I'm new to the Madison area and was initially nervous that I wouldn't be able to find any decent Korean food. Growing up in LA, and living in Vegas that past few years, my bar is quite high. That being said, I checked out Sol's on the Square during my initial visit to Madison and was pleasantly surprised. I've been back again since moving and the second visit was even better. Everyone who I encountered working here spoke Korean as their first language and I felt at home. This isn't to say that non-Koreans would not be comfortable or feel welcome but rather that you can trust that you're getting an authentic experience! Ojingeo bokkeum (spicy stir fried squid): 5/5 Dolsot Bibimbap: 4/5 Jjajjangmyeon (Chinese black bean noodles): 5/5 Al Tang: 3/5 Kimchi pancake: 4/5 read more

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Compared to previous Korean food I've had in the past, I would say that this place is solid. There were times where the quality of food was subpar; for example, the rice cakes were extremely soft and it was off-putting because they'd usually be more chewier. Besides that, the staff were very attentive and friendly. read more

Lovely Korean restaurant next to the Capitol. The food was all freshly prepared and came with many side dishes(ban Chan). We ordered seafood pancake and bulgogi. We also ordered the jap chae noodles & a beef & potato noodle soup. read more

Sol's On the Square - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Super friendly service! We loved the food, very comforting Korean food just steps from the capital. The banchans were great with the entrees. I recommend ordering: * Kun Mandoo - Fried vegetable dumplings $6.99. These were fried perfectly, goes great with dipping sauce. * Galbi Tang - Beef rib soup with sweet potato noodles $22.99. So flavorful with the short rib nice and tender. Wish there was a little more noodles. * Osam Bulgogi - Grilled squid & pork with spicy sauce $22.99. This is served with a bowl of rice. Not too spicy and cooked just right. This is my new go to place for Korean food when in Madison. Don't miss out on the banchans here! read more

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Three and a half stars, rounding up because I plan on returning. Ups and downs: I like the location. I like the general vibe, although a bit of the 'backstage' is showing, though screens try to hide some of it. They don't have a lot of room to work. Air circulation is intrusive, with a ceiling vent blowing strongly above us and a small mobile fan placed beneath to move the air around. I get it; HVAC is expensive to upgrade. Just saying that's next tier. The seating is fine. Padded, upright chairs, tabletop style, not booth, which makes it easy to change a 2 person table into a 4 top. I like the space between tables; definitely been to restaurants (Ogdens!) where it feels cramped. Service was fantastic. Friendly, attentive server. The food, however, came out at different times, and I don't just mean between apps (2) and entrees (3). Literally each thing came out individually. By the time the third entree arrived for our party of three, we were stuffed. I guess it is nice that it comes out as soon as it is cooked, but be aware. --Loved the iced ginger tea. Exactly what I needed with my meal. --Loved the Korean wings. Suspect this is a very popular dish. Used the sauce we had gotten on the side for other dishes. --Seafood pancakes were quite thick and soft, different than I'm used to. They were okay, but I'd probably get something else next time. --Dining partner thought squid and noodles bland. --Jap chae nice flavor but stuck together in large clump--perhaps a bit overcooked? --Had bibimbop which was nice, but used some of the sauce from the appetizers to really make it shine. Portions are HUGE. The seafood pancake app is meal-sized, as are the 8 chicken wings. Next time I'll split an app and an entree with my partner. read more

Service was quick and employees were very sweet and nice. Very good customer service. I rate three base off the food. We order the curry and the beef stew. I've never had Korean beef stew before so I don't know if it's just me or what but the beef stew was a bit plain to me. The curry had a strong curry taste so that wasn't my favorite. If you don't like strong curry taste the. This fish wouldn't be for you. It had an India strong curry taste. Restaurant is small and decent. read more

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Cute little spot off the square. Came with a group of friends right when they opened for dinner at 5pm. By 6pm, I'd say the place was 90% full - there aren't too many tables inside, so it's better to go with smaller groups. My friends and I split the seafood pancake appetizer and I ordered the curry with chicken. Both were delicious! One small thing I didn't like was how our food all came out separately - other than that, the service was kind and welcoming! read more

Sol's On the Square - A1. Seafood Pancake - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Best in the area! Food is always great and positions are awesome. Inside is clean and you never will wait long for your food. Would recommend stopping by for lunch specials! read more

