It was our first time visiting blono, and my family absolutely loved the flavorful, homemade Korean food at Seoul Mama! Highly recommend: - pajeon (seafood pancake) - so crispy and tasty, great seafood ratio, kid-friendly - bulgogi (soy marinated beef) - my kids especially loved this! - tteokbokki (spicy ricecakes) - my husband and i loved this :) All the banchans were delicious, service was v friendly, affordable pricing. Recommend as a michelin bib gourmand nomination :) read more

Got the pork belly samgyupsal. Meat was a bit too oily, and the veggies on top did not pair well with the meat. Side dish banchans were also very lacking. Service was great. I suppose for being one of very few Korean restaurants in town, it'll do, but I would hardly call it authentic. read more

Seoul Mama - Pork belly samgyupsal - Korean Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

A M A Z I N G ! Lunch box pricing, service and fulfillment were terrific. The staff was very helpful in picking dishes being that we had no clue what to order. Everything was delicious, quickly served and tipworthy. read more

For my daughter's birthday, we wanted to get dumplings for our lunch together. Reality Bites in downtown Bloomington has the best dumplings in town, but they were closed due to all the construction. So, we went to Seoul Mama. Well, sorry Reality Bites... Seoul Mama's dumplings may have taken the title of best dumplings in town! I haven't made my decision yet on which are better, so I need to eat a couple hundred more to figure it out. Oh, and all the other food is good too. Been back a second time and still awesome. Highly recommend! read more

I was in town for business and decided to visit this restaurant for a solo dinner. I love Korean food and read some good reviews. I ordered the gimmari for appetizer and beef tofu stew which is my favorite. I have never had gimmari but it was delicious. Piping hot with a great sauce. I wish I could have gotten another order but knew I couldn't eat it all. The stew was also very good, lots of tofu and beef. I was impressed by this small mom and pop restaurant with friendly service. I'll be back every time I visit. So happy I stopped in!!! read more

See all

I love Seoul Mama! The service is always fast and friendly. They're always very helpful with any questions that we may have about the menu. I love going and trying new things and they've always been delicious but it's hard to not get my favorite beef bibimbap stone bowl because it's just so delicious! I do kinda wish they had some fermented kimchi and not just fresh kimchi because that's my preference but after a soju beer or two it's all good. Haha. read more

Perfect service and all the dishes are great. For anyone who like Chinese, Thai, Indian or Japanese, you should add this to your rotation read more

This place exceeded my expectations. Delicious! We ordered online because we were passing through town and starving. We were not sure if we'd make it by closing time. When we arrived 10 mins before closing they still were seating guests. Inside was clean and bright. They were friendly, and our food was ready (I had just ordered it 15 minutes prior). We ate it in the car even though they offered to seat us. They provided all the utensils and a couple bowls. We ordered the beef japchae and spicy popcorn chicken with steamed rice. The best! Everything was piping hot. They gave us a small container of Kim chi, some radish and pickled cucumbers. This was so yummy, I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about it! This experience was 10/10. read more

See all

Food was incredible. Service was also great. Restaurant was clean and modern. Busy Friday evening. We were passing through and looked up yelp reviews for dinner. We got the beef dish, noodles, and mild popcorn chicken. With two drinks and dessert. Will come back while in town again. read more

See all

This is our standard for home style Korean food. Fresh, delicious, good service and authentic! Love it!

