Maru Global

Japanese pancakes for dinner? Does that count as breakfast for dinner? dinner for breakfast? I think these delightful balls filled with chicken/​beef/​squid/​octopus are basically a meal that anyone could eat at any time of day and be pretty happy with.
Maru global has become a go to dinner on nights when I just have no idea what it is that I’m looking for in a meal. We order from Grubhub pretty often and with the exception of an occasional communications error between the web service and the restaurant we have always had exceptional experiences. Even when we did have a communications error between GH and MG the end result was the restaurant being awesome and doing everything in their power to get us our dinner in a timely fashion. And since I’m just a sucker for excellent customer service, you know I love these people.
The food itself I would say you should just ingest in order to understand it. I find it completely delicious and a nice change up from my normal meals of… actually I don’t really have a normal meal. So think about what you have for a normal dinner and enter that at the end of that sentence. ok. good. Anyway. I find this place a nice Tuesday-​Thursday I just don’t want to cook anything and starving seems silly alternative.
Oh! also let’s talk about dessert pancakes balls. generally featuring some form of melted chocolate or pineapple. and powdered sugar. dipped into more chocolate– Can I get an Amen? order some. you will feel this dedicated also.

Maru Global for lunch — we had Octopus Takoyaki and Japanese Curry Rice and Yakisoba. The portions were generous and the flavors were interesting and delicious. The presentation of the food was great as well. HOWEVER, the whole atmosphere of the restaurant isn’t that great for a dine-​in. The chairs were rocking… we didn’t have water (didn’t know if we had to go get it on our own or if they were serving it)… and we didn’t have the menu until 10 minutes after we sat down because they were just printing it out. I understand since they were just opening for the lunch hour but still. We were just sitting there, starving, with no water and no menu to look at.
It’s a cool Japanese restaurant to try — there are more to Japanese food than just sushi/​sashimi ;)

The dancing bonito flakes are a lovely effect as the sizzling takoyaki make them sway. Take a second to soak in the presentation. No but really take a second. Don’t be like impatient me who bites into molten takoyaki, disregarding all warnings and good sense! I knew better, but I do these things constantly with pizza slices, and with delicious Japanese street food snacks, evidently.
I am a fan of Maru’s savory ping pong-​ball-​sized pancakes, filled with pickled red ginger, scallions and octopus. Takoyaki, handmade while you wait, eight of them are served up nice and hot… A golden steamin plate of takoyaki, covered in shavings of dried bonito, nori, a drizzle of tonkatsu sauce. It’s a really great snack, and you know I love a little nosh to share «on the way» here or there. I need incentives and rewards for everything. The spicy octopus variety with a little shichimi mayo fits the bill quite nicely.
Also, after peering at the Maru ball cooking process, I am sure that I now really want a nice cast iron takoyaki pan for my very own, to add to my stockpile of kitchen paraphernalia. In addition, just want to note that I love Maru Global’s red lanterns with the cute octopus fella on em… My house needs some of those too, because I can’t stop hanging decorations from my ceiling. I can not stop.
A really nice couple run this very tiny shop of wonderful authentic Japanese bites. I’ll be back and back and back.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this place! Their food is delicious, fresh, and cheap. Also, they give a 20% discount to Jeff students if you pay in cash.
The place is run by a husband and wife, Nicole and Ryo, who are sweet and amazing cooks. I’ve been averaging 2 lunches a week here, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Make sure to stop by and support this great family-​owned business!
Yakisobi, the «balls», the noodles, everything is yummmy.

Since my first review, which was written when they first opened, my view of Maru Global has changed for the better! I work at Jefferson and have lunch at Maru Global at least once a month. This is really the only thing I come here for…
Their lunch specials are pretty sweet, coming with a drink, entrée and salad or soup for only $ 5 (and change depending on which entrée). The entrees are also made to order, very quickly, right in front of your eyes.
I usually get the chicken Yakisoba, basically a Japanese lo mein dish; the noodles are fresh, they use free range chicken and they have really perfected the balance of flavors. Love the salty pickled ginger served alongside.
The house made iced green tea is also a highlight of lunches here.
The salad is standard, but always fresh.
As far as lunch deals in center city go, I couldn’t recommend Maru Global more!

