Hahaha no super bad experience here. I wouldn't have chose here but we left the turkey out so we came here for thanksgiving. One of the few things left open. The reviews had me going. Should have just went to Sams Korean bbq for half the price and better food. I was pretty disappointed on the menu that was handed to me it was about 15 options then people that got sat after us got a golden menu so I felt left out. The food was okay I got beef bulgogi and it was pretty bland. Not even sesame seeds to make it look appetizing. The side of daikon was probably the best thing I ate here. I wouldn't come back or recommend it to any one. Sams KBBQ or You Grill before I come back here. The server dropped the serving plate on me and wasn't too interested in serving us after so made it even worse unfortunately. But he was nice for sure read more

Maru - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

Great place for a date night without the kiddos. Came to experience the table top grilling. It was a lot of fun for me and my hubby. We would do it again. Service was great and place was clean. A+ read more

Maru - Jumuluk (beef) Dak Bulgogi (chicken) - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

This restaurant should be called Marpoo for the owners stinky attitude. The tofu soup was awful. The broth looked and tasted like water with no flavor. When I offered my feedback the owner's reply was poor at best and not customer oriented as she had a s***ty attitude. She did not offer to remake it etc and could care less about retaining her customers. read more

I visited a relative in the area and brought them to Maru. They have ourdoor sitting and we enjoyed their food. We had soontofu, maru pancake, hotpot bibimbop and hotpot bulgogi. I am a Korean and know how decent Korean food should be. Their food overall was okay, I'd say it is pretty decent for the location where you can barely find Koreans around. hotpot bulgogi was delicious, hotpot bibimbop and soontofu were okay and maru pancak was meh. The manager was attentive so I added a start. When I was there, there was an old man throwing tantrum because Maru was only doing outdoor dining. The manager handled him well. read more

Nice "banchan", tasty meal, reasonable price!! My family enjoyed all! Spacious parking lot. read more

Maru - Nice "banchan", tasty meal!!! - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

We waited an hour. We were on the list for next to be seated and they skipped us and stopped serving. Don't waste your time here.

Service: Good service, our waitress was nice and provided all side dishes and water Food: we ordered the rice cake dumpling soup, tofu and kimchi, soybean stew, bulgogi, seafood jeon, and the cold noodles (nengmyun) i had the seafood jeon, soybean stew, and rice cake dumpling soup seafood jeon: very savory and tasty with the soy sauce, a classic korean appetizer soybean stew: slightly spicy with lots of tofu (yay) rice cake dumpling soup: had a peppery flavor with egg and green onions, mandu goes well with the kimchi Ambience: it was casual and a clean environment, not too busy and crowded that night read more

Food: excellent. Banchan side dishes were seasoned well and fresh. Pork bulgeogi didn't have too much fat. Kimchi chigae had plenty of kimchi and Service: excellent. Attentive, friendly, no complaints. Value: a little more pricey than OC. read more

Maru - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

Oh my gosh! The food here is sooo yummy! They've hired some new gals who are awesome servers. Very attentive, drinks & banchan didn't go dry. My most recent visits I've tried & loved the Yangnyeom Chicken, Japchae Bap, So Bulgogi, Ddukbokki... Other favorites here are Bibimbap & Dolsot Bibimbap. Their banchan is yummy. Cucumber Kimchi, White Radish Kimchi, Cabbage Kimchi, Bean Sprouts are all yummy... I don't know what the other kimchi dish was...looked darker than cabbage kimchi but lighter than the Spinach Kimchi from my last trip. I don't love the Spinach Kimchi, but everything else was superb! I want to grill again but it requires 2 meat/seafood orders to grill it yourself... That's enough for for 4-6 people... Soon... read more

