JINYA Ramen Bar

This place has gone downhill since it opened, but the food is still pretty good. Hats off to adding choices; however, the menu seems a bit convoluted now.

This place has a great environment and great staff! The food was pretty on point especially the cha cha cha ramen I ordered. The broth was creamy and flavorful and one of the best ramen I’ve had. Really good place service and food would definitely come back again. Thanks to some family and friends recommending this awesome ramen house

I really wanted to like this place because I enjoyed the Vegas location so much. Maybe it’s because I decided to be adventurous and try the cha cha cha instead of my usually spicy miso or tonkotsu… But the ramen was pretty mediocre to me. THE EGG IS PERFECTION THO. I also like that they have both thin and thick noodles. The thick noodles are way better. Anyway, just disappointed because it was rather expensive for a bowl of ramen yet it didn’t wow me :(
I was also hoping they’d have a better happy hour but it consisted of like 5 appetizers and no drinks. My friends and I ordered the fried chicken (enjoyable) and the kale lollipop (amazing! We all liked this more than the chicken). I do wish they had gyozas or alcohol on their HH tho…
Service was decent. There were times where it took a while for us to grab their attention.

Not bad for faux ramen in the Valley made by a bunch of posers who don’t know the difference between traditional ramen noodles and the «thick ramen» that they serve here.
We signed in on the list at arrival and were not greeted by a host. Others signed in after us and were seated before. I questioned the young lady who would occasionally check the list, she replied «Oh, I’m sorry,» in a whiny, high-​pitched voice and submissively skirted away as if she was in trouble, rather than addressing the problem and coming up with a solution.
Fairly soon a scruffy, hipster-​wannabe «manager» comes out, «Can I help you?» he lamented.
«Huh,» I quipped, explaining once again that several other parties of two that arrived after my party of two arrived were seated before us.
«Sorry, we are a little understaffed,» was all the scruffy hipster could muster, as I watched the gears grind in his brain, trying to figure out what to do next.
«Not cool,» I directed into the steely eyes behind a pair of chunky black hipster specs with plano lenses in them. «Whether you are understaffed or not, we should still be seated in the order of arrival, considering every other party is also a duo.»
«Oh, right,» he said, the computation finally making sense. «Let me seat you right away. Where would you like to sit?»
«Thank you, by the fire please.»
«We just opened, I’ll be taking care of you.»
«Thank you. We are ramen aficionados and wanted to check the place out, I informed him,» as we were seated.
Instantly his nervous factor went up by an exponential factor, «Would you like to start with a Japanese beer?»
«How about your house hot sake?» I interjected. By this time, the hipster manager had evaporated and the same young lady who couldn’t figure out the seating list had magically reappeared in his stead.
«Um, all of our sakes are here,» she pointed to the second page of the drink list and I quickly perused it.
«Which of them are hot?»
«Um, hot sake? We don’t really have that,» she quipped at me nervously, staring me down through her hipster specs that actually had Rx lenses in them.
«Oh… Just water then.»
She looked dejected, but returned with the water and said that she had placed an order of edamame ($ 2.60) the cheapest thing on the menu, as an apology.
«Thank you kindly for that offer, however we really don’t like edamame that much; is their something else you can do?»
«What would you like?»
«How about the Gozya?»
«Ok, I’ll cancel the edamame and check.»
She came back rapidly, sheepishly announcing that that the Gozya had been approved. Then she took our orders, and wanted to confirm that we both wanted thick noodles instead of ramen noodles but couldn’t effectively explain the difference.
I stuck with the traditional and my girlfriend, Jennifer, tried the thick ones.
I ordered the «Spicy Tonkotsu» and Jennifer ordered «Sprouting Up Ramen.»
The rest of the encounter was half-​way decent, just a little forced as the waitstaff tried to overcompensate for their earlier inattentiveness with their plastered on sweet smiles and pointy platitudes.
When the ramens were delivered by Mr. Manager, he couldn’t even remember the names of the ramens that were ordered, like «Spouting Up Ramen.» Instead he looked quizzically between us asking, «Who got brussel sprout ramen?»
I mean come on guys, if you are going to be corporate ramen peddlers, and we, the customers are making an effort to use your corporate, marketing terminology, at least know and use it yourselves!
The ramens were decent, trying to be the edible artwork that truly traditional ramen is, but they fell short. I felt that JINYA was really just full of a bunch of ramen posers, making a corporate copy of someone else’s gastronomic genius. It turned out the thick noodles were really just spaghetti.
In academic terms, I’d give the ramen broth itself a B-​. It obviously didn’t fail, but when I want ramen, good enough just isn’t. I want the A+, I want the extra credit. I want the ramen chef and waitstaff to care about it more than I do.
When we finally left, we were provided with a «box» for the leftovers, as Mr. Manager described it. Well, not a box. It’s really a bowl, as I can’t imagine taking leftover ramen home in a box. Just a terminology or semantics matter. No big deal, just a demonstration of a lack of understanding anything about anything — including the subject that they purvey to be expert in.
When we left, a young lady on the waitstaff declared with perfect corporate awkwardness, and pitchy voice, «Goodbye, friends.»
Ramen is an art form to be taken seriously, not just a little show put on by a bunch of posers.
Looks like I’ll have to continue making the trek to the Westside and Little Osaka’s «Ramen Row» to get the real deal! JINYA could learn a thing or two from Tatsu or Shin-​Sen-​Gumi when it comes to authenticity of both the ramen texture, subtlety of flavors and understanding that ramen isn’t dinner, it’s an experience!

