All you can eat sushi finaly makes it to Eugene. This is order off the menu all you can eat. They also include several good tapas style dishes like beef bulgogi, shrimp tempura, spicy korean pork etc. The rolls are awesome and there are several to choose from. They also have plenty nigiri ane hand roll choices. They have it for lunch and dinner as well. They also do ayce table side korean bbq. If your feeling really hungry you can get both the ayce sushi and table side korean bbq.
(5)
Maegan H.
Service was severely lacking and we were one of the only tables in the place. I have been here numerous times and the menus keep changing every time. They also had multiple beverages on the menu that were not available anymore. Asked for no egg, because someone in our group cannot eat egg and they forgot. Mistakes happen, but this was about the fourth one that night. However, I have this a two star instead of one because they gave us a free desert to share. Also, I guess they lost a chef and hired a new one who couldn't do the exact items on the menu? Or Thats what the server told us. Also, the waiter talked for fifteen minutes with other staff before seating the couple who came in after us. It was weird because they kept looking at us and then around for the waiter. Plus, no attempt for beverage refills. Will not be visiting here again.
(2)
Beth D.
Maru is open and airy, but the too-bright lighting combined with the black tables and chairs don't feel welcoming. It feels rather cold. Almost like a cafeteria. The service is just ok. Once seated and given four menus (per person!), the staff comes over right away, but if you aren't ready to order when they ask, expect to wait at least ten minutes before they come back. The happy hour menu is priced about right for the quality of food. The sushi isn't great; the rice is dry and the rolls are rather bland for having so many ingredients. I haven't tried the BBQ, because it's $25 per person, and I can spend less money on more than enough food for me from the regular menu. The one kitchen item we've ordered are the Pockets of Love, which were quite good. Basically, after two visits, we're starting to suspect that the kitchen is where it's at. If we go back, we'll order from there.
(3)
Lynette W.
We were in the hotel next door and didn't want to go out for dinner and found that lots of places are closed on Monday during the summer so we picked up a variety of items. We were happy with the veggie gyoza, chicken yakisoba, and General Tso Chicken. The high point for me was the stuffed jalapeños. They had a wonderful cheese mixture with yummy salmon and a light breading. I would totally go back for this appetizer over and over again.
(4)
Mark A.
Big news, Eugene! We finally have a Korean barbecue place in town. Maru installed infrared grills in some of their tables during December, which are much simpler to use and easier to clean than gas or charcoal, and don't require big overhead vents. It may not be quite the spectacle that gas or charcoal are, but it's a tradeoff I'm okay with. I just wish they had better trained the staff before they started. They offer meats and seafood individually or as combos, but the combos look like better deals. For two people the #1 combo of pork belly, shaved brisket and bulgogi is the thing to get. Half dozen banchan and steamed rice come with the meal. You are supposed to eat it wrapped in lettuce leaves with soybean paste (ssamjang) and/or hot pepper paste (gochujang), but they didn't bring nearly enough lettuce, and I had to ask for gochujang. It's on the pricey side for Korean BBQ, but it's still Korean BBQ, and it's delicious! The waitstaff evidently was new to this, because the server we had didn't have a clue what he was supposed to do besides bring our food. Korean BBQ is labor-intensive for the server, because he is supposed to do most of the work. He cuts the meat into bite-size pieces with kitchen shears, loads a batch onto the grill, adjusts the heat as needed, keeps an eye on the grill and checks back every couple of minutes. When it's ready he unloads the finished pieces and starts the next batch. Instead we had to do all of that ourselves. Any self-respecting owner of a Korean BBQ place would have been mortified. I had this same complaint about lack of training when we first visited a year ago, and they still seem to be bad at giving their people adequate instruction. In most cities this level of service would automatically knock you down to three stars in my book, but I'm being generous because I'm so happy to see one of my favorite cuisines finally arrive. If you've never had Korean BBQ, you must try it to consider yourself culinarily well-rounded.
(4)
Emma O.
Best sushi Ive ever had, and at a great price!!! Why the bad review? This was single handedly the most stressful dining experience of my life. The sushi chef and his sous were in a full on battle, and we were put in the position of picking sides. Both talking sh*t behind each others back, and the lead was being a degrading a-hole right in front of everyone. The sushi chef did fantastic work, but was all over the place, and extremely uncomfortable to be around. At first is was funny and entertaining, but quickly became tiresome and stressful. Im currently trying to collect enough people to go with me again as an attempt to deflect the insanity, Because lets face it, where else can you get great 18$ all you can eat sushi?
(2)
J. C.
This is the best restaurant I've had the pleasure of trying in a while. The food was excellent. The portion for the bento box was perfect. I had the spicy pork, which I would highly recommend, veggie gyoza, and the shrimp crunch roll. All excellent. My lady-friend had the sweet and sour chicken. She liked it a lot and usually prefers something a little spicier. The side dishes with her lunch special were so good. Broccoli, potato salad, kimchi, tofu, sprouts. All of that for $8.95. My bento box was $12.95. You have to give this place a try.
(5)
Gen G.
The appetizers, sushi, teriyaki chicken, and moki balls were fantastic. They had fast and friendly service. I will definitely go back!
(5)
Russell B.
Interesting place with eating options. Happy hour is ok prices from 4-6pm and 8:30-10pm. Otherwise I'm not sure how students afford to eat here. You can do BBQ at the table, all you can eat sushi (carefully read the policy!) or eat off the menu. Sushi is better at a sushi restaurant. Come here for happy hour, but not sure if I'd come back otherwise. I might try the table BBQ with 3-4 others someday.
(4)
Crystal J.
Food was affordable, large portions, and tasty. Service was kind of slow and the waiter made a mistake on the bill and the order. He was polite about it though. Really liked the atmosphere. The bar downstairs looked a lot of fun as well.
(4)
Yali H.
They included a 15% gratuity in the check automatically without clarifying it to us. She claimed that she told us when she dropped the check, but none of my friends heard anything at all. On the check, there is a place for gratuity and it was misleading! I almost tipped 20% on the top of 15% they charged if my friend hadn't told me that the charge was not right:(. The service was not very great either...
(1)
Sunil K.
Maru is a nice Korean barbecue and Asian restaurant. This review is only about the Korean barbecue that my family and I had (4 people = 2 adults + 2 teenagers) for dinner. We got the family combination meal (middle option) and it was plenty. It could've fed another two adults. It's within walking distance from some of the surrounding hotels - Holiday Inn, Best Western, etc. and Univ. of Oregon. The staff was very friendly and assisted us with the barbecue grill and which food items grill faster versus slower. Overall, a very good option. The same meal during lunch is cheaper.
(4)
Andrew Martin D.
Very good service, the waiter and waitres are very honest they gave me back the extra tip that I accidentAlly included... And with up high, thumbs up quality food served... Definetly recommended!!! And I am from CALIFORNIA..... GOOD DEAL!!!!
(5)
Adrian G.
Happy hour prices were awesome. Came here after a long day and ate like kings for $35. Food was really good. Only knock is it got busy and the servers seemed overwhelmed and weren't as prompt as they could have been.
(4)
蕾
I like here, nice environment, fabulous food. Even just a noodle soup they built the cucumber, beef and egg like a tower, look pretty nice. I love the glass noodles, color is white, but the flavor is strong and fragrant. and when happy hour begin sashimi gonna be a really good deal
(5)
Bonnie B.
I'm going to give the TL;DR version to start: Maru is great, go there now. Now the backstory that took us to Maru in the first place, followed my more details about the fantastic food and service at Maru: Some weeks back my daughter and I attempted to eat at Cafe Seoul and received a chilly racist welcome (which Yelpers warned about--I'm Hispanic, so perhaps in addition to being unwelcoming to Chinese people, maybe the owners of Cafe Seoul don't like Mexican-Americans as well?), we headed down the street to Maru. I've lived in Eugene a long time, and lost track of the restaurants that took over this location, after Mekala's closed. We were instantly greeted with friendly servers, and quickly taken to a table. We had our choice of the in-table grills or a standard table, and chose the standard table. My daughter and I proceeded to have an amazing meal--I had the Korean BBQ which was stunning, and my daughter was fortunate enough to enjoy a bento. (They have since had to stop serving the bentos at night, as this is truly only something they can do during lunchtime.) We both enjoyed the meal, and went home completely happy to have found a new restaurant to enjoy, so quickly on the heels of our poor experience at Cafe Seoul. Fast forward a few weeks, and it was daughter's birthday, and my mid-70s mother and I wanted to take daughter out to celebrate. The birthday girl chose Maru. Sometimes eating with the 3 of us can be a challenge as trying to satisfy a young person's and an old person's palate (with me in the middle) gets very tough to do. My mom pretty much hates raw fish, daughter loves sushi, and I love spicy, where neither my mother nor my daughter are really into things like kimchee. My mother can't eat a lot of soy, daughter loves miso soup. Maru to the rescue! I had a fantastic bulgogi with a wonderful selection of condiments including excellent kimchee. Daughter got her miso soup and sushi, and was in heaven. My mother was able to get a rice noodle soup and for the first time ever, she voluntarily ordered a sushi that was cooked. Everyone was in heaven. The portions were generous enough that we needed boxes to take the leftovers home. Some of the past reviews talked about poor service, and that has yet to be our experience at Maru. Our waiter was fantastic, and knew the menu well. When we asked questions like, "Would you order item A or item B, which is better?" he was able to quickly answer. He also made several recommendations for my mother specifically, who can be a tough customer to please. All through out this, he was friendly and patient. I'd like to go back in the future and try the in table dinner option for 2--and I love the kind, helpful and quick service.
(5)
Kim P.
ALL MY UNI LOVERS UNITE!! I have found an uni bowl so fresh so tasty so satisfying you'll never want uni anywhere else (but please save some for me)!! The menu may seem intimidating at first but grab the Groupon and you can try everything! You won't be disappointed.The Groupon was more than enough for my hungry hungry hippo and I. We shared a Caterpillar Roll, Uni Bowl (this one was all mine), Creamy Scallop Handroll, sashimi, and two three-item dinner boxes. HUUUUUUUGGGEEEEE food babies afterwards but worth every bite. Lots of items on the menu I still need to try. I'll be back after I train my stomach to hold massive amounts of food like the famous hot dog eating champion Takeru Kobayashi. As my man and I stuffed our faces we had plenty of time to notice the beautiful spacious decor. We were seated in a private romantic area near the fireplace. Our amazing server Neil put up a screen for even more privacy. When I'm in my zone grubbing it can get pretty ugly and messy so thanks Neil for saving me from the embarrassment. Top notch server award! He went above and beyond. If anyone wants to take me out to eat it better be Maru. I'm already planning out what to order next. The ddukpokki looks good.Yummmm. Any takers? Please? I wouldn't share my uni but I would share everything else I swear.
(5)
Nate R.
Wow. The service was GREAT, the waitress we had was awesome and so were the waiters and waitresses at the tables near us (I was paying attention for this review.) But the real reason this place deserves 5 stars is the food!!! Sooooo good. We got two different sushi rolls and the dish that is like rice noodles and fish cake (can't remember the name.) We also got their Korean BBQ ribs.... Toooooo goooood. We also got two drinks, mine was okay bit really strong (the tsunami). Our waitress warned me and I tried it anyways, I told her I would take her up on her offer for half a glass of sprite which she was happy to give to me free of charge. My girlfriends drink was a sweet one and was really good (money maker cocktail). All in all, we had a terrific experience and will be back for the food, great service and great atmosphere!
(5)
Jean Y.
I think their Korean bbq is awesome! The amount of food is very filling as well! If you're going to grill though, it can be difficult sometimes to catch the attention of servers since you're kind of stuck in the back section of the restaurant! Other than that, I think it's worth paying the price for Korean bbq, especially in Eugene, if you want a nice dinner out.
(4)
Lacey L.
I love this place. The happy hour menu gets my boyfriend and I out of there for less than $30 most visits. I recommend the Vegas roll if you like fried rolls and the Passion roll if you don't. Skip the miso and get the Gyoza. Also the staff is always awesome!
(5)
K M.
The food is outstanding and reasonably priced. Really good sushi. The building, though not interesting from the outside, is pretty cool inside. The bar in on a slightly lower level and if you have a large group you can get a slightly private out-cove to sit in. Our waitress was amazing. She was extremely friendly and attentive. She even gave us great ideas of what to do in town after dinner. The only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is because both my glasses were dirty! I had old lipstick on my water dish and my wine glass wasn't too clean either. They may need a new dishwasher or at least take the time to check out their dishes before they send them out if the kitchen again. I'll certainly go back again.
