San Maru in Urbana

First time waited 5 mins- told they didn’t have ice. Second time waited 20mins without being served (table besides us got their order in even though they came in 10 mins later than us). Not sure what’s going on. Here is the review, from hungry customers.Update: tried 3rd time. served with food and ice. Food was good. Ice was super tasty!

Corner diner Korean food; I love it! Friendly mild kimchi and many sides come with each meal. One of my favorite places!

Their meals are tasty and staffs here are friendly. Highly recommended! I love Bossom the most!

The food is good but the service is very slow during their peak time.

Great food, amazing service!

Best Korean restaurant in town. Premium price

Best wings in CU area hands down. Beef bulgogi is very good, wish it had more meat.

this is a really amazing korean restaurant! not only is their food great, they have amazing servers, good prices and a nice selection of k-pop playing on the tv :D really recommend , i will always prefer san maru over any other <3 thank you for serving us and we will always come back! :)

Very tasty. I have had San Maru twice and I felt that it was a good deal both times. Very tasty food and a friendly staff, (whom kept apologizing for being short-staffed (its 2022 expect to be shortstaffed)the food was excellent with larg portions. Be sure to bring your appetite. It was well packed while my son and I were there but it was a nice atmosphere. We tend to stick out wherever we go and no one stares which was nice.

Great food, service and hospitality, highly recommend.

Probably the best Korean restaurant in town. Many of my Korean friends recommend this place and they have really tasty side dishes! You can ask for refill! However, the amount of food they serve is not that much.

Great Korean food in Champaign! We especially liked the Jabchae.

I was looking for a quick lunch that I could take on the road and the options in this neighborhood were limited in that respect. I am so glad I chose this place.Very authentic cuisine, quaint and comfy interior, and super friendly staff providing very fast service. As a small business owner I love to patronize any locally operated place, and as a lover of international cuisine I get excited when I can tell its family owned and operated.My excitement on this one was rewarded as the food was outstanding. I dont look like the vegetarian type of eater so she gave me a serving of rice along with mine at no extra charge. I think she was concerned that I wouldnt be satisfied when I dont get a protein in mine lol.It was plenty filling and I didnt eat all the rice, and only 10 bucks in this neighborhood for lunch is amazing. Ill be going back, maybe Ill get some protein next time lol. Either way Im sure itll be worth it

This was my first time visiting and the food was delicious and there was great service. I definitely recommend checking it out!

Green tea bingsu is the best! I lover the red bean paste with the matcha powder, of course the condense milk makes it wonderful.—————————————————The food quality is going down drastically. My friend pay $16+ for only a piece of fish without the egg dish. The topokki is not worth at all. It only comes with rice cake with three pieces of fish cake and a few slice of cabbages I can barely seen. The food is so overpriced.

Fantastic food and dessert.

Great food at reasonable prices!

Best Korean restaurant in the city!We loved all the food and the staff were very friendly.Please try the ice tea (SooJungGwaand the Red Bean Bingsu

I loved their pork bulgogi. It was sweet and had a ton of scallions. Their fried chicken wings were pretty good as well. Unfortunately the service was slow, which is somewhat understandable since they were short on staff, but they also completely forgot one of our partys dishes. They were really nice about it, however. Im definitely coming back again. I really want to try their bingsu next time I come.

The food was delicious! The servers were very attentive to everyone! I wanted something different and was not disappointed! I already know what I am having the next time I go!

Took my daughter here for her 23rd birthday. Its not a fancy place but the food was good. It kind of feels like someones mom is cooking for you. Though we are very familiar with Korean food it was nice that they took time to explain how things are usually eaten (food pairings). We ordered the meat mandu, fried kimmari, spicy chicken wings and ddukbokki. I will say there was no spice to the rice cakes which is not our preference, so we took those home and doctored them up. The Seolleong-Tang was great.  We also had beef bulgogi, dolsot bibimbop, japchae, jjajangmyeon and the fruit and mocha bingsu. Overall good food and well definitely be back. No pics because we started and finished eating before we thought about it! 😋

It is far from Champaign but its food is good. The fried chicken with mayonnaise bowl is surprisingly good, but the soup, emm, hard to say.

Our first time dining in a strictly Korean venue restaurant... And it was wonderful and the food was outstanding!!! The staff was great and the (owner/manager??was delightful to talk to about the menu items and how they were prepared... She even suggested a dessert (a type of milk/water block shaved ice...that resembles NOTHING like we have ever had before, very ornate, lite tasting, with fresh fruit and different colored sauces... Definitely a place to bring family and friends to and we will be back many times to come!!

My favorite place to get Korean food in Champaign! They serve the most authentic and delicious Korean food. I recommend their bossam, galbi, yukgaejang, and steamed dumplings!

Good alternative for exciting flavors!Try San Maru in Champaign, IL. A great change from your typical midwestern food, put some spice in your life!!The cafe is very clean, staff was excellent, the food was great, I would definitely recommend it!Love the spicy gochujang sauce, tried the Bibimbop , super delicious!

Great food, fast service. Highly recommend. Lunch specials are a great deal.

I have a family of 5 and they wanted us to split in 2 tables when we went there to celebrate a birthday. I asked to give us an outside table and even with that choice, they said no. We left without eating, so my review is only about service, not about the food.

I tried the beef bulgogi lunch take-out and it was quite tasty! A touch more expensive than I expected, but tons of food in the box. My wife also tried the leftovers and liked it, so I think another visit is in our future.

