Review Maru Korean Bistro - North Vancouver

Out of the 4 dishes we ordered. I can recommend the Five Spiced Pork Belly on the Rice and the Seafood & Veg. Pancake. The presentation of the rice bowl is perfect and the pancake has a good variety of seafood with a bit of crunch of it. However, that's not something I can say about the other two dishes unfortunately...The Pork Neck Bone Soup is way too spicy, even though it's not stated to be spicy like the others. The Soy Garlic Korean Fried Chicken has no taste of garlic at all. It's pretty much fried chicken dipped in soy sauce.

Love the Korean fried chicken here but the other dish isn’t the best. I wish the menu has pictures of the food so I can have a better idea of what I’m getting. The portion is quite big so I think it would be better to go with a bigger group so you can order and try more dishes.

This is by far the best option for Korean food on the North Shore. The service was outstanding, food was wonderful and much better than expected even with the high reviews (had the pork belly bowl, seafood pancake (sooo good!), tofu soup, and KFC). All of it was delicious, I will certainly be coming back and bringing friends often.

Great traditional and modern Korean food and friendly service! Tables are well distanced to follow covid protocols, which was very appreciated.

Every meals are just perfect! Large but bit old place. Price is fair. $165.90 for 5 people (without tips)

This place had really good fried chicken (was so good, I kept eating before taking a picture) and the seafood pancake was great too!

Excellent customer service, kind servers and awesome korean food! Must try the entire menu!

Clearly the best Korean restaurant in the area! Excellent food at a reasonable price and good service. My favourites are Bibimbap, KFC and Japchae.

My partner and I have been coming from the beginning 'soft opening' about 2 years ago*? We can always count on INCREDIBLE food. The flavours, presentation, and price points are spot on. My favourite dishes are the Yukgaejang (Spicy beef soup) , their Korean Fried Chicken (with spicy sauce) and all the lettuce wraps are all delicious with generous portions. Also the side dishes! yum. Their new menu is awesome and has information on some popular dishes which makes this place perfect for someone new to Korean cuisine. I really think there is something for every taste here. The staff are so friendly and always make us feel at home. I will continue to recommend Maru to everyone as my favourite spot to eat on the North Shore and even Vancouver. Great atmosphere, food and people, you can't go wrong! Thank you Maru!

When I drove past Maru, I thought it was a nice addition to the North Van food scene. Of course, when the opportunity arose for me to try Maru for lunch I jumped on it. The Maru experience did not disappoint. The decor was modern and clean. The food was a fresh take on the traditional Korean fare with a nice presentation on every plate. I ordered the pork jowl ssam and Korean fried chicken as appetizer. I really liked that the beautifully fried chicken were resting on a bed of crispy and chewy tteok/rice cakes. The pork jowl came on a sizzling plate that did not sizzle but it was delicious. If it had come sizzling it would have gain more points in my books - and perhaps a fifth star on this review. Service was warm and expedient. They have other ssams and dishes on the lunch menu that sounds really good. I'll definitely be back.

We tried Maru for the first time last night and the food was amazing! Everything tasted unique and so flavourful. Anyone on the North Shore, you have to try this place, also well worth the trip from Vancouver (it's a quick walk from the Seabus).

First real experience with authentic Korean food ! Very good. Very generous portions, so order wisely. Just spicy enough, as long as you enjoy spicy cooking !

So tasty and creative. Clean and fast. I enjoy every single meal.

I am sure "MARU" will be hot place in north vancouver. Beautiful and unique plating, lovely taste. It is real Korean food. You must visit here !!

Wrote about it on my yelp! Check it out if you have some time

동일아 축하 한데이... 개업 오픈식이 언제지???

We did not expect to eat Korean food outside Coquitlam. Maru Korean Bistro is a huge surprise for us.<br/><br/>We ordered a lettuce wrap with short ribs which comes with a stone bowl of tofu soup, a bowl of rice, and some Korean side dishes. The food was delicious with a generous portion. We also ordered a Korean cold buckwheat noodle with pork (Mul Naengmyun) from the lunch special menu. We can't believe it when the dishes arrive. It was too good for a lunch menu.<br/><br/>Maru Korean Bistro is located at 125 2nd Street East, North Vancouver, BC. It is near the Lonsdale Quay, and it is a gem on the North Shore.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>📝📝<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Food: 🍽🍽🍽🍽 🍽 MustTry!<br/>Service: 👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳👩‍🍳<br/>Kids: 👶👶👶 A-Ok for Kids !<br/>Price: 💲💲$30-$50 for two (lunch)<br/>Presentation: 📷📷📷📷<br/>Parking: along with neighbouring streets parking <br/>Tips:<br/>📝accepts dine-in or takeout with safety measures during pandemic. <br/>📝has a good assortment of dishes. <br/>Would I Return: Yes 🙋‍♀️

