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A-Rl-Rang
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
23 reviews for A-Rl-Rang
Review Highlights
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"And I love their bi bim bap too." In 2 reviews -
"My favorite Korean restaurant on campus." In 6 reviews
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"...give you a lot of food, plus soup and 2 kinds of kim chi." In 6 reviews
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23 reviews in English
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Review from Jes K.
Wallingford, Seattle, WA
4/24/2012
Best Korean place in town. Miss their food even after I moved away.
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Review from Green G.
Urbana, IL
1/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
Very good soup and fish dishes.
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Review from Samuel I.
Champaign, IL
6/24/2011
The Korean food here is scrumptious, and from what my Korean friends tell me, it's super authentic. Judging by the high volume of Koreans eating there as well, this seems to be the consensus.
The restaurant is a dive-y little joint and reminiscent of a beef stand, burger joint, or whatnot, but if you want fancy ambiance AND really good food, you should be prepared to pay extra for it. I can leave here with a full belly, a smile on my face, and be less than $10 lighter in the pocket.
Concerning some of the other reviews, the owner has smiled and thanked me every time that I've ordered/paid or returned my dishes.
During lunch, this place can get quite busy, so you might have to share a table with strangers and/or wait up to 20 minutes for your food, but it's totally worth it. -
Review from Tricia K.
Rio Rancho, NM
3/13/2011
I loved the beef bone soup I got to go from here and I found the crankiness of the owner to be charming. This is a low key campus joint so what do you expect?? Actually, the owner was fairly nice to me and smiled, probably because he figured I wasn't a student. It looked like most of the foreign students in there were also ordering soups (could have been because it was really chilly).
The soup came with a large portion of rice and only 3 kimchees (not really banchan). Oddly enough, there were somen noodles in mine but the soup was deeply flavored and I was more than satisfied it. I can't wait to come back to IL to get another bowl of this soup, its my comfort food when I am on the road for recruiting. -
Review from Hao C.
Urbana, IL
10/18/2011
Good Korean restaurant and close to engineering labs.
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Review from Thomas B.
Urbana, IL
12/22/2009 4 photos
"A-ri-rang" is the most popular and best-known Korean folk song. A-ri-rang is an ancient native Korean word with no modern meaning. 'Ari' means "beautiful"; 'Rang' can mean "dear".
The food here is good, but there is nothing beautiful about the joint and the proprietor is anything but dear.
I have been coming here for years and he has never smiled or said "thank you". Today I ordered bi bim bap and instead of coming in a hot stone bowl as usual, it came in a cold plastic bowl. At the very least, I wish he would have asked me to clarify my order.
There are communal tables in the center of the place, which I like but they are merely worn out old folding conference tables.
He always has the TV blaring on Headline News.
But the food is good, maybe the best Korean on campus. This is no small feat in a university town hosting 3500 native Koreans.
So I added a star for good authentic Korean food, patronized by mostly Korean clientele, but subtracted a star for a surly owner and subtracted another star for crappy interior furnishings. -
Review from Erica V.
Irvine, CA
10/30/2011
I don't know if they gave us the flavor-less version because we are not Korean. But we had soon doo boo and dwenjang chigae and they were so-so at best. I had to add salt, gochu powder and gochujeon to mine to give it a little flavor. The owner was irritated as promised in other yelp reviews. The dining area was cramped and uninviting. I will definitely find another Korean place to go to in the future.
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Review from A W.
Champaign, IL
12/31/2007
Best Korean food in Champaign. I speak only the truth. With an already generous serving of food, your meal also comes with two types of kim chi and soup.
Plus, as meat-heavy as Korean food tends to be, A-Ri-Rang will accommodate vegetarian and/or vegan preferences. -
Review from Anne W.
9/28/2007
Arirang is oh-kay.. when I have a craving for Korean, I would rather pay a little more and go to B-Won on Neil or Dorcas. They are a little pricey for what you get. Supposedly, a lot of Koreans go here because they have adjusted the menu and taken out the MSG.
