Iru

Dining at Iru was nothing short of an exquisite experience—a masterclass in refinement, balance, and understated elegance for a restaurant in Boston, with roots from Japan. From the moment we arrived, service was impeccable: attentive without intrusion, warm yet polished. While the menu initially appeared extensive, it soon revealed itself to be a thoughtfully tiered prix fixe journey. We opted for the Matsu package, which unfolded gracefully through a progression of textures and flavors—from the delicate banchans and silky japchae, to a beautifully executed seafood course (shrimp or scallop per guest), and the pristine bossum, served clean and perfectly seasoned. The centerpiece, samgyetang—a sticky rice–stuffed organic chicken infused with goji berries and ginseng—was deeply comforting, its richness elevated by subtle herbal notes. Definitely this is something you want during the cold and dark days in winter. While the broth leaned slightly on the salty side, it remained deeply satisfying, carrying that soulful warmth found only in truly well-made soups. Portions are deceptively modest but cumulatively fulfilling, a testament to the kitchen’s precision and restraint. The ambiance, meanwhile, evokes modern Seoul: intimate, softly lit, and thoughtfully composed…though seating can feel snug at peak times. Reservations are essential (they open on the 15th of the prior month), and for good reason. Iru is arguably the finest expression of Korean dining in Boston today—a restaurant that honors tradition while confidently embracing contemporary sophistication.

We ordered the third course (Matsu), and every dish was fantastic. I especially loved the final course, where you get beef, pork, chicken, and seafood all at once. I was thrilled to see ganjang saeu (soy-marinated raw shrimp) on the menu—it’s hard to find good versions in Boston, and this one was excellent. Service was absolutely top-tier. The staff made us feel truly cared for—constantly checking in and refilling our small water cups without being intrusive. They were simply wonderful, and the overall vibe of the place was warm and welcoming. If I had one suggestion, it would be to clarify the menu. Right now, the “14 dishes” label might give the impression that it’s an omakase-style experience. I’d recommend listing the main dishes up top (like galbi jjim, bossam, samgyetang) and noting that they come with 14 side dishes. That way, guests won’t misinterpret the format. Overall, the food reminded me of my mom’s cooking—perfectly seasoned, never too salty, with super fresh ingredients and clear attention to detail. Everything was prepared with such care. I’ll definitely be visiting again soon. (Honestly, I think the price was absolutely worth it. As a Korean, I could really feel how much care and effort went into preparing such high-quality food. This isn’t your typical cheap, fast Korean spot you’d find in K-Town—it felt much more like a home-cooked meal, made with intention and heart. It was easy for me to tell.)

A must-try for authentic elevated Korean food! This place uses traditional, heartfelt home recipes with high quality ingredients—it’s easily among the best Korean dining I’ve had in the States. The experience was matched by impeccable service; the entire team was exceptionally nice and thoughtful.

I think the value proposition is too low here. Don't get me wrong, the banchan and japchae are good. But for the set menu, they are not impressive enough to justify the extra $27/person on top of the base samgyetang itself which is $28/person from the bar menu. I think even the soup itself, though good, is not impressive enough to justify $56 for 2 people. That being said, the atmosphere and service are very good.

The place is cosy; staff were on point the entire evening. We ordered the Toku set since we decided to try everything as it was our first visit. Everything was so good; the scallops were outstanding; as was the galbi chim. I really loved everything. The least favorite dish was Bindaetteok; but since I ordered rice to go with the Galbi Chim, I was already full and that played a part for sure. I’m coming back for sure!