After snowshoeing around, we were starved and ready for a late lunch. We’ve heard that there are a couple quality Korean places in North Van so decided to try out Maru Korean Bistro. Signs inside and out. We dropped in on a Saturday afternoon (around 1:45pm). Didn’t realize the restaurant was so massive. We were seated in the front which had great lighting, cute plants and reminded me of being in a greenhouse.

En route back to Vancouver, we stumbled across this Korean food restaurant with a modern twist. The pork belly stone bowl rice is delicious and well marinated. The fried udon had almost more bulgogi beef than noodle! Yum!

Video review on my youtube channel: vancity food crew maru korean bistro<br/>.<br/>This place was recommended to me by a friend and I was very impressed. I had a korean fried chicken and rice roll happy hour skewer, and the chicken was perfectly sauced and crispy. For my main I had a bibimbap and it was okay, with great side dishes. I would definitely return and try other dishes, such as the meat frisbee, japchae, or seafood pancake.

I like the food here! Chicken is divine! Their beef bibimbap is tasty and hubby liked his pork meal (forgot what it’s called) This resto is a bit pricy though ;)

Maru Korean Bistro has an innovative and modern menu featuring such things as sous vide meats and baozi. They also have a nice little happy hour menu, at least on Saturday from 2 to 5:30 from which my partner and I tried the Galbi Sliders.  At $6 for two, I thought this was a very nice taste of some well prepared meat on a tender bun with condiments. Nice! We tried the Korean Fried Chicken from the appetizer menu which was more sweet that spicy. On the plate were some Korean Rice Cakes which for some reason, I have never had before but will have again in the future, for sure. The chicken itself was still crispy despite the sticky tasty sauce. It could have been a little spicier for my tastes. Finally, we shared a Pork Bone Soup which was definitely worth the price of admission. Big meaty bones, generous greens and a tasty broth. Excellent! Also worthy of honourable mention was some very nice banchan especially pickled lotus root slices which came with the chicken. The restaurant itself is modern and attractive and comfortable enough. There was a kitchen fan or something that whistled noticeably during our stay which made me feel like I had Tinnitus (not funny if you actually have it, I know) and once I was aware of it, I could not unhear it. I don't know if it was my dog genes coming through as our server could not detect it and my partner could not figure out what  my problem was. We must have arrived at shift change. Our first server was attentive and friendly while her replacement seemed less interested. Not sure if he was maybe just a reserved fellow. When we asked about our left overs, we were invited to pack them up for ourselves. I have a little problem with this. Not that I mind doing it for myself but it is definitely going to affect your tip whether it is restaurant policy or not. As someone who inevitably orders too much, I have become a little sensitive to this and see it as a separation of decent service from just bringing food to a table.

We were impressed with their version of the Korean Fried Chicken. Although the dish was presented in the form of chicken wings for the Best Chicken Wing Challenge, it was the highlight of the meal. Because I had an amazing experience with their molecular gastronomy inspired dishes, I was expecting to see a bit more of the fine dining approach in other dishes. However, the 2 dishes we had today, the Kimchi and Pork Baozi and the 5-Spice Pork Belly and Rice in Stone Bowl were quite rustic, although tasting good, also somewhat less memorable. As they have a few unique and innovative dishes on their menu, I truly hope they reflect the creativities on all their dishes.

The customer service from the server is lacking. She didn't really happy when we showed up with the baby so there wasn't any smiles when we were seated n then my son who is less than 2 yrs old threw up. The server actually expected me to cleanup the floor for her. When I didn't, she decided to actually call me out on it in front of other diners sitting there. Food was average nothing special but beware not a family friendly place n if you showed up with a kid you probably wouldn't be liked by the staff. The server told me that she wasn't my Nanny n it's my job to clean their floor for them if my son made a mess. Excuse me but this is Canada n the servers get paid to serve n clean after the diners in any restaurant n btw that's what they get topped for too. I have never been asked to clean the floor at a restaurant before. May be they need to teach the serving staff what it means to serve. If she didn't like doing her job. Maybe she should find a new job. Would never return there n will make sure to bad mouth this place to every mom or parent group I am part of.

