Very friendly staff; free WiFi; clean and organized throughout. Very good selection on the menu. Beer served with cold glass (without even asking for it). Very nice lighting. It's not a big place so be sure to call ahead if you have a large party. read more

Used to be my go-to for Korean food in Madison but I won't go there anymore. I ordered the Korean Fried Chicken and it STINKS, probably in their fridge for years. I was devastated cus I ate one already. We didn't get any apologies or compensations after we pointed out the chickens are bad. NEVER GOING AGAIN. read more

This place has potential. The location is near the main Capitol Square and I was really craving some good Korean food, unfortunately this place has some work for improvement. Walking inside, the decor is really confusing. If they took away their old holiday lights and bulbs, I think it would create a better less over stimulating interior. The menu is simple, not many offerings so I decided on the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap & steamed Mandoo. The waitress was a young girl and very nice & was quick with my water but didn't ask if I wanted anything else for a beverage. The ban Chan was good, the Kim Cher was great. My Bi Bim Bap came out first and then the mango came out later. The rice bowl was good though the sunny side up egg was over cooked. The yolk was hard and didn't give me the golden gravy I so enjoy on a dish like this one. The mandoo is such a disappointment. It tasted from and mushy, and it had a very strong chicken bouillon flavor. At first I thought it was the shoyu - so I tasted the soy sauce & I could immediately taste that it was Kikkoman. I tried a second dumpling and discovered it was the mandoo filling. I told the waitress about and she told me the mandoo was frozen & not homemade & apologized for it but still left it on my tab. I know it's now her fault - but had I known it was frozen, I wouldn't have ordered it. I don't recommend this place to eat at. If the Mandoo was frozen, I can imagine what else isn't authentic. For the price they're charging, it really seems like they're taking too many shortcuts to their guests. Enjoy. :) read more

Having recently moved from Verona to Down Town Madison (2 weeks from today's post/share) the number of restaurants or bars one may never have tried will become very common for your week/weekend activities. Thus choosing Sol's rather than going to our "normal/frequent" spots. At 7:15pm the small clean place was packed! A quick glance around we felt like we were from out of town. While waiting to be seated, there was a young couple eating. It looked like they just received their food . But then they got up and left. I was both shocked and slightly worried to see that much food go to waste! sad! Anyway, our waiter was very friendly!! Sake (wine) was very clean and tasty. Ordered the spicy pork with 4 sides. And seafood/potato pancake. Very impressive! Great taste and plenty full. Took leftovers home and can't wait to polish down later. We will frequent as it's now a 10 minute walk. read more

Sol's On the Square - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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We really enjoyed the food here! I got the sweet potato noodles with beef and my partner got a noodle soup. Our server was excellent and really great with our toddler (who enjoyed his white rice). read more

My roommate and I went to Sol's in search of something new and we loved the food! I got the budae jigae and my roommate got the bibimbap and we also got tteokboki as an appetizer. It was all very good! read more

3.5 stars. I would love to support small businesses, and this one is no exception, though I feel that the cooking style does not fit my personal taste. I have come here twice and have tried: kimchi pancake, seafood pancake, japchae, soondobu (tofu) soup, bulgolgi jeongol, spicy kimchi soup, and osam bulgogi (grilled squid and pork). The best items were the kimchi pancake and osam bulgogi. The pork in the osam bulgogi was tasty and flavorful and the kimchi pancake was nice and crispy. I felt that everything else was overwhelmingly sweet (including the japchae, bulgolgi jeongol - though that was described as a sweet stew). I felt that the soondobu was a little thin compared to some other places and did not have the same hearty flavors. The sides were tasty though. In addition, they have very tasty (and inexpensive) drink specials. Sweet dream tasted just like the Melona honeydew bars and sol's passion had a bit of sourness to it. White moon was also tasty. I hope this business continues to do well, but personally I feel the food is a bit sweet for my taste. read more

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Came here on a rainy day while on vacation looking for something that tasted like home (Madison is known for tons of beer and fried food). Glad to say this place hit the spot! It's delicious. Loved the Soondubu! Authentic flavors and tastes just like how my boyfriends mom makes it! read more

$21 gets you this. Had a similar bad experience a few months back with bibimbap but decided to give it a second chance. My takeout bag felt very light. Sure enough I got about maybe 6 pieces of tonkatsu. Don't waste your money and time. read more

Sol's On the Square - Tonkatsu - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

