We are always looking for great Korean food. We live on the Island and although we have a good Korean restaurant in Nanaimo, one likes variety. Naru was our 3rd try in Victoria and bullseye! We travel extensively to all continents and this was some of the best tasting Korean we’ve had anywhere. It’s a bit “ different” at times and less traditional (or more, hard to say, because funnily enough, we have not yet been to Korea), but delicious and very well prepared. We loved our experience at Naru and we’ll come back every time we are in Victoria and have the opportunity to do so. It’s not inexpensive but it is true value for the money. Nothing is skimped on. We don’t get out to eat much so we prefer excellence over low priced.
Frank D.
Food is ok but not the best. Seafood pancake was soggy, short ribs were soft & not grilled, bibimpap was very basic. Not a repeat.
Mathius Permana
From the outside, the place looked tiny but, once you go inside this place has a decent size. The waitress really did a good job in serving their guess. The food taste so amazing and I would say close to authentic Korean cuisine. The Japchae was tasty, the sweet and sour chicken also tasty, Samgyeopsal also really good and it comes with condiments. Unfortunately, they don’t have Gochujang as a side or extra condiments. That would be awesome as an add on for your BBQ.
Melissa Krull
Had the seafood pancake, dolsot bibimbap, fried prawns in sweet spicy sauce, and beef ribs soup. Our family of five really enjoyed it all. I had the sampler. $12 you can choose three flavors. You know what flavour you are drinking as it is over the image. Imaginative and yummy.
Andreas G
I was surprised about the great taste of the food. This is my second time trying out Korean kitchen. And for sure: I love it. Not only the food was exceptional, but also the service. Thanks a lot for this great experience!
Hana Sugihara
the food was really good! no complaints whatsoever. service was a little weird— there was a girl server who was really nice and helped us, but the guy server who took our orders treated us a little weirdly. other than that, i really enjoyed our meal here!
Brian C.
The food is really good and would highly recommend based on food alone. My wife and I are from Los Angeles and fortunate to have loads of amazing Korean food available to us. I can say I would happily eat this food back at home.But, the reason for the rating is the begrudging attitude from the get go. In hindsight, we should have just went elsewhere, but my wife was really missing eating Korean food while vacationing in Victoria. We arrived at the restaurant at 755pm and the restaurant closes at 830pm. Hostess tells us they close in 35 min. I ask if they're still willing to serve us. She begrudgingly says yes but again tells us they close at 830pm and tells us that we will need to eat quickly because they close in 30 min. At this point, we should have just declined based on her attitude but we still decide to dine here. Hostess then motions to the waiter to seat us, and the waiter's facial expression looked annoyed when he sees that we are there to dine at that time. From here, things just felt a bit passive aggressive. As soon as we place our order, the waitress tells us the kitchen is closing and if we want anything else we need to tell her right then. Then, halfway through eating, they ask us if we need to use the washroom because they're closing it. Even after we pay the bill, they just looked annoyed that we had dinner there at that time. There was just a perpetual feeling of annoyance of our presence from beginning to end.I leave this review so that it is hopefully constructive for this restaurant. If you don't want to serve someone at that time, then just say so. It would have been better to just tell us you're not accepting any more customers because you close at 830. No harm no foul. That's your prerogative. But if you decide to serve a customer, then please don't serve with a begrudging attitude. But maybe we're ignorant Korean Americans and don't understand Canadian culture. Maybe we were unaware of not respecting Canadian work life balance? Maybe we're just spoiled Los Angelenos? Either way, it just seemed like we were a burden to them.
Corina F.
Very impressed with the food here. Service was excellent and attentive. We will be back next time we visit Victoria.
Samantha L.
My parents and I are visiting from San Francisco and decided to eat here after passing many many pubs and breweries. Best decision we made to eat at Naru! My mom is very persnickety about Korean food since she is an excellent home cook. She approved! We shared the udon salad (very refreshing and the udon noddles were cooked perfectly), jajang myun (better than anyplace in SF), and the best seafood soon duboo jigae we've had in a restaurant. They made it very authentic and suited our high Korean expectations. Serve was also fantastic! Very hardworking group of young servers. Also very friendly and gracious. Thank you very much Naru for cooking us delicious Korean food after a long long travel day to Beautiful Victoria!!
MD Nguyen
The bossam and pork belly in spicy sauce were good. The squid was way too hard. The other dishes were ordinary. Not the type of restaurants we will remember.
NARU is my favorite Korean restaurant in Victoria.Everything I have had over the multiple times I have gone has all been great. My dinner guests have always loved their dishes as well. The menu has a lot of traditional Korean dishes you'd expect to see. The variety is great.The vibe inside is one of a kind for Victoria. It reminds me of a palace with very high ceilings. Perfect place to come with friends and family.
Barbara N.
Delicious! Attentive service and good view too. We'll be back next time we're in Victoria .
Pangaean
**Despite what TripAdvisor says, Naru is currently open!!** Happened to walk by and discover Naru. Loved it. We had the soju sampler (twice) and more than enough food with an appetizer and two main dishes (plus the banchan). Service was friendly, and the view overlooks the harbor. For classic Korean food (nothing fusion), we’ll totally be back!
A P.
Happened to walk by and discover Naru. Loved it. We had the soju sampler (twice) and more than enough food with an appetizer and two main dishes (plus the banchan). Service was friendly, and the view overlooks the harbor. For classic Korean food (nothing fusion), we'll totally be back!
Cate W.
You know you've found the real deal when you're the only non-Asian in the room! Staff were friendly and helpful, and some tables have a view of the harbour. The only drawback is eating alone. Everyone else was sharing large dishes. The green onion pancake as big as a pizza looked delicious as did the hotpot filled with meat and veggies. Next time I'll go with foodie friends!