(4)
Shar V.
Asian fusion anyone??? It's definitely a place to be :) I like their Underground bar, their clean lines arrangement of table and and the número use exits :) the decor modern open concept- keeping it clean. Now the menu is overwhelming- soooo to choose from an only one belly!! I ended up with a classic Bimbop (pretty is spelled incorrectly) with mushroom.. It was really filling, good and exactly what I expected .. Side of chile sauce and miso soup.. This is a good place to hang out and expand your pallet..
(5)
M W.
So we decided to give this place another shot on a day that we knew we could get the full menu. We went during lunch and I was feeling really good thinking this would be the time I fall in love with this place. We walked in and were seated right away. I saw our server walking towards us and the whole experience was ruined again. It was the same guy we had last time that was rude, awkward, timid, and knew nothing about the menu. I tried to just take it all in because I knew at least this visit we had the full menu. Unfortunately our server knows NOTHING about anything on it and couldn't suggest anything. He knows nothing about asian food or sushi. Was super unhelpful. I tried to order a cocktail from their menu and he told me he didn't know how to make it and the only cocktail he knew how to make was a margarita...... ALRIGHT. I'm sorry, but why is this guy even working here? Ruined the whole meal once again for us. Luckily, my boyfriend said he wants to give it a 3rd shot because he knows that he can like this place if we get the right service. Stay tuned for the 3rd review.
(3)
Rachel E.
Another place I'm having a hard time rating appropriately without the use of half-stars! We called in a few things here for lunch the other day; I was really excited for this place since it is within walking distance of my workplace and I thought it seemed great to have fresh sushi and Asian tapas for lunch once in a while. Overall I wasn't that impressed with most of the dishes we tried: the spicy garlic chicken wings had a nice sauce but there were way more than 3 in the order (probably 7 or 8) which isn't a terrible thing, just inconsistent, and the chicken itself seems like it's probably just frozen Tyson or something equally cheap; the two rolls we had - Pop Corn roll and Cancun - were pretty mediocre, the fried scallops had too much breading and were too greasy for my liking and the Cancun was just lacking in flavor. The one thing that I was really happy with was the seared tuna and mango salad; the tuna tasted fresh and was very well-cooked, the dressing was tasty and the mango was ripe. I would like to give this place another try, dining-in for dinner sometime just to give it a fair shot - I did hear that a new cook was being trained while we were picking up our order but I really think that some of the ingredients being used are a bit inferior in quality which unfortunately can't be masked by sauce or oil. But I'll be back to try again.
(2)
Bentley H.
My GF and I were on our way back to Seattle from San Francisco (a big disappointment). There was a nasty heat wave in progress. We decided to get off I5 at Eugene for some lunch. While traveling down the street, I saw the Asian Tapas sign for Maru. We were both instantly intrigued and thought wow, this could be a treat. Heading west, once you miss the turn, it's hell to turn around and come back. But we did. We were that interested. Talk about worth it. Magnificent! The drinks were phenomenal and the sushi, well, just about the best I have ever had. I've had it in Japan, so that's a huge endorsement. My biggest complaint? We should have gone to Eugene instead of San Francisco! Would love to spend 4 or 5 days at this restaurant just working my way through this huge menu. I will be back again and again and again. The name Maru always catches my eye. A dear family friend who has passed was the Japanese actress Tsu Kobyashi. Gene Roddenberry named the Kobyashi Maru scenario after her. The name has a great deal of emotional attachment for me. I'm so happy I was not disappointed.
(5)
Carol T.
Best korean food you can get around the area. Their soon- dubu is very nice and also their champon is ace. Highly recommend. Always has eager to serve waiters too. They have a bar which has a wide variety of drinks as well.
(5)
Talisa T.
This is from awhile ago. My boyfriend and I wanted to have a nice night in for a date night with some Asian food so I called Maru and ordered a few things for take out. My boyfriend was going to swing by on the way home from work and pick them up which wasn't for about 45 minutes. When making my order the gal let me know it'd be ready in about 20-30 minutes and I let her know my boyfriend would be picking it up in 30-45 minutes. When my boyfriend showed up to pick up the food it wasn't ready so he then had to wait another 20 minutes for it to be ready. He paid and came home (we live less than 5 minutes away) and when I unpacked what he brought home we were missing 2 of the 4 ordered items, but had been charged for all 4. I called Maru to let them know they must have forgotten the two and without me even finishing my sentence she said for me to come down there and she'd give them to us, but not in a nice apologetic way in an annoyed and hurried way. She did not ask me my name or what we were missing, nothing. So my boyfriend goes down there again and has to sit and wait for another 20 minutes to have the other two things we ordered to be ready, he told her what we were missing when he got there so she probably fired it then...... We got some sushi rolls and some noodles and something else and all of it was less than pleasing... I'd rather go to PF changs. The girl who I spoke to on the phone was unorganized and unprofessional. We ended up having a cold mediocre at best Asian meal and spent more time waiting on the food than eating it. It could be better now this was awhile ago like a year ago but haven't been back since because of this.
(1)
Tatiana P.
This has become one of my favorite restaurants in Eugene. I love the grills that are on many of the tables and they have some pretty good servers. Great place to go to if you like Korean food, they also have Japanese food but I think their forte is the Korean stuff.
(5)
Aujere M.
Food was amazing defiantly will visit again soon! The best calamari I've had by far! Sushi was fresh an delicious as well... The service was okay. Very clean an presentation was nice as well.
(5)
Sam V.
We went to Maru with a large group and the waitress not only forgot the food for one person in our group but she then had the nerve to bring her the check afterwards and try to talk her into paying for it. Food was good but the service was terrible.
(1)
Paul C.
Never got a chance to try the food because we left due to the poor service. After waiting in front for a while, we seated ourselves in violation of the sign (OMG), and were made to pay the price. No server after 10 minutes, out we went. No wonder there were so many empty tables right at lunch time. My guess: Closing soon!!
(1)
Chrystal O.
Delicious sushi, Appetizers and drinks. Would highly recommend. Fresh and unique rolls. Nice atmosphere.
(5)
Mary H.
Fantastic selection of Asian tapas from Sushi to Maki and tempura. Great for sharing. Convenient location near the University. All selections were fine with attentive service.
(5)
Allen A.
This was great. If your looking for a variety of dishes eat here. Cost was ok but overall whole experience was good. Clean Restaraunt and full bar downstairs.
(4)
Nicole D.
Whatever you do, DO NOT order the seafood pancake. It's gross and is more way sketchy than it sounds. However, most the things seem to be ok. The wait staff are average, nice, but the attentiveness could be better. The prices are ok, maybe a tad more than the perfect price, but they're ok. It's worth trying out.
(3)
Chris L.
This place is very big so no problem being seated. The food is good and fresh. It is also inexpensive. The menu is massive with many different sushi rolls and tapas plates as well.
(5)
Michael K.
Reasonable price. I had nagiri one visit... Something I rarely enjoy and.... Actually enjoyed it here. Second visit ate bimibob, and of the six bimibob places I've had, tasted as good as the best, for a better price. Comfortable ambiance, and plenty more on the menu I'd try if I weren't leaving the Oregon almost immediately.
(5)
Cody M.
Well got damn..... I'm not from here and I consider my self a sushi lover, this place is amazing. To start it is a very elegant and well rounded restaurant all employees dress nice and all table settings are beautiful. A friend and I sat downstairs at the bar. The bartender was amazing he chatted with is the whole time and was very friendly all while giving us, yes GIVING us a free bottle of saki cause the bottle had cracked. The sushi was to die for no half adding here and tasted fresh as could be. I literally can't complain. If you attend during happy hour 3-5 pm and 9-close a ten dollar sushi roll is half the price. I can't wait to come back best sushi in Springfield Oregon.
(5)
Hannah H.
Maru is awesome! They have really good Asian food. Ex boyfriend sushi, dragon sushi, ... They are all tasty. Pork bulgoggi is really really flavorful. Also, yukgaejang has a looooot of meat and noodle inside!! It's really worth the price!! I came there 3 times and it's a really good place for chatting with friends. We went there as a group of 8 one time and they even put us in a room with a door without even a reservation. I always have the waitress named Hannah and she is surely the nicest waitress I have known here. Will return again for sure really soon. Beef bone soup is my new favorite!!!
(5)
M A.
After going to mekalas for years, I was excited to try what replaced it, Maru. Really like the atmosphere and decor in the place. Service staff that I had were really friendly and served our table well. I have to say the food was really great. Really enjoyed all the dishes we had to share at the table. The infrared grills in the center of the restaurant were cool, and I love the idea, but they need to get better ventilation in there. Your clothes come out saturated with food smell. And we were sitting a little ways from those grills. Not necessarily a good thing. That's my only real ding for this place and why I couldn't give it 5 stars. Also, it's a little spendy too. Think they could come down a bit on some of the prices,especially for the eugene market
(4)
Doug D.
Made the mistake of going on a concert night. DON'T DO THAT! Too busy and under staffed for the crowd. Food was OK but took forever. May try again....
(2)
Sara C.
Update - we went back on a non-event day with a smaller group. Our server was on the ball, food came out quickly and was fantastic, and the bill was settled without having to explain anything. We had two small children with us and it was also someone in our party's birthday. Our server brought out ice cream (at no charge) for the birthday girl, and explained the dishes thoroughly. He even changed the channel to the Blazer game. Not sure I'll go back on an event night, but I will go back on any other night and enjoy the patio, amazing food, and unique drinks.
(3)
Evalina S.
Came here for dinner with a couple of friends. The menu is gigantic, it took a while for us to figure out what we wanted! In the end, we all ordered bento boxes and they were all delicious (the Tofu Teriyaki was the best) It didn't take very long for our food to arrive and the waiters were all very nice. This is my new favorite place to eat.
(5)
Kelsey M.
Finally went here last night to use my groupon. We were seated in the lounge area and were the only people there for a while. The service was awesome and the staff were knowledgeable with food suggestions. Every staff person we came in contact with was super friendly. We got two rolls of sushi. Unfortunately I can't remember the names but I think it was number 13 and 20 on the sushi menu. The sushi has great flavor but my only complaint would be that the rolls are too big to eat without taking a bite out of them. We also got the calamari and we enjoyed it so much we ordered a second helping. We got a seared ahi tuna plate that was served with some sprouts and red onions with what seamed to be a spicy honey mustard sauce? I am probably wrong but thats what it tasted like, either way it was amazing. The fish was so fresh and melted in your mouth. Once we were finished with all of that we were looking at the menu again (this is when we ended up ordering more calamari) when the manager came by and suggested we try one of the bipimbap entrees. We looked at the photo and decided we may be too full for that as it was huge but would definitely be trying it next time. He ended up bringing it to us for free because he knew we would love it. OH MY GOSH it is amazing. It is rice, zucchini, carrots, bean sprouts, and beef with a fried egg on top. ( I'm sure I am missing things) it comes in a super hot bowl and you stir it all together and then add this awesome spicy sauce to it. We will definitely be ordering it again. Bottom line is this place is amazing. The food is fresh there are so many choices and the menu has pictures of all the food which I love. The service is top notch and the atmosphere is great. I can't wait to come back and try more food. My roommate and I have declared this our new spot.
(5)
Yaran S.
Really tried to love this place but...undoubtedly had a bad experience. I was excited to try Maru after reading so many positive reviews on Yelp. It hold a guitar performance tonight and we were seated in front of the guitarist, which made me more excited. However, no one came to us after we sat down. I stared at each waiter/waitress that passed by our table, but it seemed that they were too busy to notice us. I asked at least four servers for a cup of hot water, and most of the time I had to leave my seat to look for our disappeared server. Only one Asian-looking waiter checked back during our meal. Fine, let's talk about food. I ordered vegetable dol-sot bibmbop, which looked much better on the menu. Tasted so bland! I couldn't eat it without hot sauce (I usually had it without any sauce). Well, another endless wait for the sauce, which was not too bad since it helped the bibmbop to cool down. My friend had yakisoba which was more tasty and flavored. The music performance is a smart idea for a restaurant. Maybe I am spoiled by my favorite guitarist Kotaro Oshio, but I think the guitar performance could be better. Overall, poor service, average food, and a mandatory tipping made me feel worse :(
(2)
Sherry M.