We're in Madison, and shocker, it's COLD. A hot bowl of soup + noodles is perfect for cold nights. I got the bulgogi tugbaegi and it was delicious! This place is *AUTHENTIC*; Korean restaurant with Korean workers. And you know you're in a good, legit spot when more than half the customers are Asian. read more

Sol's On the Square - S8. Bulgogi Tugbaegi - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Came here for dinner with some friends, and the food was amazing. The staff were all extremely friendly, and they even humored my poor Korean speaking. read more

Their spicy pork was fantastic! I always try to search out good Korean food when I travel. This place qualifies as really good! Service was also top notch, even though I arrived for lunch almost at the time they close for their afternoon break. Great place. read more

I kind of really miss Korean food that I used to get when I lived in the Northeast. I wasn't super impressed with Sol's. We came in here after seeing a play at the Bartell Theater. The staff were incredibly nice. They brought out the standard banchan at the beginning of our meal. I ordered the Dolsot Bibimbap in the stone bowl. Unfortunately, the rice didn't sizzle for very long so I didn't get to eat the fried rice that I like to eat. The beef in it was pretty good though. I also got an Iced Green Tea Latte. It was sweet. I don't really know how I feel about it. I didn't finish it because I wasn't that excited about it. My boyfriend ordered the Soondoobu. It also wasn't super hot. It boiled a bit, but not for long. read more

Awesome Korean! Get the extra spicy... it makes the dish!! Chapchae and anything with squid is super tasty. Enjoy a great meal

Last Thursday was the most anticipated day for me, after being "rejected" on Wednesday. While the news on Isthmus only stated that this restaurant opens everyday from 11am-11PM, I didn't expect that that they would be on break during 3.30 till 5.30 PM (my Korean friend did tell me about this, as that is how Korean restaurant usually operates in Korea). My other Korean friends have been posting on facebook about the opening of this new restaurant since a couple of weeks ago. For me, it is always a good sign if the native of the food is excited about the restaurant of which they can be the standard of judgement. That night we were so lucky that we got the last seat. It was around 7 PM and the restaurant was full. I guess it was partly due to the number of few seats the restaurant has and also due to the excitement of Madisionian for the new place. Some people after us left as there was not any spot available. About the service, it was pretty quick (as I was told earlier by a friend who came the day before during dinner time that it took her and her boyfriend about 30 minutes to finally devour their toppoki and the cold noodle, but she said it was worth waiting). The waiter was nice and was responsive when I asked her about the menu. My Korean friend of course was speaking about the menu and the order in their native language, which I really love and I enjoyed their conversation so much. So, my bias about the service is already detected. About the food, we ordered Toppoki, beef Bulgogi and the American-Korean fusion noodle (too bad it's with spam, so I didn't get to taste it, but my Korean friend said it tastes like it's served in Korea and they served it in the pot- Korean doesn't serve the noodle in the bowl, but it should be in the pot - I learned it from the dramas and my Korean friend confirmed it.). As for the Toppoki, it came in a smaller portion (I'm comparing with the portion served in another Korean restaurant in town) however, it is much tastier and the appearance is more similar with the one that I usually see on Korean dramas I watched (It comes with egg too and that's how it is usually served in Korea). I love their toppoki as it serves my taste bud just right. It may be way too spicy for those who do not like spicy food. The bulgogi which has a variety of meat from beef, chicken, pork and seafood (plus 2 bucks for seafood) is okay. Yeah, too bad I can't give a very good review for this. I may have been too excited for the toppoki, so the taste of the bulgogi doesn't really leave some strong taste. By the way, bulgogi in Korea is always beef, so if you want to taste the "real" bulgogi, just order the beef one, not other meat. The side dishes they provided were cucumber pickles (I'm not a big fan of pickles, but this one is super fresh and good, ask the waitress to give you one, if they don't give you any), the lettuce and green onion which is a great side dish and kimchi which is another average. My overall experience eating here is good and I'll be back. I asked my Korean friend about the food and she said: "The menu is very limited but the ones that we ordered, I can say, are authentic". There you go: a Korean compliments the food at a Korean restaurant. They need to work on more on the service in general but cut them some slack, as they just opened a week ago. read more

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My sister always brings jiggae and tang (and one time bulgogi) take out from this place and I love it! Major kudos to Korean restaurants... a lot of these dishes are served on a hot stone plate/pot with all these side dishes... with COVID, some of that experience is lost with take out and delivery. What my sister and I do is reheat the soup over the stove to get it piping hot again and fluff up the rice in a bowl and microwave it. read more