My daughter and I, still in the midst of our Ramen obsession, have been burning out our frequent haunts and decided to try another Valley Ramen shop instead of driving over the hill. We came here on the recommendation of some friends, but upon arrival had low expectations. Nice ambiance and all, but it just had the feel of a «hipster ramen joint.» They literally have giant posters of a hipster dude, complete with fedora hat, eating ramen on the wall. Another small sign was the fact that there were like zero Asian people working or eating there. I’m not saying you need to be Asian to cook or enjoy Ramen… but I eat a ton of different ethnic food and feel like I am going to have a better chance for a more authentic experience when it is cooked by the the people of that ethnicity. That goes for Mexican, Sushi, Italian, Thai, Vietnamese, Persian, Indian, or Ramen.
I will start with the room. It has a cool vibe. Kind of dark… lots of wood and brick. Simple hanging light fixtures… more like decorative bulbs. Open kitchen with bar seating, tables, and in the middle is what I think the hostess called the high bar. That is where we sat. It is a pretty tall table surrounded by built-​in bar stools. You realize how tall it is when you go to get down from your seat. I liked sitting here. You are sitting tall in the middle of the room and it is also a community table so we got to listen to and engage in some fun and weird conversation. They also have an outdoor patio which kind of feels like it’s indoors because it is completely covered by the structure of the mini-​mall. They do have heat lamps out there.
The service was really good… excellent. Our server was personable and very helpful in explaining the menu. They have a lot of their own interesting and non-​traditional variations of Ramen. On her recommendation, as an appetizer we ordered the Jinya Bun. It is like a mini pork belly sandwich. It came out looking very appetizing, but it was meh. The way it sits, you think there is a lot of pork, then you take a bite and realize there is not a good meat to bread ratio. All of the pork came out in the first bite so I was left with bread and some type of mayo dressing. Also the pork was mostly fat.
We both ordered the Jinya Tonkotsu Black Ramen with extra Chashu pork. For us, the extra pork is a must because it only comes with 2 slices, like most places. They give you a choice of thin egg and wheat noodles or thick wheat-​only noodles. I went with the thin noodle, and my daughter went with the thick noodle. The pork was pretty good… decent meat to fat ratio so it has substance but still melts in your mouth. The soft boiled egg was cooked just right, so you get the yolk oozing out after the first bite. My first taste of the noodles wasn’t great. The noodles were very soft and I swear, the initial flavor and substance kind of reminded me of my college days with instant Top Ramen. I was disappointed in the noodles, but as I got into the the broth the flavor grew on me. I would say that the broth was actually pretty good. It had good substance to it as well. My daughter liked the fat noodles and also thought the broth tasted good. We had a friend with us, who also eats a lot of Ramen and spends a lot of time in Japan. He was not impressed. Same feelings as me on the Junya Bun appetizer and the ramen noodles. But he was not at all impressed with the broth or with the menu in general.
Still, my daughter and I have been eating a lot of ramen all over L.A. and both felt the broth stands up to the other players we have tried. We would come back again.
The restaurant is located in sort of mini-​mall with plenty of free underground parking. Definitely get there early, or be prepared to wait. We arrived a little after 6pm on a Tuesday and were seated right away, although the place was almost full. When we left 40 minutes later there were probably 20+ people waiting.

