The new menu and rebrand is still good, but I will think about your shrimp tempura rolls and hirata buns for the rest of my life.. RIP :( Best of luck to you all in the new endeavor.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Charles Boblitz
Absolutely Outstanding! Will definitely come again when in the area.
Joe Peta
I love Korean food. I’ve eaten at every Korean spot in Ithaca. This is not recency bias. Maru Korean on State Street is the best by far.
I ordered the Tofu Beef Soup (soondubu), the Maru Katsu (their take on tonkatsu), and the Bulgogi. All three were dialed in. The tofu soup was rich, layered, and so comforting I briefly considered reorganizing my week around it. The Maru Katsu was shatter-crisp outside, tender inside — exactly what you hope for and rarely get. The bulgogi was beautifully marinated, balanced, and arrived sizzling like it had something to prove.
What separates Maru is execution. The flavors are deeper. The ingredients taste fresher. Nothing feels phoned in. It’s the difference between “good for Ithaca” and just plain good.
I’ve updated my internal Korean restaurant power rankings. Maru now sits alone at #1.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Scottish Pride
Thank you to the patient and kind staff at Maru Korea. Their ramen is the best and so is their tofu stews! They offer a great selection of vegetarian and meat options and don't forget the matcha ice cream!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mallorie Marshall
Great food! Such an amazing experience. They gave us a complimentary sample of their marinated tofu. They had sturdy gold chopsticks! Loved it! Can’t wait to go back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tilak Relue
I had the tofu stir fry with rice and it was delicious!..I also had the budae tofu stew ,(their new dish) which was awesome!. I will definitely come back again and I would recommend everyone to visit this place!..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Robert Myak
Wonderful food and service, with a caring diligent staff! I would just note that they no longer serve ramen as of 1/19. I was really hoping for ramen and know others were too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
inggrit ifani
We love this Ramen PLACE!!!!! Its always a to go place for us when we visit the area. The food is perfect, quality and tasty! With affordable price, we feel like we got tons of the protein (the beef or the seafood). We are never disappointed! The servers were great, either the new girl or the older lady. The Korean Ice Coffee is soo delicious too. Love love love.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ty Sandvoss
Best Raman. Extremely quick
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
peter rizwaniuk
Had a wonderful experience with my partner and our son. The waiter warned us that the tofu ramen our 2 year old wanted might be a little spicy but our son loved it, and my tonkotsu and my partner's beef bulgogi ramen were both excellent. Will definitely be back when we're in the area!
I’ve been coming to Maru for the past eight years since they opened, and the food has always been consistently excellent. Their noodles and Korean BBQ bulgogi are the best—always fresh, flavorful, and satisfying every time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
MeanMachine4
I write to you today as not only a customer who was catfished by the numerous glowing reviews here but also as a customer who was disrespected and degraded at every single turn by my waiter at this establishment. Our waitress was the rudest individual that I’ve ever had the displeasure of encountering. And I’ve had my fair share of bad waiters. While we were ordering, she was trying to leave before we were done, essentially cutting us off by turning her back to us. She was clearly trying to leave our table and was sidling away from us as we were still ordering. It got to a point where she was speaking to us with her back directly turned away from us. This occurred every single time we tried to speak to her. I hope that we’re all aware that our eyes and mouths aren’t located on our backs. This was a level of disrespect that I’ve only experienced from my teenage son. She also didn’t give us things such as silverware and seemingly refused to refill our water. When she gave us silverware, she slammed it on the table and slid it towards each person. My friend was quite literally almost impaled by a knife. For the cherry on top, the food was lukewarm, flavorless, and overall uninspiring. To recap, my experience here included degradation, near-death experience, and some food that I wish I had never eaten. And we paid for that experience. Do yourself a favor and don’t come here.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Dinesh Ghimire
One of my favorite ramen spots in Ithaca! Quick service, decent portions, and super tasty. Lots of ramen and side options, plus some authentic Japanese drinks that always hits the spot.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Timothy Brown
Outstanding food
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
John
Every dish we ordered was delicious. The ramen was cooked perfectly and the service was great. I have been to several ramen restaurants across the state and this was my favorite. Thank you.
