- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
Maru Restaurant & Bar
Category: Restaurants Korean Korean [Edit]
550 11 Avenue South WestSte 150
Calgary, AB T2R 1M7
(403) 452-6278
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
3 reviews for Maru Restaurant & Bar
3 reviews in English
-
Review from Wendy P.
8/11/2010 1 photo
It was a bit of a fluke that I happened to come to Maru for lunch today. I had made plans with a friend to meet at Sobaten in Calgary's Beltline for some noodles. When we arrived outside the front door, we were surprised to find that Sobaten had closed. In its place stood Maru Restaurant & Bar, serving Korean food.
We contemplated finding another lunch spot, but a sign in the window for $7.99 lunch specials (and up) was enough to entice us through the front door.
The layout inside remains fairly similar to what Sobaten was like, but the decor has had an upgrade for sure. Boasting a deeper turquoise on the walls, a neat hanging light in the corner, and a make shift forest against the wall of what looked like real sections from birch trees, I preferred the ambiance of Maru to that of its predecessor.
The menu wasn't full of variety, but hey, we were there for the lunch special, so in the end that's all we looked at. There were 8 different dishes total, all for under $10.00. I decided to go with the Bulgogi and my colleague opted for the Chicken Teriyaki. With a choice of one of three sides (steamed rice, fried rice or fried potatoes), our meals also came with some side garnishes to share (deep fried zucchini, spicy cabbage, etc.).
I came away impressed with the taste and the quantity of the food we consumed, my Bulgogi was good... but next time I'm definitely trying out the Chicken Teriyaki. I had a nibble and it was delicious.
They've got my vote for a quick, tasty, lunch time meal. -
Review from Queenie M.
Calgary, AB
11/14/2010
Food: 2/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Overall experience: 2.5/5
(1- Terrible; 3- decent; 5- Fantastic)
I stumbled upon this place after passing by it at night when I was planning to go to Hudson's Bar in downtown. Instead, of Hudson's I decided to check this new Korean restaurant out.
I love the decor and atmosphere of Maru. The restaurant is nice and upscale with stone accents on the walls and a mural of real tree trunks along the front wall. They have a projector showing K-pop and empty soju bottles lined up against one of the windows which I thought was creative but not overdone.
The service is not the greatest. Our waiter notified us that when we were ready to order we can press a call button on the end of the table to call him over. I'm not sure if this is the most effective way of getting service. Usually when you first sit down, they ask you what you would like to drink, but our server didn't ask us until we were ready to order. We ordered tea and it didn't come to us until 10min later, which isn't promising seeing as how there were only 5 other customers (we went there at 8pm). They didn't give us a teapot, instead we each got a cup with a tea bag and a lid that went over top to keep it warm.
We ordered from their dinner special menu which is mostly comprised of soups/hotpots for 2 people. It comes with two bowls of rice, sides (which you can refill on) of kimchi, sliced pickled radishes, honey garlic potatoes, and broccoli. The honey garlic potatoes were cold and dried out. We chose the Doboo-Kimchi Jeangoi (tofu and Kimchi soup $23) which had a little spicy kick to it, but was very bland and watered down. Although there was a decent amount kimchi and tofu in it with pieces of shredded pork, we could not get over how bland and bad it was. I found the side kimchi more flavourful and thick in sauce than the soup.
For a restaurant and 'bar', there wasn't a large selection of alcohol and we were considering in drinking at Hudson's down the street afterwords.
Overall, Maru seems like a nice place to hang out with friends, but it lacks in great service and food. Even though I only tried one of their dishes, I find that the quality of one dish usually carries over to the rest of the dishes. I don't go around this area often and unless you want a cheap lunch, I give this place a pass for dinner. I recommend you try someplace else like Don Day for dinner which is along the C-train line and near 8th street ( next to the McDonalds). -
Review from Catherine L.
Calgary, AB
12/29/2010
I was craving Soba noodles at Sobaten - however when I got there, I discovered that they were serving Korean. Seeing how I had to have lunch anyways I walked in to give it a try. The service was good, and the food came quickly. I had a lunch combo which included all the sides, and a hot stone rice bowl. They've got me hooked. I would go back again. The price is very reasonable for the portion sizes. The atmosphere was nice and they played Korean Christmas music. ;-)