TL;DR: A rip off. Overpriced, underserved, would not visit again, and wouldn’t recommend if you haven’t visited yet. Long version: First of all is the unreasonable pricing and serving portions. We were a table of four and were told we could only order the sets ($55, $60, $70, or $80 per guest). The sets were mostly small appetizers (banchan, kimchi and namul, which you usually get for free in other Korean restaurants) and then the chicken soup (samgyetang). We got the $55 set and added all the hot dishes on their menu as extra to try them out. These were supposed to be hearty, fulfilling Korean family food. Once served, we were surprised that the amount of food in the set did not increase with number of guests - the waitress told us four guests would get the same amount as two guests. And we only got one pot of soup. We have never experienced such a rip-off. If we knew this, we would rather split into two tables, spend the same dollar amount but get twice the food. The pricing is simply ridiculous. The more guests there are, the less sense it makes. Was the limited amount of food any good? It was… meh. We have had better Korean food for far cheaper, and a lot more honest. The flavor profile of all the appetizers and hot dishes was bipolar, swinging between intense saltiness and toasted sesame oil, overshadowing everything else. The samgyetang was decent, a little salty to our taste, but at least had a little complexity of sweet and tart coming from the goji berries, heat from white pepper, and texture contrast between chicken and sticky rice. Was the soup $100 good (if we sat at the bar, the same one pot of soup would be $25 per guest, hence $100)? No no. The four of us jokingly came to the consensus that it was about $38 good. And they ran out of steamed rice at the peak hour of around 7:30pm, in a Korean restaurant, with 12 or 15 customers in total. Come on… Adding salt to the wound, 1.5 hours into the dinner, another waiter came to our table and (passive aggressively) asked us if we wanted to take the soup to go while we were still eating. They then explained that they had a 2 hour time limit out of the blue and another group of guests would arrive soon. If they informed us when we made the reservation or upon our arrival, we would not say anything about it. At the end of the day, the waiters and waitresses didn’t set the time limit or the reservation times. The fault really falls onto the owner - how they train their employees to ensure clear communication, and how they should time their reservations properly. Again, if they charge fine-dining-like set menu prices, they should treat their customers accordingly. Unfortunately, we did not experience that. It feels like the owner is trying too hard to sell hearty Korean food in a Japanese set menu setting for a fat profit margin, but it just didn’t work for us. Throughout the whole dinner, we all felt a clear misalignment between the expectation and the reality of the food, the service, and the price. Coming into the dinner, considering how the restaurant emphasized on its history and pedigree, we expected certain levels of care to food and service. That was not the case. We didn’t learn a thing about any of the dishes, including the soup, like how long it took to make, where the ginseng came from, or how come a Korean restaurant ran out of steamed rice. I mean, at least try to sell us the history and pedigree and justify the pricing. I would recommend you save the trip and money and visit other more honest Korean restaurants further up Harvard Ave. Oh did I mention they ran out of steamed rice?

Iru is a great addition to the Brookline neighborhood. The food is great here, even though it is pricey. Consider where else can one find this style of cooking and high quality ingredients and we willingly pay up to be able to enjoy this tasty food. The banchan variety was good, the seaweed, spicy cucumbers and kimchi were our favorites. The raw marinated shrimps were excellent, so sweet and delicious, wish there were more of them. The kalbi dish was tasty although there was a thick layer of oil on top that was not pleasant. Had to keep skimming the oil. The ginseng chicken soup was very tasty, like a comforting chicken and rice soup that didn't have any medicinal taste at all. We did not leave hungry. The only negative I would say is that the menu is a bit confusing. The dinner set price is per person but you still only get one chicken for a party of two or larger. We did notice, however, that the party of four next to us did get a larger chicken than our table of two. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience here and look forward to returning soon.

My boyfriend and I showed up around opening time and were seated pretty immediately. The space is small, intimate, and cozy. The samgyetang was good and the service was attentive. This restaurant is known for samgyetang. It didn’t wow us, but was solidly good. I never like it when a restaurant charges for banchan. This is the second Korean restaurant I’ve been to in the Greater Boston area that employs this practice, unfortunately. Thankfully, the banchan were all very yummy! The scallops were very good. The galbijjim was decent. My boyfriend and I found the broth to be a bit too sweet, which disappointed us. The beef was tender and flavorful. The meal set was on the pricier side and pretty standard Korean fare. The bar for Korean food in the Greater Boston area is not very high.