The new menu and rebrand is still good, but I will think about your shrimp tempura rolls and hirata buns for the rest of my life.. RIP :( Best of luck to you all in the new endeavor.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Absolutely Outstanding! Will definitely come again when in the area.
I love Korean food. I’ve eaten at every Korean spot in Ithaca. This is not recency bias. Maru Korean on State Street is the best by far.
I ordered the Tofu Beef Soup (soondubu), the Maru Katsu (their take on tonkatsu), and the Bulgogi. All three were dialed in. The tofu soup was rich, layered, and so comforting I briefly considered reorganizing my week around it. The Maru Katsu was shatter-crisp outside, tender inside — exactly what you hope for and rarely get. The bulgogi was beautifully marinated, balanced, and arrived sizzling like it had something to prove.
What separates Maru is execution. The flavors are deeper. The ingredients taste fresher. Nothing feels phoned in. It’s the difference between “good for Ithaca” and just plain good.
I’ve updated my internal Korean restaurant power rankings. Maru now sits alone at #1.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Thank you to the patient and kind staff at Maru Korea. Their ramen is the best and so is their tofu stews! They offer a great selection of vegetarian and meat options and don't forget the matcha ice cream!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food! Such an amazing experience. They gave us a complimentary sample of their marinated tofu. They had sturdy gold chopsticks! Loved it! Can’t wait to go back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I had the tofu stir fry with rice and it was delicious!..I also had the budae tofu stew ,(their new dish) which was awesome!. I will definitely come back again and I would recommend everyone to visit this place!..
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wonderful food and service, with a caring diligent staff! I would just note that they no longer serve ramen as of 1/19. I was really hoping for ramen and know others were too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
We love this Ramen PLACE!!!!! Its always a to go place for us when we visit the area. The food is perfect, quality and tasty! With affordable price, we feel like we got tons of the protein (the beef or the seafood). We are never disappointed! The servers were great, either the new girl or the older lady. The Korean Ice Coffee is soo delicious too. Love love love.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best Raman. Extremely quick
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had a wonderful experience with my partner and our son. The waiter warned us that the tofu ramen our 2 year old wanted might be a little spicy but our son loved it, and my tonkotsu and my partner's beef bulgogi ramen were both excellent. Will definitely be back when we're in the area!
Restaurantji Recommends
I’ve been coming to Maru for the past eight years since they opened, and the food has always been consistently excellent. Their noodles and Korean BBQ bulgogi are the best—always fresh, flavorful, and satisfying every time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I write to you today as not only a customer who was catfished by the numerous glowing reviews here but also as a customer who was disrespected and degraded at every single turn by my waiter at this establishment. Our waitress was the rudest individual that I’ve ever had the displeasure of encountering. And I’ve had my fair share of bad waiters. While we were ordering, she was trying to leave before we were done, essentially cutting us off by turning her back to us. She was clearly trying to leave our table and was sidling away from us as we were still ordering. It got to a point where she was speaking to us with her back directly turned away from us. This occurred every single time we tried to speak to her. I hope that we’re all aware that our eyes and mouths aren’t located on our backs. This was a level of disrespect that I’ve only experienced from my teenage son. She also didn’t give us things such as silverware and seemingly refused to refill our water. When she gave us silverware, she slammed it on the table and slid it towards each person. My friend was quite literally almost impaled by a knife. For the cherry on top, the food was lukewarm, flavorless, and overall uninspiring. To recap, my experience here included degradation, near-death experience, and some food that I wish I had never eaten. And we paid for that experience. Do yourself a favor and don’t come here.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
One of my favorite ramen spots in Ithaca! Quick service, decent portions, and super tasty. Lots of ramen and side options, plus some authentic Japanese drinks that always hits the spot.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Outstanding food
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Every dish we ordered was delicious. The ramen was cooked perfectly and the service was great. I have been to several ramen restaurants across the state and this was my favorite. Thank you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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