I discovered this place while on a business trip to LA. I was craving ramen. The restaurant is hidden in a huge strip mall, but easy to find. Overall, this place was great — had outside (covered) seating, decent ambience (I was seated at a single shared bar table), great service, and really good ramen. It was creamy. It was salty. It was slightly over-​fatty. Pretty much what ramen is supposed to be!
Two thumbs up from this Asian!

I absolutely love the creamy vegan ramen here. I have recommended to my friends who eat meat and they prefer it to the regular ramen as well. I also always order the kale lollypops (I think that’s what they are called). The sushi is ok, definitely not the worst I’ve had.
If you plan to come here, get yourself ready for the wait. It is well worth it.

Very close to Universal Studios, so after a long day there, you can come here afterwards for some delicious ramen! We were seated immediately — they have both indoor and outdoor seating.
Large selection of ramen choices, I decided to go with the chicken ramen. Portion was fine, and most importantly, broth was drinkable. Really liked how they had spinach (not the typical bean sprouts) in their ramen, it was a nice touch.
There’s a parking lot with underground parking!

What do we do after a full day at Universal Studios?! Eat some delicious ramen of course!
I knew about this ramen place thanks to fellow Unilocaler & ramen lover, Julie W! I saw on my Unilocal feed that she bookmarked this place and what do you know? it’s nearby Universal Studios and the Airbnb place that my bf and I stayed at!
We waited for a good 15 minutes for a table since there were at least 2 to 3 parties ahead of us. We were seated outside and it was getting a bit chilly so one of the servers got the heating lamps ready to keep the customers warm.
Large selection of ramen choices and Cha Cha Cha ramen was my choice while the mister got the Spicy Chicken ramen. Good portion for both bowls and the broth was tasty so no complaints there. The only thing I would say is that my ramen had too much bean sprouts compare to the noodle portion. Service was great. Water refills constantly, checking in if we had any more requests and our server was really friendly.
This place is in a little plaza where Marshall’s is at. There’s a small parking lot but I would recommend parking underground where there’s plenty of spaces. The plaza gets super hectic and it’s was such clusterf*ck as cars try to leave and other cars take parking spots.
Definitely going back to this place whenever I’m visiting the area!

Super tasty ramen and even better service!
My party of 8 arrived to this restaurant around 7.30PM on a Tuesday night. The hostess assured us that a table would be ready in ten minutes and the wait was actually only ten minutes! We were seated outside but it was a warm evening, so none of us minded.
Drink and appetizers were quickly ordered followed by our main entrees. The process was very fast with the savvy ipad program and the server was helpful with recommendations about noodle sizes and additional toppings.
An order of takoyaki arrived and it was a beautiful sight; the bonito flakes made it seem animated. The balls were fried to a crisp and the texture of the batter was exactly right. The bowls of ramen came flying out soon after. My bowl of the JINYA Tonkotsu Black arrived piping hot with sheets of nori placed over the top. The broth was flavorful and the chashu was so tender that it was like a vacation for your teeth. It was so tasty that I felt no need to add any extra sauce or spices. My friends got the Wonton Chicken Ramen and really enjoyed having the dumplings in their soup and thought it was super tasty. Our only vegetarian ordered the Spicy Creamy Vegan Ramen and could not rave about how tasty it was and how much was in her bowl. My friend Jeremy luckily ordered my second choice of the Cha Cha Cha, so I got a small taste. The garlic was very apparent but so so good; I almost regretted not ordering it. It was many of my friends’ first ramen experience but there were no regrets; we all left with full bellies and fond memories. The price is so good too! I would be eating here every day if I lived in the area.