Came here to try the takoyaki. Got the bbq octopus and original shrimp. Ordered pumpkin curry with rice, which came out first. Bad idea! The curry was really good and filling (would love to try and make this at home kind of yummy) that I hardly had room left for the takoyaki. The texture of the takoyaki was not what I expected. It was kinda too mushy to my liking, but flavor was good. Also tried to panko-​crusted wild harame. Tasted good with the spicy mayo dipping sauce. Fries were extra large and tasty. Homemade green tea is always a plus :)
Would def return to this family run joint. Lady that took our order was very helpful. Excited try out the other goodies on the menu

First of all, I’m not dissappointed; but i searched for a sushi bar nearby and got this from Unilocal.They do not serve sushi.
But the unique japanese dishes are awesome. I recommend the tofu salad and the french fries are awesome!

I was very excited at the prospect of takoyaki and okinomiyaki in Philadelphia, but sadly this place just doesn’t cut it. I’ve never been to the place itself, but they were one of the vendors at the Night Market.
I arrived at the market around 6:30 and immediately stood in line at Maru. They weren’t even cooking food at this point because they were «waiting for something.» So I made my rounds and came back not much later. The short line was painfully slow, when I looked at what was going on there was some white guy making about 6 takoyaki at a time rather than using the entire pan. I’ve been to Japan where I’ve seen them quickly make dozens at a time to a golden brown perfection. This was inefficient and undercooked.
For some reason I kept on waiting and after 30 minutes I get to the front – only to find out they are out of octopus! The ONE dish they are supposed to serve and they are out of it after about 10 people.
I know the night market is busy, and not the same as a restaurant, but this gross mismanagement of time and ingredients proves to me that I do not need to be going here. Combined with all these reviews of undercooked, poor quality food leads me to believe Philly won’t be seeing Kyoto street food anytime soon.

It was my first time here and I got takoyaki, beef curry, korokke, original okonomiyaki, and also free choco balls since I ordered over $ 25.
Takoyaki — I liked it! It was good and flavorful, and there were actual substantial chunks of octopus inside of it (unlike Yakitori Boy where there was barely any octopus inside of their takoyaki).
Beef Curry — I decided to order it without the katsu this time to save money, but oh gosh. This was my favorite dish. It was SO GOOD! Exactly how I like my Japanese curry. It had a very deep flavor (not sure how to explain it in English), with a slight smoky sweet BBQ-​like taste. It tastes somewhat similar in style to the curry at GoGo Curry in NYC. I ordered a small for $ 6, and it is definitely enough for one meal, especially if you decide to order other things with it. This dish is wonderful, I highly recommend it if you are a person that likes curry. It is hard to get curry like this in Philadelphia, and I’m glad I found this place.
Korokke — Essentially they are potato croquettes, and they provide tonkatsu dipping sauce. The korokke themselves were pretty alright. The crunchy exterior was very good, the inside of potatoes, beef (very little beef, mind you), and onions was decent but not extraordinary. Could potentially be better if the potatoes were more aromatic and flavorful. I found that tonkatsu sauce incredibly salty, so I barely dipped the korokke with it. This is my first time having tonkatsu sauce, so I’m not sure if that’s really how it’s supposed to be like.
Octopus okonomiyaki — I ordered this for take out. It was not terrible, but they forgot to put the sauces on top of mine… so it was a little bland. Also it tasted a little too gingery for my liking. Hopefully next time they don’t forget the sauce and it might taste better?
Chocolate balls — The balls themselves are pretty average, essentially like unsweetened dough cooked with bits of chocolate and then rolled in chocolate powder of some sort. But they serve it to you with whip cream dipping, and that makes them really good to eat!
Sadly the place is mainly more focused on take-​out than sit-​in since there is very little seating in the restaurant. I think there were about 4 – 6 small tables that fit 2 people each, and at the time I went all tables except one were taken by a group doing a BYO.
Overall my experience here was quite good, except for the fact that they forgot to put the sauces on top of my okonomiyaki. Food for the most part is good, and the closest to authentic Japanese food you can get from almost any other Philly Japanese restaurant. (The restaurant is actually owned by a real Japanese person, rather than most other «Japanese» food places in Philly.) The couple staff they have working the place are also really nice and pleasant. I REALLY loved the curry and will be going back for it and some of their other interesting eats as well.