The food is excellent. Perhaps the best Korean food in Madison. Some of the dishes seem a bit more like a traditional home cooked meal in the best sort of way. My go-to are the big soups to share. It's a ton of food for only a little over $30. The service is excellent too. They once made a mistake with a takeout order but they fixed it immediately and make it right without any difficulty. read more

When I walked in the door I was initially unimpressed. I asked two different servers whether there were any vegan options and nobody seemed to have any clue. Finally a manager passed on the word that the BiBimBap could be made vegan and we decided to grab a table and stay for dinner. The food was very, very good. Ben got the spicy noodle bowl and I got the BiBimBap rice bowl which came with kim chi, seaweed, pickled cucumbers, and a really tasty spicy sauce. Everything was HOT, but we were both members of the clean plate club at the end of the meal. I'll be back! read more

Sol's On the Square - BiBimBap without the egg or beef, plus kimchi. Yum! - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Wow. Why did it take me so long to get food from here? So far I've tried a noodle soup, kimchi pancakes, dumplings, and donkatsu...it was all amazing. And arrived pretty promptly! Cant wait to try more of the menu. read more

The service was great and the food was delicious! Was a nice reminder if my time in Korea as a child.

We ordered the Ddeok Bokki (and received the Budae JJigae) hot pot, beef Bibimbap, and pork Bulgogi, for a total of $65 after tip. The hot pot is a family style pot of spicy goodness, with rice cakes, ramen, and sweet potato noodles along with slices of spam, ground seasoned beef, sausage and kimchi. It sits atop of a tabletop gas kerosene burner and is more than enough for two people. Don't be alarmed when it first arrives at your table, as the broth is clear, the spicy red chili paste is at the bottom, waiting to bubble up to the top. Not usually a fan of spam, but this dish will make you want to eat everything that's in the pot. The pork bulgogi was a plate of chopped, seasoned pork, not what I was used to with New Seoul where it arrives as one solid strip of meat. It was a bit greasy, but deliciously seasoned nonetheless. We ordered the bibimbap in a hot stone bowl ($1 extra). It was very good with generous portions of sauteed vegetables, radish, and beef. They didn't skimp on the rice either. Banchan that day was pickled radish, kimchi, daikon, and fish cakes - all refillable. I am going to echo many reviews before me, although we did have a very friendly male waiter, but there was a female waitress that did not seem concerned with this concept called 'customer service'. When we had been seated and ordered for 20 without water or banchan, we notified her and she just replied, "yeah, you'll get it". read more

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I went here with my family. In general, this place was alright. We had bulgogi and the spicy rice cake. The bulgogi was fine, perhaps a little too sweet, but good. The spicy rice cake was disappointing. There was too much water to begin with, so it took forever to cook that all into the thick, spicy rice cake sauce. But more than that, the type of rice cake wasn't the correct kind for this dish. They used the rice cake used for soups, instead of the traditional long, cylindrical kind (Koreans NEVER make it with the thinly-sliced, soup one). That's fine, but they should have told their customers that they ran out and not to expect the proper kind. Even more than that, once we asked the waiter about it, the kitchen told him to say, "this is always how we make it." I said that wasn't true because I had seen photos that other customers had posted from this restaurant, and those times it came out properly. They didn't have a response for that. While we were annoyed that they didn't tell us beforehand and didn't make it properly, more importantly, they acted in an unprofessional manner (lying to customers). Otherwise, I would've given them another star. read more

Sol's On the Square - Spicy rice cake, with incorrect type of rice cake - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Like the rating says, it was just OK. The housemade pan fried dumplings had a great tasting filling but came off being a little too greasy for my taste. Bulgogi was acceptable, nothing earth shattering. I also tried a spicy seafood soup special that came with shrimp, clams, and mussels. While the broth definitely had a great umami taste and spiciness, I was put off by the 5-6 unopened mussels that remained in the soup. This not only questions the freshness of the ingredients but also the attentiveness of the kitchen as they should have been removed before serving. Another annoyance is that as of last week, they just received their liquor license but still not serving beer (only cocktails). Hard to wash down the food drinking a cosmopolitan or a gin rickey. read more

Had the octopus beef dish- delicious and spicy. Came out hot and steaming. Also tried their melon ice cream cocktail- sweet dream. Definitely a sweeter drink- comparable to having a sweet martini. The honeydew flavor is nice though. Would love to try more food. read more

Sol's On the Square - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This place is lacking decor. There were poster boards plastered on the walls with sharpie written specials. The back area was piled with cardboard boxes and extra supplies from the kitchen. The light fixtures are dusty. Whole thing was unappealing. The food was mediocre at best. I got the lunch combo with spicy pork. The presentation of the plate was horrific. It was served in a sectional tray with dividers pit multiple items were shoved into each section. The kimchi was...eh. Very disappointed with the japche, it didn't even have any sesame oil flavor but was very greasy. The spicy pork was just gross. The one guy working there seemed incredibly overwhelmed. He was running around seating people, taking orders, bussing tables, and everything else. Very disappointing experience. It was very cheap though. read more

I loved their bimbimbap! It's was very fresh and a huge portion. Their red sauce was very yummy and wasn't too salty.