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I'm puzzled by the low rating on this place. I'm Korean born Korean and eaten at literally hundreds of restaurants from Korea to all the major cities in US. This place is on par with the best Korean restaurants as far as the taste of their food. I went there three days in a row while staying at La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta. Many years back, Korean restaurants were non-existent in Palm Desert. Now there's a legit one here and it was a very pleasant surprise! We ordred Mandoo, Kalbi, Pork Bulgogi, Soon Tofu Jjigae, Kimchi Jjigae, Bibimbop, and PaJeon was given to us compliments of the Chef. The owner is the chef and he is so nice and came out and talked to us for a while about his past history as a soccer player etc. He is also an avid golfer and gave some good tips to my boys on their golf games. :) If you're expecting a cheap and AYCE Korean BBQ, this is not the place for you. You're not in K-Town Los Angeles. But you can expect great quality home cooking that we Korean are used to growing up. read more

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We don't recommend, little to no staff paying attention, took forever to order and get food, we were still hopeful and excited and love Korean bbq but then they also forgot one of our main dishes and didn't seem to care or compensate for their mistakes. It arrived once everything was finished and it was poor service by management. For this price point and type of food, there are tons of better options with better attentive service, kindness, and better food! read more

There was a waitress who left us for 15min who started the conversation with please wait here while I find you a table... than we had another waitress let us know that 2 parties were ahead of us but she would check to see if anything was available... the original waitress finally came back stating they could not serve us. Disappointed to say the least. I wouldn't recommend this establishment based on price and service. Poor talent poor service poor product :/ read more

Wow!! The best Korean food I've had in years and years!! Let's just say I know authentic Korean food, and I have to say, I was SO pleasantly surprised to come across this place! It smelled so good from the moment I walked in and the food was just as good as I expected!! So authentic, everything made homemade here...I'm so happy I found a good Korean restaurant here! And, their menu items are soooo good. Usually most Korean restaurants have limited options but they have so many items to choose from, I'm so excited to come back and try all these options. So happy to have found a great authentic Korean restaurant! The service was so good too! So nice, totally accommodating my little one who has allergies. All in all, this was a great find with delicious food, great service, great options, and just authentic delicious food!! Will be back often!!! read more

The portion side is smaller than before. We order stir fry with kimchi for $24 and it was 1/2 side compared to before. There were only few pieces of pork. Wonder why this place is empty. There are many restaurant that taste better and portion is bigger. read more

I personally don't leave a review often unless I must. Palm Springs and the vicinity is the almost a necessary exit when we just can't find time to go Vegas. Found a jewel for those who are like me--not because I am Korean LOL--who need to have Korean BBQ at least once wherever you travel. I've been there a few times now and I love that the place is authentic and where the locals go. And MarU is the one for Korean BBQ. As far as I can see the clientele is a mixture of Korean natives and nonKoreans who enjoy authentic food. Out of more then ten Korean restaurants I have seen in the area, it seems like there are only two that survived the pandemic, which is Maru. I personally do NOT enjoy AYCE since it is all you can eat. The Maru owners were so nice to a family with a tot like mine. SO accommodating for families... What else I can say! read more

If new experiences are your thing, this place is intriguing. Didn't understand the menu and staff was not very helpful when asking questions, hence the docked star on review. But, otherwise staff will greet you with friendly smile and serve you accordingly. Food is good and environment clean and comfortable. Been here twice, will be back. read more

Staff was great. Cute robot bringing the food was super cute!! Food was not. used to be good. but for some reason it has gone downhill. Tteokbokki was not so good, coudn't finish it, tasted soapy and flavorless. Kimchi Jjigae was terrible. Used to be good, but what happened? what is this campbell soup? Maybe they were so busy tonight so they're rushing dunno. but we were sad about the quality. Where we gonna go now? read more

We love Korean bbq and this is another good place to add to our list of go to's out here in the desert. Quality of meat was good for table grilling and nice side dishes. The kimchi stew was a little bland but still a good flavor. Would recommend this place and for sure will go back. read more