We are always looking for great Korean food. We live on the Island and although we have a good Korean restaurant in Nanaimo, one likes variety. Naru was our 3rd try in Victoria and bullseye! We travel extensively to all continents and this was some of the best tasting Korean we’ve had anywhere. It’s a bit “ different” at times and less traditional (or more, hard to say, because funnily enough, we have not yet been to Korea), but delicious and very well prepared. We loved our experience at Naru and we’ll come back every time we are in Victoria and have the opportunity to do so. It’s not inexpensive but it is true value for the money. Nothing is skimped on. We don’t get out to eat much so we prefer excellence over low priced.
Food is ok but not the best. Seafood pancake was soggy, short ribs were soft & not grilled, bibimpap was very basic. Not a repeat.
From the outside, the place looked tiny but, once you go inside this place has a decent size. The waitress really did a good job in serving their guess. The food taste so amazing and I would say close to authentic Korean cuisine. The Japchae was tasty, the sweet and sour chicken also tasty, Samgyeopsal also really good and it comes with condiments. Unfortunately, they don’t have Gochujang as a side or extra condiments. That would be awesome as an add on for your BBQ.
Had the seafood pancake, dolsot bibimbap, fried prawns in sweet spicy sauce, and beef ribs soup. Our family of five really enjoyed it all. I had the sampler. $12 you can choose three flavors. You know what flavour you are drinking as it is over the image. Imaginative and yummy.
I was surprised about the great taste of the food. This is my second time trying out Korean kitchen. And for sure: I love it. Not only the food was exceptional, but also the service. Thanks a lot for this great experience!
the food was really good! no complaints whatsoever. service was a little weird— there was a girl server who was really nice and helped us, but the guy server who took our orders treated us a little weirdly. other than that, i really enjoyed our meal here!
The food is really good and would highly recommend based on food alone. My wife and I are from Los Angeles and fortunate to have loads of amazing Korean food available to us. I can say I would happily eat this food back at home.But, the reason for the rating is the begrudging attitude from the get go. In hindsight, we should have just went elsewhere, but my wife was really missing eating Korean food while vacationing in Victoria. We arrived at the restaurant at 755pm and the restaurant closes at 830pm. Hostess tells us they close in 35 min. I ask if they're still willing to serve us. She begrudgingly says yes but again tells us they close at 830pm and tells us that we will need to eat quickly because they close in 30 min. At this point, we should have just declined based on her attitude but we still decide to dine here. Hostess then motions to the waiter to seat us, and the waiter's facial expression looked annoyed when he sees that we are there to dine at that time. From here, things just felt a bit passive aggressive. As soon as we place our order, the waitress tells us the kitchen is closing and if we want anything else we need to tell her right then. Then, halfway through eating, they ask us if we need to use the washroom because they're closing it. Even after we pay the bill, they just looked annoyed that we had dinner there at that time. There was just a perpetual feeling of annoyance of our presence from beginning to end.I leave this review so that it is hopefully constructive for this restaurant. If you don't want to serve someone at that time, then just say so. It would have been better to just tell us you're not accepting any more customers because you close at 830. No harm no foul. That's your prerogative. But if you decide to serve a customer, then please don't serve with a begrudging attitude. But maybe we're ignorant Korean Americans and don't understand Canadian culture. Maybe we were unaware of not respecting Canadian work life balance? Maybe we're just spoiled Los Angelenos? Either way, it just seemed like we were a burden to them.
Very impressed with the food here. Service was excellent and attentive. We will be back next time we visit Victoria.
My parents and I are visiting from San Francisco and decided to eat here after passing many many pubs and breweries. Best decision we made to eat at Naru! My mom is very persnickety about Korean food since she is an excellent home cook. She approved! We shared the udon salad (very refreshing and the udon noddles were cooked perfectly), jajang myun (better than anyplace in SF), and the best seafood soon duboo jigae we've had in a restaurant. They made it very authentic and suited our high Korean expectations. Serve was also fantastic! Very hardworking group of young servers. Also very friendly and gracious. Thank you very much Naru for cooking us delicious Korean food after a long long travel day to Beautiful Victoria!!
The bossam and pork belly in spicy sauce were good. The squid was way too hard. The other dishes were ordinary. Not the type of restaurants we will remember.
Restaurantji Recommends
NARU is my favorite Korean restaurant in Victoria.Everything I have had over the multiple times I have gone has all been great. My dinner guests have always loved their dishes as well. The menu has a lot of traditional Korean dishes you'd expect to see. The variety is great.The vibe inside is one of a kind for Victoria. It reminds me of a palace with very high ceilings. Perfect place to come with friends and family.
Delicious! Attentive service and good view too. We'll be back next time we're in Victoria .
**Despite what TripAdvisor says, Naru is currently open!!** Happened to walk by and discover Naru. Loved it. We had the soju sampler (twice) and more than enough food with an appetizer and two main dishes (plus the banchan). Service was friendly, and the view overlooks the harbor. For classic Korean food (nothing fusion), we’ll totally be back!
Happened to walk by and discover Naru. Loved it. We had the soju sampler (twice) and more than enough food with an appetizer and two main dishes (plus the banchan). Service was friendly, and the view overlooks the harbor. For classic Korean food (nothing fusion), we'll totally be back!
You know you've found the real deal when you're the only non-Asian in the room! Staff were friendly and helpful, and some tables have a view of the harbour. The only drawback is eating alone. Everyone else was sharing large dishes. The green onion pancake as big as a pizza looked delicious as did the hotpot filled with meat and veggies. Next time I'll go with foodie friends!