I go to Sols regularly. I've loved everything I've had there except the chicken ginseng soup. That was pretty tasteless, even though I added all the salt they gave me. Everything else, though, has been wonderful. The pork deopbab is probably my favorite. My husband loves the hot stone bulgogi. The japchae and beef galbi are also delicious! read more

This is not the fanciest of downtown eateries. But what it lacks in physical beauty, it gains is form and function. The staff is warm and inviting. It is very much a family run business. I have not been very adventurous on the few times I have eaten here. But I hope to explore more. I have stuck to small bites and rice dishes mostly. I have not tried anything not to my liking. To order take away is as fast and as generous as eating in. read more

What a great little surprise Sol's was! Kind, quick service and baby friendly. The spicy pork was steaming and had just the right amount of spice. The soft tofu soup was packed full of tofu and was quite spicy. My husband said the same for the kimchi soup, had a lot of tofu and kimchi in it. Parked just around the corner in some public parking, so we didn't have any trouble with that. It area was very busy (drive wise) at 5:00 pm (typical I'm sure!) But we found Sol's very easily. We would definitely come back if we are in the area again! read more

Ordered delivery. 2 orders of galbi, one pork katsu, and one galbi tang soup for 2 adults. Thought we would have leftovers but we did not. The amount of food was lacking. Each order of galbi was $30 and it was a very sad-looking portion size. I also ordered 2 drinks but they never got delivered. Unsure if that mistake is on the delivery driver or on the restaurant. Our meal total was $120. Pretty expensive for small portions. The galbi tang soup was the best dish by far - the meat was so tender and tasty, which is why I gave 3 stars. For ordering 4 entrees, we should have received 8 side dishes (per the delivery menu, each entree we ordered was supposed to come with 2 side dishes and white rice). We only got 3 side dishes. I am disappointed with the amount of food we got for the price. I understand Korean food is expensive which is why I was okay spending $120 for 2 adults; however, the food we received was not worth the price. read more

Sol's On the Square - My $30 order of galbi. Disappointed for sure. Serving size should be bigger for the price. - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Sol's is a wonderful little restaurant. The food was outstanding and the service was excellent. The bibim bob is especially good, get the version that is cooked in a stone pot, the rice gets nice and crispy on the bottom. They provide lots of side dishes, all very tasty especially the kim chi. The prices are very reasonable. They had an excellent wine too. read more

I have been to this restaurant twice. They definitely have unique dishes and drinks as well. The first time I went I got the bipbimbap with chicken. This was my first time trying this dish. It was good but I did not as for it spicy so kind of bland for my taste. That being said those it did have good flavor I just prefer it a little spicier for. The next time I came here I got the chicken curry dish. This was so good, it was sweet, savory and had just a little bit of kick to add to it. Overall Sol's is a great find and is great if you are looking for something a little different or adventurous. read more

What a great find this gem is! My friend had her birthday dinner here and it was just divine. I think the highlight of this place is their service. They are speedy, accommodating, and do not miss a beat! Our food was served piping hot as it was ready, no water glass ever hit the empty mark, and the staff all worked as a team to ensure prompt service. My only complaint is that the sweet potato noodle dish was drowning in sauce. In the future, I would ask them to go light on the sauce for the one. But their fried rice was SO YUMMY!!! I'm salivating just thinking about it. The calamari was cooked perfectly. If you're not into spicy, I would advise passing on the kimchi they offer as an appetizer. However, the sweet potato appetizer was amazing with the perfect touch of sweetness. I can't wait to go back and try other dishes here! I was particularly in awe of whatever dish they offer that involves a lit stovetop being delivered to your table. It seemed like some sort of ramen dish? I dunno. Whatever it was, it was cool looking and I am definitely having that next time! read more

The food here is pretty good. I think it's probably the most consistent korean food in the Madison Area. A lot of places are good one day then iffy the next but sols seems to always be good. I love the galbi and all the side dishes are wonderful too. Also I find that the bibimbap here tends to be more flavorful than at other places. It is a bit pricey but then again korean food usually is. read more