Sol's On the Square - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

If you love gems this place is for you! I am a Madison native and am fairly well versed in the food scene. In my opinion this is easily one of the best restaurants in Madison, but still incredibly affordable. If you are with a group I'd highly recommend trying the bulgogi jeongol. The staff is always very nice and attentive. It is always a pleasure to eat at Sol's. read more

Really disappointed by the food. Everything I ate was bland or meh. Sad because I was really craving tofu soup! read more

Sol's On the Square - S6. Soondubu JJigae - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

It was my first day in Madison and my first time at Sol's but it won't be the last. I ordered the dolsot bibimbop (stone bowl) and it was delicious. The serving was large and after finishing off the banchan, I was stuffed. It was pretty authentic; I can't wait to try other items from the menu. Excellent service as well. read more

Had the kalbi and dolsot bimbimbap. The kalbi was LA style and it was excellent. While some may say it's too sweet, I would say it's the way I like it. It was also properly cooked and came with ample amounts of onions grilled. The dolsot bimbimbap was also delicious. Lots of veggies good amount of beef and just yummy. Service was prompt and attentive. With covid going on, I was shocked at how fast we got our food. Out server said that the one cook in the back is a the grandmom and gets good out fast (and more importantly, delicious). This place is a gem and when I'm back in town, I'll be eating here. read more

Sol's On the Square - Dolsot bimbimbap - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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I ordered this as takeout while at work and it was amazing. I got the bibimbap as that is one of my favorite Korean dishes and they did not disappoint! Unfortunately, because I did takeout I cannot speak to the atmosphere or service but nevertheless, the delivery went smoothly and nothing was forgotten. The food was also still warm and ready to go in my stomach! read more

Quality of the food has much improved since a few years ago. Now one of my favorite Korean restaurants to visit. Service is great. Air handling issues are much better. read more

5/service, 2/food Came back after they renovated the interior and replaced the menu. Was excited to try their Korean fried chicken wings. I was recommended to add $2 to add the sweet&spicy sauce on top of the $17 cost of 8 chicken wings. Which I am still confused, from my perception of Korean style chicken wings I had elsewhere, the one tossed with sweet&spicy sauce after deep fried is what I remembered and considered as "Korean" style. And now it charges $2 more to make it an authentic Korean wings? Who are you trying to fool? This makes it extra disappointing after the wings were served. It was overcooked, burnt darkened sauces and skins on the wings, and we can apparently smell the burnt. The wings were not covered in the sauces evenly but still gets burnt? This is a disgrace to the food, Korean food culture, and any customers that the chef still serves it after they messed up. Luckily, the server was very nice and happy to cancel it for us after we communicated. Avoid this dish if you continue going to this restaurant and expect authentic Korean bbq wings. read more

Sol's On the Square - Burnt wings with $2 extra charge on the sauce - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This was my first time at a dedicated Korean restaurant and it was great!! We tried the Spicy Rice Cakes (pretty spicy lol) and the Chopchae noodles. The noodles were sweet, chewy, and so flavorful. Our waitress was so kind to answer all of our questions and actually helped me decide what to get. Don't forget the Soju! read more

Sol's On the Square - N1. Chopchae (Sweet Potato Noodle) - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

My wife had been bugging me to go out for Korean food. We had spotted this place last spring but it was closed when we tried to eat there on a Wednesday at lunch. This time we were in the area for an early Saturday dinner. We got a table which was lucky because the place filled up within 30 minutes. The service was super friendly and attentive. I started with an Asahi beer that was icy cold. We got an order of their fried dumplings which were excellent. I got the bulgogi beef as my main which was good, but perhaps a bit dry. The sauce and the sides were good. My wife got the seafood pancake which she liked but would have liked better if there were just a veggie version (without kimchi). Overall a good experience. read more

A friend recommended this spot for my trip to Madison and I'm so happy I stopped by. This seems like a favorite spot in the neighborhood. The seafood pancake and banchan was so delicious, and the waitresses working were so attentive despite having all tables booked and being busy. I definitely want to come back and try more of their menu. read more

Went on a Saturday in February right when they opened (actually a few min before open), and we're glad we did! This place filled up within 20 min of being open for dinner, but we were served quick and not rushed at all. 4 people served and we were out of there in 45 min. Very traditional Korean restaurant vibes when you walk in and has small tables closer together. Great service and super attentive staff!! We got bibimbap, Korean pancake, and japchae. We liked the kimchi and other condiments that came out with the meal a lot. The bibimbap egg was a little over done for my liking (prefer sunny side up egg with runny yolk). I'm sure this is just how the dish is served but it wasn't as warm as I would've liked. Cold chicken + veg, so it was only the rice beneath that heated the dish - could've used some warm sauce or cooked veg. Korean pancake was good! The chili sauce wasn't that spicy but added good flavor. It has some cool veg + mini shrimps in it. Great app for sharing with the table. Not pictured is the Japchae noodles with beef. Very saucey, but good, like a noodle Korean stir fry. Not a lot of beef pieces. read more

