Joy - Asian Cuisine — Restaurant in Indio

I would love to give this restaurant 5 stars across the board however my most recent visit was probably my last. I came in at a quarter to 5 as a party of two, was asked by the hostesses if I had reservations and when she learned I didn’t, she said that she said she couldn’t seat us, that preference was given to those with reservations. When I persisted, having never needed a reservation in the past, she said could seat us at the bar. Not a table though, that the tables were only for people with reservations. She was rude and condescending. My mother is 73, I couldn’t imagine her enjoying an expensive dinner perched atop a tall bar chair. We begrudgingly agreed and were sat with an attitude at the bar. We ordered a drink and I hopped online to make a reservation for 45 minutes later. The tables in the bar sat unused while we waited for our reserved time. When we were seated we noticed half a dozen empty tables in the main dining room and when we left there were still three that had sat empty the whole time. The bartender, Melissa, was phenomenal though. She had a great attitude, provided exceptional service and mixes a mean margarita. The food and atmosphere are good if you can get past the...

Our server Laura wasn’t very nice. She made a mistake on our order, which we understand accidents can happen. When she brought back the correct plate she stopped checking in on us but was checking in on others around us. We ordered some waters and asked Laura for some lemons and she never brought them. We had to ask Andrew the gentleman that was refilling our waters for some lemons and he brought them right away. He was very nice and prompt. The Mongolian beef was good, the fried rice was very mushy and the shrimp lomein was very bland. We think the shrimp lomein wasn’t good because it was probably made quick since that was the plate we didn’t receive when we made our order. Tony the manager was really nice and understanding. He took the fried rice off our bill. He apologized and said he would speak to the chef. We didn’t say anything about the shrimp lomein because we received it after we said the fried rice didn’t taste good. We were over our dinner by the time we got our shrimp lomein. The waitress took forever to bring us our bill. We had to call her because you could just tell she didn’t want to stop...

JOY is conveniently located at the entrance of Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, making it the perfect spot to refuel after hitting the slots. Recognized as the "Best Asian Restaurant in the Coachella Valley" by OpenTable, I couldn't resist stopping by to see what the hype was all about.

The menu is huge, featuring a wide variety of Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Thai dishes.

You absolutely have to try their Sichuan chicken wings—crispy, packed with flavor, and totally addictive. Another dish you won’t want to miss is the seabass with black bean sauce. Trust me, you’ll love it!

But the true star of the meal was the Peking duck. Cooked to perfection, with crispy, golden skin on the outside and tender, juicy meat on the inside, it was everything you’d want in a classic Peking duck. It was served with all the traditional fixings—pancakes, hoisin sauce, and fresh scallions—which added layers of flavor and texture to each bite.

If you’re planning to visit, I highly recommend making a reservation because this place...