They were really nice and the food was very good.
Picture this, you’re out at a street fair and you’re hungry and need to use the bathroom. In you walk into Maru Global to accomplish both of these goals. You end up meeting some really nice people and finding some delicious food.
What I just described above was my introduction to Maru. I ordered the octopus dumplings and watched as they were expertly made right in front of me. They cost all of 6 bucks and completely hit the spot for street food. It was incredibly appropriate since I was outside, spending time on the street. I took the dumplings, chop sticks and a spicy mayo and had a grand old time.
I’ll definitely be back here. This place has the food, the service and the prices to make it a really attractive spot to grab a quick bite.

Takoyaki is fine. I do not have much more to offer on that subject. I have not ordered it since my first couple visits; its not why I frequent Maru Global.
The actual reason is Japanese curry.
My grandmother is from Himeiji & I grew up with her homestyle cooking. I have fond memories of pungent Japanese curry – made from a curry block instead of a roux, of course – filling her home. The dish is definitely something I consider a comfort food. In fact, after fleeing the izakaya madhouse at the Khyber earlier this year, I made a direct line for Maru. Forget ramen: only curry would soothe my anxiety away. A big bowl of veggie curry over rice with chicken katsu made everything okay.
Sometimes I will order something else off their ever-​expanding menu. Usually, its the curry burrito or curry fries; I suppose that does not really count. I can vouch for the chef’s special chicken sandwich and yakisoba, too.
It might not do the trick for you, but Maru’s Japanese curry is a sure cure for the blues.

I had these Gooey Japanese Balls of delight and they were delicious. You will have to stick with that description because I forget what they are called. And the man running the counter was very helpful.
One problem with this place — the menu looks like it was designed by someone with no graphics skills. The menu is all over the place. I just gave up and asked the young man at the counter to order for me.
If you are going to market or sell something — take the guess work out of ordering. I could not make any sense out of the menu.
Go for it and have fun!

The Boyfriend and I are huge fans of burritos and Japanese curry separately, but when we found that Maru Global makes a Japanese curry burrito, the opportunity was too irresistible to pass up.
The beef curry burrito was amazing to bite into — a nice creamy, spiced curry with carrot and potato. Who would’ve known a combination of burrito and Japanese curry was so delicious? Apparently the chef here at Maru Global whom we had a chance to meet as he was flattered when we took photos of his work.
Completely ignoring how full we were, we also tried its namesake takoyaki. The spicy shrimp tasted so good and completely melted in your mouth it almost seemed sinful.

Let’s talk about okonomiyaki. That’s a sort of Japanese pancake thing all stuffed with cabbage and topped with bonito flakes, spicy mayo, and all manner of other goodies. Maru has it. It’s less than $ 10 and mad filling, besides being an umami explosion. You don’t know how to make it at home. Get it.
PS: Okonomiyaki are cooked on a flat-​top griddle. Takoyaki are griddled in a special pan with half-​sphere indents. They are NOT deep-​fried. Just to be clear on what you are gettting – many of the reviewers here are confused as to the nature of the product.

***MARU GLOBAL IS NOW TOKIO GLOBAL AND HAS MOVED NEXT TO HEAD HOUSE CAFE. SAME GREAT FOOD!***
I’ve been to Maru Global a bunch of times– at first, when they just opened, their menu was limited and seemingly dependent on their «balls», which aren’t terrible but are a little heavy for lunches. Now, they have seriously expanded their menu and include the balls options, which I recommend all of the dessert ones, the crab balls are also amazing.
I usually get the Chicken Yakisoba lunch special, which is $ 5 and also comes with a water or tea and soup or salad– a great deal! I originally ordered the Beef Curry Burrito, but then I walked by the grill and saw the yakisoba cooking and immediately changed my order to include some of that deliciousness– stir fried ramen noodles with cabbage, onion, carrot, bean sprouts, ao nori and red ginger in a tonkatsu sauce! For only $ 5 I got my chicken yakisoba, miso soup and a water, plus the laid back atmosphere, chill music, and friendly owner/​chef made it easy to want to go back. My friend got the beef curry fries and was also very happy.
I think I’ll try dinner next– panko crusted wild harame or katsu curry? Maybe one of each with a glass of wine… I think I read they had free wine, which I totally believe cause last time I was there I got a free apricot-​infused mojito for free. Apparently the female owner who also works tirelessly was a bartender and so she likes to mix free drinks for customers (they are a BYOB). Every time I go here, I like it more and more and everyone I bring here agrees it’s a great noodle fix and interesting find! I gave it another star in this updated version of my review cause they won it fair and square!