A little disappointed in their noodle dishes, as they're generally rather soft, are the same kind of noodle across multiple dishes, and lack the toothsomeness that I so crave. I also found their vegetable yakisoba (which is pretty much their stir-fried vegetable dish, plus noodles) overly sweet for my taste. Absolutely delicious sushi though. Have tried much of what they have to offer, but I find myself ordering their yellowtail maki roll over and over again. Even their california rolls are surprisingly stunning in that each component is perfectly balanced; it's pretty much a party in my mouth. I never normally order a california roll but I sometimes an exception for this place. EDIT: Highly recommend their deep fried seaweed and noodle appetizer!
(4)
Heather S.
Love the sundubo. We took visiting relatives here and the many tapas we ordered was the highlight of their trip.
(5)
Leah R.
Didn't know what to expect from an Asian Tapas bar - but were pleased all around by our visit. Our server, Michael was fantastic. Very friendly, professional and responsive. Because it's tapas, the individual items come out as they are prepared, not all at once for the table. This was great as we were able to nibble our way through what was served. Highly recommended for a fun evening out with friends or a casual date night.
(4)
Matt S.
Yay, a new favorite! I don't get out as much as I'd like to (as in, almost never these days) but hopefully I can find a way to make Maru a semi-regular stop. We shared a sushi combo, lettuce-seafood wraps and seafood nachos. There were probably 30 other things on the menu I'd like to try. The six pieces of nigiri were all high-quality pieces of fresh fish--way nicer than most sushi in town. The sushi roll was great. The wrap was great. The seafood nachos were my favorite of all. This isn't my wordiest or most colorful review, but do you get the point? We loved everything! Needless to say, Maru is a major upgrade from Mekala's, which sat in this location a long time. The interior feels really nice, windows have been frosted to reduce the ugly side-street-view, and the food is way better. If you haven't had a chance to visit yet, go check it out.
(5)
Jason T.
Maru's staff was very helpful and friendly. They took the time to check in with us when we were dining--definitely an experience you don't get all the time. The food was okay, I was expecting a more extravagant menu of Tapas but it was overall above par.
(3)
Nick D.
2 waitresses organizing large table in center ignored us. Asked to be seated. Asked for salmon avocado sushi roll. "We don't do that but those things may be on one of the other rolls" You have got to be kidding! Spicy tuna roll good. Pancake ok but soggy Cancelled one item as it took so long and we had finished. Billed for it - so had to ask to have it removed. This place suffers from poor service staff mostly.
(2)
Kristen R.
If I want sushi, this is definitely the place I will go to in Eugene! It also has some great Korean comfort food (like rice cakes). Right across from UofO, it was super convenient for lunch when visiting the campus. I went for lunch, and the one reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was because of the service. There were quite a few people there, but only one server. The food didn't arrive at the same time (I split bibimbap and sushi with my parent). The food was definitely super good though, and I'll definitely be back. The atmosphere was calm as well.
(4)
Melissa W.
Had a really bad experience here with the hubs. Things didn't start of well. I think our server was new. Cardinal rule of waiting tables, make sure drinks are served first! We ordered off the happy hour menu and decided on the sashimi sampler, the unagi roll and the tempura and asked to start with miso soup. I ordered the cocktail of the day and hubs ordered a beer. The soup came out before our drinks and was luke warm. We had to remind the server to bring us drinks. The drinks came out and the cherry on mine tasted of mildew (I deposited into my napkin-yuck!). We weren't given a chance to order a second round as our waitress seemed very very distracted. I flagged down two different people none of whom could take our drink order (??). I asked more than one person what their sake list was k lot to be told our waitress would have a better idea. She didn't. We ordered another round of beer instead (what Asian restaurant doesn't have a sake list?) . Our food can out in spurts. Hubs yellowfin looked partially cooked due to what I assume was a crappy defrost job and my unagi roll was inedible. Tiny mushy pieces of eel reminiscent of boogers. The manager removed that roll for our order and we simply paid for the rest of the food (which we did not eat) and went to Sushi Ya instead. As we were leaving the waitress gave my husband a sympathetic look and said that he "should get used to it because he'll have it for a while". Wow. Hubs was pissed, I was pissed. I usually give a restaurant more than one try figuring that everyone has down days but if I go in there agin and see that woman I will run in the opposite direction. Use this info as you will.
(1)
Nick G.
Just ate dinner here tonight with my wife. First heard of Maru because of Groupon. The menu was almost overwhelming! A lot to choose from. We had the Rainbow Roll, California Roll, Edamame, and Sweet & Sour Chicken. Excellent service. Friendly staff. Excellent food. Great atmosphere. Highly recommend. I will be going back.
(5)
Claire V.
Today Eugene's newest Asian restaurant, from the folks who brought you Izumi and Peach Wave, opened in the old Mekala's building on Franklin. The concept is Asian Tapas, with a heavy focus on Korean and Japanese (an apparently classic combination in this town). The menu consists of cold and hot tapas, sushi rolls and nigiri, and a Korean menu with a large variety of Bibimbaps, stews, etc. There are also the obligatory yakisoba noodle and teriyaki dishes of course. Like our wonderful waiter said: Enough choices to eat here every day for months without eating the same meal! The interior is trendy but surprisingly warm, which is hard to achieve with so many windows. They put in booths with walnut-like wood accents in the back (they feel very private, we like that), a sushi bar with an open dining area and some group/event rooms on the side, and then regular tables at the front. Starting in a few days, the downstairs bar will be open for business too. Maru goes for fresh and seasonal foods, and you can taste the quality. Their juices for cocktails (alcoholic and virgin) are all freshly pressed and complemented with homemade syrups. Great thing about the drinks is that they'll make you whatever you'd like to have. The waiter said they can probably make us a cranberry juice with muddled basil, which my husband would love, so we might try that next time. The vegetables in our foods were fresh, vibrant and crisp, the side dishes are unique, homemade dishes like these rich, salty, slightly chewy black beans that my husband absolutely loved, and green beans with tiny shrimp heads that aren't quite up my alley. I can just imagine an enthusiastic Asian chef saying: "So delicious, shrimp heads, Americans will love them if they only try!" I'm sure my fellow yelper James L. would be up for it though. Some of the dishes we tried: - Jap Chae: Best I've ever eaten! Lovely sesame seed oil flavor, perfectly crisp and fresh vegetables, noodles cooked just right, balanced flavor. Excellent! - Crunch S&S Roll: Very good, up to the standards of Izumi, which is our favorite Japanese restaurant in town. My husband loved the spicy scallop roll too, he'd never had it before, but he'd definitely get it again. - Fried bananas with ice cream and strawberries: Fantastic, I love a good fried banana dish, and this one is outstanding. The only thing that tops this for me in town is the Bananas Foster at Soriah, but they're inherently different, since the bananas at Maru are deliciously deep fried. This one is a real comfort food, I can see going here for coffee and just getting an order of that with it! All in all we ordered one sushi roll, two hot tapas, and a dinner entree, as well as two cocktails and two desserts, and our total came to $77, which is not bad. I'll admit I had a brief moment of concern about the price, which I normally think of as $4-5. At Maru they're more around $8, but you get large plates, way bigger than normal tapas! More like what a European would consider a full plate of food, about half a plate to an American. For someone who is not a big eater, just the one Jap Chae dish would make a good lunch meal. We ended up taking home a good size box of food. I should make a special note about the service, which was exemplary and which really bumped up this review from 4 to 5 stars. Our waiter knew a surprising amount about the -extensive- menu, despite the restaurant having opened only an hour earlier. And apparently he worked as a chef for a long time too, so he knows his stuff. Ask him about his travels, he seems like a very interesting person, and since it was pleasantly quiet on opening night we had a chance to chat with him some more. We did have a somewhat insane number of people (waiters/chefs/manager/owner etc) nervously hanging around our table. I'm pretty sure we got asked how our food was about 30 to 40 times, much to our amusement. Of course on opening night everyone wants to make sure everything is running smoothly and the food is good, which it was! No doubt they will ease up by tomorrow night :) Everyone we met was incredibly friendly, polite, and easygoing, we left with that feeling of having made new friends, so that's a good sign! They'll be making regular changes to the menu as seasonal offerings change, so we look forward to seeing those. Something I always like to see on a sushi menu are escolar and age dashi tofu, that would be nice. I also wasn't sure what the salad dressings were, but I'd like to see a Japanese orange-ginger dressing if there isn't one already. In short: Great food, appropriate price/quantity proportions, excellent service, very well decorated, comfortable, and it looks like a great lunch restaurant too. Surprisingly smooth for opening night. Congrats on your launch, Maru, and welcome to the Franklin area!
(5)
Robert B.
I liked the restaurant that was here before, but I like this one better. The addition of booths in the side part is great, I like booths. The Albap Bibimbap was good, it had bacon and masago, an unexpected combination but the outcome was nice! I like the tofu kimchi too, though I was surprised to find beef in it as well. Overall it was more savory than I am used to, not as sour, but that might be because it was a hot dish, which changes the flavor somewhat. Unusual kimchi dish, more like a beef dish, but it tasted good. We had two kinds of sushi that were very fresh. They brought us the wrong sushi initially, but I ate some of it and I liked it. And then they brought out the right sushi too, so we got some extra sushi for free! They're still building the sushi bar upside, and I think it'll be a nice place to sit and eat. That space is a little smaller, so it's like a small sushi bar/restaurant within a larger restaurant. I got the warm brie with spiced apples and walnuts for desserts, which I really enjoyed. Cheesy, salty, spicy and sweet. Good combination. It wasn't really baked, just warmed, but I liked it that way, it had a better and firmer texture than baked brie. Service: Good, but they hovered over us a lot. It was their first night and they wanted to check that they were doing everything okay, and I don't really need people watching me eat from five feet away. I get it though, first night. They wanted to do everything right. Our server was really friendly and talkative. We met the manager who we liked. For a drink I had a cucumber basil gimlet, which was really good with a real cucumber taste. They make the syrups themselves, with fresh cucumbers, and you can taste it! I think it'll be really nice when everything is done, including the bar and sushi bar, and they get any service kinks sorted out. Good opening night, and I like the people who run it.
(4)
Dan W.
everything is just so gooood!!! Good service! Good dishes! Good taste! Good decorateï¼love this restaurant more than Noodle bowl and other Korean restaurant in Eugene! Eugene best!! Haha. Really love it! I will go there often!
(5)
Amy S.
Tried Maru for cocktails and sushi last night. Great service good drinks and fantastic food. The new decor is very modern and open! The menu is great with pics of everything to help anyone not sure about what to order. Try the ex-girlfriend roll- spicy and wonderful!
(4)
Sheri S.
We have been to this place 3 times, everytime progressively worse. The first time was absolutely amazing, 2nd time service was bad & food was ok (over priced)this last time my husband & i went for our anniversary. My husband ordered sushi & they gave us tapas instead of sushi, how do u confuse the two? Then my wine wrong, then ordered the sizzling rice bowl bibmbop bowel not sizzling...soggy rice....now I realize every place has a bad night but come on they charged $11.99 for the soggy rice bowl plus another $3.00 for the chicken & when I sent bowl back to re-heat, it was burnt left the restaurant with a burnt taste in my mouth & all i could taste was burnt. If u want a really good sizzling rice bowl good food for good cost the noodle bowl has Maru beat by a long shot. $9.99 at Noodle Bowl for the same thing but better with more tapas sample plate. Quality food for a reasonable price plus the owner staff super friendly.
(1)
Allie H.
We go here at least once a week! You can't beat the happy our prices and twice-daily hours! Hungry Ducks delivers food from Maru, too - win!
(5)
Maylian P.
This was my third time here and we won't return. Not only were they unprepared for the influx of people before the concert, but the gentleman with the holier than thou attitude ruined our dinner. The young lady who served us was very kind and apologetic, but the young mam who didn't have the decency to apologize needs a major attitude adjustment. There's only so much tolerance a customer has for rudeness after waiting nearly 2 hours for food that never came.
(1)
Chrystal O.
Sushi that is to die for! I literally craved it for a week after my first try. The combination of flavors, sauces, colors, textures, etc made it appealing to the eye and taste buds. The adult drink I tried was strong and had a unique additive, toasted coconut flakes. I will definitely try this place again!
(5)
Cara K.