Sol's On the Square - B1. Bibimbap (Mixed Rice) - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Sol's is a wonderful option on the Madison food scene that is lacking a solid Korean presence! They offered indoor seating as well as takeout. The service was a little sparse, despite there not being many guests seated. There were a lot of people coming in for takeout so maybe takeout is more popular/preferred at Sol's. I came here with my boyfriend for my birthday and we got the seafood pancake ($12.99) as an appetizer and the Ddeok Bokki Hot pot ($25) to share. They bring you the Ddeokbokki to your table in a giant pot on a portable stove to keep it warm at the table. I have no idea how that hot pot was meant to only serve 2 people. We have pretty big appetites and somehow we got 3 meals out of that single order. It probably helped that it was so spicy you are forced to only eat a little at a time to avoid 2nd degree burns. The tteokboki was so pleasantly chewy and the seafood pancake, while a little bland, was also delicious. This is the only place with a seafood pancake I've found in Madison thus far, so definitely a destination restaurant. Pro tip for reheating the tteokbokki at home: Rehydrate it by sprinkling some water on top of it and then cover it in the microwave to bring it back to its original glorious texture. It will be hard and almost inedible if you skip this step! read more

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I'm not a big fan of Korean food. I've tried it multiple times and different dishes but I think I've found a solid dish to get. I got the beef bulgolgi that comes with white rice and side dishes. I really enjoyed the pickled radish, however the kimchi was the most sour kind I've ever had. For the amount I got, I thought it was too expensive. The bulgolgi could have been more flavorful, as it is cooked with soy sauce. The waiter was nice and was able to let me sign up for a free membership where I can get 5% off my meal, including today. Parking is typical Capitol square parking but I went around 7pm on a a Tuesday night so there were spots nearby and the restaurant wasn't too busy. read more

Sol's On the Square - Side dishes - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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No wait on weekday lunch, service was pretty quick, and the restaurant has lots of sunlight streaming in. We were served some side dishes (bean sprouts, kimchi, seaweed salad, braised potatos), which were really tasty and complemented the meal well! I ordered chicken donkatsu (fried cutlet) with curry (extra $2.00) and it was pretty good. Curry has a bit of a sour flavor (different from Japanese curry) and no spice. There weren't many vegetables in the curry, mostly potatoes, and the curry was a bit thicker than I'm used to. The dish comes with rice, but there was really no curry sauce for the rice to go with (because it was filled with potatoes). The cutlet itself was also pretty good and standard, crunchy and savory. read more

Sol's On the Square - M5. Donkatsu (add curry) - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

On their website it says open until 2:30pm. Came from out of town and got in at 1:40pm and was told their kitchen was closed and couldn't even get food to good!!! Even told staff member that if that is the case then they need to change their websites closing time because it is very misleading and we were very disappointed that we made the trip and they are closed!!! read more

This is probably the most authentic Korean food you can get in Madison. I usually get their tteokbokki and bibimbap, and both are consistently pretty good. They serve banchan with the meal, all of which are delicious. I like that it's usually relatively quiet inside, so service is pretty quick. read more

Ordered delivery and was pleased! Got the beef bimbap and was not disappointed! Opened the container and was greeted by the heavenly scent of sesame oil. Gochujang sauce was on the side (container in dish). Delicious! read more

Sol's On the Square - Bibimbap - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I had a lunch problem, where I was craving a little bit of everything--something meaty, noodles, light and refreshing. Sol's has some great lunch options and I immediately decided on the Dosirak (Beef Bulgogi). This had a little bit of everything, and for the price, a great downtown deal! It is bento box style and a great choice if you're new to Korean cuisine. I only finished half and am so happy to discover this! I subtracted a star due to timeliness and store hygiene. I ordered take-out thru Yelp, and ended up waiting an extra 5 minutes. My order was put in an hour before pick up. While there, I noticed a urine-like smell at the entry, which is definitely not appetizing right before lunch. read more