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Fried calamari was delicious (the whole tentacle kind, not the frozen ring garbage). The main dishes come with these 4 small authentic Korean dishes. Service was a little slow, but the owner delivered our food and apologized which was nice. I would come back here read more

Sol's On the Square - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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My girlfriend and I stop by for lunch our first time at the restaurant. We ordered the Chive ManDoo dumplings as a starter, thinking it was vegetarian (had pork in them-:(. We ordered 3 lunch entrees Tofu bibimbap, and another bibimbap with spicy pork & extra beef bulgogi, and spicy squid bulgogi. It was good but not 'wow' when I had better in DC, LA and Seoul. Giving it a 3 star. Our one suggestion base on what we ordered would be to add less rice in the bibimbap and more vegetables to balance it well. Overall, service was excellent, food was good. Our lunch bill came to $59(not including tips) which includes 2Asian pear punch drinks. read more

Sol's On the Square - Bibimbap with extra beef bolgogi & spicy pork - Korean Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Chose to go to this restaurant because my first choice was closed. I guess I'm too used to chicago's accurate and delicious Korean food. Ordered the kimchi stew, menu said it contained pork. Found that pork to be hickory smoked bacon. So disgusting. Other than that the side dishes were nice. They charge after the first refill of side dishes. Extra rice was average 1-2$ Soju was 15$ a bottle, kinda crazy compared to 8.50 bottles at restaurant and 5$ from the store. Compared to the food I've eaten in Niles, Chicago, etc I guess I never thought a restaurant with actual Koreans would be this bad. Super disappointing but at least now we know not to go back. Ever. read more

Overall, very solid. For the price, more than enough food. Quite and good service too. Unlimited side dishes was incredible

The day after Xmas (2020) I picked up a big order for my small family. 4 entrees for 4 people plus a multi-order of 2 types of appetizers. Everything was delicious, a real treat! I've had food from Sol's in the past, both eat in and take out. The owners are very nice people, and their English is coming along very well. I've usually gotten food there in the winter, most often 1 of my favorite soups, or sometimes just a couple appetizers. But for a group, even a small group, we went with more solid foods. The entrees were Teriyaki chicken, fried rice w/ pork (comes topped with a sunny side up egg), beef bulgogi, and curried rice with a combination of meats (chicken, beef, pork and shrimp, by special request). I could have called about my special request, but instead I just typed it in the request/instructions with my online order. The extra charge was $1.89, which I think was very reasonable to get something special for my eldest bro-in-law who is of Japanese anscestory. The appetizers were 2 orders of calamari and 4 orders of chicken egg rolls. All the entrees also include their own sides (I fondly refer to collectively as "Korean salad"). With a very good tip (because I can), the total was about $123.00, and worth every bit of it for the feast we had, and plenty of leftovers. Pickup is easier than ever, since there's so little traffic downtown during the pandemic. And every web app should be like what Sol's is using, which lets you select your pickup (or delivery) time days in advance - and I realize that also helps Sol's make sure they're not over-booked for any particular time slot. Sol's is located next to the Bartell Theatre, which is sadly not able to have performances now due to the pandemic. When the Bartell is open again, I hope Sol's will still be there, too, so I can have dinner and a show at these wonderful places. In the meantime, I'll get carry out again soon from Sol's. read more

I've been gone a while and just got back from a business trip to South Korea so my post here may be a little bias. The location is great. Literally downtown next to the square and is extremely close to any/all things near central Madison. Once you walk into the restaurant you notice that they need to work on their ventilation system. The air is thick and the smoke from the cooking fills the air which automatically made my friends and I cough. You begin to get use to it after a few minutes but it'll leave a smell on your clothes for the rest of the day. The menu is very good and there's a good variety to choose from. The drink menu could use some work though. Only 5 cocktails on the menu and the beer selection is pretty sparse. One other thing to note is each dish comes with 4 sides. You don't pick the sides. They're all just the same and they come with your meal. So kimchi, spiced cucumbers, sprouts and seasoned potatoes are what you'll get. Once we got the main course though it all came to a full circle for me. I left South Korea a week ago and came home to a place that reminded me of the food that I left. Very authentic dishes with fresh vegetables in each. I wasn't disappointed with my choice. The bulgolgi wasn't seasoned like I remembered from SK but I honestly preferred this restaurants seasoning over SK. All-in-all it was a legit Korean restaurant with a good variety of meals to choose from. Again, the drink menu isn't that great but you can get drinks anywhere nearby, so go for the food because it's hard to come by good Korean food like this in Wisconsin. read more