We went Sunday afternoon and the service was very good. My sister's basil lemonade was fantastic and my mango spritzer was also good. We ordered veggie rolls, dokbokki, and japchae. The dokbokki was of course fairly spicy, but still edible and had a very nice flavor and the sweetness of the japchae was a nice compliment to it. The veggie rolls had a good variety of veggies in them and were more similar to the Korean kimbap than to the Japanese sushi (which was totally ok by us). I recommend going at happy hour, since all that was a nice size and less than $25.
(5)
Kelsey W.
I used to love Maru! They have great food. However, I just got done eating there and had the worst service I've ever experienced. I don't even know who my server was. We were pretty much ignored. We waited 20 minutes to order, then someone finally came and took the order in a rush. 15 minutes later part of it was brought out by a different person, but without the accompaniments we had asked for. Another 15 minutes later we finally got someone to bring those out but by then it was cold. Our sushi sat on the counter for over 20 minutes. We could see it and kept flagging people but everyone ignored us. Eventually another random person brought it to the table. Toward the end I attempted to order another sushi roll, which, needless to say never did come. It did not help that I am pregnant and was very hungry, and it felt like I was being tortured watching other people eat. Then they tried to charge us for the sushi roll that never came!!! Plus it was freezing cold in there. Still, they get 3 stars because every other time I have been the service was fine and the food was excellent. I'll probably give them another chance, but if it anything like tonight my review will be dropping to one star. I left still hungry and annoyed.
(3)
Andrew C.
While disappointed Mekala's Thai vacated the premises (I guess they went out of business for poor service and food), this is an excellent replacement. The variety and quality of food is quite good. Some tapas they served was a little pricey, but well worth it. Their beer selection is very limited, but I think it's because they are focusing on wine and bar drinks. Yum!
(5)
Michelle R.
First of all they charge an automatic gratuity on parties of FOUR or more, are you kidding me??? Plus it's not posted any where and we were not told until after they had run our credit card, which made it seem even more below board. We've been there twice, first time we were not informed about the auto 18% gratuity, so it's a newer policy or we were defrauded the first time. First time we had the crispy honey spicy chicken wings and the were sticky and to die for. The second time they were just okay. We mentioned this to our server and she kinds of shrugs and says oh too bad. We continue to inquire as to which way they are supposed to be and she doesn't know. She did ask in the kitchen and informed us that they stopped doing them that way because it can over cook the chicken, Which I think is a stupid answer bc if you just cook the sauce longer before you put the chicken wings in, it will be stickier. We had two orders of Beef Bulgoogi BiBimBop served in the hot bowl. The second one was burnt on the bottom a little, which was not appetizing. We also had the spicy pork, which I thought had more spice than flavor. We had two orders of Gung Jung Topopki, it was tasty, but could have been served hotter. We had Shrimp Tempura which was good and vegetable tempura which was okay, I think that a slice of bell pepper tempura is gross and a rip off to count it as a piece of vegetable tempura. The tempuras were both a little greasy, but were served hot. We also had the potstickers which were not good at all. On our first visit we tried the seafood pancake, but it was lukewarm and the texture wasn't quite right. Not as chewy as I have had before. We also had Crunchy Seared Tuna. It was down right awful! And we tried it based on the servers recommendation. It was barely seared and the only thing that was supposed to be crunchy about it was the fried onions on top, which were soggy. When we complained about it, the server offered to take it off and bring something else instead, which we agreed too. Then the manager I guess was arguing with her as to how to handle the problem with the dish. She ended up bringing out a new dish of "crispy" onions that were not soggy, but so crispy that there were burnt. Oh well, we didn't get charged for it, but the dish she replaced it with was equally as disappointing. We stopped while we were ahead. I also forgot to say that I didn't like that ALL of our food came out at once. We had clearly said that we were all sharing everything. It would be a better experience if it was a little slower coming out, bc you could enjoy the dishes while they were hot. We also had to beg for some kind of serving spoon to mix and serve the BiBimBop. The waitress suggested that I use my little tiny spoon, it took a minute to convince her that it would be ridiculous to try and share the portions that way. Some of what we had was okay, but it seems to be a little hit and miss with the menu. I am more turned off by the automatic gratuity thing. Sends the wrong message to the staff. Instead of telling them to work hard and to their BEST to EARN my gratuity, seems that they have given them the message that they can sit back and relax, they got their back!!
(2)
R P.
Quite good! A large menu, attentive service, and good food. I was a bit apprehensive since the reviews are quite mixed, but our group of 5 had a great experience. The ginger creme brulee (for dessert) is excellent!
(4)
Justice G.
Our organization heard that the food was really great at Maru. When we needed a new place for our quarterly luncheons, we checked on banquet space for our group. The management and staff were fantastic helping us to set up our event. The luncheon was perfect--the service was perfect and the food was beautiful and excellent. I will highly recommend Maru Asian Tapas Bar for groups (I am not sure how big of groups they can take) and for a great place to eat anytime. Even the owner stopped by to meet us and to make sure that we were made to feel comfortable and served well.
(5)
Aline L.
We went there for dinner and shared most of the dishes. Prices were slightly overpriced but the food was delicious. When we were there, it was somewhat empty at that time, the place was comfortable and the waiter was friendly.
(4)
Staci R.
This place should be way busier than it is. Everything is amazing, food and service. Prices are very good with 2 Happy Hours. 4 Tapas and 2 adult beverages for just over $30. Fresh sushi, crisp tempura, delicious drinks.
(5)
Anita S.
It's a very good Korean food for very affordable price. Had the bibimbap and the sundobu - both were very good. Very good nigiri too , esp if you make it in happy hour. The glass noodle dish was pretty bland and not good at all. But the stuffed jalapeño were good. All in all a great place to try out several different types of dishes.
(4)
Angela P.
Worst service I have ever experienced! The staff have absolutely no knowledge of the food or menu? Waited 25 minutes after ordering a drink and 3 pieces of sushi for an appetizer. The waitress took my order then never showed her face again...needless to say I walked out!
(1)
Amanda Y.
My first time going here was on a Sunday night with my friends parents. I didn't know what to expect as I've never been here before. Part of our party was already seated when I arrived and the hostess showed me to our table. It took 30 minutes for someone to come check in on us only because someone in my party got up to go and find someone to serve us. We had no menus, water or enough place settings. So after 30 minutes of sitting we finally got menus and water. When the waiter came back we ordered right away. The kitchen was backed up and our waiter came back twice to tell us our food would be right out. That didn't happen. It took 30 min for the first plate of food to come out and all the food didn't come out at once. This dinner ended up being over 2 hours long with the majority being sitting and waiting for service and food. It's unfortunate that the service was so bad because the food was really good. This restaurant only received 2 stars for the quality of food. I probably won't be back because the service was so bad. Also, to top it all off they charged us 18% gratuity for a party of 6 even though the service was horrible.
(2)
Reno B.
We have eaten at Maru twice in the last week and have every intention of returning many more times to work our way through their extensive menu. Our first time there we had sushi which, for Eugene, was not bad at all. We have yet to find a truly great sushi spot in Eugene. Last night we both ordered the Dol-Sot Bibmbop. Wow, they were both incredible. The service was good and the food was really amazing. The only criticism I have is that there are many hard surfaces and it is noisy, even with just a few diners. As a result, this is a nice casual restaurant but don't expect to have easy conversation while dining.
(4)
Leon L.
We weren't experienced with Korean food. The waitress was very helpful and the food was fresh, hot, and excellent. We had garlic deep fried chicken, a curry dish, a vegetable dish, and shrimp. We'll go there again next time we're in Eugene.
(5)
Angela S.
Came here for lunch with a friend. It was pretty dead on a Sunday around 1pm. Service was good, and the food was yummy. I got the bento box lunch for ~$10, which came with my choice of 2 entrees, salad (or soup), and rice. I chose to have the sashimi and chicken katsu. This was the perfect amount of food for lunch and the price was very reasonable for the quality and quantity. I would definitely recommend this place! I'm really looking forward to trying this place out for happy hour.
(4)
Kim H.
We went into this expecting amazing Asian fusion and sushi. The food was okay. Wait staff was friendly, restaurant is clean, but the food was rather boring and bland. For the price it wasn't worth it for super Americanized sushi.
(3)
Grace A.
I came the 2nd time around & their food is still good so now I'm writing a review for them. I always order the bulgogi & even if it's not a real Korean restaurant, it's as close as you can get to one. Being in Oregon, my expectations are not that high on Asian food but I think they have every popular Asian food in one restaurant and that is quite impressive, Japanese (sushi & bento boxes), Korean, Chinese I recommend this place if you want Asian food that's close to UO & you don't want to look all over for one.
(4)
Jane L.
i was thinking that korean food in the west coast is supposedly more authentic and doesn't depend on solely msg for flavorful goodness. this place did not do justice, unfortunately. service was awesome, though. food was not disappointing...but it was not impressive by any means.
(3)
Charles G.
I loved it. Delicious, and tappas means you can try a lot of different things, which is great because there's a ton of options. Definitely worth checking out!
(5)
Soorin B.
Great food and amazing service!!! We had a group lunch planned and ordered food for our group ahead of time. But many of those who were supposed to come didn't attend. We thought we would have to pay the difference but the owner and the manager graciously covered the cost and invited us back. You don't see service like that very often any more. They've got loyal customers in our group now. And the food was absolutely delicious!!!
(5)
Jaimie L.
Wait staff/bartenders very inappropriate and rude. Sushi rolls were sloppy, pot stickers overcooked. Not a good experience.
(1)
Zac K.
This is one of the best restaurants in Eugene! Many unique dishes, a cool combination of various cuisines. Very original.
(5)
Dan E.
We go here often and love it. I'd avoid sitting in the back side next to windows if you don't like TV talking at you (with the news there are some unsavory subjects while you're eating) - there are great places to sit up front. Prices are good (although watch for one crazy anomaly, the super salmon roll is ~$30).
(5)
Laurie J.
Food, and service were wonderful. Don't care for all the TV's or pop music being played way too loud. It took away the beautiful Asian ambience.
(4)
John M.
Had a delightful dinner here last Sunday. The menu is impressive. All types of Asian food. We had 3 different salads and sushi. Excellent. Will definitely be back to work our way through the fun, comprehensive menu.
(3)
Jesse F.
Shout out to our server Aly! Yay! I'm a fan of this place just because their menu is enormous and I'm a sucker for Korean Food. Bibimbap is always soooo good; always get it in the stonebowl. Great customer service and our order came out very quickly, which is great! Our server Aly was always making sure we had refills on our drinks and gave very exceptional service. I loved how she gave us a lot of input on the menu and gave very good recommendations. Food's good. Service is awesome. Definitely will be back.
(4)
Renee G.
Was looking forward to some great food - the korean pork was good and one tataki sashmimi was good - those were the highlights...gyoza bland, spring rolls horrible, miso weak; all other rolls -California etc. under seasoned. Beautiful space - need to get the food up to a decent quality. Probably won't go back until we see some other reviews that are up to par. Next to OU, you'd think they would have some business...
(1)
Emily C.
After reading the Yelp reviews, I was really excited to try Maru yesterday for Happy Hour (3pm). My friend and I arrived and waited several minutes to be seated. Once we were seated, the young waitress didn't know the beers available, she had to run and get a hand written list. When asked about food on the menu, she knew nothing then admitted that she had only been working at the restaurant for three days. She ran and asked the cook about two dishes we were curious in, the descriptions we received used the most banal of adjectives ("sweet", "sour") rather than describing any of the sauces involved. I asked for a recommendation for a chicken dish, again this was over her head. When my friend asked about a beer he wanted to order, she told us she did not drink and could not provide us with any information about the beer or the brewery. She did not offer to ask a cook or manager. The food arrived and it was passable at best. My friend enjoyed the beef dish he got. The sauce that came with our spring rolls and pork gyoza was no good and cold. I asked for duck/sweet and sour sauce as a replacement. A few minutes later she brings it out and it too is cold. I asked if it could be warmed and she said that, "We don't have any microwaves or anything here." Rather funny really, I guess they couldn't be bothered to pop it in a pan for 20 seconds. The vegetables inside of the wontons had been over boiled and were absolute mush, completely unidentifiable. I couldn't finish my chicken yakisoba, the sauce and spicing just wasn't quite to taste. It was too sweet. I took it home. Now I know why we were the only table eating. I don't think I'll be returning or advising anyone to attend. It's a shame they can't seem to get a decent restaurant on Franklin.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Dogs Allowed : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Jeremy W.
