Very, very good! Been here many times & have never been disappointed. All time favorite: Pork belly ramen. Trust me (and everyone else); just get it. The sushi is always high quality & very tasty. Steam buns & dumplings are always good. Pizza - Neapolitan style w/ interesting combinations. Only downside: wait staff is hit or miss, which can make or break it for some, but realistically can take the experience from good to great (or vice versa). read more

Over the years I continue to return to Anju and typically have great food, service, and ambience.

We love the idea of this restaurant - shared dishes that come out as they are prepared. It's great being able to eat a roll of sushi and then enjoy a tasty pizza...all of my favorite foods in one place. The drink menu is as unique as the food menu - we enjoyed several craft beers and creative mixed drinks. The French Martini was good, according to my friend, and I had Vieux Carre. My boyfriend had a couple of beers that hit the spot. We had a very unique farmer's breakfast sushi roll, pork steam buns and el diablo pizza. Everything was very good, except the buns could use a minute longer steaming. Overall, the experience was really enjoyable - and the service was terrific. The atmosphere at Anju Above was really great - especially loved the light fixtures and drapery used throughout the restaurant. Fun, classy place...a great departure from your typical chain restaurant, but the price was the same! read more

I absolutely LOVE this place. It's so unique and delicious. It's also very reasonably priced. We do end up spending about $70, including tip, but that's only because we have a hard time deciding what we want to eat, so we get a little of everything! I gave it 4 stars because the last few times we've been there we got a few items to go. Every time we informed our server we were planning on placing a to go order and we always seem to be waiting at least 20 minutes or they completely forget about it. Otherwise, I completely recommend this place. read more

Wait, did I really not review this place yet? Holy cow. The pizza made me angry in that there's no way I'll ever make something that good. I want a crispier crust, but the topping combinations are almost genius. This is one of the few places I'll get steamed buns in town, too, so I always order one of those, and either a pretzel, a few tamago hand rolls (they have no right to be that good but they are), and the sushi roll with the egg and bacon. Very casual air but still trendy enough to be date night material. Husband loves the wings. I always make room for the silken tofu doughnuts, which also make me angry -- I don't *want* to like tofu but dammit I love these doughnuts. read more

I went here with a friend and it was awesome. this was my first time here and wasn't sure of where it was. the waitstaff sat me downstairs at the epiphany farms restaurant which I saw online but was a bit pricey. after having looked at the menu and seeing nothing that I had read online, I quickly realized and asked the waiter if this was Anju Above. obviously it wasn't, but quickly my friend and I were seated upstairs. after looking at the menu and actually seeing the items I thought would be there, both of us ordered sushi rolls. my date ordered the Gucci Cali Roll and I ordered the Spicy Yellowfin Tuna. we both enjoyed our rolls. I like mangoes and I like spicy, but together?.. a winning combination. we did order a couple of liquor drinks so nothing exceptional about that. the dessert I ordered (cookie bites), I thought would be good after having read some reviews. I wasn't displeased, but I definitely thought I should have ordered something else. the cookie bites are simply just that.. small cookies to eat. the variety of flavors was a nice touch, but they were just 10 or so simple cookies. I will definitely be back !! read more

This place is amazing! The ambiance is very nice. We were there for a wedding and everything was Delicious. The staff set up an appetizer area with the most amazing guacamole you will ever taste. They also had these chicken fingers that had just the right amount of crunch. The bartenders were also great. I ordered a mojito and after i finished it it made me think I could dance like one of Beyonce's back up dancers. Everyone was really friendly. Our dinner was salad, chicken, roasted red potatoes and a veggie mix. I would definitely recommend checking this place out if you are ever in town. read more

A close friend recommended we try this place. To be honest, I'm glad we did! The service was amazing and the food was delicious. You walk up the stairs and get greeted by very modern and relaxing environment. It's definitely a nicer looking restaurant. We ordered a roll of sushi and pizza. Both of which offered great presentation and taste. The servers here are really friendly and ill definitely be back! read more

