Kuma’s Asian Bistro

I’ve been here numerous times I don’t know why I haven’t reviewed Kumas before. The staff is friendly and the tin roof is cool, nice location downtown in Naperville. They have strong but good daily martini specials. I had the pomegranate martini wish it had a little more juice and a garnish. For dinner we had crab Rangoons (the shape not so appealing, it tasted ok but the dip not so much), dolsot bibimbap (chicken with brown rice it was still hot after 20 mins decent), kyochun chicken (small portions just spicy could have had more texture battered and fried instead of stir fry). I like their drunken noodles.

Great staff! Great FOOD! Go for the Crab Rangoons and FIERY SAIGON!

Asian restaurant located in downtown Naperville. If you want Chinese, they have it; if you want Japanese, they have that too; if you want Korean, its on the menu.

Another lazy Sunday and whole fam is craving for sushi. Like we always do, went to Unilocal and Kuma’s came up from the search (should’ve checked the menu first). All hungry we found a nice parking in front of the restaurant. Greeted by the server and seated immediately since this place was empty for lunch that day. Maybe a couple occupied tables but that’s it.
First impression hit me like, this is a really nice place to go out on intimate dinners or if you’re just want good conversations with your date. The moody lighting and the nice table setup adds to the ambience.
Few minutes in looking at the menu, we all got dissapointed since sushi is no where to be found, there seem to be something wrong with Unilocal’s search logic not the restaurant’s fault. Boo hoo! Now kids and my wife contemplating to move, I kinda’ talked them into staying. The rest of our lunch went downhill after that. We ordered Ebi Tempura but the server said it’s no longer available and would be taken off from the menu offering. That’s strike 1 for us. So we went with the sesame chicken but substituted rice noodles instead of a rice bowl ($ 11) and bangkok blazing noodles ($ 13). Kids got their junior teriyaki chicken. Kid’s orders came out very fast but the chicken tasted like sweet and sour instead of teriyaki flavored, strike 2. Kids still liked it though. So ours came out maybe after 10mins in. But first bite of the sesame chicken dish tasted overly sweet as my wife describe it as pouring 50 packets of sweetener on a bed of soggy, overcooked noodles with portions of undercooked chicken cutlets. I was wondering how they actually mess up a very simple dish. That’s strike 3.
On a good note, my blazing noodles came out fine with the Korean chili sauce adding heat to the stir fried noodles and veggies. I also noticed the signature dishes aren’t available from that Sunday menu, when I looked at it again contemplating on what dish we should’ve ordered instead. Strike 4. My only assumption is the chef was on vacation and they promoted one of their line cooks :-) I was surprised since they really had very good reviews. I might come on a weekday next time and hopefully have a better experience.

We went to this place last night. The entrée dish was good (avocado rolls) and different. But the chicken we ordered was overcooked hence hard to chew. Even the pad thai was average taste. And we ended up paying the same as we do in pf changs (which serves hogh quality food) and more than big bowl (another high quality chain).
We would not like to go there again.

My boyfriend and I stopped here for an early dinner before heading to the airport. At 4pm, we were the only ones in the restaurant. We were seated at a table next to the window and the people watching of the downtown Naperville area made our seats quite enjoyable. We were greeted right away and enjoyed warm, friendly service throughout our meal. I noticed a table tent with Kuma herself and her story, and thought it was nice to see a bit of heart in this restaurant.
Since it was my first time here, we decided to order a variety of plates for me to sample. We tried a couple of small plates and ordered one signature dish. We chose the following:
–Korean BBQ Beef (Bulgogi): Tender slices of marinated rib eye steak with onion, mushrooms, and shredded carrots in our chef’s special sweet sauce.
–Drunken Honey Chicken: Tender pieces of marinated chicken and crispy green beans stirfried with thick noodles in our honey glazed sauce (Slightly Spicy)
–Kyochun Chicken: Crispy pieces of chicken marinated in our special curry & chili pepper sauce, topped with crushed peanuts. Served with a side of steamed rice. (Spicy)
My favorite dish was the drunken honey chicken as the chicken arrived pretty crispy, the noodles were an interesting addition, and the green beans were cooked well. The Bulgogi is far from the traditional Korean dish, and the Kyochun chicken was spicy and bold, but perhaps too bold for my taste. Kuma’s definitely appeals to those looking for Asian fusion with their slightly greasy fare and upscale prices. Service was great here. I’d love to come back and sample some of their other popular fusion dishes!

By far the best Asian food I have had in the Naperville/​Plainfield area.
The food is outstanding and beware large portions.
The service is perfect with very knowledgeable staff.
Chicken egg rolls so good
Paella with sausage and chicken is heavenly.

Good food, good atmosphere and good location. The honey walnut chicken with steamed broccoli is my favorite. I’m probably being overly stingy by giving it 4 stars instead of 5, but this is. Great example of a restaurant that is good and reasonably priced that I would frequent if I lived closer, but is just short of great.

Great place to eat with friends. Warm and inviting as well as great food. Location is perfect in Naperville, close to all that is happening but still quite and peaceful inside. One of our go to locations when we need an Asian fix.

Flavors were good, but one of our meals (Honey Glazed Chicken) the chicken was overcooked and hard an nails. My daughter’s dish, which wasn’t noted as spicy (Pad Thai) and was spicy. She didn’t mention it until after we left, she just was picking at her plate and we thought she wasn’t hungry.
The appetizers were delicious, but I just don’t feel that we got our money’s worth here. We won’t be back.