After a day at Universal Studios, I was really hungry and craving some good ramen. The Unilocal reviews looked good, so I wandered around and got here in less than 15 minutes! The restaurant is not too hard to find. It’s underneath Marshalls and Michael’s, interestingly. Parking is limited in the small lot, but I think they may have some street parking around? They do have a restroom in the back by the kitchen door.
I was told the wait for two was 5 – 10 minutes, but it ended up being a little over 20 minutes. It was just a bit chilly that night, but they had heaters in their outdoor seating area. The hostess is nice; you can tell they get a lot of regulars. The waitress that helped me was nice as well. Inside the restaurant, the only source of lighting is in the kitchen or the outside sunlight, so it is very dark. I couldn’t take any pictures of the menu or my ramen.
I ordered the chicken ramen; I don’t know why. It was my first time trying chicken broth ramen, and it was very tasty! It wasn’t as salty as pork broth that I am used to at other ramen places, which I prefer. I added an egg for an extra $ 1. I loved the thin noodles! The portion size was average for the price. You can get fresh garlic as a free topping. My eating partner got the tonkatsu black, which comes with an egg already as well as thin noodles. You should ask for thick noodles if that is your preference. If you add ~$ 2.50, you get the combo, which is karage chicken and a small bowl of salad. They have good salad dressing.
I’ll probably be back if I’m in the area!

Great place to eat ramen. But make sure you come early if you are planning on coming for dinner. Because there is a really long wait. Gets crowded after 7−9pm! There is no reservation so it’s pretty much you got to wait. I made put my name down for a party of five. The only space they had was for outside. Dang if it gets too crowded and you are still there people WILL stare at you. OH Damn even the hostess!
Service was great and of course the food was good. I ordered the Cha Cha Cha (garlic lovers) it wasn’t as garlicky as I thought it would be. It’s just a lot I mean a lot of bean sprouts and green onions. We also ordered two blue crab sushi rolls. Oh wow it was delish. My friend ordered their own tonkatsu ramen spicy. Not bad it was spicy the way she likes it but she did ask for NO green onions and bean sprout but they put it in the bowl. (tsk tsk) My other friends ordered the chicken tonkatsu. I guess it was good since she ate it all. The food was great all in all.
But the only problem is when we ordered things it wasn’t right. We ordered extra noodles and it was not with our order. We had to tell the waiter. The green onions and bean sprouts we requested not to have in one of the ramen. It was in the ramen so we had to take it out. The stare we got from the hostess so we can leave our table. Since there were a lot of people waiting. Sorry but our order kept getting wrong and we don’t just eat and run. And we also ordered for Togo. Don’t blame us that it takes forever for our order to get to us. Luckily we left for people to sit. When I got there it was crowded but I didn’t bug the hostess to hurry for our table or what not. Other than that she was a nice young lady. Gentlemen servers were good, but not as happy go lucky as the servers inside.