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Update time. Went to Anju on Saturday for an early dinner with the family. Chefs Stu and Ken blew the doors off yet again. We ordered a decent cross-section of the menu. Pork dumplings, vegetable steam buns, gucci cali roll, pork ramen, korean BBQ chicken wings, pretzels, and several pizzas: confit duck, farmer's favorite, funghi. Everything was amazing. I'm so grateful that the chefs at Anju have such a passion for food, because Bloomington can get a bit depressing at times. Highlights were the vegetable steam buns, cali roll, chicken wings, and farmer's favorite pizza. Really, you can't go wrong. I'm a bonified carnivore and I think that the vegetable steam buns might have been the best thing I ate all night. I'd like to mention the ramen as being excellent as well. I guess it would be similar to a tonkotsu-style traditional Japanese ramen, but it's not by-the-book. Honestly, I doubt the Anju kitchen crew was "trying" to make their ramen anything but their own. Either way, it was excellent. Chef Mustard's pizzas continually steal the show every time I eat here. They're unbelievably delicious and for the money, you get a pretty good-sized pizza all to yourself. The crust/dough is perfect. Chewy, crunchy, perfectly puffy. The toppings are of excellent quality and perfect distribution. It's the best pizza in town. Chef Stu sent out a few surprises for us, which is always appreciated. One of these was a bacon-wrapped pork pate with fresh-baked pizza oven bread. This was the highlight of the night for me. It was unctuous, in the best meaning literal definition of the word. I was told that they were considering making it a regular menu item, and I definitely think they should. As usual, the staff are well-trained, helpful, and knowledgeable. They're more than happy to talk nerdy to you when it comes to food. I can't wait to go back and see what else they've got. read more

We love coming here! Everything we've try makes me have a vocal reaction and want more. The service is excellent. The atmosphere is intimate, yet the room is open. This tapas style restaurant is very accommodating. Their farm to fork quality really shows in the flavor of the ingredients used. We were there on Valentine's Day with 8 adults and a highchair and were comfortably seated at a round table with a lazy susan in the center, which was perfect for sharing each plate. Everything reached the table in great time and came to us slightly spaced out, so we weren't overwhelmed with the amounts we'd ordered. This trip, I tried the 20 & 40 year tawny ports...heaven. I know they didn't make it, but the fact that they have it makes me want to come back. We will return again and again. read more

Made reservations five days ahead for just two people using the Yelp app (so be wary of that). Made us wait 15 minutes before informing us they'd overbooked so we should eat downstairs, no apology or compensation at any point for their mistake. And this was our first time there. The menus for both places were kind of disappointing, with none of the sharables standing out. We got the pork buns, which were alright, spicy salmon, which wasn't anything special, and ramen with very fatty pork belly. The chocolate souffle was great but the accompanying ice cream and marshmallows weren't good and didn't make for very balanced flavors. I went in with high expectations but was disappointed from the start with the overbooking and then the underwhelming options and ordered dishes. read more

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This was the best night ever! Food was superb, and the service even better! It was my son's 21st birthday, and Kaylee, our server, and Chris, the manager went all out in making it a wonderful celebration. Chris personally concocted a "flight" of cocktails for my son to try, after discussing with him his likes and dislikes. He hit the mark right on! And Kaylee was charming, attentive, made great suggestions about the menu - very professional! We ended up ordering lots of different choices from the menu, and everything was delicious! This restaurant is a MUST! It's what you would find in a bigger city, like Chicago or Denver, with it's varying range of tastes and eclectic atmosphere. Will definitely go again! read more

Pork steam buns!! the pizza is also great. And the fish bowl. So many great options to list all my favorites.

