Jinja Bar & Bistro

I like the food and atmosphere at Jinja. They have a great bar too and offer nice drink options. The service has been hit or miss on the few times I’ve been here. I know that can happen anywhere though. Worth a try.

I end up back here every so often for happy hour or dinner. I believe the happy hour is all day Sunday.
I often get the Shrimp curry with brown rice. Also had the Steak stir fry, it has a different name on the menu but its one of their signatures so wont be hard to locate.
Service is sometimes hit or miss. The bar always looks understaffed for the crowd. But not a huge problem most of the time.

We were meeting as a group of 6 here.
4 of us got there early and out ourselves in for a table and then cozied up to the bar for a drink before dinner. The bartender was nice and attentive, but informed us it was his first day «without training wheels.» For our first round of drinks, everything was fine. And surprise! It was still happy hour, so when I volunteered to buy the first round, I was pleasantly surprised by the cost! But for the rest of the night, our whole party was feeling like we got very weak drinks. A few were sent back with the request that more liquor be added. After that, though, we were fine.
We were seated in a large booth with faaaaaaar too many pillows (I get the idea, but… they are unnecessary and very much in the way, particularly in winter when people have heavier coats and such). We ordered the edamame and fried avocado. Both were just fine. As my entrée I got a shrimp kabab thing. I should have gotten the full order…5 or 6 shrimp just wasn’t enough. Though they were tasty. My mom shared her lettuce wraps with me. Those were probably my favorite thing of the night. (note to self for next time… get THOSE)
I also got to try some of the veggie tempura platter. The sweet potato and bell peppers look a LOT alike when they are both covered in batter… but those were also good.
All that said, it wasn’t spectacular, but it wasn’t bad. We remembered from a previous visit to Albuquerque that if nothing else the drinks were good (at a different location) so we decided to come back.
You’ll get good, standard Asian fare here. And a great selection of fancy drink choices. Hopefully, they’ll be made stronger for you :-)

I love the setup of this place, the décor, the menus, all of it. We started with some drinks from the bar, a Mai Tai and Bahama Mama, were my choices for the night. The bartender was new so the strength of the drinks were inconsistent, but if it was raised that the drinks were super weak, our waitress would have the bartender fix it (hey, learning opportunity). We shared some apps of Edamame and Avocado Rolls. It was the first time I had really eaten Edamame, and it was pretty good. The Avocado Rolls were fresh and creamy. For a main dish, I chose the Teriyaki Steak. Served on skewers, they were perfectly prepared for a medium finish. My veggies were grilled and crisp, the rice was rice (what can I really say about rice?). I would for sure suggest any one of these dishes, and would definitely suggest this place as a whole for anyone looking for a great dinner.

Cannot say that I will ever return. We inquired about a large table early in the week and were told there would be no issues with this and no reservation would be required. Upon arrival we were told there were no tables inside to accommodate our party and that we would have to sit on the patio outside. Ambiance on the patio is sub-​par compared to the indoor seating and we were the only party sitting outside. After inquiring with a manager we were not offered any alternatives until we asked, on our own, about using on of the booths inside that did not appear occupied. We were told these booths were usually for 6 people but that we could try 7 if we would like (this option was never offered to us by the manager). After being seated, our server arrived and immediately said, «so I heard ya’ll are pretty mad about the patio.» I found this both unprofessional and completely ridiculous since we had simply requested to sit inside with very minimal fuss. The server then started questioning in detail what we didn’t like about the patio, which was completely unnecessary, despite our requests to move on with the meal and order drinks. The server then left the table to «tell the manager what we don’t like about the patio», despite our requests to refrain from doing so and move forward with our orders. 10 – 15 minutes later the server returned and asked «if we were doing alright». Well, we don’t have any drinks or food so we would like to move forward with that. We order drinks which take 10 – 15 minutes to arrive. The server was very condescending and came off as a complete smart ass the entire time taking our orders including calling my mother picky for ordering no ice in her water. Our appetizers also come out first and the man who brought them out has the nerve to also say, «So I heard you don’t like my patio. What is it you don’t like about my patio?» So now we have had three different people hassle us about asking to be moved inside, which was a very simple request. I found this EXTREMELY unprofessional. This also made it quite obvious that the manager has gone into the kitchen and tell the entire staff that we had asked to moved inside. Making customers feel uncomfortable and gossiping about simple requests to your entire staff is no way to run a business. Food arrives shortly after. Food was pretty good and drinks were also good which was the bright part of the night. We order a final round of drinks (beer and wine) which take an additional 15 minutes to arrive. Upon leaving the restaurant, I see our server outside with the manager getting an earful from another customer about the servers condescending attitude that had also ruined their dining experience, which further validates our opinions on the servers attitude.
Overall, the restaurant has a cool ambiance and the food and drinks are pretty good. However, the overall attitude of the wait staff as well as the managers actions with his staff for simply requesting to move inside made us feel uncomfortable the entire night which ruined what could have been a great dining experience with family. I can assure you we will not return and left very disappointed.