Food: Korean fried chicken was excellent, highly recommended. <br/>Service: Slow, might have to waive your servers down a couple times.<br/>Overall: I would come back to eat here!

It’s funny how sometimes the best restaurants are the ones that you discover by accident. Grape and I were on our way to South Castle in North Van, and we walked by Maru, a modern Korean bistro. Yelp said it was closed between 3-5pm, but we noticed that there were people dining inside and the OPEN side was still out… we decided to walk in anyway to try our luck, and fortunately for us, it was actually Happy Hour!

Meal:  Kakuni Dol-sot - Hot stone bowl rice with 12 hour sous vide pork belly and a bunch of other stuff in it. Atmosphere: This restaurant is massive, used to be Cheers. . Service: 1 server but very attentive with multiple refills of tea. . Bottom line: Met up with a friend for lunch and he suggested that we eat here. I've bookmarked this place in the past to try but never had the opportunity. As a background, I love Korean food and have had a lot of it in my past, but I've never had pork belly like this before.

Their burger was amazing (taste and value both great)!!! It has lotus root in it which gave it a great crunch. Really blew me away. It was also on their special lunch menu for 10 bucks so it's a really good deal. Their chicken tender and rice cakes were good too. Service was excellent. I definitely recommend this place for lunch!

Korean fried chicken, $8.50: The Korean fried chicken came with a Korean chili sauce, which I would describe as spicy but also a bit sweet. Like sweet chili, but packed with a lot more heat! This dish was delicious!

My best Korean restaurant to visit, the head chefs are well known for using all the natural ingredients and they are proud of their work.  Food is always well presented, fresh, tasty, and excellent service!  Maru never disappointed me, always pleasant to visit!  Highly highly (!) recommend this place!

Great food ! Best Korean food on the shore! Very well executed menu with extremely fresh ingredients. The kimchi fried rice was full of flavor as were the meat dishes.

I've been to Maru three times since they opened and have quite enjoyed the food. Amongst my favorite is the KFC and the lettuce wraps. That said, I find the portions a little small. Overall, good food. Service though could be greatly improved. I was sat in the back room last time, as they were busy. But because the server's station was in the front dining room, no one came to check on us. Other than that, everything else was great.

Good solid Korean food operated by Korean people. Clean restaurant and courteous staff. Child friendly, has high chairs. Moderate portions. Delicious food!<br/>

We ordered four dishes for the two of us, but it ended up being too much! We tried the japchae and kimchi squid pancake. Both of these are on their snack menu, but the portions are quite large. We also ordered the miso glazed grilled pork cheek ssam (lettuce wrap) single dish size and the beef bone marrow noodle soup. I thought all the food tasted really good. The presentation of the japchae was cool and the beef in it was tender and had good flavour. I thought the beef bone marrow soup tasted fine, except my boyfriend thought it lacked in flavour and added kimchi into it. The flavour wasn't strong, but it was there. It wasn't my favourite dish, but it was OK. Considering all the other dishes had a lot of flavour, I didn't mind the soup.<br/><br/>If I was in the area, I would definitely go back to try out more dishes. The service, atmosphere, and food is all good. I would definitely recommend this place!<br/>

I found this place by a fluke, it seemed to be bumping so I figured I'd give it a shot. <br/><br/>Food is a modern take on Korean cuisine. The dishes are presented in a stylish fashion which lives up to the modern decor and vibe the restaurant emits. The food itself is rich in flavour and well balanced. It is evident that the dishes have been prepared with love and passion. The staff are friendly and make for a complete experience. I did not sample any of the liquor they had on the menu, but judging on bottles behind the bar I suspect this would be a well worth exercise.

Maru Korean Bistro is Bobby Shin and David Jo's first restaurant coming from a private catering background.<br/>It's where the old Cheers Restaurant used to be on 2nd with a major facelift inside that makes it very bright, clean and inviting. <br/><br/>The menu is small and well executed. The go to is the ssam (lettuce wraps), and the dol sot bi bim bap, but they have a number of interesting twists on classic Korean dishes. Everything comes out sizzling hot as you'd expect with an array of changing side dishes.<br/><br/>I'd recommend the bulgogi ssam and hot stone bi bim bap to try and solid signature items, but I've yet to go wrong with anything on the menu. Their sam jang is fantastic, so you might need to ask for more.<br/>They also offer a few beers, shochu and sake as well. The staff are very friendly and Bobby will often pop out to greet guests.<br/><br/>Great local place...and nice to have this to satisfy variety and cravings!