We love Seoul Mama. Everything weve tried is delicious. We've tried the tteokbokki & beef bulgogi and will definitely go back

Delicious and flavorful! Lots of options for vegans! I ordered Dubu Gang Jung (sweet and spicy tofu) which was phenomenal! Jeff is amazing, too,l. Ma came out to say hello while I was visiting. read more

Seoul Mama - Dubu Gang Jung (sweet and spicy fried tofu) - Korean Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

I have never eaten here before. I arrived at just the right time because the place filled up quickly and many people were waiting for a table. The service was good, they explained their menu and were thrilled I knew what I wanted. The bibimbap was delicious, warm and inviting, rich and filling. What a gem like this is doing in the middle of nowhere Illinois was a welcome surprise to me. From what they were telling me, they were soon approaching an anniversary, and were still growing. I hope they have a long run but wish they would open a place near me. read more

By far my favorite restaurant in Blono, the Ttukbaegi Bulgogi (spicy) is amazing, the service is always great and the food comes out very quickly. read more

The food was good. The first time in FOREVER that me and hubs ordered the exact same thing! The Banchan was small amounts and small choice, but what they served was good. It was weird that the pickled radishes weren't part of the Banchan, but a separate side? The service was okay. Seemed like they didn't really have enough people working for the amount of traffic they had. They were definitely hoppin' though... read more

Seoul Mama - Banchan + Pickled Radish - Korean Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

See all

4.2/5 Beef galbi was one of the best I ever had. Vegetable fried rice was good. Banchan is very basic. Service was attentive. It filled up around 7 on on a weekday. Everybody around us seemed to enjoy their food. read more

Wow! First time visitor. Everything was fantastic! We started with the Steamed Pork Dumplings. Mr wife had the Beef Stir Fry Ramen. It was so good that we got one to go for our child at home. I tried the Chicken Bulgolgi and had the Beef Hot Stone Bowl. Both were excellent! Well worthy the 45 minute drive. We will definitely be back! read more

Best Korean joint in BloNo. Hot Stone Bowl. You won't be disappointed. If you like heat, the spicy ramen will warm you up. Can't go wrong.

This is the best Korean food I have had in America since returning from living in Seoul in 2014. So many Korean shops try to "Americanize" their food and make it more palatable to Americans, who don't always embrace the spice. Many try to create "fusion" recipes so that they are more easily recognized. While there are options for the non-spice lovers, you will pretty much find anything here that you can find in a Korean "kimbap shop"--kimchi jjigae, sundubu jiggae, tteokguk, tteokbokki, ramen, etc. The only difference between this place and a Korean kimbap shop is the American prices (which are still very reasonable--but you can't beat $2-$4 for a meal in Seoul proper, sorry). Come here. Eat. You will not be sorry. read more

See all

Was in town for work and found this place just driving around. Wasn't sure what to expect since there isn't much Korean food in the area. Walked in and didn't see any Korean people working so I go concerned but don't judge this book by it's cover. Food is delicious. Ordered spicy pork and hot wings. Both were great and huge portions. Pork was a little on the sweeter side and not too spicy. Wings were crispy and tasty even though I took them back to my hotel room. Overall great experience would recommend. read more

Seoul Mama - Spicy pork - Korean Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

Seoul Mama is amazing, and I don't say that lightly. My wife and I tried most things on their menu, and, aside from things that weren't to our personal taste, everything we ever gad was phenomenal. There's a reason this restaurant is always busy, as they serve some of the most delicious and authentic Korean dishes I've had anywhere in my travels, and I miss living nearby. Beyond that, however, the restaurant itself is clean, well-kept, and cozy, with a small family business feel. The real thing that makes Seoul Mama one of the most memorable experiences, however, is how they treated my wife and I. In small ways, through recommendations, discussion, and just trying to truly connect with their customers, this is one of the few times in my life where I felt my business, and even just my presence when I visited, was genuinely appreciated. This business is worth your time, your wallet, and I hope you appreciate them as much as I did. If I lived nearby still, I'd give them my business whenever I could. read more

Very good! Stopped for lunch. Will come back again. Enjoyed the appetizer dishes/bowls/whatever they're called. read more

Top notch service and great food! The bulgogi was delicious! We were celebrating a birthday and all 15 of us enjoyed our food.