All you can eat sushi finaly makes it to Eugene. This is order off the menu all you can eat. They also include several good tapas style dishes like beef bulgogi, shrimp tempura, spicy korean pork etc. The rolls are awesome and there are several to choose from. They also have plenty nigiri ane hand roll choices. They have it for lunch and dinner as well. They also do ayce table side korean bbq. If your feeling really hungry you can get both the ayce sushi and table side korean bbq.
(5)Maegan H.
Service was severely lacking and we were one of the only tables in the place. I have been here numerous times and the menus keep changing every time. They also had multiple beverages on the menu that were not available anymore. Asked for no egg, because someone in our group cannot eat egg and they forgot. Mistakes happen, but this was about the fourth one that night. However, I have this a two star instead of one because they gave us a free desert to share. Also, I guess they lost a chef and hired a new one who couldn't do the exact items on the menu? Or Thats what the server told us. Also, the waiter talked for fifteen minutes with other staff before seating the couple who came in after us. It was weird because they kept looking at us and then around for the waiter. Plus, no attempt for beverage refills. Will not be visiting here again.
(2)Beth D.
Maru is open and airy, but the too-bright lighting combined with the black tables and chairs don't feel welcoming. It feels rather cold. Almost like a cafeteria. The service is just ok. Once seated and given four menus (per person!), the staff comes over right away, but if you aren't ready to order when they ask, expect to wait at least ten minutes before they come back. The happy hour menu is priced about right for the quality of food. The sushi isn't great; the rice is dry and the rolls are rather bland for having so many ingredients. I haven't tried the BBQ, because it's $25 per person, and I can spend less money on more than enough food for me from the regular menu. The one kitchen item we've ordered are the Pockets of Love, which were quite good. Basically, after two visits, we're starting to suspect that the kitchen is where it's at. If we go back, we'll order from there.
(3)Lynette W.
We were in the hotel next door and didn't want to go out for dinner and found that lots of places are closed on Monday during the summer so we picked up a variety of items. We were happy with the veggie gyoza, chicken yakisoba, and General Tso Chicken. The high point for me was the stuffed jalapeños. They had a wonderful cheese mixture with yummy salmon and a light breading. I would totally go back for this appetizer over and over again.
(4)Mark A.
Big news, Eugene! We finally have a Korean barbecue place in town. Maru installed infrared grills in some of their tables during December, which are much simpler to use and easier to clean than gas or charcoal, and don't require big overhead vents. It may not be quite the spectacle that gas or charcoal are, but it's a tradeoff I'm okay with. I just wish they had better trained the staff before they started. They offer meats and seafood individually or as combos, but the combos look like better deals. For two people the #1 combo of pork belly, shaved brisket and bulgogi is the thing to get. Half dozen banchan and steamed rice come with the meal. You are supposed to eat it wrapped in lettuce leaves with soybean paste (ssamjang) and/or hot pepper paste (gochujang), but they didn't bring nearly enough lettuce, and I had to ask for gochujang. It's on the pricey side for Korean BBQ, but it's still Korean BBQ, and it's delicious! The waitstaff evidently was new to this, because the server we had didn't have a clue what he was supposed to do besides bring our food. Korean BBQ is labor-intensive for the server, because he is supposed to do most of the work. He cuts the meat into bite-size pieces with kitchen shears, loads a batch onto the grill, adjusts the heat as needed, keeps an eye on the grill and checks back every couple of minutes. When it's ready he unloads the finished pieces and starts the next batch. Instead we had to do all of that ourselves. Any self-respecting owner of a Korean BBQ place would have been mortified. I had this same complaint about lack of training when we first visited a year ago, and they still seem to be bad at giving their people adequate instruction. In most cities this level of service would automatically knock you down to three stars in my book, but I'm being generous because I'm so happy to see one of my favorite cuisines finally arrive. If you've never had Korean BBQ, you must try it to consider yourself culinarily well-rounded.
(4)Emma O.
Best sushi Ive ever had, and at a great price!!! Why the bad review? This was single handedly the most stressful dining experience of my life. The sushi chef and his sous were in a full on battle, and we were put in the position of picking sides. Both talking sh*t behind each others back, and the lead was being a degrading a-hole right in front of everyone. The sushi chef did fantastic work, but was all over the place, and extremely uncomfortable to be around. At first is was funny and entertaining, but quickly became tiresome and stressful. Im currently trying to collect enough people to go with me again as an attempt to deflect the insanity, Because lets face it, where else can you get great 18$ all you can eat sushi?
(2)J. C.
This is the best restaurant I've had the pleasure of trying in a while. The food was excellent. The portion for the bento box was perfect. I had the spicy pork, which I would highly recommend, veggie gyoza, and the shrimp crunch roll. All excellent. My lady-friend had the sweet and sour chicken. She liked it a lot and usually prefers something a little spicier. The side dishes with her lunch special were so good. Broccoli, potato salad, kimchi, tofu, sprouts. All of that for $8.95. My bento box was $12.95. You have to give this place a try.
(5)Gen G.
The appetizers, sushi, teriyaki chicken, and moki balls were fantastic. They had fast and friendly service. I will definitely go back!
(5)Russell B.
Interesting place with eating options. Happy hour is ok prices from 4-6pm and 8:30-10pm. Otherwise I'm not sure how students afford to eat here. You can do BBQ at the table, all you can eat sushi (carefully read the policy!) or eat off the menu. Sushi is better at a sushi restaurant. Come here for happy hour, but not sure if I'd come back otherwise. I might try the table BBQ with 3-4 others someday.
(4)Crystal J.
Food was affordable, large portions, and tasty. Service was kind of slow and the waiter made a mistake on the bill and the order. He was polite about it though. Really liked the atmosphere. The bar downstairs looked a lot of fun as well.
(4)Yali H.
They included a 15% gratuity in the check automatically without clarifying it to us. She claimed that she told us when she dropped the check, but none of my friends heard anything at all. On the check, there is a place for gratuity and it was misleading! I almost tipped 20% on the top of 15% they charged if my friend hadn't told me that the charge was not right:(. The service was not very great either...
(1)Sunil K.
Maru is a nice Korean barbecue and Asian restaurant. This review is only about the Korean barbecue that my family and I had (4 people = 2 adults + 2 teenagers) for dinner. We got the family combination meal (middle option) and it was plenty. It could've fed another two adults. It's within walking distance from some of the surrounding hotels - Holiday Inn, Best Western, etc. and Univ. of Oregon. The staff was very friendly and assisted us with the barbecue grill and which food items grill faster versus slower. Overall, a very good option. The same meal during lunch is cheaper.
(4)Andrew Martin D.
Very good service, the waiter and waitres are very honest they gave me back the extra tip that I accidentAlly included... And with up high, thumbs up quality food served... Definetly recommended!!! And I am from CALIFORNIA..... GOOD DEAL!!!!
(5)Adrian G.
Happy hour prices were awesome. Came here after a long day and ate like kings for $35. Food was really good. Only knock is it got busy and the servers seemed overwhelmed and weren't as prompt as they could have been.
(4)蕾
I like here, nice environment, fabulous food. Even just a noodle soup they built the cucumber, beef and egg like a tower, look pretty nice. I love the glass noodles, color is white, but the flavor is strong and fragrant. and when happy hour begin sashimi gonna be a really good deal
(5)Bonnie B.
I'm going to give the TL;DR version to start: Maru is great, go there now. Now the backstory that took us to Maru in the first place, followed my more details about the fantastic food and service at Maru: Some weeks back my daughter and I attempted to eat at Cafe Seoul and received a chilly racist welcome (which Yelpers warned about--I'm Hispanic, so perhaps in addition to being unwelcoming to Chinese people, maybe the owners of Cafe Seoul don't like Mexican-Americans as well?), we headed down the street to Maru. I've lived in Eugene a long time, and lost track of the restaurants that took over this location, after Mekala's closed. We were instantly greeted with friendly servers, and quickly taken to a table. We had our choice of the in-table grills or a standard table, and chose the standard table. My daughter and I proceeded to have an amazing meal--I had the Korean BBQ which was stunning, and my daughter was fortunate enough to enjoy a bento. (They have since had to stop serving the bentos at night, as this is truly only something they can do during lunchtime.) We both enjoyed the meal, and went home completely happy to have found a new restaurant to enjoy, so quickly on the heels of our poor experience at Cafe Seoul. Fast forward a few weeks, and it was daughter's birthday, and my mid-70s mother and I wanted to take daughter out to celebrate. The birthday girl chose Maru. Sometimes eating with the 3 of us can be a challenge as trying to satisfy a young person's and an old person's palate (with me in the middle) gets very tough to do. My mom pretty much hates raw fish, daughter loves sushi, and I love spicy, where neither my mother nor my daughter are really into things like kimchee. My mother can't eat a lot of soy, daughter loves miso soup. Maru to the rescue! I had a fantastic bulgogi with a wonderful selection of condiments including excellent kimchee. Daughter got her miso soup and sushi, and was in heaven. My mother was able to get a rice noodle soup and for the first time ever, she voluntarily ordered a sushi that was cooked. Everyone was in heaven. The portions were generous enough that we needed boxes to take the leftovers home. Some of the past reviews talked about poor service, and that has yet to be our experience at Maru. Our waiter was fantastic, and knew the menu well. When we asked questions like, "Would you order item A or item B, which is better?" he was able to quickly answer. He also made several recommendations for my mother specifically, who can be a tough customer to please. All through out this, he was friendly and patient. I'd like to go back in the future and try the in table dinner option for 2--and I love the kind, helpful and quick service.
(5)Kim P.
ALL MY UNI LOVERS UNITE!! I have found an uni bowl so fresh so tasty so satisfying you'll never want uni anywhere else (but please save some for me)!! The menu may seem intimidating at first but grab the Groupon and you can try everything! You won't be disappointed.The Groupon was more than enough for my hungry hungry hippo and I. We shared a Caterpillar Roll, Uni Bowl (this one was all mine), Creamy Scallop Handroll, sashimi, and two three-item dinner boxes. HUUUUUUUGGGEEEEE food babies afterwards but worth every bite. Lots of items on the menu I still need to try. I'll be back after I train my stomach to hold massive amounts of food like the famous hot dog eating champion Takeru Kobayashi. As my man and I stuffed our faces we had plenty of time to notice the beautiful spacious decor. We were seated in a private romantic area near the fireplace. Our amazing server Neil put up a screen for even more privacy. When I'm in my zone grubbing it can get pretty ugly and messy so thanks Neil for saving me from the embarrassment. Top notch server award! He went above and beyond. If anyone wants to take me out to eat it better be Maru. I'm already planning out what to order next. The ddukpokki looks good.Yummmm. Any takers? Please? I wouldn't share my uni but I would share everything else I swear.
(5)Nate R.
Wow. The service was GREAT, the waitress we had was awesome and so were the waiters and waitresses at the tables near us (I was paying attention for this review.) But the real reason this place deserves 5 stars is the food!!! Sooooo good. We got two different sushi rolls and the dish that is like rice noodles and fish cake (can't remember the name.) We also got their Korean BBQ ribs.... Toooooo goooood. We also got two drinks, mine was okay bit really strong (the tsunami). Our waitress warned me and I tried it anyways, I told her I would take her up on her offer for half a glass of sprite which she was happy to give to me free of charge. My girlfriends drink was a sweet one and was really good (money maker cocktail). All in all, we had a terrific experience and will be back for the food, great service and great atmosphere!
(5)Jean Y.
I think their Korean bbq is awesome! The amount of food is very filling as well! If you're going to grill though, it can be difficult sometimes to catch the attention of servers since you're kind of stuck in the back section of the restaurant! Other than that, I think it's worth paying the price for Korean bbq, especially in Eugene, if you want a nice dinner out.
(4)Lacey L.
I love this place. The happy hour menu gets my boyfriend and I out of there for less than $30 most visits. I recommend the Vegas roll if you like fried rolls and the Passion roll if you don't. Skip the miso and get the Gyoza. Also the staff is always awesome!
(5)K M.
