Anju Above

Excellent service! Waiter was friendly and helpful and my water glass was constantly refilled even though I was also having wine. Tried some of my friends sushi and it was delicious and my own Pizza Bianca was amazing!
The atmosphere was really laid back and fun. I think Godzilla was playing on the big screen? I had held back from trying this place thinking it was dress up/​snooty but so not like that. Warm & friendly vibe –can’t wait to try again!

Well, previously I will definitely gave this place 5 stars for the earlier experience, when I was so happy to find out a good ramen spot in Bloomington town. Of course, their handroll and pizza never made me disappointed until the last dinner. I don’t know if because it was not the weekend night or because I just recently travelled back from San Fransisco (food paradise, right), the ramen broth I got here was not rich and tasty as last time, and the pork is almost like half cooked, not able to chew at all. And the Nigiri, I have to say very disappointed, not fresh as handroll before. I guess I will continue visiting back, but not sure when that would be. This is still my favorite Asian food spot with Chicago contemporary dish style. Cool place to have a weekend or Friday drink.

One word~AMAZING! Haven’t had a bad thing off the menu. Korean BBQ wings are fantastic. The pretzel bites are really good. Anju Pork dumplings are yummy. White tuna roll is scrumptious. Love the Farm to Face, Tempura Shrimp & Gucci Cali Rolls. And the all out stellar stand out is the Scallop Nigiri-​to die for!!!

Love the diversity of all of the different foods. Very fun for date night!

Jessica is an AWESOME waitress! Cares about the experience and the food. Some very tasty food with great ambiance! Must go.

Amazing food, pizza, sushi, great alcohol selection. Went here once and the sushi was superb! I’ve had a white tuna once in my life, I thought it was disgusting, the waitress convinced me to have it again and it is now one of my favorite fish. This is definitely one of my favorite sushi restaurants in central IL. Great quality food, amazing environment, friendly staff, I will definitely be coming back over and over and over again.

I found that some of the items on the menu were either hit or miss. The ramen I got came in a broth of thick salty sludge with not much complexity in terms of flavor. Toppings of Egg, shiitake mushrooms, shredded Chinese cabbage all seemed like they were bathed in a salty brine hours, maybe days, before landing into the ramen bowl. The noodles had a decent texture but had me questioning freshness. One positive that emerged from my initial distaste was the Chashu (pork), which turned out to be quite delicious, although cut and presented differently. I enjoyed the cauterized skin and the layers of plump fat laced with sinewy muscle. However, seeing that this establishment aims to portray Asian Fusion, cuisine which emphasizes aesthetics, I am sad to say that the entire dish had poor execution. The elements seemed like they were rushed into a bowl without much thought in terms of placement, never mind meaning.
I applaud the restaurant’s effort in attempting something out of the ordinary in their sushi selection, however the endeavor fell a little flat. The reason for sushi to appear on our table was because my dinner companions had interest. The roll looked pretty appetizing however, the only memory I have of the roll was blurred with a thick film of cream cheese. It frustrates me to see more and more fusion restaurants incorporate this sad excuse of an ingredient. All it does is dampen the flavor and provide a floundering texture.
Banchan was something else I ordered (separate small dishes varying from pickled to spiced, raw, and cooked), it sounded very enticing. I love Korean Banchan and hearing the ingredients that day had given me high hopes. However my order didn’t make it all the way through from the kitchen to the dining table and by the time I was done with the Ramen, I was beyond full, therefore I cancelled it.
Aside from the Asian cuisine, I quite enjoyed the BBQ Chicken Pizza. It had a great mixture of flavor, expressing sweet and savory flavors. The crust was perfectly baked, thin, toasty, and aptly charred. The tomato sauce had a little kick, but paired beautifully with the tango of aromas. I recommend this item.
Overall this place had a pleasant interior and team of staff. The food came out timely and at the right temperature and drinks were always above half full.

Great atmosphere… eclectic yet casual. Excellent food as well. Great date place.

5 stars! This place rocks! Great food and romantic atmosphere! Small plates. Great deserts and drinks as well. Special kudos for the fried ice cream and the korean barbecue. 5 stars!

Not a five star connoisseur but this golden greatness is a hundo well worth spending. One of my guest’s felt the owner/​chef a bit pompous but my retort was… when you’re this good, you get the swagger of greatness. Probably couldn’t down a tequila shot with the gentleman but his attention to detail and the staff he lead exemplifies the attention to detail that is second to only hospitality text books. Local farm fresh veggies and a sense of environmental responsibility is a huge bonus to the fabulous flavor! I would travel well more than an hour to enjoy this magnificence again!

OMG Anju Above is amazing! The pork dumplings and tofu donuts are to die for!!! And trust me I was weary of the tofu donuts and now I crave them! Yum Yum Yummmy!!! Go there right now!

Great atmosphere. Great tasting food. Menu is limited but they know what they’re doing with what they offer. Definitely worth a try for a cool night out or if you want to feel like you are not in downtown Bloomington.

Absolutely delicious food and a marvelous ambiance. I came for my birthday and ordered one thing from each section of the menu to share with friends, and there wasn’t anything I didn’t like!
The dumplings were scrumptious, the sushi was excellent, the salmon hand roll was weird but tasty… We got a Tuscan Kale salad that I thought I’d hate but it was actually the first time I’ve really enjoyed kale lol. The beer and cocktails were satisfactory and the Korean BBQ wings were to die for!
The one downside is that it can be a bit pricey for the amount of food you get, but it was all very delicious.
Our server was kind and friendly, and very helpful. Love this place and will definitely be back!