This spot is still quite new so I'm giving them some grace on the occasional awkward service. The table set up is a bit cramped and hard to fit everything on the table. This isn't a fast casual spot but meant to be a family style meal that crosses over with fine dining. The food itself was really good. Everything we ate was tasty and there weren't any misses. The price is quite high but we got the highest tier and got to try just about everything they offered. I'm surprised with how much food came with the set. There were at least 10 different small plates. My favorites were the seafood (marinated raw shrimp and scallop), kalbitang, and samgyetang. I honestly think the price is reasonable for the amount of food and care that they provide. If I were to go back, I would probably do the mid tier just bc it was too much food for me to finish. The Samgyetang is a light chicken soup that might not be for everyone so think they mellowed out the ginseng flavor since it might turn off some people. Overall would come again and recommend it to others to try a more homey tasting Korean meal. There's a variety of different flavors in Korean cuisine and glad this spot has been added to the Boston area!

While I enjoyed my overall experience at Iru, I cannot say that I would come back or recommend it to others. I have had samgyetang in Korea before and this experience was quite different in presentation, taste, and cost. While I understand that the origins of this restaurant are Japanese, the extent of the difference was not worth it to me. I enjoyed the banchan, particularly the seaweed tsukudani and the napa cabbage and radish kimchis. The cucumber kimchi was ok and the namul sets did not stand out to me, neither did the japchae. My favorite parts of the meal were the scallops, kalbi, and bulgogi. If I were ever to return these would be the dishes I'd try again. I appreciated that for the shrimp we were provided gloves, and while the texture was not quite for me I could appreciate that the flavors on it were very good. I had come in hoping to try the chive pancakes, but the menu had changed to include mung bean pancake and it did not stand out to me. The samgyetang itself also was nothing special, it tasted like a simple chicken soup. I could not taste the ginseng and barely got any rice. I just do not think I could justify coming back to spend $28 on a simple chicken soup. Our experience being served was also very slow, it felt like they brought out the soup and left us for 30 minutes while it sat there before they came and turned up the heat to proper serving temperature. They specifically said they would come back to serve it, so after waiting so long we were confused if we had misheard. My water cup was refilled maybe once or twice, and it seemed only 1 of the 3 servers were really paying attention to the patrons, walking around refilling water, and serving up the soup. It was a relatively small restaurant, with nice warm lighting and intimate vibes.

Only come here if you have a lot of time. It been over an hour and we still haven't gotten our main meal. The price for all the banchan/side dishes is not worth it. The chives pancake is terrible. They work on the bigger tables first and then service the table with less people. It was not base on your arrival time. Very disappointed paying $80/person for this.

My partner heard about Iru through social media and made us the reservation so I had zero idea of what to expect. Right off the bat I was impressed by the space. It's simply decorated but still feels warm and intimate. For food, we didn't go for their signature samyetang and instead opted for a few of their other dishes. The person taking our order even asked, "You don't want the samyetang?", which made us feel like we messed up. Between the two of us we got the Chive Pancake, Japche, two of the Yannyong Scallops, and Kalbi Chim. This was definitely more than enough food. The Chive Pancake was the last to come, and at that point I think we could've just done without it entirely. The Scallops and Japche were my favorites. I particularly enjoyed the texture and flavor of the Scallops. I will note that we originally ordered the Bulgogi, not the Kalbi. The person taking our order even read it back to us to confirm everything was right. When the Kalbi came, we only realized after they set it down, but it looked and smelled good so we accepted it anyways. I wish I could give 4.5 stars but I did really end up enjoying the meal. Service overall was good and our water cups were never left empty. I would definitely come back to try their signature dish.

if i could give iru more than five stars, i would! this was genuinely one of the most incredible dining experiences I've ever had. the staff was patient and kind and answered all of our questions. the restaurant itself is beautiful and the atmosphere was perfect. while it is a smaller space, i didn't feel like we were on top of the tables around us and we were able to converse freely without bothering anyone else. the main attraction is, of course, the food. my friends and i ordered the lowest tier of the set menu, along with an order of the bulgogi and the bossam. the banchan was incredible and the dishes were the best i've ever had at any of the korean places i've been to. but my favorite part was the samgyetang. for what could be a very simple chicken soup, iru's samgyetang blew me away. it was well flavored and hearty and while i know samgyetang is typically sought after on the hottest of summer days in korea, it was such a comforting meal on a chilly evening in october. i can't wait to come back again!!