The food is outstanding and reasonably priced. Really good sushi. The building, though not interesting from the outside, is pretty cool inside. The bar in on a slightly lower level and if you have a large group you can get a slightly private out-cove to sit in. Our waitress was amazing. She was extremely friendly and attentive. She even gave us great ideas of what to do in town after dinner. The only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is because both my glasses were dirty! I had old lipstick on my water dish and my wine glass wasn't too clean either. They may need a new dishwasher or at least take the time to check out their dishes before they send them out if the kitchen again. I'll certainly go back again.
(4)Shar V.
Asian fusion anyone??? It's definitely a place to be :) I like their Underground bar, their clean lines arrangement of table and and the número use exits :) the decor modern open concept- keeping it clean. Now the menu is overwhelming- soooo to choose from an only one belly!! I ended up with a classic Bimbop (pretty is spelled incorrectly) with mushroom.. It was really filling, good and exactly what I expected .. Side of chile sauce and miso soup.. This is a good place to hang out and expand your pallet..
(5)M W.
So we decided to give this place another shot on a day that we knew we could get the full menu. We went during lunch and I was feeling really good thinking this would be the time I fall in love with this place. We walked in and were seated right away. I saw our server walking towards us and the whole experience was ruined again. It was the same guy we had last time that was rude, awkward, timid, and knew nothing about the menu. I tried to just take it all in because I knew at least this visit we had the full menu. Unfortunately our server knows NOTHING about anything on it and couldn't suggest anything. He knows nothing about asian food or sushi. Was super unhelpful. I tried to order a cocktail from their menu and he told me he didn't know how to make it and the only cocktail he knew how to make was a margarita...... ALRIGHT. I'm sorry, but why is this guy even working here? Ruined the whole meal once again for us. Luckily, my boyfriend said he wants to give it a 3rd shot because he knows that he can like this place if we get the right service. Stay tuned for the 3rd review.
(3)Rachel E.
Another place I'm having a hard time rating appropriately without the use of half-stars! We called in a few things here for lunch the other day; I was really excited for this place since it is within walking distance of my workplace and I thought it seemed great to have fresh sushi and Asian tapas for lunch once in a while. Overall I wasn't that impressed with most of the dishes we tried: the spicy garlic chicken wings had a nice sauce but there were way more than 3 in the order (probably 7 or 8) which isn't a terrible thing, just inconsistent, and the chicken itself seems like it's probably just frozen Tyson or something equally cheap; the two rolls we had - Pop Corn roll and Cancun - were pretty mediocre, the fried scallops had too much breading and were too greasy for my liking and the Cancun was just lacking in flavor. The one thing that I was really happy with was the seared tuna and mango salad; the tuna tasted fresh and was very well-cooked, the dressing was tasty and the mango was ripe. I would like to give this place another try, dining-in for dinner sometime just to give it a fair shot - I did hear that a new cook was being trained while we were picking up our order but I really think that some of the ingredients being used are a bit inferior in quality which unfortunately can't be masked by sauce or oil. But I'll be back to try again.
(2)Bentley H.
My GF and I were on our way back to Seattle from San Francisco (a big disappointment). There was a nasty heat wave in progress. We decided to get off I5 at Eugene for some lunch. While traveling down the street, I saw the Asian Tapas sign for Maru. We were both instantly intrigued and thought wow, this could be a treat. Heading west, once you miss the turn, it's hell to turn around and come back. But we did. We were that interested. Talk about worth it. Magnificent! The drinks were phenomenal and the sushi, well, just about the best I have ever had. I've had it in Japan, so that's a huge endorsement. My biggest complaint? We should have gone to Eugene instead of San Francisco! Would love to spend 4 or 5 days at this restaurant just working my way through this huge menu. I will be back again and again and again. The name Maru always catches my eye. A dear family friend who has passed was the Japanese actress Tsu Kobyashi. Gene Roddenberry named the Kobyashi Maru scenario after her. The name has a great deal of emotional attachment for me. I'm so happy I was not disappointed.
(5)Carol T.
Best korean food you can get around the area. Their soon- dubu is very nice and also their champon is ace. Highly recommend. Always has eager to serve waiters too. They have a bar which has a wide variety of drinks as well.
(5)Talisa T.
This is from awhile ago. My boyfriend and I wanted to have a nice night in for a date night with some Asian food so I called Maru and ordered a few things for take out. My boyfriend was going to swing by on the way home from work and pick them up which wasn't for about 45 minutes. When making my order the gal let me know it'd be ready in about 20-30 minutes and I let her know my boyfriend would be picking it up in 30-45 minutes. When my boyfriend showed up to pick up the food it wasn't ready so he then had to wait another 20 minutes for it to be ready. He paid and came home (we live less than 5 minutes away) and when I unpacked what he brought home we were missing 2 of the 4 ordered items, but had been charged for all 4. I called Maru to let them know they must have forgotten the two and without me even finishing my sentence she said for me to come down there and she'd give them to us, but not in a nice apologetic way in an annoyed and hurried way. She did not ask me my name or what we were missing, nothing. So my boyfriend goes down there again and has to sit and wait for another 20 minutes to have the other two things we ordered to be ready, he told her what we were missing when he got there so she probably fired it then...... We got some sushi rolls and some noodles and something else and all of it was less than pleasing... I'd rather go to PF changs. The girl who I spoke to on the phone was unorganized and unprofessional. We ended up having a cold mediocre at best Asian meal and spent more time waiting on the food than eating it. It could be better now this was awhile ago like a year ago but haven't been back since because of this.
(1)Tatiana P.
This has become one of my favorite restaurants in Eugene. I love the grills that are on many of the tables and they have some pretty good servers. Great place to go to if you like Korean food, they also have Japanese food but I think their forte is the Korean stuff.
(5)Aujere M.
Food was amazing defiantly will visit again soon! The best calamari I've had by far! Sushi was fresh an delicious as well... The service was okay. Very clean an presentation was nice as well.
(5)Sam V.
We went to Maru with a large group and the waitress not only forgot the food for one person in our group but she then had the nerve to bring her the check afterwards and try to talk her into paying for it. Food was good but the service was terrible.
(1)Paul C.
Never got a chance to try the food because we left due to the poor service. After waiting in front for a while, we seated ourselves in violation of the sign (OMG), and were made to pay the price. No server after 10 minutes, out we went. No wonder there were so many empty tables right at lunch time. My guess: Closing soon!!
(1)Chrystal O.
Delicious sushi, Appetizers and drinks. Would highly recommend. Fresh and unique rolls. Nice atmosphere.
(5)Mary H.
Fantastic selection of Asian tapas from Sushi to Maki and tempura. Great for sharing. Convenient location near the University. All selections were fine with attentive service.
(5)Allen A.
This was great. If your looking for a variety of dishes eat here. Cost was ok but overall whole experience was good. Clean Restaraunt and full bar downstairs.
(4)Nicole D.
Whatever you do, DO NOT order the seafood pancake. It's gross and is more way sketchy than it sounds. However, most the things seem to be ok. The wait staff are average, nice, but the attentiveness could be better. The prices are ok, maybe a tad more than the perfect price, but they're ok. It's worth trying out.
(3)Chris L.
This place is very big so no problem being seated. The food is good and fresh. It is also inexpensive. The menu is massive with many different sushi rolls and tapas plates as well.
(5)Michael K.
Reasonable price. I had nagiri one visit... Something I rarely enjoy and.... Actually enjoyed it here. Second visit ate bimibob, and of the six bimibob places I've had, tasted as good as the best, for a better price. Comfortable ambiance, and plenty more on the menu I'd try if I weren't leaving the Oregon almost immediately.
(5)Cody M.
Well got damn..... I'm not from here and I consider my self a sushi lover, this place is amazing. To start it is a very elegant and well rounded restaurant all employees dress nice and all table settings are beautiful. A friend and I sat downstairs at the bar. The bartender was amazing he chatted with is the whole time and was very friendly all while giving us, yes GIVING us a free bottle of saki cause the bottle had cracked. The sushi was to die for no half adding here and tasted fresh as could be. I literally can't complain. If you attend during happy hour 3-5 pm and 9-close a ten dollar sushi roll is half the price. I can't wait to come back best sushi in Springfield Oregon.
(5)Hannah H.
Maru is awesome! They have really good Asian food. Ex boyfriend sushi, dragon sushi, ... They are all tasty. Pork bulgoggi is really really flavorful. Also, yukgaejang has a looooot of meat and noodle inside!! It's really worth the price!! I came there 3 times and it's a really good place for chatting with friends. We went there as a group of 8 one time and they even put us in a room with a door without even a reservation. I always have the waitress named Hannah and she is surely the nicest waitress I have known here. Will return again for sure really soon. Beef bone soup is my new favorite!!!
(5)M A.
After going to mekalas for years, I was excited to try what replaced it, Maru. Really like the atmosphere and decor in the place. Service staff that I had were really friendly and served our table well. I have to say the food was really great. Really enjoyed all the dishes we had to share at the table. The infrared grills in the center of the restaurant were cool, and I love the idea, but they need to get better ventilation in there. Your clothes come out saturated with food smell. And we were sitting a little ways from those grills. Not necessarily a good thing. That's my only real ding for this place and why I couldn't give it 5 stars. Also, it's a little spendy too. Think they could come down a bit on some of the prices,especially for the eugene market
(4)Doug D.
Made the mistake of going on a concert night. DON'T DO THAT! Too busy and under staffed for the crowd. Food was OK but took forever. May try again....
(2)Sara C.
Update - we went back on a non-event day with a smaller group. Our server was on the ball, food came out quickly and was fantastic, and the bill was settled without having to explain anything. We had two small children with us and it was also someone in our party's birthday. Our server brought out ice cream (at no charge) for the birthday girl, and explained the dishes thoroughly. He even changed the channel to the Blazer game. Not sure I'll go back on an event night, but I will go back on any other night and enjoy the patio, amazing food, and unique drinks.
(3)Evalina S.
Came here for dinner with a couple of friends. The menu is gigantic, it took a while for us to figure out what we wanted! In the end, we all ordered bento boxes and they were all delicious (the Tofu Teriyaki was the best) It didn't take very long for our food to arrive and the waiters were all very nice. This is my new favorite place to eat.
(5)Kelsey M.
Finally went here last night to use my groupon. We were seated in the lounge area and were the only people there for a while. The service was awesome and the staff were knowledgeable with food suggestions. Every staff person we came in contact with was super friendly. We got two rolls of sushi. Unfortunately I can't remember the names but I think it was number 13 and 20 on the sushi menu. The sushi has great flavor but my only complaint would be that the rolls are too big to eat without taking a bite out of them. We also got the calamari and we enjoyed it so much we ordered a second helping. We got a seared ahi tuna plate that was served with some sprouts and red onions with what seamed to be a spicy honey mustard sauce? I am probably wrong but thats what it tasted like, either way it was amazing. The fish was so fresh and melted in your mouth. Once we were finished with all of that we were looking at the menu again (this is when we ended up ordering more calamari) when the manager came by and suggested we try one of the bipimbap entrees. We looked at the photo and decided we may be too full for that as it was huge but would definitely be trying it next time. He ended up bringing it to us for free because he knew we would love it. OH MY GOSH it is amazing. It is rice, zucchini, carrots, bean sprouts, and beef with a fried egg on top. ( I'm sure I am missing things) it comes in a super hot bowl and you stir it all together and then add this awesome spicy sauce to it. We will definitely be ordering it again. Bottom line is this place is amazing. The food is fresh there are so many choices and the menu has pictures of all the food which I love. The service is top notch and the atmosphere is great. I can't wait to come back and try more food. My roommate and I have declared this our new spot.
(5)Yaran S.
Really tried to love this place but...undoubtedly had a bad experience. I was excited to try Maru after reading so many positive reviews on Yelp. It hold a guitar performance tonight and we were seated in front of the guitarist, which made me more excited. However, no one came to us after we sat down. I stared at each waiter/waitress that passed by our table, but it seemed that they were too busy to notice us. I asked at least four servers for a cup of hot water, and most of the time I had to leave my seat to look for our disappeared server. Only one Asian-looking waiter checked back during our meal. Fine, let's talk about food. I ordered vegetable dol-sot bibmbop, which looked much better on the menu. Tasted so bland! I couldn't eat it without hot sauce (I usually had it without any sauce). Well, another endless wait for the sauce, which was not too bad since it helped the bibmbop to cool down. My friend had yakisoba which was more tasty and flavored. The music performance is a smart idea for a restaurant. Maybe I am spoiled by my favorite guitarist Kotaro Oshio, but I think the guitar performance could be better. Overall, poor service, average food, and a mandatory tipping made me feel worse :(
(2)Sherry M.