Service was Quick and friendly so 2 stars We didn't cook so ordered an appetizer and a noodle dish. Both were greasy/Oily and couldn't finish them. I never bothered complaining because it wouldn't do any good. I do read reviews though and appreciate being warned off a place. Without being too critical I simply will not go back to this place. read more

Very good authentic Korean bbq. Diane was very humble and kind; good atmosphere and clean. If your looking for a real Korean Restraunt in the whole valley, come here! Thank you Diane! read more

We love coming here. The food is so great! The staff is always so friendly and welcoming to us and our kids. And the cool even lent my baby her sweater once when we forgot his blanket! We try to come here once a week. You really get your moneys worth on their meals. They are mostly meat not filler veggies like other places we have been. read more

Super fresh Korean food with a little robot that comes by and dropped your food off. Really great service and experience and love the food and flavors. read more

Very happy with this restaurant. I like that you have the option to order it cooked or cook yourself at your table. Food was very good. Can't wait to come back. read more

I had some mix reviews with this restaurant. The decor was beyond beautiful from art pieces to their clay pots. I got Korean cold noodles, I had nostalgia when I used to eat daily in Korea. The cold noodles was not icy enough and their noodles was tough. Didn't feel like it was authentic. My boyfriend got rice and teriyaki was delicious. The prices are reasonable and great service. read more

Lunch special L.A. Galbi was delicious. Hit the spot. Lots of sides. I'm writing this review for the free ice cream read more

This is our favorite hidden gem in the desert! No need for the all you can eat when you can have the best quality of meet and huge portion! The staff are always friendly! Favorite date spot read more

Maru - Spicy pork and beef - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

Having come from SGV where Asian food is more prominent, I was surprised to find a kbbq spot out in the desert. The night I came in, my group opted to try the grill and I was a little disappointed there weren't as much side dishes I'm used to seeing (I.e. they served 3 different kinds of pickled dishes with a side salad) In term of meat, it was all fine.. I think I would opt for table service next time I come back. Service was nice and friendly though ! read more

Do not expect any service here. You don't get greeted by warm welcome or bye. It's absolutely horrible tasting food, especially band chan. Go if you want to burn your $$$. 정말 맛없어요 가지 마세요 주인이 손님을 어떻게 대하는지 보이는 집입니다. read more

Ok not anything to write home about Server was borderline uninterested in making it a memorable meal PRICEY...4.50 for a macaroon I've cream..13.00 for a SMALL bowl of Kimchi soup Good bye read more

Nice trendy environment with flat screen tvs. You have an option to sit at a "grill your own" table or not. We chose the traditional grill your own to get the full experience. Friendly staff which I loved. It was fun and delicious. read more

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Our family was completely taken by surprise at this wonderful Korean restaurant. We live in LA, but this place is much much better than most of the Korean restaurants there, including Korea Town. We had the mandoo and seafood pancakes for appetizer, and cold buckwheat noodles and glass noodles with beef. The food was all excellent, great friendly service. read more

The service was nice and friendly, which is why I'm not giving this place one star. The food, however, had practically no flavor. I ordered a spicy ramen and the noodles were CLEARLY instant noodles, the broth devoid of flavor. I get it, ordering ramen at a Korean BBQ place, what did I expect? Well, I don't expect to pay 10 dollars for a packet of ramen I could get for a buck twenty. Even the bibimbap, which is a mixture of multiple foods, was somehow bland and flavorless. At least they got the rice right. read more

Nice Korean restaurant! The servers were friendly here, and had many options for Korean dishes.. but for grilling.. I suggest you grill bbq for the price for more meats...but if you want more options for Korean foods.. I recommend this place read more

Ordered Toppoki, Bibimap and their bulgogi lunch special (rice, salad, kimchi, 2 dumplings and the entree of beef bulgogi). The food hits all the flavors you'd expect to find a good Korean food spot. Being the desert, it's surprising to find anything authentic like this as one would in the SGV or Koreatown, obviously. Well done food and quick service. read more

