265

4636 Burnet Rd

Austin , TX 78756



(512) 458-6200

Cheap, decent quality, and large rolls. Sold. This won't be your Uchikos or Kome's, but it serves its purpose as a quick lunch spot. Don't come with high expectations and you'll be fine. They have great lunch deals - from bentos to katsus and rolls. I really liked the miso and my American, Rainbow, and Shrimp tempura rolls were great. Salmon on the American was fine. In and out under an hour.

Ugh, the rice was not good. I'd avoid the sushi for sure. And most of the other dishes. Here's what I had: APPS - Egg rolls: they are sized like a spring rolls. They taste more like spring rolls. They just gave me spring rolls. - Gyoza: there is barely any filling, it's over-fried, and the Gyoza wrapper was too chewy. - Soft Shell Crab: I didn't like it! First of all, it was covered in bonita flakes!! Ugh, I hate bonita... The sauce was thin, the flavor didn't complement the crab at all, and the crab itself was bland. It was mostly just crunchy breading. At least the breading wasn't soggy. SUSHI * The rice was wet and dense. It wasn't good. - Caterpillar Roll: The avocado wasn't the freshest, it didn't go well with the other ingredients, the cucumber didn't have enough crunch, and I didn't finish it. - Samurai Roll: Ugh, no thanks. The ingredients didn't mesh well together, the rice was a gelatinous mush, and I didn't finish it. I would not eat here again.

This is the first time I've returned in seven years and much to my expectation it's gone downhill. Granted the first time I came here I was so excited about living in Austin in finding a Japanese restaurant I probably just gobbled up everything thinking it was fantastic. Yet here I am after many many new openings of high-quality Japanese food and I must say this is terrible. Here's why. 1. The rice wasn't cooked well it was old and stale or in the pot way too long 2. It is not Japanese it is disingenuous Asian 3. The pork Katsu was so hard as to be almost in edible it was dried out it was flattened out to be so thin almost as thin as a razor. 4. The tempura was so greasy and the tempura sauce was water down and didn't even have Daikon oroshi or shaved radish 5. The desert a little present was frozen - inedible. Thumbs down.

The place is cozy and seems like a mom and pop place. Everyone is friendly, there's a nice variety of choices. I went here for sushi and ordered 4 rolls. They were good. The rolls that had crunch could've been crunchier. I had the yellow tail oven baked roll which was really good. Seafood seemed fresh ambiance is casual. Decent priced.

Lunch special looked impressive but was lacking flavor due to old cuts of yellowtail, salmon, and tuna. I ordered unagi, it was dry and chewy-inedible. I was still charged for the unagi even after notifying my waitstaff.

My cousin and I wanted to try something new and came to Maru. When we walked in the door, we weren't greeted. The Asian lady who saw us walk in just held up her fingers indicating how many people we had. She was on the phone when she sat us. Later after bringing us soup we did not order, she asks us what we wanted. We had a question about the menu and she rolled her eyes at us both and pointed to the description as if I don't already know how to read. When I asked her further about the description she barely explained anything and ran off before answering the question. This was also a time when NOONE was there so she clearly wasn't busy. HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. We walked out before ordering and came to Kome on airport. Much better service. I would give no stars if that was an option.

Super disappointed with my experience at Maru. We were waived over to table and seated with no words and then made to feel ignorant and like we inconveniencing the hostess/waitress when we asked questions about the menu. Definitely won't be back. Why is it difficult to just be nice to people?

The sushi was soooooooo goooooood! Came here for the first time today, definitely wont be the last! Very friendly service. The fish was perfect. It literally melts in your mouth!

The restaurant looks a bit outdated, it's kind of small with old furniture. Just another mediocre sushi restaurant not much to say. We only ordered the rock n roll, the presentation was not that good but it was actually good.

We had a delightful experience here when we went early Thursday night for the first time. Since we were the only ones in the restaurant for a while, the woman (owner?) brought some miso soup out on the house, which was nice, as well as a carrot for our daughter to munch on. We shared the green salad, and three special rolls: Happy Together, Geisha, and one with shrimp tempura that we can't remember the name of. Everything was good. The best we've had in Austin? Of course not, but Maru seems mooooostly on par with Kome without the scene or wait. The small cheesecakes you're given at the end of the meal aren't particularly toothsome, but they are a thoughtful touch. A bit pricey, though not unreasonably so. This will probably become our go-to sushi place when we've got the kiddo in tow.

Pros: -very friendly service -really fresh tasting fish -great location Cons: -decor left something to be desired. The harsh, overhead lighting makes this place not great for dates. Also, they played loud country music, an interesting choice for a sushi bar. -come for the authentic stuff. They're not really a rolls place. Our rolls fell apart a bit. Summary: Banzai will be my go-to casual sushi and Japanese restaurant. They have the veggie options and their food is just a cut above. I'll keep Maru in mind, but would love to see a renovation or slightly different menu implemented.

Really fresh sushi and rolls, fair pricing, very clean restaurant with an understated Japanese decor. The sushi chef is Japanese and is top notch. We have been meaning to go here for a while, and definitely will be our go-to sushi place. Had an assortment of rolls and nigiri, all were great. The chef even surprised us with a "j-bomb" which was delicious.

Not your chichi sushi bar type. Just real people doing a good job of serving a very decent menu.

I had some great sashimi here. Parking is tricky (welcome to Austin). The sake selections were good too.

In a city that's constantly changing, it was great to come back to Austin and see that the sushi at Maru is still just as delicious as it was when this place first opened ~7-8 years ago. Favorite rolls: J-bomb, Snow Roll, Pink Roll. Miso soup and cheesecake bites were complimentary with the meal.

Went here for the first time and loved it! We were looking for some late night sushi and we got in just 30 minutes before close. We were worried we might get turned away but we were accepted happily. We were given miso soup on arrival and it was delicious. We ordered a variety of nigiri and a gyoza app. The gyoza were yummy but a little crispy. Wish we got more than just 5 since they are kinda small. The nigiri was very fresh and delicious, and the fish portions were large. They even gave us some extra pieces of sashimi at no charge. When it was time to pay we each got a complimentary little cheesecake cube for dessert. The couple that owns this place seems very sweet, I can't wait to come back!

Tried this place for the first time tonight. Everything we had was delicious. I got the impression this place is a family run thing which I appreciate and the folks we interacted with were great! Will come back for lunch!

This place is quite and cutes. The owners are so sweet and the food is the right about for the cost. I often come for the bento box lunch! Great variety of food.

I'm giving Maru two stars instead of one because they didn't make me pay. I ordered their sushi lunch and received a plate of dry, fishy tasting nigiri pair with a roll that had ingredients of equally low quality. After two bites of my food I stopped eating because the flavors were not those you get with fresh and flavorful fish. Honestly it felt like they were trying to sell expired food. Maybe you can see what I tasted in the pictures appended to this review.