Anju Above is a really unique experience for the BloNo area. I had the pork buns. The filling was pretty good, but the dough for the buns was wonderful and sweet. I could’ve just ate that without the filling. We also had the diablo pizza. The pizza is the main reason Anju earns a 4 instead of 5 in my opinion. The pizza was listed as spicy, it was not unless you took a bite with jalapeño on it, which there weren’t that many slices on it. Also, the pizza was a few minutes underdone, which made it droopy and lacking a good crust in the middle. The last thing I tried were the Korean BBQ wings, which were amazing. I definitely recommend the wings.
Overall, the vibe is trendy, and the open kitchens are neat to see. The space is large, but music is loud, which makes the entire place seem loud, even if it is not crowded. I recommend giving it a try.

Made reservations five days ahead for just two people using the Unilocal app (so be wary of that). Made us wait 15 minutes before informing us they’d overbooked so we should eat downstairs, no apology or compensation at any point for their mistake. And this was our first time there. The menus for both places were kind of disappointing, with none of the sharables standing out. We got the pork buns, which were alright, spicy salmon, which wasn’t anything special, and ramen with very fatty pork belly. The chocolate soufflé was great but the accompanying ice cream and marshmallows weren’t good and didn’t make for very balanced flavors. I went in with high expectations but was disappointed from the start with the overbooking and then the underwhelming options and ordered dishes.

I love Anju. In order to go to this place, you must be aware that their menu is odd and you must be comfortable ordering different kinds of cuisines in one sitting.
We have dined here a few times. We love their sushi, house salad, and many of their other dishes. They always have a fantastic selection of craft beer as well.
If you are looking for a fun date night and have some money to spend, go here!

Came here with the boyfriend a couple of weeks back and I was super impressed! Its unfortunate that it seems most people just get pizza here because their asian inspired items are so tasty! The sushi is pretty far from traditional sushi but it was super yummy! The ramen was incredible! I’m still trying to figure out how they cooked the egg so perfectly. It was wing night when we came so we had to try those too. They were your standard deep fried chicken wings smothered in a sweet sauce but done really well. I would totally come back here for half priced wings on Wednesdays and just hang out with some beer. Speaking of beer, none of the draft beer is on the menu. Its listed on a table tent. Can be a little confusing for new comers. We also got dessert which was so unnecessary. Felt like it was a little too sweet and not chocolatey enough but that was probably our full stomachs talking. All in all great and we can wait to try the downstairs next time!

I am the weirdo that likes but doesn’t love this place (whereas I LOVE Epiphany Farms). Some things to consider: atmosphere is eclectic and makes you forget you’re in Bloomington, it’s great for groups and to hang out late, service is also top notch. I appreciate a limited menu because it implies you know what you’re good at and you stick to that. So why not 5 stars? There are a few items on the menu, that with a few improvements would really raise the bar for me. My friends love it here, so as previously mentioned, I could be the weirdo :-)
LOVES: Pork Steam Buns. Pork Dumplings. Kale Salad. Pretzel bites. And this amazing mixed drink that I think is called Anju Juice?
Eh:
— Pizza is mostly dough and sparse toppings, which is a shame since I know they have farm fresh ingredients in the kitchen. I just want them to put more toppings on. Give me the good stuff!
— BBQ Wings have bones, but down at Epiphany they offer the boneless ones which I think are better (more chicken). It’s the same awesome breading and sauce. Just wish you had the choice upstairs.
— Sushi is unique, but I think I like traditional rolls better. It gets so clever, it doesn’t really feel like sushi anymore.
— Beer types are good, but I wish there was a larger selection.
This is likely more about personal preference than anything else, but since its my review, I suppose my opinion matters a little :-) I’ll definitely come back and order from my Loves List, and keep hoping the other items improve so I can try them again sometime.

This was a really great spot for dinner! I had dinner for one at the bar, so it probably would have been better if I was able to share a few dishes, but it was still good. The vegetable bowl was a little less flavorful than I would have liked, but it was good. The salmon hand rolls were really great.
The bartender was attentive and friendly, and all of the food was really nicely presented as well. They have a pretty good drink list with beer, wine, and specialty cocktails. The atmosphere is really cool– low lighting, but decorative lights and decorations. They play loud, kind of clubby type music– don’t know if I like that or not? But it works.
Overall, I would definitely go back, but hopefully with other people next time! I love the fresh ingredients– that’s really important to me, and hard to find while traveling.

Found (and loved) Anju Above because we tried to return to Epiphany Farms for lunch (after loving the dinner the night before) but only Anju Above was open. It is run by the same awesome people, same farm-​to-​table approach, just different menu and a more casual style.
We had their mac and cheese (delicious!), a salad (same as at Epiphany Farms — outstanding!!) with salmon (I asked it cooked rare and they made it beautifully rare, it was so delicious!) and cookies for dessert. Okay, these were THE BEST cookies I had ever had. Period. Loved it. If for nothing else, go to Anju Above for the cookies!
Thank you to Epiphany Farms for caring about the world (with their sustainable farming and farm-​to-​table approach) and for caring about the palates of their customers :)
P. S. Forgot to mention, both Epiphany Farms and Anju Above filter their tap water which ends up tasting great!!! Why can’t more places be like this?