I came here to eat as I was in the area for work travel. I originate from the DFW area which has a lot of Korean cuisine which I eat fairly often. I got tired of American food in the Bloomington area, so I thought to try this place out and see how it is. The waitstaff were kind and very attentive. I ordered the gimmari appetizer and a soondubu tofu soup. The banchan was nice but limited (only three dishes). The gimmari was well fried and had good flavor. The soondubu had the option for no spice, mild, and spicy. My spice tolerance isn't that great, so I selected "mild", but I felt that "mild" was not spicy whatsoever. Overall, I enjoyed the food, and would come back again if I am ever in the area again. read more

Seoul Mama - Gimmari - Korean Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

See all

As i was in town for something at ISU, I stopped in here for some lunch. A bit on the pricier side overall, the food flavor was good. I ordered the pork bibimbop and while I didn't specify for it to be the dolsot version, that's what came. The side dishes with the kimchi seasoning were really good. The non-kimchi side was bland and didn't taste as good. Still, for being one of the only korean restaurants in the area, they hold fairly authentic flavors and dishes. They are worth checking out for Korean food in the area. read more

Seoul Mama - Side dishes - Korean Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

See all

What a great discovery!! The bibimbap was on point! We came back again in a week! Server was very sweet! Cute cosy place ! read more

Seoul Mama - Stir fried ramen - Korean Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

See all

Great flavors and friendly staff. Easy to get to and fun menu. Good choices for those who like mild and those who like some spice.

First time here trying our Seoul Mama w/my girl and it was worth it. Not many Asian restaurants in Southern IL. We had the Korean chicken wings (soy garlic flavor), vegetable japchae, and kimchi jjigae, and variety of sides. It tasted like Korean home cooking. I heart Korean fried chicken so I had to try that as well. It was good, but the sauce could be stickier and sweeter. We really enjoyed the the kimchi jjigae soup w/rice it was just warm and comforting on a rainy night. We were seated swiftly and the place was simple and clean. The staff was nice and attentive. Definitely, plan on coming back to try more of the menu. The food was delicious. read more

See all

The food was very good. For an appetizer, we had fried pork dumplings. For the entree, we both had beef bulgogi, which was delicious. The flavor is great. Korean wine was good as well. It's always in my top five for the area. We'll be back to try some other dishes. read more

Let me put you on some DELICIOUS Korean food! This place has such a wide variety of yummy dishes from japchae glass noodles, Korean fried chicken, ramen! Everything we had was delicious and the people working were nice and super helpful. My absolute favorite was the Tteokbokki which is rice cakes that you dip in their house sauce. Definitely try the Milkis drink with your meal, it is a yogurt, carbonated drink that is so tasty! read more

See all

Highly recommend coming here! Great food and really amazing service. Prices aren't bad either. It can get pretty busy so make sure you've got enough time read more

We continue to appreciate Seoul Mama as one of our local favorite restaurants. We went with our usual orders - beef bulgogi, tofu bibimbap - as we've found they never disappoint. My youngest tried something new and had a ramen soup. She added dumplings and kimchi to the soup so it took the heat up a bit, but she loved the flavor. We also love how they start with serving kimchi as that tided us over until our main meal arrived. We were there on a night where they were busy with traffic in the restaurant as well as carry out orders. The servers did a great job of coming around refilling our water and giving us more kimchi to help us bridge when our meal was ready. We'll worth the wait (as usual)! read more

See all

What a friendly place. I had not eaten Korean food in the past but it was recommended so I tried. I told the lady that I do not eat rice, noodles or potatoes and needed her help as to what to order and she was more than happy to help. I ordered Cabbage rolls as a starter and the pork belly for an entree. The Cabbage rolls were very good. I think I expected them to be hot but they were not. They were not supposed to be, I just didn't know. The pork belly was a real treat. It was thinly sliced, pan fried, had a sweet glaze and was finished with vegetables on top. It is normally served with a side of rice. They also brought out small plates that were included. Kim chi , pickled cucumber and some kind of potato. They continued to refill these throughout the meal. I had heard of kim chi but had never tried it. I am still no expert on Korean food but I was very satisfied here. read more