We went to Iru on May 20 and we were very excited after seeing on the Instagram hype on the restaurant. We looked at the menu online and had a game plan in mind but when we went there we were surprised they only had an option for omakase. If you want the ala carte menu you had to sit at the bar but you cannot order their signature Samgyetang so we had to pick the omakase option. It comes with the option of $60 dollar per person for some side dishes and the Samgyetang. $70 dollar per person for 10 side dishes, scallops or shrimp (1 per person) and Galbi or Bulgogi (1 per group). $80 dollar per person for more side dishes, some of the other dishes, and a chive or seafood pancake. We picked the $70 dollar option because we heard that the Galbi was very good. The 9 side dishes were roasted anchovies, 3 types of kimchi (regular, radish, and cucumber), kelp, roasted seaweed, spinach, bean sprouts, regular cucumber, and the japchae. 9 side dishes: 3/5 The shrimp was similar to a sushi sweet shrimp and they provide gloves so you don't get your hands messy. Shrimp: 3/5 The samgyetang is their signature dish and we had very high expectation. At the end of the day it's a clean chicken broth that is good. The chicken was tender and the soup had some flavor with the sticky rice but it did not match the hype we expected. Samgyetang:2/5 Surprisingly enough we enjoyed their galbi more than their signature dish. The short rib was very tender in a flavorful broth/stew. 4/5 House lemonade soda was refreshing and we saw it made from scratch. 3/5 The atmosphere and service was great and high quality but for the food itself it did not match it. The employees will take your coat, open the door for you, and have small conversations with you as they break down the chicken for you in the Samgyetang. Overall we were disappointed and our expectations were not fulfilled. They charged $60, $70, $80 dollars per person but you get the same amount of food. Everything is made from scratch but not from scratch before you order. They already prepared the meals and it is ready to be brought at to your table instantly. I do not believe it's worth coming to Iru at the moment because the omakase feels like a scam. If they have the previous menu where you can individually pick each menu item it would be more worth. It feels like I'm paying for the michelin star recognition more than the actual food.

New small and intimate Korean restaurant in Brookline Village that has been open for about a month. Simple and cozy interior accompanied by some background music. We were immediately greeted when we arrived and they had a rack to hang up your coat. We were initially seated at one of the smaller tables, but then they moved us to a 4 person table after we selected their last Omakase option (comes with the most dishes). The restaurant has limited seating since it's in a small space, but it wasn't full on this Tuesday evening after Labor Day. All 3 of their omakase options include banchan (normally they are side dishes that accompany a meal and are "free"), but here they were included as their own dishes. They had 9 banchan of which 3 were kimchi based, and then there was a dried seaweed, spinach, etc. The banchan were fresh, but didn't seem like they underwent much fermentation so the flavors weren't quite there. The beansprouts were crunchy and only seasoned with sesame oil and sesame seeds so it was a bit bland to us (other variations tend to include scallion and garlic for more flavor). We ordered the most expensive Omakase option and we selected the seafood pancake (didn't come sliced, was bland, and seemed a bit soggy - didn't get crispy). We also got the galbi tang soup which was extremely rich and fatty (lots of umami, but too fatty for me). Japchae was alright but nothing out of the ordinary, finally we got the ginseng chicken soup which is their signature dish. They heat it up at the table in front of you, and then take the chicken apart. Inside the chicken is a sweet glutinous rice which they mix into the soup once the chicken has been separated. Goji berries are sprinkled on the top to add a freshness to the soup. Overall it was a solid chicken soup, but I felt like regular white rice would've paired better than the sticky rice. The service was great filled with small talk during certain intervals like when they were preparing the chicken, and our cups were constantly attended to (never have to ask for water). I also tried the corn tea which was fermented and had a strong bitter more medicinal taste. Overall the food is light and bears on the healthy side, but seemed to lack flavor and creativity. The chef follows recipes from her mother which are rooted in traditional rural Korean dishes. I also agree with some of the other reviewers who mentioned that having banchan as part of the actual dishes seemed a bit off. I wouldn't rush back, but glad I got to check it out.

