JINYA Ramen Bar - Burbank — Restaurant in Burbank

The decor here is wonderfully put together and the patio dining area is very inviting with the fire pit. Evening dining is romantic at both tables and the bar area.

Quite a happening spot in Downtown Burbank, daytime hours are only hindered by the lack of convenient parking in the area. Plan ahead and you'll be fine. Evening dining isn't much a problem. Street parking isn't too difficult.

With so many examples following the ramen craze, southern California isn't short of restaurants to sample the many creations that are under ramen.

Focusing on just the ramen, Jinya makes a crisp clean tonkatsu broth. It isn't heavy on creamy umami like other examples. It is lightly seasoned, and delightful. Noodles are pleasantly served al dente. Their style may fell quite different from what some maybe use to. For myself, I prefer a heavier broth as the tonkatsu broth is usually is.

Ordering the Spicy Tonkatsu Ramen was a little disappointing. The spice level was far from being the description. Also, some key ingredients that are usual were missing. A marinated egg is an option like many other items.

The crispy fried chicken dish is absolutely delicious. It is fresh, crispy, and has some good size chicken pieces. This is a great dish to share if you came with friends to share.

The poke bowl may require some work from their part. The amount of fish is a bit thin unless you wanted more salad than protein. The greens are plenty and a very healthy alternative.

They have good vegan options and this...

A friend of mine had told me this was their favorite ramen place, so I decided to come with friends to see what this place was all about.

I ordered all their desserts, along with a Jinya bun and vegan ramen. My friends ordered a beef and seafood ramen.

If you get a dessert, I highly suggest getting their berry bar. It was the most delicious and fulfilling of all.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from the vegan ramen, but it ended up tasting WAY better than the beef and seafood one. It was so good, that I ate the entire thing in less than 5 minutes. It was just so, so, delicious.

Their Jinya bun was extremely soft and definitely something worth trying for a unique experience.

I was served by Ron and he was really nice to us, telling us about pretty cool events nearby.

But what I really wanted to share, was a particular experience I had with the girl that was seating people. She was of a dark skin complexion. (I say this cause I forgot her name, so forgive me.)

I had asked her where there was a trashcan so I could throw my trash, and she looked up with such a sincere gaze, and she put her hand out.

She was willing, to get her hands dirty, to throw my trash for me.

It was a slight gesture of kindness, but it was such a sincere one, that it really amazed me. She was the reason my review, went from four stars, to, if possible, surpassing 5 stars.

Highly recommend anyone and everyone to come here.

It's worth it. The...

Great Ramen Bar with excellent food, and great service. Jinya is well known for their Ramen Bowls, but I also really like their “Tokyo Style” curry rice (not too spicy, but very savory and full of complex flavors). And their crispy chicken appetizer plate is awesome!

Overall, the ambiance is really nice at this location (especially compared to some of the other Jinya’s I’ve eaten at), but you have to like eating outside. It has a nice courtyard seating selection, with large and unique fire-pit shared table seating, heaters for when it’s cold, etc.). That may not be for everyone, so there are a few indoor seats — but it’s VERY limited and you sit counter-style (honestly, if you don’t like dining al fresco, you might be better off trying one of the other Jinya locations, like Studio City).

The reason if 4 stars, rather than 5 is due to one serious drawback of this Jinya — the parking (or rather, the lack of it)...parking here is basically non-existent (other than maybe one or two spots for disabled drivers in the back). You need to be very lucky to find a spot on the street — (which is hard, but not impossible), or be willing to walk a few blocks.

Overall, this is a great place to go with friends, as long as the weather is nice, since you’ll almost certainly be...