - Chicken Teriyaki - Spicy Pork (medium spicy) - Kimchee Pancake All were yummy and good size portions Pricing is consistent with other Korean places. Good customer service. Nice clean restaurant and quiet atmosphere. read more

Service was a little slow given that it's the restaurant's first day opening and did not have enough staff to help man the front of the restaurant. Overall the food was flavorful and the mochi ice cream was a delight after dinner. read more

This place is a gem! Fantastic food and service. We had marinated chicken, dumplings and we had some interesting appetizers that came free with the meal. Everything was absolutely delicious. The chicken was fork tender and the dumplings were fresh and obviously homemade. Can't wait to go back to try more dishes! A+A+A+ read more

When I'm in town this is a must make sure to get a private booth as it has a cooking stove built in and the experience is great and the food is really good and the waiters will help you get going on what to order read more

More like 3.5, but great on the effort. I think I'm just spoiled, but I made an effort to read the reviews from Yelpers from LA or other cities that had authentic Korean. The BBQ items were dry and a bit chewy, had the Galbi and it was over marinated, not to the point it was supposed to be soft, but so saturated with the soy sauce that it sort of made a jerky taste. I asked for mushroom tofu, apparently it wasn't a common offering and they did a decent job of it - since I had to share it w/my daughter, I asked for mild - what came was the white broth, which I was surprised to have, because usually mild has a little hint of spice. I was told that the kimchi was particularly spicy that day, but it barely registered a mild heat, so....oh, and we only received 3 dishes of banchan. I am so spoiled by 6 or 9! Anyway, the young lady who served us was very attentive and patient, so she gets the extra star. read more

I tried the Cold noodle and spicy soup and they were much better than the ones in Korea town, LA. I was stuck on their cold noodle this summer. Now I m stuck on the spicy soup ( yukajang) now. I love the attentiveness of the servers too. read more

We had our team dinner and it was perfect! I am definitely coming back. This atmosphere is very welcoming. Very good for big groups.

I came to palm springs for vocation. I paid $60 today. Bibibap is spoiled and i had fo throw this away. I already threw away kimchi and other accessories. Im korean normally dont write bad rewiew about korean restaurants. This is disrespect to food it self. I threw away $60 worth of food ehat a waste read more

Maru - This looks good but is rotten - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

If you like Korean food, you will enjoy this restaurant. Workers are friendly and food is good. read more

Great team dinner at Maru! We all paid ahead and we ordered a bunch of items buffet style. Super convenient! Really good Korean bbq food. I will definitely come back when I'm back in town. read more

Pretty great service been here a few times just a bit more pricey compare to other places but still pretty good

Back again for our yearly trip to Palm Springs and had to take our quick to La Quinta for our favorite Korean restaurant Maru's BBQ and grill. The staff is so friendly and the food is so good. This is a MUST destination for dinner. This is our 3rd year in a row coming here and we always make it a point to eat at Maru! read more

This is amazing place with delicious food. The staff was great! It was my wife's birthday and the hostess overheard us talking. When she gave us the check, she gave my wife a special desert on the house. It was not even on the menu! It tasted like a piece of heaven though. We will be returning back here again. Highly recommended if you are in the area!!! read more

Delicious food at an affordable place. The service is fast the waitresses are friendly. I would reccomend this place

Ordered the Beef Bulgogi and Bibimbap off the lunch menu. Good food, fast service!

Found this place by chance & have to say YUM absolutely fantastic service & food! Kay served us, she was the most efficient, prompt, wonderful smiling server. Love this place so happy to have found it. We'll be coming much more often. I highly recommend this place. I gave it 5 stars if I could give 6-stars I would! read more

Have eaten at many Korean Restaurants and Maru is truly excellent. The food, quality, and service is consistently the best. Chicken Bulgogi (not spicy) is my favorite. It is also special to enjoy the appetizers that come with the meal. Cam sa hamneda (don't think I have the spelling right) Thank you, Kerry B. Palm Desert read more