A little disappointed in their noodle dishes, as they're generally rather soft, are the same kind of noodle across multiple dishes, and lack the toothsomeness that I so crave. I also found their vegetable yakisoba (which is pretty much their stir-fried vegetable dish, plus noodles) overly sweet for my taste. Absolutely delicious sushi though. Have tried much of what they have to offer, but I find myself ordering their yellowtail maki roll over and over again. Even their california rolls are surprisingly stunning in that each component is perfectly balanced; it's pretty much a party in my mouth. I never normally order a california roll but I sometimes an exception for this place. EDIT: Highly recommend their deep fried seaweed and noodle appetizer!
(4)Heather S.
Love the sundubo. We took visiting relatives here and the many tapas we ordered was the highlight of their trip.
(5)Leah R.
Didn't know what to expect from an Asian Tapas bar - but were pleased all around by our visit. Our server, Michael was fantastic. Very friendly, professional and responsive. Because it's tapas, the individual items come out as they are prepared, not all at once for the table. This was great as we were able to nibble our way through what was served. Highly recommended for a fun evening out with friends or a casual date night.
(4)Matt S.
Yay, a new favorite! I don't get out as much as I'd like to (as in, almost never these days) but hopefully I can find a way to make Maru a semi-regular stop. We shared a sushi combo, lettuce-seafood wraps and seafood nachos. There were probably 30 other things on the menu I'd like to try. The six pieces of nigiri were all high-quality pieces of fresh fish--way nicer than most sushi in town. The sushi roll was great. The wrap was great. The seafood nachos were my favorite of all. This isn't my wordiest or most colorful review, but do you get the point? We loved everything! Needless to say, Maru is a major upgrade from Mekala's, which sat in this location a long time. The interior feels really nice, windows have been frosted to reduce the ugly side-street-view, and the food is way better. If you haven't had a chance to visit yet, go check it out.
(5)Jason T.
Maru's staff was very helpful and friendly. They took the time to check in with us when we were dining--definitely an experience you don't get all the time. The food was okay, I was expecting a more extravagant menu of Tapas but it was overall above par.
(3)Nick D.
2 waitresses organizing large table in center ignored us. Asked to be seated. Asked for salmon avocado sushi roll. "We don't do that but those things may be on one of the other rolls" You have got to be kidding! Spicy tuna roll good. Pancake ok but soggy Cancelled one item as it took so long and we had finished. Billed for it - so had to ask to have it removed. This place suffers from poor service staff mostly.
(2)Kristen R.
If I want sushi, this is definitely the place I will go to in Eugene! It also has some great Korean comfort food (like rice cakes). Right across from UofO, it was super convenient for lunch when visiting the campus. I went for lunch, and the one reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was because of the service. There were quite a few people there, but only one server. The food didn't arrive at the same time (I split bibimbap and sushi with my parent). The food was definitely super good though, and I'll definitely be back. The atmosphere was calm as well.
(4)Melissa W.
Had a really bad experience here with the hubs. Things didn't start of well. I think our server was new. Cardinal rule of waiting tables, make sure drinks are served first! We ordered off the happy hour menu and decided on the sashimi sampler, the unagi roll and the tempura and asked to start with miso soup. I ordered the cocktail of the day and hubs ordered a beer. The soup came out before our drinks and was luke warm. We had to remind the server to bring us drinks. The drinks came out and the cherry on mine tasted of mildew (I deposited into my napkin-yuck!). We weren't given a chance to order a second round as our waitress seemed very very distracted. I flagged down two different people none of whom could take our drink order (??). I asked more than one person what their sake list was k lot to be told our waitress would have a better idea. She didn't. We ordered another round of beer instead (what Asian restaurant doesn't have a sake list?) . Our food can out in spurts. Hubs yellowfin looked partially cooked due to what I assume was a crappy defrost job and my unagi roll was inedible. Tiny mushy pieces of eel reminiscent of boogers. The manager removed that roll for our order and we simply paid for the rest of the food (which we did not eat) and went to Sushi Ya instead. As we were leaving the waitress gave my husband a sympathetic look and said that he "should get used to it because he'll have it for a while". Wow. Hubs was pissed, I was pissed. I usually give a restaurant more than one try figuring that everyone has down days but if I go in there agin and see that woman I will run in the opposite direction. Use this info as you will.
(1)Nick G.
Just ate dinner here tonight with my wife. First heard of Maru because of Groupon. The menu was almost overwhelming! A lot to choose from. We had the Rainbow Roll, California Roll, Edamame, and Sweet & Sour Chicken. Excellent service. Friendly staff. Excellent food. Great atmosphere. Highly recommend. I will be going back.
(5)Claire V.
Today Eugene's newest Asian restaurant, from the folks who brought you Izumi and Peach Wave, opened in the old Mekala's building on Franklin. The concept is Asian Tapas, with a heavy focus on Korean and Japanese (an apparently classic combination in this town). The menu consists of cold and hot tapas, sushi rolls and nigiri, and a Korean menu with a large variety of Bibimbaps, stews, etc. There are also the obligatory yakisoba noodle and teriyaki dishes of course. Like our wonderful waiter said: Enough choices to eat here every day for months without eating the same meal! The interior is trendy but surprisingly warm, which is hard to achieve with so many windows. They put in booths with walnut-like wood accents in the back (they feel very private, we like that), a sushi bar with an open dining area and some group/event rooms on the side, and then regular tables at the front. Starting in a few days, the downstairs bar will be open for business too. Maru goes for fresh and seasonal foods, and you can taste the quality. Their juices for cocktails (alcoholic and virgin) are all freshly pressed and complemented with homemade syrups. Great thing about the drinks is that they'll make you whatever you'd like to have. The waiter said they can probably make us a cranberry juice with muddled basil, which my husband would love, so we might try that next time. The vegetables in our foods were fresh, vibrant and crisp, the side dishes are unique, homemade dishes like these rich, salty, slightly chewy black beans that my husband absolutely loved, and green beans with tiny shrimp heads that aren't quite up my alley. I can just imagine an enthusiastic Asian chef saying: "So delicious, shrimp heads, Americans will love them if they only try!" I'm sure my fellow yelper James L. would be up for it though. Some of the dishes we tried: - Jap Chae: Best I've ever eaten! Lovely sesame seed oil flavor, perfectly crisp and fresh vegetables, noodles cooked just right, balanced flavor. Excellent! - Crunch S&S Roll: Very good, up to the standards of Izumi, which is our favorite Japanese restaurant in town. My husband loved the spicy scallop roll too, he'd never had it before, but he'd definitely get it again. - Fried bananas with ice cream and strawberries: Fantastic, I love a good fried banana dish, and this one is outstanding. The only thing that tops this for me in town is the Bananas Foster at Soriah, but they're inherently different, since the bananas at Maru are deliciously deep fried. This one is a real comfort food, I can see going here for coffee and just getting an order of that with it! All in all we ordered one sushi roll, two hot tapas, and a dinner entree, as well as two cocktails and two desserts, and our total came to $77, which is not bad. I'll admit I had a brief moment of concern about the price, which I normally think of as $4-5. At Maru they're more around $8, but you get large plates, way bigger than normal tapas! More like what a European would consider a full plate of food, about half a plate to an American. For someone who is not a big eater, just the one Jap Chae dish would make a good lunch meal. We ended up taking home a good size box of food. I should make a special note about the service, which was exemplary and which really bumped up this review from 4 to 5 stars. Our waiter knew a surprising amount about the -extensive- menu, despite the restaurant having opened only an hour earlier. And apparently he worked as a chef for a long time too, so he knows his stuff. Ask him about his travels, he seems like a very interesting person, and since it was pleasantly quiet on opening night we had a chance to chat with him some more. We did have a somewhat insane number of people (waiters/chefs/manager/owner etc) nervously hanging around our table. I'm pretty sure we got asked how our food was about 30 to 40 times, much to our amusement. Of course on opening night everyone wants to make sure everything is running smoothly and the food is good, which it was! No doubt they will ease up by tomorrow night :) Everyone we met was incredibly friendly, polite, and easygoing, we left with that feeling of having made new friends, so that's a good sign! They'll be making regular changes to the menu as seasonal offerings change, so we look forward to seeing those. Something I always like to see on a sushi menu are escolar and age dashi tofu, that would be nice. I also wasn't sure what the salad dressings were, but I'd like to see a Japanese orange-ginger dressing if there isn't one already. In short: Great food, appropriate price/quantity proportions, excellent service, very well decorated, comfortable, and it looks like a great lunch restaurant too. Surprisingly smooth for opening night. Congrats on your launch, Maru, and welcome to the Franklin area!
(5)Robert B.
I liked the restaurant that was here before, but I like this one better. The addition of booths in the side part is great, I like booths. The Albap Bibimbap was good, it had bacon and masago, an unexpected combination but the outcome was nice! I like the tofu kimchi too, though I was surprised to find beef in it as well. Overall it was more savory than I am used to, not as sour, but that might be because it was a hot dish, which changes the flavor somewhat. Unusual kimchi dish, more like a beef dish, but it tasted good. We had two kinds of sushi that were very fresh. They brought us the wrong sushi initially, but I ate some of it and I liked it. And then they brought out the right sushi too, so we got some extra sushi for free! They're still building the sushi bar upside, and I think it'll be a nice place to sit and eat. That space is a little smaller, so it's like a small sushi bar/restaurant within a larger restaurant. I got the warm brie with spiced apples and walnuts for desserts, which I really enjoyed. Cheesy, salty, spicy and sweet. Good combination. It wasn't really baked, just warmed, but I liked it that way, it had a better and firmer texture than baked brie. Service: Good, but they hovered over us a lot. It was their first night and they wanted to check that they were doing everything okay, and I don't really need people watching me eat from five feet away. I get it though, first night. They wanted to do everything right. Our server was really friendly and talkative. We met the manager who we liked. For a drink I had a cucumber basil gimlet, which was really good with a real cucumber taste. They make the syrups themselves, with fresh cucumbers, and you can taste it! I think it'll be really nice when everything is done, including the bar and sushi bar, and they get any service kinks sorted out. Good opening night, and I like the people who run it.
(4)Dan W.
everything is just so gooood!!! Good service! Good dishes! Good taste! Good decorateï¼love this restaurant more than Noodle bowl and other Korean restaurant in Eugene! Eugene best!! Haha. Really love it! I will go there often!
(5)Amy S.
Tried Maru for cocktails and sushi last night. Great service good drinks and fantastic food. The new decor is very modern and open! The menu is great with pics of everything to help anyone not sure about what to order. Try the ex-girlfriend roll- spicy and wonderful!
(4)Sheri S.
We have been to this place 3 times, everytime progressively worse. The first time was absolutely amazing, 2nd time service was bad & food was ok (over priced)this last time my husband & i went for our anniversary. My husband ordered sushi & they gave us tapas instead of sushi, how do u confuse the two? Then my wine wrong, then ordered the sizzling rice bowl bibmbop bowel not sizzling...soggy rice....now I realize every place has a bad night but come on they charged $11.99 for the soggy rice bowl plus another $3.00 for the chicken & when I sent bowl back to re-heat, it was burnt left the restaurant with a burnt taste in my mouth & all i could taste was burnt. If u want a really good sizzling rice bowl good food for good cost the noodle bowl has Maru beat by a long shot. $9.99 at Noodle Bowl for the same thing but better with more tapas sample plate. Quality food for a reasonable price plus the owner staff super friendly.
(1)Allie H.
We go here at least once a week! You can't beat the happy our prices and twice-daily hours! Hungry Ducks delivers food from Maru, too - win!
(5)Maylian P.
This was my third time here and we won't return. Not only were they unprepared for the influx of people before the concert, but the gentleman with the holier than thou attitude ruined our dinner. The young lady who served us was very kind and apologetic, but the young mam who didn't have the decency to apologize needs a major attitude adjustment. There's only so much tolerance a customer has for rudeness after waiting nearly 2 hours for food that never came.
(1)Chrystal O.
Sushi that is to die for! I literally craved it for a week after my first try. The combination of flavors, sauces, colors, textures, etc made it appealing to the eye and taste buds. The adult drink I tried was strong and had a unique additive, toasted coconut flakes. I will definitely try this place again!
(5)Cara K.