Came in over the weekend and sat at the bar because we were told there was a 45 min wait for table. No big deal, but next time we will plan ahead and make a reservation. The bartender was very good: quick to grab menus, take orders, deliver food and drinks promptly. We started with some potstickers, which were tasty, but predictable. I opted for a mild flavored noodle dish with chicken and it was good and mild for sure. I was a bit jealous of my husband’s spicy Korean bbq beef dish and I will have to order that for myself next time. Both dishes were generous portions and full of each respective protein. I look forward to trying something different or having that Korean beef next time we stop in.

Tasty Asian food! Went with a group of 4 people, and we all liked our dishes. Typical prices for the Naperville area. The only reason one star got knocked off was because of our waitress. Zero personality, and it seemed like we were a hassle for her (umm…7pm on a regular Friday night). I think better service would go a very long way for them!!! Still worth the visit for some tasty cuisine though.

Great spot for vegetarians!
Finally made it to check out this place for a late lunch after years of walking by and wondering… and I can’t believe I waited so long!
My friend and I got the avocado egg «roll» as an appetizer — perfect size for two people. It wasn’t a roll, but rather two flat fried pieces cut in four parts. The inside reminded me of a delicious chip dip, with some small pieces of avocado inside. The sauce that came with it was good, but a little bland for my taste, so I added some hot sauce and it was perfect.
I ended up with the Pad Thai with tofu, which they customized for me and made spicy (they do have different spicy dishes, just not the pad Thai). It was absolutely delicious! Not to mention there was plenty of it — you could easily get two meals out of it… I was just super hungry, heh.
Another small detail: I asked for a box to take my (small) leftovers home, and they brought out a small, appropriately-​sized (and, thankfully, easily recyclable!) one. I always hate lugging one of those awful styrofoam containers, especially for a small amount of food, so this was a little thing I appreciated. :)
I will definitely be back!

If you are looking for a truly memorable dinning experience, then you must Kuma’s. The staff is highly knowledgable (Jarrett was the man!) and gave us excellent recommendations. We started with the chicken egg rolls with pineapple dipping sauce, yum! We then chose the drunken honey chicken noddles, fiery Shanghai and Bap with beef… Absolutely amazing flavor texture and perfect balance of spice and heat.
Ambiance was nice, not romantic… But great for a date night. Cool bar area and a great selection of spirits, mix drinks and wine.
We will be back!

Solid asian fusion restaurant with great drink pairs. This restaurant is located in the heart of downtown Naperville, making it an enticing date night or dinner and drinks location.
We tried the chicken egg rolls and the bang bang noodles (perfect kick of spice). For deserts we ordered the chocolate cake which came with a little circle of hot fudge in the middle. It was delightful. I hope to return again as I found out all the sauces were made in house. The ambiance was nice but not exactly romantic as the restaurant is quite noisy. There are quite a few local bars within walking distance and plenty of ample parking available.

Great décor. Great service. Review is on food.
Was very good. We ordered the crab/​lobster cakes as ap. crunchy and sauce spicy. Good start.
Then we ordered chicken, sausage and shrimp paella (Spanish, Korean fusion) which came in hot stone pot, that gave awesome crunchy rice on the bottom socarrat. Good seasoning. The shrimp and sausage was good. The chicken looked like chicken fingers that was already pan fried in breading.
Then we ordered Kalbi the Korean rib. Came with jasmine rice not sticky rice and some broccoli. No ban chan just Americanized hot plate. Flavor was sweet, again Americanized.
Overall very good if you are not Korean, and used to Korean presentation with ten small banchans that accompany a dish. That’s why this is called FUSIAN.
Go, it’s good. No MSG.
Chef Kuma is delightful. She greets everyone and makes you feel welcome. She earnestly wants your feedback, not just small talk.

I don’t get the hype. It was OK, not astonishing. We had never been there before and we each ordered a bowl from the house signature dishes menu; it was SO much food, like, nearly preposterously so. The food was good, i suppose, but not exciting. We each had a small tasty appetizer, and I wish the server had warned us that we should have split one bowl instead of ordering two, I kinda felt like that must happen a lot there and they don’t mind at all selling you more than you want.
Average beer list. My +1 had a cocktail from the bar that was pretty much awful, it tasted of cheap plastic bottle brand vodka and pomegranate flavor from a Capri sun pouch or something, like the kind of well drink you get free with your cost of admission into a college bar. We passed it around the table purely for novelty value, I don’t think it got finished.
Yeah, I suppose I would eat there again, but there are a lot of options in downtown naperville now, and not living near there, i won’t be back in the next time I’m in naperville for dinner.

Lunch crowd – oh, there was no crowd.
Good was fab. Martini special was priced right. Get the small plate for lunch. It’s just the right size and tasty.

Yum. So good. One of the best places to have dinner in Naperville. I very much enjoyed the Fiery Siegan, which was Vietnamese Basa fish, very similar to whitefish, but served with a wonderfully spicy sauce. I have also enjoyed the Korean bbq dishes in the past. The spareribs were very tasty. The kids’ menu makes you feel less guilty for bringing the children to an adult-​oriented restaurant.

Kuma’s is great! I am a picky eater and a Thai food enthusiast so I was excited to give Kuma’s a go!
First thing I noticed what the prices were a lot less expensive than I anticipated. It is in such a great location, with nice décor and huge portions! I sat at the bar with Neil and he was a delight. He is funny and the perfect amount of talkative. Everything you want in a bartender!
I ordered the curried tofu and veggies with brown rice and the house riesling. The riesling was good and a good pour, but the food is what sold me! Large potions of amazing authentic thai food with a house made chili sauce that knocks Siracha out of the park!
I HIGHLY recommend!