UPDATE: Have been twice more since this review and I stand by it. They are open on Monday now, which I really appreciate. Food is still excellent service has improved. One thing to note: The cocktails, while excellent and made from good ingredients, are very expensive. Last night it was $10.25 for a Vieux Carre and $8:50 for a martini. We will be sticking to beer, wine or water. This is a long review, so I will save you from TL;DR - Great place for a group of friends, neat concept, yummy food not available anyplace else in BloNo, priced well, good drinks. Service has some kinks to work out. Full review: I'm a fan, but they still have a few kinks to work out. We've been twice now, once during their opening weekend, when they had a set menu, and once tonight to order off the normal menu. Both times the food was delicious, but the service nice, but slow, especially from the bar. First, the setting. In a loft space, with neat lighting, high ceilings, and both both and table seating, the room is dominated by an elevated sushi station. It is a pretty neat interior, and there are a couple of TVs, playing kung-foo movies both times we were there. There was loud music both times, but not so loud that you couldn't have a conversation. Next, the food. We were really put off by the "sushi for a Mid-western palate" stamp they put on things. Not how you should brand your restaurant to the type of people likely to come to a place like this! We were told that it really means less spicy and no "weird" ingredients. Thus, we asked for some extra chili sauce and were very happy with the subsequent spice level. Across both visits we tried various sushi, the wings, the veggie and beef steamed buns, the pork dumplings, the pork ramen, the kimchi soup, and one pizza. We were THRILLED with the pork ramen and the steamed buns, pretty darn happy with the pizza (too much cornmeal on the crust, however) and kimchi soup, and thought everything else was good. Everything was of high quality and presented well. I think the one of the huge benefits of this place is that there is both interesting (sushi, steamed buns, and soups) and completely safe, even to a "Midwesterner" (pizza and good wings). Everyone should find something they like, and given that it is sort of tapas style, hopefully you will encourage those a little less adventurous to try a bite from your plate. There are also a few snack items likes pretzels. The cocktails and other drinks...there a fantastic cocktail list but the bartenders don't seem to be able to make things fast or beyond the set list. They are also trying a bit too hard with some of the presentation. The old-fashioned comes with a tube shaped block of ice in it that gets in the way of consumption. We also waited an inordinate amount of time on both visits for rounds of cocktails. We watched the two women working the bar tonight hesitate, dig for stuff, drop strainers, and just generally not seem confident in their jobs. The first trip was better, but they ran out of a couple of things by the night's end (it was really busy). There is a solid beer list and a limited but good wine list. I really like what I they are trying to do with the bar, but the cocktails from Station 220 (and Eleven, down the street) are better. The service was mixed - our waitress had another large table tonight and had to be helped by the manager. She forgot part of our order, and greeted us not with the specials, but with a 'you ready to order"? and we had to ask if there where specials. I also just retrieved a cocktail from the bar myself, as it had been sitting there for 10 minutes. She was really nice, so I feel terrible saying that. Oh, and we used their online reservation service with absolutely no problem. Overall, we will be back, and it is a fantastic place for a group of friends or a date. It is a fun concept that really only has Reality Bites playing in the same field, and I think Anju might win that contest. I will update my review (especially about the service) if things change on the next visit. read more

Anju Above - A really nice setting for a meal with friends. - Asian Fusion Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

First trip and was impressed. Service was prompt and friendly made us feel at home. My wife got the fish bowl and was very pleased with the quality of the ingredients. I ordered the Korean BBQ wings and they were great sauce had a tang with the sweet BBQ influence. We also got the spicy tuna roll which was very good as well. Next time I will just get 5 wings instead of of 10 so I will have room for pork dumplings which look good in the Yelp pictures. They have a limited supply of craft beers on tap but they do range from ale to ipa to stout so something for everyone. There is also a long list of bottled beer as well. We definitely will be back excellent experience. read more

Anju Above - Korean BBQ wings kick ass - Asian Fusion Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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I could not be more excited for as Asian fusion restaurant in BloNo. Attended the opening party last night and was very impressed. Service was excellent from start to finish. Favorite dishes were the steamed buns, the veggie and pork dumplings, and two of the sushi tastes (tuna and salmon). The wings were yummy too, and the cookies for dessert are a must. Right amount of sweet and salty. I definitely recommended going and getting small tastes of everything if you can. I will be back here for sure. My only complaint is that the drinks weren't very strong. Would like to also try some different pizzas. Fun atmosphere for a date or a group dinner! read more

In a word. Delicious. So much variety of flavors there is something for everyone on the menu. It's a great spot for a big group, or an intimate meal. We loved it! read more