Came here last night (Saturday) around 8:30. The wait for 2 was about 10 – 15 minutes. Not bad. It was a full house.
We ordered Tonkatsu Spicy ($ 11.50 without extra toppings). My boyfriend got HOT & I got MILD. Mild is not mild lol. I should have gotten spicy. Hot was also not hot, so maybe the chefs just went light on our bowls? Not sure. I’ll for sure get spicy or hot next time.
* the chashu pork literally MELTS in your mouth omg
* the broth is deeeelicious, but they don’t give a lot of it compared to other ramen spots. You might consider ordering extra broth if you like your broth
* we subbed the thick noodles for thin noodles, which is what we prefer. chewiness was just right
* we also got seasoned eggs (soft boiled, yummmm), dried seaweed & fresh garlic
The tonkatsu spicy with the thin noodles reminded me of Tatsu ramen off Melrose. I wouldn’t say it’s as good as Tatsu, but the broths have similarities to it. So if you’re a fan of Tatsu, and don’t have the time to drive out there, this place is a good alternative!
We also ordered the crispy chicken which is also known as karaage in other places ($ 6.20 for 5 pieces) and it was delicious.
I’ve actually been here a few times already & it’s always been good each visit. I can’t recall what I had the previous times I was here, but I was never disappointed which is why I return.
Service is great. No complaints. And parking is free!!!
Of course this place isn’t like the famous ramen spots in Little Tokyo or Silverlake Ramen, but it’s my go-​to/​favorite spot in the Valley.
Can’t wait for the Burbank location to open down the street from me. Woohoooooo!!!

I don’t usually « Unilocal» but I had to for Jinya.
The food quality here is unrivaled. Five stars. Rich and full of flavor. However, as a frequent customer of Jinya, I am not here to talk about that aspect. I am here to talk about their customer service.
This past weekend, I went there with a «first timer» to share the goodness of Jinya Ramen. Well we were seated, ordered and patiently waited for our bowls of ramen. As time passed, we noticed we were bypassed by a couple sitting right next to us. They sat down afterwards and got their food before us.
Well, there was a mix up and they were actually eating our food. When the manager found out about this, she was so apologetic and offered us on the spot complementary appetizer and afterwards dessert. At this point, I was actually pretty happy with the attention and apology.
However, we were blown away when the bill came, and the manager hand delivering saying that due to the confusion, they wanted to make sure we come back, the comped our WHOLE meal. Like it was $ 0. Lol.
Thank you Jinya for the outstanding customer service, you exceeding my expectations!

One of the better ramen places in Studio City! So if you are in the area and craving some nom-​licious ramen, hit up this place.
The tonkatsu ramen is really good — broth is nice and not too salty, the egg was perfect. The noodles are a good consistency. om om om om nom
Jinya bun — honestly it was ALRIGHTT — the bun was fluffy and fresh the pork was good, but I think they are missing a sauce to tie it all together — the mayo it comes with doesn’t really do the trick. Maybe it’s because the mayo is weird with the greens they use? Not sure… but this hasn’t been perfected. I’d stick to ramen.
it gets packed! so come ready to wait if you don’t have a resi. parking is in a structure below the restaurant and its freee! holllaaaaa!!!

We came here for dinner on a weekday because we were hungry and wanted some sustenance. After looking on Unilocal,we decided to come to JINYA ramen bar in Studio City. There is a very, very small parking lot in front of the restaurant, but if there aren’t any open spots in front, there is an underground parking structure to park with elevators/​escalators to go upstairs.
The restaurant itself is pretty small as well. In the middle of the restaurant, there are about 10 or so high chairs (similar to bar seating) that were hard to sit on because it was so high up (especially for us vertically challenged people.) There are also tables and chairs outside to sit down and eat. As soon as you went in to the restaurant, everyone yells at you in ‘broken’ Japanese «irrasshae» and welcomes you in.
Service: good, attentive. Helpful with recommendations. All the FOH staff were nice.
Food: I ordered the spicy umami miso ramen. The server made sure it was ok that this ramen included the thicker noodles, which was nice for giving people the heads up. The ramen itself wasn’t hot when I got it. The ramen, although was supposed to be spicy, was not spicy at all and the broth lacked flavor in general. To be honest, all I tasted was the saltiness and the flavor from the meat in the bowl.
It appears that there are a few recommended bowl items on the menu and they push you to add on the extra toppings for extra $.

