Finally visited Coreana last Friday with the GF after having passed by the restaurant many times. The restaurant is located in a unique downstairs space in the little concrete island of restaurants and businesses near the intersection of University and Randall Aves. It's easy to miss driving by if you aren't paying attention, so park around Union South and walk up.
A sign at the entrance promises Korean and Japanese food, but the menu is almost entirely Korean (a Japanese American friend of mine laments at the fact that many "Japanese" restaurants are in fact owned by Koreans--not over the ownership, mind you, but at the quality of the food. We joke that it's payback over the whole history of colonialism in Korea--i.e., we'll take their food and cook it bad : )
Asian American Studies aside, I ordered the Rock Bowl Bim Bim Bap and the GF got the Kim Chi Ji-Gae. The Bim Bim Bap came out sizzling, the food and service was quick, ingredients fresh, and the meal overall was satisfying. The GF's kim-chi had its usual kick, but my Bim Bim Bap took a lot of chili sauce to bring it up to the requisite level of Korean spiciness.
I have to admit that having lived in Los Angeles and haunting the restaurants in Koreatown, we were a bit disappointed with the overall quality compared to LA and the west coast. With only a couple Korean restaurants in Madison, it's kind of hard to complain though.
We did notice a lot of Korean diners in the restaurant, many of whom had ordered the bulgogi and other meat dishes which looked quite appetizing, so I would recommend anyone planning to visit Coreana to check these dishes out first, or perhaps some of the soups. If we end up at Coreana again, we'll definitely choose one of these above...