JINYA Ramen Bar - Honolulu — Restaurant in Honolulu

Unfortunately this place was a HUGE disappointment. I was really looking forward to trying this place, but it did not even come close to meeting even a mediocre rating. This was THE worst restaurant experience I've had for a long long time which is why I felt compelled to take the time to write this lengthy review.

The service was actually terrible. As a first time customer, I walked in and stood awkwardly at the entrance for several minutes not knowing if I should just sit at an open table or wait to be seated. The only server who definitely saw me come in did not even make eye contact with me let alone give any type of greeting or even acknowledge my existence. He walked past several times and hid off to the side of the entrance doing some other task. I can completely understand having to wait if there is only one server who has many tasks to do and tables to attend to. All I need is a simple greeting and "please wait one moment" or SOMETHING.

After I was seated, I saw another customer come in and stand awkwardly at the entrance as well. After the server did the same thing and walked by several times ignoring the customer at the door, the customer just left, which is what I wanted to do to be honest. But as I mentioned before, I was really looking forward to trying this place.

The server wasn't necessarily rude, but definitely was not friendly or welcoming and felt very unprofessional when taking my order. As a new customer, I felt very uncomfortable. While waiting for my food, I was able to notice that the table was quite sticky and the little empty food dish was dirty and not washed properly. This might be just a personal issue, but the AC was on full blast and it was very cold. The restaurant has a nice modern interior design and decorations, but the mood was completely destroyed by overbearing pop music (not even Japanese or Asian music). There's nothing wrong with American pop music, but it just felt very out of place and ruining the atmosphere.

Despite all this, I honestly wanted to like the food was willing to give it a fair and unbiased chance at redemption. I do not consider myself to have high standards or picky about the quality or the taste of food, but unfortunately not even the food could be the saving grace for this place. I ordered the Honolulu Limited Menu, Signature Tapas & Ramen. The meal came with gyoza, crispy chicken (karaage), and spicy tuna taco. The gyoza and chicken were not terrible, but definitely left much to be desired for. I was particularly looking forward to the unique spicy tuna taco which had a fried wonton for the shell, but the spicy tuna filling did not seem fresh at all and more like something from shady "gas station sushi".

For the ramen, I chose Black Tonkotsu ramen. The broth was decent, but nothing particularly special that would make me want to come back for more. The noodles were not prepared properly and were somehow all jumbled up in a knot. I could not grab any noodles without picking up a huge ball of the entire noodle clump in the bowl. When I bit into the soft boiled egg, I was mortified to find the yolk over cooked and have some kind of sickly greenish color.

At that point I asked for the check and to speak with the manager so I could convey the above concerns and issues directly. Once again, I really really wanted to like this place and was looking forward to it. Despite the poor service, despite the ruined atmosphere, I could not even say the quality of the food was even mediocre or passable. It was genuinely bad and truly felt like a waste of my time and money. I would not recommend this...

Clean exterior and interior. Modern decor, but if you're sitting near the wall it may be a little dim. We were seated next to the street's big windows so it was bright and vibrant. The lunch special was a fantastic experience that was suggested by the waitress and that did not disappoint. You choose 1 Ramen selection from the selected dishes presented and then there was a plate of Chicken Karaage, Green Salad, Spicy Tuna Taco and 3 Pan Fried Gyoza. I would have tried the Gyoza with the sauce in the jar on a plate provided at the table but it was empty. No excuses for this being empty. 3 jars total, but just the one empty, thank goodness. There was a dipping sauce provided with the appetizers and that was very tasty. Little sweet with a slight shoyu taste and very light. The outside of the Gyoza was a little chewy but ok with a slight crispness. The inside was very juicy and favorable. Chicken Karaage was awesome. It was just cooked fresh, hot with this slight crispness. Nice. The salad greens were fresh with no wilted pieces and this slight flavored (I believe miso) dressing. The Spicy Tuna Taco with the Won Ton Shell was my first time trying something like this, yum! All around good value for the money. Highly suggested if you are unsure what to get due to the amount of small plates and appetizers. I ordered another appetizer which was the Crispy Rice and Spicy Tuna. My last review of another Ramen eatery left me wondering. But this one diffenatIy had the spicyness to the tuna with light chrispness to the rice, this was awesome. The textures were a delight to bite into. I had the Premium Tonkotsu Red w/ level 4 spice out of 10. But admittedly, as a person who likes spicy, I got caught up in this spicy level and found myself actually not slurping up the soup broth at the end of the meal. I'm embarrassed..my palate must be getting tender the older I get🫤. Thicker noodles, bouncy and cooked perfectly. If you are a long time eater of Ramen the noodles have a familiar taste. The broth was thick and the Pork flavor came through nicely. Kikurage mushroom, beans sprouts and green onion were supporting items to supplement the ramen. 2 squares of Nori in a white envelope was a nice touch which added to the umami flavors. The service was very prompt, courteous and professional and suggestions were very helpful. Overall a very good eating experience from the time we sat down to that final burp of delight. I...

Two co-workers and I went to JINYA Ramen for lunch. It was surprisingly crowded for a Monday, and we had a table near the glass wall separating the restaurant from the bar next door. The Signature Tapas & Ramen menu (ramen combo) appealed to all of us for $23 … I opted for the Tonkotsu Black and a glass of Sapporo draft.

Service was leisurely as it has been at JINYA each time I’ve dined here. They appeared to be somewhat understaffed for a full house. (While we were dining, the crowd inside and outside kept growing.) The beer came in short order, in a tall, chilled glass. Ah, so refreshing!

Our appetizer platters came next … Wow, two pieces of chicken karaage, three gyoza, a spicy tuna crispy taco and a small green salad. There was a small square container with a chili-flavored dipping sauce. Each item was great!

It took a while for our ramen to arrive … each was served in a black bowl and came with a package containing two pieces of nori. The kikurage (wood ear fungi) gave it an earthy aroma; the egg was perfectly cooked, but I would have preferred that it come cut in half. The bowl was delicious, but I wished it came at a higher temperature … There was steam rising from the dish, but it wasn’t the temperature that I like from a bowl of ramen. This seems to be SOP for JINYA Ramen because I’ve come here twice previously, and the temperature has been the same each time. Oh well …

We enjoyed our food … I give...