I think the dolsot bim bim bap is good here (rice in a hot stone bowl with veggies and meat). I also think their bacon and spam with noodles is really good... forgot what that's called. I don't think their rice cakes with spicy sauce is that good though. -
Review from Vivian L.
Minneapolis, MN
5/25/2011
Straight up best budaejigae on the planet.
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Review from bayrox K.
Mahomet, IL
1/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good food
Low prices
Slow service (-1)
Quality of the meal can be improved (-1) -
Review from Ali A.
Skokie, IL
10/30/2011
Food is pretty good, though rather pricey for a campustown restaurant in my opinion
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Review from Eric M.
Chicago, IL
9/26/2009
Judging by the percentage of Korean customers, it must be the most authentic Korean place in Champaign, and it's better Korean food than I expected to find in such a small town. A-OK - three stars - seems about right. The food was a little bland, but the flavors were generally right and cooked well. The ingredients seemed lower-quality as compared to Korean places in larger cities, but still very edible. If I had a jones for Korean food while in Champaign, I'd go here without hesitation. If I just wanted some good food, I don't know that it would cross my mind while in Champaign, though.
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Review from Michelle J.
Chicago, IL
8/21/2008
Although they don't provide the best customer service (none of the k- restaurant do), I always come back for their great food. Authentic and affordable, plus no MSG!
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Review from Kwoky L.
8/5/2007
I am not always a big fan of Arirang. Somehow I find that their food is kinda bland. But surprisingly there's lots of Koreans eating at this place. In fact, my Korean prefers this place over Dorcas, which I love to go. Oh well, I am not Korean. What do I know? =)
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Review from Eddie C.
Chicago, IL
11/3/2007
I'm a HUGE fan of the combination bulgogi plate. Chicken, pork, beef...all on one plate. I'm getting hungry for some right now. Too bad I'm two hours away...*sigh*
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Review from Alice M.
8/5/2008
The food's decent, but I've never been impressed by this place. The only things I can say I definitely enjoy about this place is that 1. it's usually not too crowded, and 2. they have mool nang myun in the summertime. Mmm
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Review from Liv H.
Des Plaines, IL
7/7/2009
My favorite Korean restaurant on campus. Their combination bulgogi plate with chicken, pork, and beef was great! And I love their bi bim bap too! They give you a lot of food, plus soup and 2 kinds of kim chi.
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Review from Alex C.
Elkridge, MD
4/18/2009
Pretty fast. I've had their soup, fried rice, dumplings, rice sticks, and some Korean stir fry thing and they're all pretty good.
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Review from Bobby S.
Arlington Heights, IL
12/22/2010
If you want Korean soup or fried rice, go here. Best on campus.
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Review from Hannah M.
Champaign, IL
11/4/2008
When we first walked into this place, we went to the front to order. Hmm..I see this is a trend with the korean restaurants in campus town. So first things first, they don't accept cash. My, we need to get with the times people. And I ask the girl at the front (who's spacing off) "what's good here?" She looks at me completely puzzled as if she's never been asked that question and shrugs looking at the specials saying "here are the specials". Um, okay.. So I order one of the specials, which is tofu soup and fish. I actually enjoy the salty fish and the kimchi is alright, not the greatest, and the tofu soup could be better. So yeah, the food is okay, not too bad. But yes, this place looks like a cafeteria and it was packed with college korean students..why? I don't know.. Maybe there aren't too many korean restaurants around here? I'm getting deja-vu from woori jib but the food was better here.
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Review from Nicole B.
Urbana, IL
1/30/2011
I've heard my friends complaining about how bad their food is but I totally enjoyed the food when I was there! I love the potatoes appetizer they offer for free. we waited almost 20min for the food. go somewhere else if you're in a rush...
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Review from Joan C.
Champaign, IL
1/16/2010
When I'm on campus, this is where I like to eat.
