Maru Restaurant
“The food quality is excellent, especially the spicy salmon and tuna rolls, side dishes, kimchi jigae, and all of the lunch box specials.”
“We sat at a normal table, and noticed the owner's cute daughter was squatting one of the the BBQ tables.”
“I've even gone for lunch and gotten the lunch box specials.”
Maru Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Quality food with great flavor, a little light on the meat but still good.
Tasty food, good quality, and plenty of options. My only complaint is meat portions in their entrees. Service was slow but they were very friendly.
Excellent food and extremely friendly service close to home.
If you are sitting at the bbq tables you need to take your shoes off.
Always my favorite Korean restaurant in the area. Consistently good service and good food and the ahjuhmah always brings us something extra.
I rarely review a restaurant after only one visit, but I was so impressed by MaRu today that I feel compelled to jump right in.
I've known about this place for some time, but have avoided it. I think it has something to do with the location. The Village Green shopping center is just not a place I ever want to be, nor is it easy to get to unless you happen to be coming down Route 18 south. But also because MaRu violates a major rule of mine, which states that any Asian restaurant that sells both traditional Korean dishes *and* Japanese sushi is bound to suck.
Not the case here at all.
My wife is finally coming around to the fact that being married to a Yelp Elite has its perks. No, not perks like free food or special treatment or anything like that. When you're married to a Yelp Elite, you are always trying new places. And when you try new places with a Yelp Elite, they always order way more food than could ever be consumed. We do this because we think we're actual food critics, "legends in our minds," so to speak. And so, when we enter a new restaurant, we seek to try everything we possibly can.
We hit the menu hard today.
We started off sharing the Spicy Sandwich – a special sushi entree. It looks like an actual sandwich, chopped in half into triangles. Two sandwiches, actually. Four wedges total. We went with the tuna version, which was nicely diced and tossed in a spicy mayo with crunch, sandwiched together with rice and seaweed. This is the first time I've ever had a sushi entree made with spicy mayo where the mayo was actually spicy. This thing was delicious. My wife and I loved it — I highly recommend it. Frankly, we could have stopped there because it was a lot of food, given it was only lunch.
But we didn't stop there.
My wife ordered the Gopdol Bimimbop – or at the least the cheaper lunch special version of it. You know the drill here. Rice and veggies (no meat for the wife) an egg, and lots of other stuff, and a bowl of sweet and spicy sauce on the side to mix in. She thought it could have had a little more flavor, but she definitely enjoyed it. It took a solid 20 minutes to cool down before she could eat it, thanks to the big hot pot and stone they bring it out on.
I went with the Kimchi Jigae, a hot and spicy kimchi stew made with pork, tofu, and veggies, with a side of sticky rice. The brought this thing out roiling with so much heat, you'd think it was cooked in a nuclear reactor. After a half hour, I could finally eat it. The broth was excellent in terms of flavor. Maybe not as spicy as I or a John D. might like it, but good enough not to burn my sphincter up hours later. I'm also not a huge fan of big chunks of silky, spongy tofu, so I pretty much ate around all of it. (And there was a lot of it.) I'd prefer no tofu and more pork next time.
Of course, with any Japanese or Korean meal, you get lots of extra food that mostly gets wasted. The miso soup that came with my wife's lunch special was actually one of the best miso's I've ever had. But we didn't want to fill up, so we only ate half of it. Most miso soups I've had taste fishy, and I hate fishy miso soup. Most people tell me there's no fish in miso soup, but I'm calling BS on that. This one was solid, though.
And then there's all those little bowls of weird things they bring out at a Korean restaurant — spicy kimchee, pickled watercress, seaweed, bean sprouts, fish cakes. Frankly, I could do without all of that. I tried most of it, and everything I ate tasted fine, but it all has a weird consistency. So it's not really for me. (I'm obviously not a guy who eats Korean food too often, but hey, I gave it all a try!)
Service was a little slow, but very friendly. I'm excited to come back and try the Korean BBQ, but it better be pretty darn good because the prices on the beef and short ribs go north of $30 per person.
All in all, a great experience, and so nice to know this is right here in my own hometown. Put one more place in the rotation!