Sol's On the Square - Beef Dosirak Bento--all of this for $8.99! What a deal...! - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This was our second night in the area. My boss was looking for some good Asian cuisine so we stopped here for supper. We ordered their fried dumplings to share, as well as each ordered bibimbap. My boss also ordered bulgogi for the table to share. The fried dumplings were very hot in temperature and delicious. It was my first time ordering bibimbap and it was delicious. The mushroom, carrots, corn, and other vegetables added great texture to the cooked rice and beef. The egg was good, as well. The one thing I would mention is make sure you mix it VERY WELL otherwise you'll end up with mainly just one component, which even though I did mix well, I still ended up with mostly rice at the end. I also dumped the full spicy sauce in and that added some great flavor, as well. The bulgogi was pretty good but wasn't anything mind blowing. The service was quick and very polite, as well. There is a parking garage fairly close, too. read more

My friend and I visited this restaurant. Unfortunately, our experience was spoiled by unacceptable behavior from one of the servers. There was a fly flying around our table throughout our dinner time, we told her there was a fly many times. At first she just said "It's summer!" and then simply left our table. The next time we told her, the fly was sitting inside of the water cup. She ignored us. I left 10% tip and one of us decided to not leave tips due to poor service. The server confronted us in an aggressive manner immediately after we left the table. She said angrily, "Don't you have money, if don't have money then don't come". We said this has nothing to do with money; we just feel the service was bad. She then threatened us "Are you sure? This is a small society". We refused and she said "[f-word] you bye bye". More concerning, after we left, she ran through the door and shouted to us: "[f-word] Chinese!!!" This type of discriminatory language is unacceptable under any circumstances. While the food at this establishment is good and I had great memories there, I will not recommend it to others after this experience. read more

I can't rate the food here because we never got it. Came here Friday night around 6 and waited an hour to be seated. We ordered right away and waited another 45 minutes before asking the waiter about our food. Apparently they had lost our order and it would be another 30 minutes for them to make it. We didn't wait and found somewhere else to eat instead. Needless to say, service could be better. The waiters seemed rushed and were handling multiple things at once... it was very disorganized and chaotic. This was my first time back after 2 years and I was very disappointed, as the previous owners (mom and pop) were very quick, efficient, and organized. The prices also jumped up by about $4-5. read more

Sol's changed ownership in the fall of 2016 and the new owners made numerous improvements. They are now open for lunch on weekdays and given the quality of my recent meal, that is fantastic news. The interior also received a much-needed facelift, making for a more pleasant dining experience. Most importantly, service is much more attentive than under the previous regime. As a result of these changes, there was a much larger lunch time crowd than I experienced at my previous visit. During a recent visit, I ordered the $9 Dosirak special with beef bulgogi (Rice, kimchi, potatoes, tofu pancake, fish cake, chopchae, salad). The full flavors of the bulgogi were on point and with all the sides, this meal is a fantastic value. I highly recommend Sol's for anyone looking for wallet-friendly lunch in downtown Madison. read more

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Have been craving Korean food since moving from Hawaii. This place definitely hits the spot. We had the spicy pork and teokboki that was comparable to the food in Hawaii and Korea. The servers were really nice and often check in on us. They were also very friendly and had good recommendations. The place itself is easily located near the capital square and is pretty easy to find. Parking is available everywhere. Inside is pretty spacious and not to crowded. read more

Highlights/lowlights 1) great Korean food 2) excellent location just off the square 3) friendly service I came to Sol's on a Friday night with a group of friends around 8pm without a reservation and we were seated right away. The atmosphere is fine, sadly a little more bland than I expected. The service is really friendly and we received waters right away. I ordered the pear drink that has soju in it and it was awesome! The flavor wasn't too sweet and you could really taste the pear. Most of us ordered the chicken or beef bulgogi and one of my friends got the bibimbop. We all really liked our food! The chicken bulgogi was good but pretty spicy! If you come be prepared to eat Korean food, this is not an Asian fusion restaurant. Great place to try if you are looking for Korean food in the downtown area! read more

Sol's On the Square - Chicken bulgogi - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Buddae Jiggae is large enough to share for 6 people or so. I had three in my party and we were stuffed! Also ordered the rice cakes which were cooked a little too long and were very chewy, but had great sauce and flavor! If you like spice, you'll like this dish! Service was very nice demeanor and flexible with us! Setting up a table when we thought we had 8 people coming but then were not upset when our number was changed. read more