Tried them again for lunch. Sat outside for lunch because it was a beautiful day. We were seated and given waters by one member of the waitstaff. Another brought us menus but never asked us if we wanted anything to drink. No one returned for 15 minutes so we left. There was another couple out that had already gotten salads but no one had checked on them in that entire time either. Called to talk to a manager and let them know we left. Apparently no manager was available but who ever answered the phone apologized. Its such a shame that with everything this restaurant does right (food,atmosphere) that they can't train the staff to give outstanding service. read more

I love Anju. In order to go to this place, you must be aware that their menu is odd and you must be comfortable ordering different kinds of cuisines in one sitting. We have dined here a few times. We love their sushi, house salad, and many of their other dishes. They always have a fantastic selection of craft beer as well. If you are looking for a fun date night and have some money to spend, go here! read more

I was traveling from Pittsburgh to Decatur and found this cool place in Bloomington. Had the White tuna roll and pork steam buns (pictured). The tuna roll was fresh, light and very flavorful. The steam buns were also very good and a little spicy with the dollop of siracha. Make sure you sit in Nicole"s area. She is wonderful and is a dead ringer for a younger Mandy Moore! read more

Anju Above - Asian Fusion Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

Love the sushi and pizza! Great atmosphere. The nigiri sushi is really good, but limited options. They cold smoke their own fish, so you'll not find the wide array of sushi as with a Japanese restaurant, but what they do have is great. Kampachi is a must try. They can serve, sashimi, maki, nigiri. Although I haven't asked I bet you can also get it in temaki form as well. The Anju Pie is own of their specialty pizzas and really good. Never really thought about eating Sushi and Pizza, but it's really great with beer. Good beer selection as well. I'm usually a wine person, but when I go to Anju I drink beer. read more

Anju Above - Mega roll - Asian Fusion Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

Great vibe and decor, sushi roles and steamed pork buns were good as well, but my friend didn't like the cold portk in his sushi rolls (no menu warning). read more

Anju Above is one of the best restaurants in Bloomington Normal. They offer unique options and are very creative. My wife and I went and both agreed it would be an excellent place to go with a small group of friends. The portions and prices are setup so that you can order several items and split them amongst your whole table. It is a farm to table restaurant so all the ingredients are fresh and high quality. Plus any restaurant that plays 3 ninjas on their TVs gets an A+ in my book. read more

Anju Above - Asian Fusion Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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My favorite place to eat in Bloomington. The combination of sushi and pizza sounds weird, but it actually works!

Anju is the best!!! Especially if you're tired of boring, same-old-stuff, small town food. Thank goodness the Epiphany Farms group is here to bring about a food revolution in this town. We want fresh, we want beautiful, we want fun, we want cool, and Anju is all of those things. Did I mention the food is FANTASTIC?! I actually crave the spicy salmon roll frequently. And I don't know what they do to the edamame, but it's addicting. This is the place we take our out if town friends to and this is our favorite date night spot. read more

I found the restaurant to be quite good but being a new place it still has some things to figure out about itself, as is typical with any new place. Finding out what works, what doesn't, etc. The food was very good but needed just a touch more seasoning and strengthening of flavor. Unfortunately I didn't find the "korean wings" to be anything korean (I lived in Korea town for quite a while in Chicago). Good... but nothing like Crisp in Lincoln Park or Great Seas in Albany Park. I also found, like Little Goat, that the menu was rather scattered and unfocused. I don't see how korean soup goes with pretzels. Both were very decent but not harmonious. I will definitely come again. Service was superb and the beer selection was great. I just think the menu needs a bit more refining and deciding what it wants to be. read more

Drinks (cocktails) are super expensive. It's not a place you can just hang out and enjoy drinking. The menu is a little weird, being all over the map with different styles of food represented. Some dishes are good... But unfortunately it is hit and miss. The staff is good, but they can't makeup for the other shortcomings. Overall, for the quality of experience and the price, there are better options in town. read more

Service was great last night and the food was good. But I must say, there is a noticeable lack of meat on the menu. This might be a purposeful choice but as a meat eater, I'd love more chicken/red meat options. read more