We went Sunday afternoon and the service was very good. My sister's basil lemonade was fantastic and my mango spritzer was also good. We ordered veggie rolls, dokbokki, and japchae. The dokbokki was of course fairly spicy, but still edible and had a very nice flavor and the sweetness of the japchae was a nice compliment to it. The veggie rolls had a good variety of veggies in them and were more similar to the Korean kimbap than to the Japanese sushi (which was totally ok by us). I recommend going at happy hour, since all that was a nice size and less than $25.
(5)Kelsey W.
I used to love Maru! They have great food. However, I just got done eating there and had the worst service I've ever experienced. I don't even know who my server was. We were pretty much ignored. We waited 20 minutes to order, then someone finally came and took the order in a rush. 15 minutes later part of it was brought out by a different person, but without the accompaniments we had asked for. Another 15 minutes later we finally got someone to bring those out but by then it was cold. Our sushi sat on the counter for over 20 minutes. We could see it and kept flagging people but everyone ignored us. Eventually another random person brought it to the table. Toward the end I attempted to order another sushi roll, which, needless to say never did come. It did not help that I am pregnant and was very hungry, and it felt like I was being tortured watching other people eat. Then they tried to charge us for the sushi roll that never came!!! Plus it was freezing cold in there. Still, they get 3 stars because every other time I have been the service was fine and the food was excellent. I'll probably give them another chance, but if it anything like tonight my review will be dropping to one star. I left still hungry and annoyed.
(3)Andrew C.
While disappointed Mekala's Thai vacated the premises (I guess they went out of business for poor service and food), this is an excellent replacement. The variety and quality of food is quite good. Some tapas they served was a little pricey, but well worth it. Their beer selection is very limited, but I think it's because they are focusing on wine and bar drinks. Yum!
(5)Michelle R.
First of all they charge an automatic gratuity on parties of FOUR or more, are you kidding me??? Plus it's not posted any where and we were not told until after they had run our credit card, which made it seem even more below board. We've been there twice, first time we were not informed about the auto 18% gratuity, so it's a newer policy or we were defrauded the first time. First time we had the crispy honey spicy chicken wings and the were sticky and to die for. The second time they were just okay. We mentioned this to our server and she kinds of shrugs and says oh too bad. We continue to inquire as to which way they are supposed to be and she doesn't know. She did ask in the kitchen and informed us that they stopped doing them that way because it can over cook the chicken, Which I think is a stupid answer bc if you just cook the sauce longer before you put the chicken wings in, it will be stickier. We had two orders of Beef Bulgoogi BiBimBop served in the hot bowl. The second one was burnt on the bottom a little, which was not appetizing. We also had the spicy pork, which I thought had more spice than flavor. We had two orders of Gung Jung Topopki, it was tasty, but could have been served hotter. We had Shrimp Tempura which was good and vegetable tempura which was okay, I think that a slice of bell pepper tempura is gross and a rip off to count it as a piece of vegetable tempura. The tempuras were both a little greasy, but were served hot. We also had the potstickers which were not good at all. On our first visit we tried the seafood pancake, but it was lukewarm and the texture wasn't quite right. Not as chewy as I have had before. We also had Crunchy Seared Tuna. It was down right awful! And we tried it based on the servers recommendation. It was barely seared and the only thing that was supposed to be crunchy about it was the fried onions on top, which were soggy. When we complained about it, the server offered to take it off and bring something else instead, which we agreed too. Then the manager I guess was arguing with her as to how to handle the problem with the dish. She ended up bringing out a new dish of "crispy" onions that were not soggy, but so crispy that there were burnt. Oh well, we didn't get charged for it, but the dish she replaced it with was equally as disappointing. We stopped while we were ahead. I also forgot to say that I didn't like that ALL of our food came out at once. We had clearly said that we were all sharing everything. It would be a better experience if it was a little slower coming out, bc you could enjoy the dishes while they were hot. We also had to beg for some kind of serving spoon to mix and serve the BiBimBop. The waitress suggested that I use my little tiny spoon, it took a minute to convince her that it would be ridiculous to try and share the portions that way. Some of what we had was okay, but it seems to be a little hit and miss with the menu. I am more turned off by the automatic gratuity thing. Sends the wrong message to the staff. Instead of telling them to work hard and to their BEST to EARN my gratuity, seems that they have given them the message that they can sit back and relax, they got their back!!
(2)R P.
Quite good! A large menu, attentive service, and good food. I was a bit apprehensive since the reviews are quite mixed, but our group of 5 had a great experience. The ginger creme brulee (for dessert) is excellent!
(4)Justice G.
Our organization heard that the food was really great at Maru. When we needed a new place for our quarterly luncheons, we checked on banquet space for our group. The management and staff were fantastic helping us to set up our event. The luncheon was perfect--the service was perfect and the food was beautiful and excellent. I will highly recommend Maru Asian Tapas Bar for groups (I am not sure how big of groups they can take) and for a great place to eat anytime. Even the owner stopped by to meet us and to make sure that we were made to feel comfortable and served well.
(5)Aline L.
We went there for dinner and shared most of the dishes. Prices were slightly overpriced but the food was delicious. When we were there, it was somewhat empty at that time, the place was comfortable and the waiter was friendly.
(4)Staci R.
This place should be way busier than it is. Everything is amazing, food and service. Prices are very good with 2 Happy Hours. 4 Tapas and 2 adult beverages for just over $30. Fresh sushi, crisp tempura, delicious drinks.
(5)Anita S.
It's a very good Korean food for very affordable price. Had the bibimbap and the sundobu - both were very good. Very good nigiri too , esp if you make it in happy hour. The glass noodle dish was pretty bland and not good at all. But the stuffed jalapeño were good. All in all a great place to try out several different types of dishes.
(4)Angela P.
Worst service I have ever experienced! The staff have absolutely no knowledge of the food or menu? Waited 25 minutes after ordering a drink and 3 pieces of sushi for an appetizer. The waitress took my order then never showed her face again...needless to say I walked out!
(1)Amanda Y.
My first time going here was on a Sunday night with my friends parents. I didn't know what to expect as I've never been here before. Part of our party was already seated when I arrived and the hostess showed me to our table. It took 30 minutes for someone to come check in on us only because someone in my party got up to go and find someone to serve us. We had no menus, water or enough place settings. So after 30 minutes of sitting we finally got menus and water. When the waiter came back we ordered right away. The kitchen was backed up and our waiter came back twice to tell us our food would be right out. That didn't happen. It took 30 min for the first plate of food to come out and all the food didn't come out at once. This dinner ended up being over 2 hours long with the majority being sitting and waiting for service and food. It's unfortunate that the service was so bad because the food was really good. This restaurant only received 2 stars for the quality of food. I probably won't be back because the service was so bad. Also, to top it all off they charged us 18% gratuity for a party of 6 even though the service was horrible.
(2)Reno B.
We have eaten at Maru twice in the last week and have every intention of returning many more times to work our way through their extensive menu. Our first time there we had sushi which, for Eugene, was not bad at all. We have yet to find a truly great sushi spot in Eugene. Last night we both ordered the Dol-Sot Bibmbop. Wow, they were both incredible. The service was good and the food was really amazing. The only criticism I have is that there are many hard surfaces and it is noisy, even with just a few diners. As a result, this is a nice casual restaurant but don't expect to have easy conversation while dining.
(4)Leon L.
We weren't experienced with Korean food. The waitress was very helpful and the food was fresh, hot, and excellent. We had garlic deep fried chicken, a curry dish, a vegetable dish, and shrimp. We'll go there again next time we're in Eugene.
(5)Angela S.
Came here for lunch with a friend. It was pretty dead on a Sunday around 1pm. Service was good, and the food was yummy. I got the bento box lunch for ~$10, which came with my choice of 2 entrees, salad (or soup), and rice. I chose to have the sashimi and chicken katsu. This was the perfect amount of food for lunch and the price was very reasonable for the quality and quantity. I would definitely recommend this place! I'm really looking forward to trying this place out for happy hour.
(4)Kim H.
We went into this expecting amazing Asian fusion and sushi. The food was okay. Wait staff was friendly, restaurant is clean, but the food was rather boring and bland. For the price it wasn't worth it for super Americanized sushi.
(3)Grace A.
I came the 2nd time around & their food is still good so now I'm writing a review for them. I always order the bulgogi & even if it's not a real Korean restaurant, it's as close as you can get to one. Being in Oregon, my expectations are not that high on Asian food but I think they have every popular Asian food in one restaurant and that is quite impressive, Japanese (sushi & bento boxes), Korean, Chinese I recommend this place if you want Asian food that's close to UO & you don't want to look all over for one.
(4)Jane L.
i was thinking that korean food in the west coast is supposedly more authentic and doesn't depend on solely msg for flavorful goodness. this place did not do justice, unfortunately. service was awesome, though. food was not disappointing...but it was not impressive by any means.
(3)Charles G.
I loved it. Delicious, and tappas means you can try a lot of different things, which is great because there's a ton of options. Definitely worth checking out!
(5)Soorin B.
Great food and amazing service!!! We had a group lunch planned and ordered food for our group ahead of time. But many of those who were supposed to come didn't attend. We thought we would have to pay the difference but the owner and the manager graciously covered the cost and invited us back. You don't see service like that very often any more. They've got loyal customers in our group now. And the food was absolutely delicious!!!
(5)Jaimie L.
Wait staff/bartenders very inappropriate and rude. Sushi rolls were sloppy, pot stickers overcooked. Not a good experience.
(1)Zac K.
This is one of the best restaurants in Eugene! Many unique dishes, a cool combination of various cuisines. Very original.
(5)Dan E.
We go here often and love it. I'd avoid sitting in the back side next to windows if you don't like TV talking at you (with the news there are some unsavory subjects while you're eating) - there are great places to sit up front. Prices are good (although watch for one crazy anomaly, the super salmon roll is ~$30).
(5)Laurie J.
Food, and service were wonderful. Don't care for all the TV's or pop music being played way too loud. It took away the beautiful Asian ambience.
(4)John M.
Had a delightful dinner here last Sunday. The menu is impressive. All types of Asian food. We had 3 different salads and sushi. Excellent. Will definitely be back to work our way through the fun, comprehensive menu.
(3)Jesse F.
Shout out to our server Aly! Yay! I'm a fan of this place just because their menu is enormous and I'm a sucker for Korean Food. Bibimbap is always soooo good; always get it in the stonebowl. Great customer service and our order came out very quickly, which is great! Our server Aly was always making sure we had refills on our drinks and gave very exceptional service. I loved how she gave us a lot of input on the menu and gave very good recommendations. Food's good. Service is awesome. Definitely will be back.
(4)Renee G.
Was looking forward to some great food - the korean pork was good and one tataki sashmimi was good - those were the highlights...gyoza bland, spring rolls horrible, miso weak; all other rolls -California etc. under seasoned. Beautiful space - need to get the food up to a decent quality. Probably won't go back until we see some other reviews that are up to par. Next to OU, you'd think they would have some business...
(1)Emily C.
After reading the Yelp reviews, I was really excited to try Maru yesterday for Happy Hour (3pm). My friend and I arrived and waited several minutes to be seated. Once we were seated, the young waitress didn't know the beers available, she had to run and get a hand written list. When asked about food on the menu, she knew nothing then admitted that she had only been working at the restaurant for three days. She ran and asked the cook about two dishes we were curious in, the descriptions we received used the most banal of adjectives ("sweet", "sour") rather than describing any of the sauces involved. I asked for a recommendation for a chicken dish, again this was over her head. When my friend asked about a beer he wanted to order, she told us she did not drink and could not provide us with any information about the beer or the brewery. She did not offer to ask a cook or manager. The food arrived and it was passable at best. My friend enjoyed the beef dish he got. The sauce that came with our spring rolls and pork gyoza was no good and cold. I asked for duck/sweet and sour sauce as a replacement. A few minutes later she brings it out and it too is cold. I asked if it could be warmed and she said that, "We don't have any microwaves or anything here." Rather funny really, I guess they couldn't be bothered to pop it in a pan for 20 seconds. The vegetables inside of the wontons had been over boiled and were absolute mush, completely unidentifiable. I couldn't finish my chicken yakisoba, the sauce and spicing just wasn't quite to taste. It was too sweet. I took it home. Now I know why we were the only table eating. I don't think I'll be returning or advising anyone to attend. It's a shame they can't seem to get a decent restaurant on Franklin.
(1)