Sol's On the Square - Buddae Jiggae - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I had the BiBimGukSoo noodle soup, their soup special (slow braise beef) and the Korean BBQ with beef (most of the dish I ordered where beef since the server told me it came locally and is never frozen). I thought the food was just okay. But then it went from okay to bad when I got the bill. The bill was over $35 for food that had very little flavor. The Korean BBQ was probably the only thing that was somewhat restaurant quality, but it wasn't impressive enough for $13. I would be better off cooking at home. Maybe once they are more established, they'll focus on flavor and reasonable price. I may try it again, but only if they are still around next year. If you want to give them a try, note their hours are funky: M-F (lunch) 11am - 2:30pm, (dinner) 5:30pm - 10:00pm Sat (lunch) 12:00pm - 3:00pm; (dinner) 5:30pm - 11:00pm Sun closed read more

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After dining at Sujeo I was beginning to worry that there wasn't authentic Korean food in the area and luckily found Sol's on yelp! Thanks yelp! As Joseph K says, I'm thankful for an actual Korean restaurant in the area (especially because I'm not a fan of Asian fusion foods) with FREE ban chan (side dishes). Although the side dishes were a meager portion during my visit, they had them... For free! And they were actually tasty! I am sad to see they no longer have the jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) which are my favorite so I decided to try their hot pots as they looked delicious in their pictures. And they were sooooo delicious! We ordered the Ddeok bokki hot pot thinking it was very strange to have the rice cake with ramen noodles in the dish but oddly it worked for me. They used the proper rice cake for this dish and it tasted as though they made it fresh so extra points for Sol's! It was a strange concept to have the hot pot cooking in front of us and not really knowing if we were cooking it or if our server was but we just left it alone and it all worked out as the server just came back as it was boiling and about ready. I can see where things can go wrong with the hot pot over boiling and thickening the soup to a sauce but that didn't happen to us and the hot pot was a perfect balance of being more like stew, thick, not thin and runny. I wish I had tried the more traditional dishes like the bulgogi but throughoutly enjoyed the spicy Ddeok bokki hot pot and even had the leftovers the next day. Sol's is definitely refreshing given the lack of authentic Korean food in the area. I wish I could have tried out every place that claimed to serve Korean food but was happy with the food at Sol's that I didn't feel the need to venture out any further. If you love Korean food and have an open mind on their take of hot pots, definitely take the time to dine here. The service was good, not great, and the food quality was on point. I will definitely return to Sol's the next time I'm in town. read more

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Excellent. Very seafood heavy menu. Greasy spoon version of Asian-small place. Loved it. read more

I've gotten takeout a couple times from here and the bibimbap always hits the spot!! Plenty of rice, lots of veggies, perfectly cooked sunny side egg, and delicious marinated beef! They put the sauce on the side so you can add as much/little you want, and they include the fixins (little containers of pickles/kimchi). Great takeout option if you're downtown, the food comes out pretty quickly. read more

Sol's On the Square - Beef bibimbap - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I ordered the Mandu Guk, which I had never had before but the description was "dumpling soup". I am vegetarian and I asked the waitress what type of dumplings and broth were in the soup. She said vegetable! I said no meat? and she said no meat! I specifically made a point that I was vegetarian and was very excited to try the soup. As I was packing up my leftovers I even asked the waitress if the soup could be made vegan without the egg (my gf is vegan) and she said yes just specify no egg when ordering! Alas, here I am, eating my leftovers the next day, when one of my dumplings falls apart and guess what spills out of them? MEAT. GROUND MEAT. I am horrified. I haven't had meat in forever. I feel SICK. I don't know how much clearer I could have been. read more

I wanted to post a positive review and say how much fun my siblings and I had, and how good the food was. But, they didn't even bring one dish despite being asked over and over, where's his order?? (They didn't charge for it either, but that's not the point.) My sister was nonplussed with her food. Mine was ok, and no one else really said anything. I decided to treat the fam, and added what I thought was a pretty decent tip, despite one meal not being served and a couple of not great meals. When we left, the waitress and another person (I don't know who he was) chased the last person out the door and demanded more tip!!! BAD MANEUVER!! I was disappointed that my brother complied with their request. They told him "we charge 18% for parties of six or more." Well then add that to the ticket, do not expect me to do your math. And, bring the meal that was ordered for the one person who needed to leave early. I, personally, now will not be back. read more

My only favorite is their appetizer plate and beef bulgogi. Others were not that impressed. Would like to try the hot pot in the future though. But since there isn't too many choices of Korean restaurant in Madison, Sol's is probably the best you can get in downtown. read more

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