New restaurant in Brookline Village. Tables are hard to come by and they currently don't take reservations during their soft launch so we waited in line early to see what the Instagram hype was all about. Small, modern dining space. The menu is not extensive, and they did not have a couple of items that day - out of galbi and pancakes. Plates are fairly small so allows for ordering for variety. We had 3 banchans and a couple of orders from the mains section ("Park's Table"). I really liked the crispy salty/sweet mini anchovies, and the bean sprouts and seaweed takuda were good too. The beef bulgogi was tender, mildly sweet and delicious. Jap chae was flavorful with a slight bite to it. Servers were attentive, deferential and accommodating. As with any new restaurant, there were kinks they still need to work through, like the rhythm for when someone would come take your order, working out who was assigned to take care of your table, and whether your order was already taken. And not running out of ingredients midway through the service. But all in all, this is a good addition to the Brookline restaurant scene.

Delicious food and wonderful service! A new restaurant in Brookline, and was lucky enough to grab a reservation for their official first day. The samgaetang (a korean soup with chicken stuffed with sticky rice, dates, and korean ginseng, elevated with goji berries here) is warming, perfectly seasoned, and enjoyable to eat especially on a rainy day. Made me very nostalgic as it is a soup I grew up eating. They do charge pp for the soup, and it ended up being perfectly portioned for the two of us. While I'm typically not a fan of paying for banchan, we did splurge on a side of kimchi which was delicious. From the Park's table menu section we ordered a seafood pancake, which was heavy on the onions and chives. Overall would return for some delicious soup!

I was so excited to try this place. I love korean bbq so when I saw a korean omakase style restaurant open up I was thrilled. Everything tasted good for the most part but we paid $80 for the "14 course" omakase and I just truly did not feel like it was worth the cost at all. Calling a tiny side of kimchi or seaweed a course is kind of laughable in my opinion. Banchan are small side dishes that are an essential part of korean cuisine, typically served alongside rice and other main dishes. But here- they're considered an omakase course. I've had many omakase dinners before, mostly at higher end places and while the portions were small for each course they were substantial, not banchan. If the cost for what we got was $50 pp it would have been a lot more reasonable.

Might be one of the most memorable meals this year. The bosom melts in your mouth the perfect about of texture and chew. The Kalbi and bugolgi has rich aromas of sweet onion and cooked perfectly. The pickles were fresh and the Banchan was all house made. Highly recommended

We thought Iru was great. The food was delicious and we loved our server. I understand what others have said about value - yes, you can get Korean food that tastes this good at a cheaper place (some of the best I've had was at a Korean spa in suburban Chicago), but that's true of just about any upscale restaurant. We loved our experience and thought it made for a fun and delicious special occasion dinner.

Was very frustrated with this place. The cost to value is just so incredibly out of whack that it can't not be mentioned. The main soup is reasonably good but it wasn't special. It was chicken soup. Not much more. It's bland, you can't taste any of the comfort components to it like the ginger root or the supposed Korean dates. At the end of the day it's kind of normal chicken soup. And guess what, it's $28 per person. If you go with 3 people it's $84 for chicken soup and you're not even getting any different portion than a 2 person soup. The other dishes are small, like the japchae for example. It's going to be a popular place but surely a lot of people will be walking out feeling the same and ultimately this is unsustainable. 28/person for chicken soup is one of the very craziest things I've ever heard of at a restaurant. And on top of that we all left and were starving an hour later. Careful because the influencers are about to make a big fuss about the place as that's the new model. Don't have to take my word though try it out.