Great food! Cool atmosphere! We choose to cook our own meat! Next time we won't the price wasn't any different! It was a bit a bit of work and couldn't enjoy the food as much. The young lady who sat us and took our order, I think was new? She always had to ask someone and leave the table and come back with an answer. We ordered a Ramen Noodle bowl and it states a bowl of rice on menu, she confirmed it and said she'd bring iT when the noodles come out, then when thee nodDles came out 15-20min after our main food we had to cook, she said it didn't include a bowl of rice but if we wanted to buy a book of rice we could? Rice- it's cheap! It's like going to a Mexican restaurant and not get chips & salsa or Italian restaurant and not get bread!! I couldn't believe they wanted us to buy a cup of rice- 1 small scoop of ice cream was the equivalent!! It wasn't cheap to eat here and we bought 2 main course which could feed 2-3 people per main course we were told and you get 2 small bowls of rice? Not good! We probably won't be back - all because of a scoop of rice! read more

Love this place very pricey but a nice treat to have once in awhile so sad that they are still closed for being under construction

Food was amazing . It felt a lil warm in there but that is probably because u can cook your own food . Other than that I recommend it . Great customer service too read more

3rd time in a row now the food quality just gets worse and worse and the portions smaller. Brisket was ver dry and hard to chew, and I only used to come because of their fatty marbley brisket, worse than you-grill in la quinta. Unacceptable for a place that serves a la carte KBBQ read more

We went here with my brother to check out the reputedly best Korean BBQ place in the desert, and were pretty satisfied with the results. Maru opened in 2011 and it seems from the initial reviews that it had a rough first few months. However, that seems to have been sorted out. Service was polite and prompt, and the decor very standard for a casual Korean BBQ place. While the food is not on the level of some of the better places in Koreatown in Los Angeles (where they have some 200,000 Koreans to keep up standards for and to supply them with ingredients), it's pretty authentic. A few notes: Half of the restaurant (the booths) have grills in the tables for BBQ. If you want to grill meat, be sure to tell the staff that you need a BBQ table. Food overall is authentic and authentically flavored, but dialed down in spiciness for their fairly Anglo clientele in the desert. We asked for chile sauce to add to the Yuk Ge Jang (a fairly flavorful beef and vegetable stew) and were each given a small bowl of what was clearly sriracha. However, when I asked for kochujang (the Korean spicy bean paste), the hostess immediately brought us some. A couple spoons of kochujang and a bit of the kimchi juice and it tasted just like in K-town. When we next visit, I will ask if dishes can be made Korean-spicy to begin with. For the actual meat, we ordered chadol (thin-sliced frozen brisket) and jumuluk (thicker slices of ribeye, marinated in sesame). The jumuluk was described as being in a "sweet soy marinade" but it was actually the standard sesame oil marinade, as it's supposed to be done. Meat was good quality. I've seen the sesame oil & salt dipping sauce in different restaurants varying from entirely coarse salt with some roasted sesame seeds, to almost entirely sesame oil. This was clearly on the latter end. I like about a 2:1 sesame:salt ratio, and a bit of salt fixed it immediately. Panchan: the side dishes were of pretty good quality. The pickled cucumbers were particularly good. Kimchi is definitely on the more fermented end of the spectrum, but everyone in my group liked it; I think that mostly comes down to a matter of personal taste, and most people are going to go with how their mom (or their roommate) made it when they first had it. I agree with yelpers who complain that the panchan are not very numerous. We had 5 sides, and none of the fish cake or more exotic condiments. All in all, we were quite happy with the experience. It's as good as any Korean food I had in San Diego, if not quite up to standards of K-town or the East Bay in SF. It made a great change from the French/New American cuisine of most of the local restaurants. I'm looking forward to going back the next time I'm in the desert. read more

This Korea bbq and grill is good I will recommend for the lunch special the portions are good and testy The beef is so juicy read more

Maru - Miso soup needs more miso flavor - Barbeque Near Me - La Quinta, California

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