Yummy takoyaki! Finally I found a Japanese restaurant in Philadelphia area that isn’t a sushi /​tempura joint!
Went there last Saturday, ordered 2 type of tako balls. Original and BBQ flavor. Both in octopus. since the real takoyaki supposed to be only using octopus as its’ meat. But they have other choices of meat in case you don’t eat octopus. Like chicken, beef and such.
1 order of takoyaki consist of 6 balls, cost around $ 5. Both are very yummy, though I like the original more.
I will definitely go back for more and try on their Yakisoba.
Make sure you put one hour on your parking meter if you order more than just one kind. It took 20 minutes for 2 orders of different flavor takoyaki.
I didn’t see the problem with super heavy dough or some sort which encountered by other Unilocalers though. I think everything just perfect!

hmm deep fried balls. This was my first venture with takoyaki and I love Japanese food of any kind, so needless to say I was excited. I ordered the original and was served 6 deep fried balls of goodness. They were tasty, albeit doughy, but left a greasy aching not so fresh feeling. I needed to be drunk to really appreciate the grease. Since it was my first venture I’ll say its worth a try, but buyer beware they’re super heavy for being small balls of dough.
The curry chicken I had was a bit disappointing. I scarfed it down thanks to my near state of starvation, but found the roux too rich for my taste. Its worth another trip for japanese fast food– one of my faves and sorely lacking in the city, but its certainly not the best I’ve had…

Never had takoyaki before, but saw lots of videos on YouTube, so when my persistent googling of «tacoyaki» resulted in Maru Global, I was thrilled. Salivating for fried squid ball goodness, I ordered up a batch. Fresh off the griddle, I had to wait until the little guys were cool enough to eat (hee, hee, «little guys»). The first bite proved mushy to the point of undercooked and somewhat devoid of flavor. Frownie face. My hopes dashed, I hought maybe this is the way its supposed to be, but judging from comments by folks here who’ve had other experiences, it seems that tthis place just don’t make a good ball.
Maybe the griddle is too hot or the batter recipe needs adjustment? Hope they improve.

Takoyakis are traditionally cheap Japanese street food, they are pretty much soft dough balls with a piece of octopus in the middle. It’s fun, cute and chewy. One would think that it’s hard for a specialty eatery like Maru Global to get by, I mean let’s face it, Americans are not know for trying stuff that they are not familiar with and how can you really sustain a shop that only specializes in one thing? Though, Maru Global succeeded in breaching the gap between the familiar with the unknown.
Other than offering the traditional takoyaki, they expanded the concept by offering the choice of chicken and beef in addition to octopus. They also offer pizza balls, cheesesteak balls, spicy shrimp balls, crabcake balls, as well as dessert ones like chocolate banana balls. Other than balls, they also offer curry fries/​rice/​burritos, yakisobas, miso soup, salad and other little Japanese food and drinks.
The décor is clean, the air conditioning can be upgraded. The portions are a little small. The food itself tastes ok but it’s nothing stellar. I keep on wishing there’s some kind of okonomiyaki or yakitoris that would make the meal more substantial. Of all the balls, I enjoy the traditional one the best. Their presence is a welcome change for the food scene for sure but I’m not sure a snack food place would work in the States when the motto here is the bigger the better.
I wish them the best.

Finally! I have been waiting for Maru to open and serve me so I could get in on Philly’s version of takoyaki– dough balls filled with octopus. This is legitimately one of my favorite foods. I have been so frustrated every day this week, stopping in and finding them still not open. Somehow they are not serving octopus yet… tried the spicy shrimp, I can’t complain, I love this stuff so much, but it could have used a bit more grill time. Still 6 balls for 3.25 is a great price for a snack. Get it together guys, I will be your biggest fan!