Came into Anju last week and had an amazing experience. The atmosphere is very cool and reminds me of the trendy restaurants in the Chicago area. The service was superb. I wish I could have remembered our serves name (Maggie?) because she was very helpful and had a great sense of hospitality. She made a recommendation to try the thunder cat roll. Knocked it out of the park with this sushi roll. Best place to get sushi in Bloomington. Keep up the great work! Will definitely be back. Only suggestion would be to add more variety of rolls to the sushi menu. :-) read more

Came here with the boyfriend a couple of weeks back and I was super impressed! Its unfortunate that it seems most people just get pizza here because their asian inspired items are so tasty! The sushi is pretty far from traditional sushi but it was super yummy! The ramen was incredible! I'm still trying to figure out how they cooked the egg so perfectly. It was wing night when we came so we had to try those too. They were your standard deep fried chicken wings smothered in a sweet sauce but done really well. I would totally come back here for half priced wings on Wednesdays and just hang out with some beer. Speaking of beer, none of the draft beer is on the menu. Its listed on a table tent. Can be a little confusing for new comers. We also got dessert which was so unnecessary. Felt like it was a little too sweet and not chocolatey enough but that was probably our full stomachs talking. All in all great and we can wait to try the downstairs next time! read more

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I like this place for food and ambiance, the fusion of different cuisines is good and unique for the city . They can still improve in the bar area. read more

In town for a visit. Stopped by for lunch everything was great from the pizza to the fish bowl, we shared around the table everything was very fresh and correct in temperature, friendly staff and service. Pork dumplings were the best. read more

Anju Above - Asian Fusion Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

Absolutely delicious food and a marvelous ambiance. I came for my birthday and ordered one thing from each section of the menu to share with friends, and there wasn't anything I didn't like! The dumplings were scrumptious, the sushi was excellent, the salmon hand roll was weird but tasty... We got a Tuscan Kale salad that I thought I'd hate but it was actually the first time I've really enjoyed kale lol. The beer and cocktails were satisfactory and the Korean BBQ wings were to die for! The one downside is that it can be a bit pricey for the amount of food you get, but it was all very delicious. Our server was kind and friendly, and very helpful. Love this place and will definitely be back! read more

One word~AMAZING! Haven't had a bad thing off the menu. Korean BBQ wings are fantastic. The pretzel bites are really good. Anju Pork dumplings are yummy. White tuna roll is scrumptious. Love the Farm to Face, Tempura Shrimp & Gucci Cali Rolls. And the all out stellar stand out is the Scallop Nigiri-to die for!!! read more

Anju Above - Reflections upon reflections... - Asian Fusion Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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The atmosphere & decor is super cool. Loved it as soon as I walked in. NEW YORK SHEEK. Very interesting rolls on the menu. Tried Thai Tuna, Midwest Roll and Smoked Eel were all fantastic. read more

Anju Above - Very interesting rolls. Can't wait to try Thai Tuna. - Asian Fusion Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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John was the best bartender ever!!! The food was legit!! He gave us the freshest picks! Just ask him! Love shell & Lauren read more

GREAT pizza (not the chicken..), Korean BBQ wings, Kale salad, and Anju Pork dumpling. I did not enjoy the sushi. read more

I'm from Peoria but my favorite sushi establishment here closed (boooo!!) but I've heard great things about Anju Above. We took a day and rode the motorcycle up and we got the Chicken Buns and 3 sushi rolls. The chicken buns were spicy but super good and all of the sushi was GREAT! It's all so fresh and you can taste that freshness! Their menu has something for everyone in my opinion and all looks and smells GREAT! I will def be back!!! (I usually post pictures, but my phone was lost so I don't have the photos anymore, so sad!) read more

Love love love this place. Just ate here and got so much for $50! We got sushi witch was awesome and the margarita pizza which was so yummy. We also got drinks and a appetizer and all under 50$ I will be back every week lol read more

I liked the "everything à la carte" approach, it was a fun place to eat. The way you order there is not as a "meal" it more of a "now I want this, I'll order this", after you eat it, if you're still hungry then you order something else. The wait staff was very nice too and let me try differnet beers before ordering them to make sure I'd like them. Super friend, will definetly go back. The price was a little bit high, but fair for an à la carte style resturant. read more