Kuma’s Asian Bistro

Came here for my birthday dinner and I was not disappointed. The decal is very classy, and it’s actually pretty spacious for being located downtown. The staff is friendly, and they are vegetarian friendly!
I ordered the Bibimbap dolsat with tofu and no egg, and they were very compliant. The portion was pretty big, and it came with a side of kimchi and pickled daikon. The dish was really tasty! It packed a lot of flavor, and I added some sauce on the side to make it more spicy. The price is a little on the high side, but for the quality of the food, it’s okay to stretch the wallet every now and then.

Had an early dinner here before the Symphony. Somehow they misplaced our reservation but seated us promptly in a full restaurant. We enjoyed a wine special and egg rolls. Our waitress was very aware of our time constraints and took our order early on which came out very promptly! Had a teriyaki shrimp bowl which was loaded with shrimp and vegetables. Excellent. This is a really classy restaurant with great selections, nice atmosphere and great service. We will be back soon. So good to see successful business in downtown Rockford!

Went there with a group of six and was surprised the place only had two other tables being served and the rest of the place was empty. Talk about private dining at 7:30 on a Saturday. Staff was very friendly and everything was nice and clean. Food was average.

The food here is OMG, Oh My Goodness. I’m serious. The very best egg roll I’ve ever put into my mouth, the VERY BEST, CAN you HERE ME NOW? !!**WOW**!!. They make their own kimchi, who does that? It is sooo good. I’ve never had it before. OK so I ordered Korean Short ribs. Layers upon layers of flavor. They are a different cut of short rib. More from the solar plexus, or sturman. to put it in words the sauce taste like a sesame based like a sesame chicken/​or beef. That has been marinated until they are just right. Take a little short rib and kimchi at the same time. It’s a party on your tongue. Kimchi is a little bit spicy. It finishes so clean. It’s not hot. Not at all. The price for short rib was $ 19. And I asked for fried rice, that was a little up charge $ 1.50. Well worth the upcharge. Plenty of food. Lots of left overs.
GO HERE for Asian at its very, very, finest in this city. Kiss the chief. Tell them Bob sent you.
Next up Korean BBQ, or bibimbop. I love the plac

We love Kuma’s the food is great. The lad na is especially good as is the bi bim bop. They have Kim chi and also a variety of gluten free options the wife enjoys. The service is good and the prices are reasonable.

Fantastic restaurant! Great service and atmosphere. Had the vegetarian lettuce wraps, spicy green beans and Hibachi salmon – all perfectly prepared. Others at the table loved their meals too. I felt the prices were very reasonable! Where else can you get a Cosmo for $ 3.00 on a Saturday night!!!
I will definitely be back to this little treasure in Rockford!

For an asian place in Rockford its one of the best. Very clean and laid back. Food was really good and pretty good portions. A little pricey for what it is though. But will be back. The Korean ribeye bbq was awesome!

My favorite in Rockford. Huge selection of different Asian dishes, and also a great selection of you don’t eat meat. You get huge food portions that are worthy of their price, and the staff is always friendly. My favorite is the Dolsot Bibimbap with tofu :) My husband love their hibachi chicken and hibachi salmon and Crab Rangoon. My 2 year loves the kids teriyaki chicken (they have a kids menu too!) The restaurant is beautiful inside as well. Overall Kumas is my favorite Asian cuisine I’ve found.

Over rated. … decent food but very little on the plate for the price they charge. If you want real Asian fusion, go to Chicago where your mouth, tummy and wallet walk away happy.

Food was great. Service was terrible. Order was taken. She got her food 10 minutes before mine. Drinks sat empty, never once was refilled. We were drinking martini and she could have sold several more if any one would of checked on our table. Even the food was delivered by someone else. Seen our blonde server once when she took out order and I had to flag her down to get a check. We would of had desert, but didn’t want to wait forever. Again food was terrific, but service was terrible.

We come to Kuma’s almost weekly and are always pleased with our meals. Tonight the special was Sweet and Sour Basa… amazing!

Horrible customer service!!!
Do not expect to eat here in a reasonable amount of time. We came here to eat our lunch during the lunch break. It took them 40 min. to bring our food. We had no other option than taking our food in to-​go boxes. We will never return to this place!!!

Kuma’s is fantastic! The honey walnut shrimp is is my go to.