Easily the best restaurant in Normal. Love the food and the service is great. The waitress is super nice and gave us Korean apple soda on the house. Always will go back. read more

The staff was really friendly.. The wait time was short. It was out first Korean food experience.. the beef bulgogi was flavorful. The vegetables in the chicken bibimbap were perfectly cooked. The kimchi was spicy but mixed well with the beef. It was an enjoyable experience. We will return. We were excited to try something new and forgot to take pictures. The bibimbal was beautiful with all the bright colors from the purple cabbage, spinach, and carrots. read more

One of our favorite spots in town now!!! I wrote a review right when they opened just a little over a year ago...they have really figured things out and stepped it up! Their food is amazing and their service is great. Knowledgable and attentive staff. And excellent specials to boot. I highly recommend the Korean Chicken (we like it spicy with pineapple). You can't go wrong with the Beef or Pork Bulgogi and when you're able to do dine in again - the hot stone sizzling Bibimbap is also quite a treat. With the current lockdown in progress we called for delivery. Food was hot and plenty of it :) Can't say enough good things. Support this place if you can. yes, my photos are from several visits...I tend to take them and forget to post right away. Hope it just shows I'm a fan. Enjoy! read more

See all

A frank review- I am not a local. But I have grown up eating amazing Korean food all my life in South Korea, NYC, LA, Chicago and Boston. Service: 5/5 Staff was super nice, attentive and prompt. Cost Effectiveness: 3/5 Banchan (side dishes) is the bare minimum requirement for any meal you order. The fact that some dishes require you to pay for banchan felt like too much. Also, we got very little amounts for the 4 side dishes we got. We have never gotten so little. Usually restaurants give 5-8 different side dishes with generous portions FOR FREE. **Also-- the ramen they use is a famous instant ramen called "Shin Ramen" that is available to purchase in most American grocery stores. It's like $2 a pack. Just a tip if you wanna also make it yourself! Food: 4/5 We got the tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). It was a bit sweet but it was still delicious. The only thing is...they charged to put fish cakes and boiled egg in there!! I've never been to a Korean restaurant where they charge for that. In this dish, it is EXPECTED that there are rice cakes, fish cakes and a hard boiled egg. The rest like noodles and cheese are typical add ons. Presentation: 3/5 The dish we got is usually served in a wide dish or pan that isn't too deep. Our tteokbokki was served in a huge bowl that was deep. It just didn't seem appealing to me, since I know how it's supposed to be served. Authenticity: 3.5/5 The food tastes good, but don't think everything on the menu is Korean Korean. Like the cabbage wrapped dumping on the menu-- never heard of that until I came here. Bacon as an add on for ramen? Not a thing. I think it's pretty fusion-y and experimental in that aspect. Nothing wrong with experimental fusion--as long as you don't think all Korean cuisine is like that. read more

Very happy every time we get carry out from Seoul Mama. The food is bright and exciting. If you want to try something a little off the beaten path they are defiantly worth a try. read more

Chicken wings were great. Crunchy exterior. Moist. The mild sauce was mildly sweet and delicious. Seafood tofu soup was also very good, although a little light on squid. The mixed in scrambled style egg swirl seems to take away from the presentation a bit. A single cracked egg may have been better. Both we're better than I expected for Bloomington. The one thing that I would say is a slight negative would be the sides. Kimchi, dikon, and potato strings were okay, but usually Korean restaurants have more variety in the sides. I wouldn't mind paying for them to get more variety. Service was decent, slightly above average. There was a bit of a wait as they were quite busy when I arrived. read more

Seoul mama is unmatched in the Korean market for central Illinois. Everything on the menu is amazing the standouts though are for sure the beef bulgogi and the spicy chicken. Nothing more to say aside from you're missing out not trying it. A few down sides though are the location is rather small so it doesn't take much for them to become really busy so you may have to wait if dining in. Their hours are a lil weird and the prices are a lil high. But the quality justify any negative comment. 10/10 read more