By far one of the best Korean resturaunts in town. I absolutely love the environment here. Its a perfect place for hanging with friends and family. All the food here is delicious and the staff here is fantastic. I would highly reccomend this place to anyone!

I have been a patron at this restaurant since I moved here in 2017. I have tried almost every single dish and they are always exceeded my expectations in flavor, presentation, taste. It is the one of the few restaurants in town that still make food so fresh, with so much love and taste just like home. I dont like overly salty or greasy or too sweet. At San Maru, the food always taste just right. The dishes are very healthy too with all your daily micro and macro nutrients for example the bento box meals or beng beng chicken or tofu. When I dont feel well, Seolleong-Tang or Yook Gae Jung is one of my go to. The soup is so healing, plenty of scallions, the meat was tender, fermented kimchi is very amazing. When I crave for an explosion of flavors, I will go with bulgogi beef or beng beng chicken. The homemade fried meat dumplings and seafood pancakes are a hit at my house. My family loves the appetizers here. I just had the yellow croaker fish yesterday for the second time and it was so fresh and yummy.Overall you cannot go wrong with any dish at San Maru. It is the best the most authentic Korean restaurant in town. I guarantee it!

I have been here for lunch maybe 5-7 times and every time it has been top notch food. The food is a little pricey but it is definitely cooked with care.

Absolutely delicious! The waitress/host explained the menu to us, and asked us what kinds of flavors we like. She then made recommendations and did a wonderful job! She even explained the flavors and tradition behind the food. It was the best service Ive had and the food was fantastic.

A authentic, homemade kimchi, and delicious Korean food. Weve tried several in Champaign. This is one of the best. Even the dumplings are handmade. We will definitely be going back for more

We tried SanMaru catering for our lab lunch and everyone was happy about their dishes. Homemade spring roll was everyones favorite. Highly recommend this place for regular visit or catering.

Lovely staff and delicious food. They go above and beyond to please their customers, extremely polite, I reccomend being a patron of this location and supporting the owners!

Good home made food. I Well attended by Koreans. I Family runed, cooked and served. Lunchen meals much cheaper than ala carte dishes.

You dont have to make traditional dishes but you need to stay with authentic flavors.Food just okay here but excellent services though.They tried so hard to make a decent Korean food in this town but not yet. Every dishes so light on seasoning. Side dishes and Kimchee so lack of flavor. Kimchee stew was mild of flavor. Spicy cold buckwheat noodles have weird flavor. Cooked mackerel just good seasoning. Bingsoo here just like baby food.

What a place. Food is great. The owner took the time to introduce us to different dishes. Even made us a complimentary appetizer. The wings are the best around.

I was a bit intimidated to try San Maru because I am unfamiliar with Korean food. However, the staff were so friendly and eager to answer any questions about the menu. I felt very welcomed. The food was wonderful and filled with many flavors without being too salty. Try the Snow Bingsu for a light and delicious dessert that is more than enough for two people!

Conveniently located in the crossing. Good quality korean dishes. I only have had their lunch, but I always enjoyed it. Good service with casual and comfortable atmosphere.

San Maru is an excellent Korean restaurant, and seems to be frequented mostly by Koreans (the highest praise). My wife and I both had Bulgogi with traditional sides. If I had the smallest negative, the kimchee was a tiny bit fishier than I prefer (not that it kept me from eating all of it...and giving five stars... XD ...)

Amazing food. I had never been here before. So I took about ten minutes to order my food. And once I decided, my freind attempted to flirt with the waiter. Im glad they didnt make us leave. Once I got my food, it was amazing. I dont even know what it was, but I want it again. Just the soup broth alone was amazing. And the noodles were even better. And when I added the free sides to it, it added even more flavor. I didnt even know that was possible. I left a $5 tip, and I rate this place 10/5. Best food Ive ever had. Guaranteed.

We love San Maru! Their food is wonderful. Theyre quick. Their restaurant environment is pleasant. And their workers are always very kind and flexible. Thanks for all the wonderful experience we have had at your restaurant!

Absolutely wonderful!! This is my familys favorite Korean restaurant in town. Authentic and delicious. The owner and staff are simply delightful! Highly recommend.

Very friendly service, and very accommodating. I ordered the beng beng chicken lunch special, which was delicious. My friend ordered the vegetarian noodle lunch special, and San Maru was willing to add tofu to the order. My lunch was delightful, and the tofu was perfectly crispy. Definitely will return!

It was our first time eating Korean food, and it was great!! The place looks fine but its nothing out of the ordinary. The waiter gave us very good recommendations about what to try, and prices were more than decent. Id definitely come back and recommend it to anyone

The food is great. Probably the best Korean food in town. Not very diverse menu choices compared to other Korean restaurants in town. But ones they have are good. Their shave ice is great, but a bit pricey.

Ive been told by many of my Korean friends that this place serves the best Korean food around Champaign Urbana and I agree. Almost all of the food is made from scratch and after trying pretty much all the items on the menu, theres nothing that I dont like.

Havent had a great deal of Korean food, and what I have had was sketchy at best.This place has a laid-back, casual atmosphere with tasty food and good service.Ill be back!

A friend and I heard great things and were not disappointed! Best bibimbop I have ever had!One of the owners gave us suggestions and I can most defiantly recommend taking a little time to talk to them, they will find you exactly what suits your pallet if you are unsure.I cant wait to take my family and friends back for more 😍