Maybe I set my expectations a bit high for Jinya cuz of all the great reviews, but having been here twice, I’ve concluded that it’s not gonna be my go to ramen in the valley when I must have that hot delicious bowl of ramen for comfort. It’s okay, but def not the best I’ve had.
I’ve tried the black tonkotsu, white tonkotsu, and cha cha cha ramens and while they were average good, I felt that the broth had too much of that fatty taste for my liking. It’s the type where I can’t eat too much or I’ll start feeling queasy but a small bowl should be fine. But hey, different strokes for different folks naw mean?
On the other hand, I do enjoy that they give fresh garlic cuz I loooveeee garlic (don’t hate). The egg was perfectly poached but why do we only get half an egg?! I want the whole egg. -.-
Gyoza and salad was standard. Never had to wait too long for a table and free parking, so it’s worth a try if you’ve never been. 3.451 stars for me– not the worst but wish it were better for the price.

Raman in Los Angeles is really a class of its own. While on our lunch break from the Conan O’Brien show taping, my boyfriend and I went to the outskirts of the studios to JINYA. This location is in a tiny plaza, but there is free parking in the garage below the plaza. During lunch hours, there is definitely a wait for tables because the restaurant is so small, but the food is worth it.
Service is fast and courteous, even though it was incredibly busy. There was also a line of take-​out orders for people on the go.
We started with some tapas and a salmon hand roll. I had the Jinya bun: braised pork and veggies on a bao bun. It was expensive for what it was ($ 4), but still tasty. The handroll was fresh and the nori wrapper was crispy.
The menu has set ramen bowls, with base broths, meats, and select veggies in them. But you can customize your ramen with extras like special veggies or more meats for an upcharge. Everything is made to order, so you can customize your ramen from choice noodles or spiciness level.
My boyfriend ate the #1 Tonkotsu Black: Pork broth, pork, green onion, nori seaweed, season egg, thin noodles. He finished his bowl so fast, I had to stop him to get a taste.
I had the Chicken ramen: chicken broth, chicken, spinach, green onions, thin noodles. I added Onsen Tamago (poached egg), because ramen is better with extra egg. I was feeling sick that day, but the ramen had healing powers! I was full and felt energized for the rest of the day.
I loved JINYA, I hope to eat there again.

LOVED this place. Definitely best ramen in the Valley. I had the Creamy Vegan with thin noodles (minus the tofu + corn). You could taste the amazingness of freshly made noodles. Also, the other ramen places in LA don’t have a creamy option for the vegetarian versions which is what makes Jinya unique. Very flavorful, very filling. We also got the spicy tuna roll to start with which was very whatever. The fish was good but the seaweed was chewy and the rice wasn’t the best. So, if I were to go back I probably wouldn’t reorder that roll. We sat at the bar where there was no wait (to our surprise, and liking). I didn’t like how the servers were coming from behind us and we had to awkwardly turn to speak to them. However, our server was super nice. Overall, a good experience with delicious ramen.
Definitely go here, definitely wait, and definitely try the Creamy Vegan. You will not regret it.

I finally had a chance to try this ramen place out!!! I’ve heard many great things about this place and it’s definitely worth trying if you’re in the area. Parking isn’t bad because they have a parking garage downstairs. Its next to Marshalls in the corner. The restaurant itself is pretty small with indoor and outdoor seating. They ask you upon putting your name down where you prefer to sit. If you have a big group though I suggest you guys split up because the wait can be long! I had a party of 3 and it look about 30 – 40 minutes. And there weren’t even that many people in front of us. Also the hostess doesn’t seem to know what she was doing or how to seat people. She would seat people with parties of 2(that just arrived) instead of combining the two tables to seat a party of 3 or 4 that were waiting for a long time already. Doesn’t make any sense.
After we got seated, it took about probably 15 – 20 min to get our ramen. The service here is pretty slow. I was able to try the umami miso ramen and it was delicious! I added an egg for $ 1 but the inside of the egg was kind of cold :(Probably because it was just sitting there waiting to be brought to me. The BROTH was so GOOD though! And the thick ramen that it came with was also really good! They also have thin ramen, but they usually pair it for you. However, if you don’t like thin or thick noodles you should tell them what you want. I also tried the tonkotsu black ramen and it was very light, but had a lot of flavor. If you want more flavor though I would suggest the umami miso :) Will definitely be back for more whenever I’m around the area!