I was really surprised to find this fusion restaurant in Rockford and I had very low expectations on the food. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the food was pretty good. The waitress was very pleasant. I tried the pomegranate martini and it was really sweet and not to my taste.
I also had the bibimbap. As a korean, it was not bad. My husband had the salmon habatchi and he liked his meal. Overall I am definitely going back.

Glad we found this restaurant! Came right when it opened on a Tuesday afternoon so the server was very polite and attentive.
I had really hoped the server would have given a more of an experience like explaining any specials they had since Unilocalers of this place say to ask for them.
I enjoyed the items that we ordered and the portions were acceptable.
We do plan on returning!

I went here two weeks ago with my boyfriend after he had just moved to Rockford. I was a little scared to try an Asian fusion place in Rockford after living in Houston for more than 10 years and being spoiled by fantastic Asian cuisine.
Kuma’s did not disappoint. I ordered the bibimbap and my boyfriend ordered the bulgogi. Very authentic and delicious. I HIGHLY recommend both. We tried the pomegranate sake martini since it was a special. I thought it was a little too tart, but since that was the «worst» part of our meal, I wasn’t complaining. We were so impressed my boyfriend offered to take me back again this weekend. And the prices can’t be beat!

I have been going to Kuma’s Asian Bistro for a number of years and its hard to see such a good restaurant struggling.
Décor/​Location: 3.5÷5 Kumas has a classy upscale feel with exposed brick and metal in the ceiling, tables are nice and there is a more private room for large parties. Located downtown (I believe in the 300 block of east state) parking is limited.
Food/​Cost: ⁴⁄₅ Kumas is a fusion of different Asian cuisines. Combined are Japanese, Korean, and Thai inspired flavors with a pretty expansive menu. The key to this restaurant is in the sauce; there is a large variety of sauces from curry, to spicy, to sweet, to sour, and I haven’t had anything I didn’t enjoy. Costs are very reasonable and they often have unadvertised specials (just ask).
Service: ³⁄₅ Sometimes great, often middling. There are a few servers that have me continuing to go to this restaurant. I’ve had a couple of experiences where drinks ran empty for a long time and the food took forever, which don’t help reinforce my recommending the restaurant to others.
Overall Kuma’s is an excellent restaurant that definitely deserves your patronage.

I am new to the area, and in the process of trying new places, especially Asian places. This is number 3 and it was very good. We had the Kyochun chicken, and asked for extra chili on the side — it was good but pretty saucy. We also tried the chicken with holy basil which was also tasty. I had the drink special, — a little sweet (pom/​cranberry martini) but I enjoyed it.
Service was mixed, hostess was kind of eh (like she didn’t want to be there) but server was very good.
We will return, but I am still looking for a Chinese place. Reading reviews here though makes me think I may have to go to suburbs or Madison.

This was a very pleasant surprise in downtown Rockford. My brother is began so it’s difficult to find restaurants that provide a lot of options for him. So when he suggested this place, I was all for it! It’s a fairly small place but it’s cozy and the waitstaff is very friendly. We went later on a Saturday night so it wasn’t busy at all. Our waiter I think is normally a bartender but he was super nice and very helpful.
As an appetizer we got the vegetable potstickers which were tasty and came out fairly quickly. I got the Thai Basil Chicken with brown rice and it was great. Very flavorful, although there was quite a bit of sauce that was on it. My brother got the Kung Pao Stir Fry with tofu and he said it was awesome. He said it had a lot of heat but was super good. The portion sizes were big enough to where we both had more than enough to take home for a second meal.
Overall I really liked this place. The variety of options is really nice to see, especially for vegans and vegetarians because it’s hard to find things they can eat at most normal places. I definitely would go here again!

For Rockford, finding a 4-​star establishment is basically like finding a Michelin starred restaurant.
And Kuma’s will be that 4-​star joint you’ve been looking for.
When I got here, I was greeted warmly be their waiter, and seated immediately.
I ordered their pomegranate martini, which was just a bit too sweet for me. I also ordered their Thai meatballs for an appetizer, and was treated to a generous amount of delicious meatballs.
For an entrée, I got their crispy catfish with veggies, which wasn’t bad, but had too much sauce that overwhelmed the rest of the dish.
I’d say that they depend too much on their sauces to deliver flavor, and instead, should focus on just enhancing the natural flavors of their dishes.
But at least they’re trying, and I applaud them for that!