This is my second time coming here. Came for dinner previously, and today for lunch. This is my go to for NJ Korean BBQ as it is close and consistent. The lunch prices are low and portions are huge. We had the kimchi stew and bulgogi. The kimchi stew was delicious with the perfect amount of kick to it. Bulgogi was tender and flavorful and the accompanying noodles, sushi and dumpling were delicious too. Great local place.
Love the quality and quantity at this fairly quaint Korean BBQ. Both taste buds and hunger will be quenched here.
Having dined here on many occasions in the past few years I can make a fair assessment. Their product is top notch in all aspects in what has become one of my favorite Asian cuisines.
Note: They do not provide Gaeran Jim any more during lunch only dinner, boo.
Ban Chan is so wonderfully brilliant, all those delectable lil appetizers including the Kimchi that sparks the mouth watering for the meal your about to receive. They provide exceptional Ban Chan. The "Gaeran Jim", which is simply a steamed egg is prepared just right and a comforting touch. I always feel like I'm receiving a bigger bang for my $ here.
Most all your typical Korean fare offered including sushi and sizeable lunch boxes. Value combined with magnificent quality along with attentive service raises this KBQ to the top of my list.
I know 5 stars but you know what I might be a little biased BUT this is my favorite Korean place. It's been awhile since I've updated my review and with that said….
This wonderful awesome hidden gem is tucked away quietly in a strip mall off rt. 18. This establishment has been here over 10 years plus. When you finally find the door and walk in, you realize it has a homey feeling. Like being in a Korean grandma's kitchen. The smells of kimchi, bbq and hot delicious green tea fill your nose. To your left are the bbq's that cook up the deliciousness of bulgogi, kalbi and many more yummies. To the right are the normal tables and chairs. You don't have to sit at bbq tables to get the bbq meals. They will cook them in the kitchen for you. They have a small sushi bar, most people don't realize that sushi is big in all asian countries. Do Not Be fooled by the quaint little sushi bar. The man behind the bar makes outstanding spicy tuna,salmon or just about anything. The key is when Americans go in thwy think no spice or very little but if you ask them to make spicy they will accommodate just make sure you have your big person pants on bc it can get spicy. Not spicy enuff? Ask for the chili sauce on side..their steamed dumplings are home made and slide down your throat with the greatest of ease. I usually don't like dumplings but these are the exception. Only ones I will eat in their appetizers they have a homemade dumpling soup it is like korean chicken noodle. Of course they teriyaki for the korean impaired. They also have a delicious seafood pancake. If you go at dinner time they do give the gaeran jin, which is the steamed egg. Of course my favorite is the kimchi jigae, that I write about constantly. I have tried many other dishes like the u-dong bokeum, jae-youk bokeum,tempura udon which is also really tasty, the list can go on and on..I've also realized that sometimes I am the only American in the place but that works too. Do not be scared of the prices bc you get alot of food for your buck. Their lunch specials are monday thru Friday and closed on Tuesdays. It is a family run business. So if you find yourself in that shopping center and are thinking of going to the "buffet" in their then you deserve the heartburn. Hop on over to Maru a few doors down you won't be disappointed and you will be full..
Stopped by here for dinner last night around 9pm. Located in the same plaza as Makkoli and sandwiched between an Indian and Russain restaurant, it can be easily missed. The hubby actually almost went to the Russian place, because the doors were literally right next to each other! The restaurant is lined with a few tables on the left with built-in BBQ grills, remember to take off your shoes. We sat at a normal table, and noticed the owner's cute daughter was squatting one of the the BBQ tables.
As for the food, the naruto roll was riceless, but the cucumber made it oh-so-refreshing! I wish more restaurants did something similar. The hwedupbap (sashimi salad bowl) looked colorful and fresh, but as a sashimi lover, I always want more fish. Galbitang (beef rib soup with egg and radish) was seasoned just right, with an acceptable amount of meat. Haemul pajeon (seafood pancake) was had the usual ingredients of scallions, peppers, and assorted seafood. As for the Jeyuk-bokkeum (stir-fried pork), it was a bit sweet, but interesting that they added rice cake to the dish.
Overall the food was decent with adequate portions, but a tad bit overpriced. We didn't order the Kalbi or Bulgogi, they were priced just under $30 per dish.