JINYA Ramen Bar - Charleston — Restaurant in Charleston

To start: the food was NOT bad. I’ll explain more. The good: the staff was very friendly and the atmosphere was beautiful l. The pork gyoza were incredibly delicious and the dressing for the salad was amazing (though I do wish the salad had more variety of lettuce rather than just the frisée that they use). The kids meal include a bunch of food. Honestly like enough to feed an adult. They use chicken thighs for their fried chicken and it is crispy and juicy and delicious. Seasoned eggs are perfectly jammy and delicious. The tonkatsu ramen was very flavorful and had a good portion. The chashu pork was tender and flavorful. I would speak more of the tonkatsu but I was unable to for reasons I’ll describe in ‘the bad’ part of this review

The bad: the chicken ramen was quite bland. The broth, the ‘chashu’ chicken, the noodles. All in all not great. Which the tonkatsu did have a rich and creamy pork broth, it was completely overwhelmed by the amount of spice. To be clear, I did order the tonkatsu red which includes spicy chili sauce. Their menu gives a spice level between 0-10. I enjoy spicy food so I thought perhaps a 3 would be okay to start. While trying to order, I asked the host several different spicy foods to compare where my preferred level was and they weren’t super helpful in trying to narrow down how spicy each of the levels are. To be clear, he was very nice and very professional, just didn’t help too much in my comparisons. After some deliberation, I decided to bump it down to a level 2. It was inedible. The amount of spice was overwhelming. I tried to eat it because it cost 20 bucks, but sadly I was force to waste most of it. I cannot imagine was a level 10 would be like. I don’t know if there was an error made when the food was prepared, or their spice chart is just starts off wayyyyyy to high, but either way, I was unfortunately not able to enjoy my meal.

I do hope to return and try their tonkatsu black next time to really be able to get a good feel for how good their ramen is. My recommendation is to get some chili oil on the side and add it after it is served. Thanks for...

Today was my first time going, and I'm already excited to go back! As soon as i stepped into the restaurant is was greeted by a few of the workers. They were very nice so immediately I felt very welcomed. We sat at the Ramen bar which was great because we were able to watch them cook. The black sweetened iced tea was so good and refreshing i had two glasses and had to stop myself. Me and my boyfriend decided on three appetizers because everything looked so delicious. Our first appetizer was the Jinya Bun which had the most tender piece of pork I've ever had! The flavors with the mayo and sweet sauce on the pork were absolutely perfect! Probably one of my favorite things I had today. My second app were Salmon poke mini tacos. They were fresh, the salmon was cut perfectly so it was very tender and the wonton shell was so crispy! Our third app was the fried octopus balls. Now those were something new for me. They were perfectly plated, very nice. I loved the flavors. The octopus pieces were not tough which is hard to do! Now my only thing with that is be ready for the texture! I didn't expect the inside of the ball to be as soft as it was. That threw me off but still it's was very good and a totally different thing I've never had. Definitely worth a try! I decided to get the Jinya Tonkotsu original with exactly how they served it. No extra toppings just the egg, seaweed, pork slices green onion and spinach. That was the best Ramen I've ever had! The broth was so rich a flavorful, the egg was absolutely delicious! It was seasoned and marinated with soy sauce i think and they cooked it soft boiled which came out perfect. The pork was fall apart tender! Everything about that bowl of Ramen was amazing! My boyfriend ended up choosing the Shrimp Wonton Ramen. He loved it! He said the wontons were so full of shrimp and the flavors were amazing! I didn't get a chance to try it because i had too much to eat already. At the very end we had the chocolate mochi. It was the perfect bite of chocolate rich ice cream. Great end to the meal. It was affordable, fast, fresh and fun. We will...

We came into JINYA Ramen Bar on what we thought would be a regular Monday night and left absolutely blown away. What started as a casual dinner turned into one of the most memorable dining experiences we’ve had in a long time. And we owe that to two things: Heather and the incredible kitchen team. From the moment we walked through the door, Heather greeted us with a warmth that instantly made us feel like we were in the right place. She didn’t just seat us and take our order she hosted us. She gave us a full tour of the menu, asking questions about what we liked, what we were craving, and how adventurous we were feeling. It felt like having a personal guide who genuinely wanted us to love what we chose and thanks to her, we absolutely did. We ordered the Spicy Chicken Ramen, the Spicy Vegan Ramen, and the Buffalo Cauliflower. And wow. Each dish came out steaming hot, perfectly timed, and packed with rich, layered flavors. The ramen was bold, comforting, and had that deep, soul-satisfying broth you don’t forget. The cauliflower was crispy, spicy, and addictive honestly, one of the best starters we’ve had anywhere. Major credit to the kitchen whoever was back there clearly knows what they’re doing, and they’re doing it with care and precision. But while the food hit every mark, Heather took the whole experience to another level. She was doing everything bartending, running food, greeting guests, checking on tables and never once lost her energy, grace, or focus. She noticed every detail, never missed a beat, and made each guest feel like they mattered. Watching her work was honestly impressive. She didn’t just do her job she owned it. And she made us feel like we were part of something, not just eating a meal. Heather and the kitchen team made Monday feel like a Friday night out. The food was fire. The vibe was warm. And the service was unforgettable. We’ll be back again soon and we’ll be telling everyone we know...