My friend and I went here for dinner. The service was excellent from Hostess to waiter. We ordered the chicken goyza dumplings they were delicious, and Mongolian beef the beef was cook to perfection, the dish also has a good spice to it. I will definitely be back because there was so much on the menu I wanted to try. Overall good food good service can’t wait to come back.

Bottom line we wont be back for the food not even appetizers but might go back for happy hr and light music listening. Didn’t like the food at all. My husband and I went to the one on Holly. The deco is cool, the atmosphere, the music: they were playing Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin and others just like this. We ordered the «pork pot stickers» for appetizer and those were the best out of everything we ordered. My husband ordered «steak frittes» and they were undercooked, he asked for medium. The outside was burnt and inside raw, no seasoning or flavor. I ordered the «singapore» noodles, they tasted like MX mole. It was ok, chicken was dry and it needed salt. We also ordered cocktails they were good.

I eat here at least once a week. There’s great food and on a budget it’s affordable. My favorites are the Malay coconut soup and the jungle green curry! I can’t get enough of it. You definitely have to try it. They also have two bars so there is plenty of seating :)

Awesome service and staff! Food was prepared beautifully and deliciously!
The ambience is great. Very calming. The mixed drinks are delicious, too.
This is definitely a place I recommend to all!

Jinja is good plain and simple. Its a nice restaurant with high quality ingredients and you’ll pay a little more for that. Every single thing I have ordered here has been great. I particularly like the shaking beef it’ll make your day!

After a horrible attempt to a lunch date at Zorbbas, where I left very upset, my husband decided to take me to Jinjas. This is my second time here. The first time a friend and I had cocktails and they can make an amazing drink ! Not only is the food delicious the staff is so kind and the décor is beautiful and relaxing ! They give you pillows in your booth that make you feel nice and cozy. My waitress was a doll, which always makes me feel good about where my money is going, it’s hard giving a grumpy gills person a nice tip. I highly recommend desert there the coconut pecan tart was amazing, with a side of coconut gelato! My husband loves the chocolate cake… it was magical. Jinjas turned my day around for sure.

We love the appetizers. It’d been a while since we’d eaten there. We met another family for dinner. The enclosed patio area was warm, but it got cooler as the evening wore on. Our biggest disappointment was the attitude of the employees. They just didn’t seem happy to be working at Jinja. When we asked to be moved into the restaurant where it was cooler, the hostess staff was not very nice. It’s ok to be told that it wasn’t possible. It was their attitude and the tone of their response that wasn’t appropriate. At the end of the meal the waiter seemed bugged when we asked nicely for separate tickets. As a result, we probably won’t be returning any time soon. There are plenty of restaurants in Albuquerque with great food and great service.

Hadn’t been to a Jinja in a while since my wife doesn’t like asian food. She finally relented and we came in for dinner on a Saturday. There were plenty of tables available, we were there early though, around 5 pm. The service was quick and friendly, the waiter was more than happy to talk about each of the dishes we were curious about. I ended up ordering the pan-​seared pork potstickers for an appetizer and the Singapore Noodles for the main course. Both were very flavorful and I enjoyed eating them. Whether they represent the style well I can only guess. Overall it was an enjoyable experience and my wife found enough on the menu that she would eat that we’ll be back.

I was not impressed with the service or the food. Our waiter took our appetizer order and then disappeared for about 10 minutes! He finally came back with our potstickers and was like «okay do you want to order now’? Yes we do! We wanted to order like 10 minutes ago. I had the Tiger Prawn Shrimp with fried rice and the shrimp was over cooked and the rice was blah and no flavor. The mint cilantro lime sauce was way to minty for me. The only thing I enjoyed was the pickled cucumbers. I am not sure if I will go back.

Jinja has the best cocktails in Albuquerque. Made by bartenders who know their way around a bar, they offer unique blends that are both potent and tasty. They’re not cheap but worth every penny.
The food is tasty, too. I’m a huge fan of their pad Thai, but I’ve never had a bad dish. A great place for a romantic night away from the kid, or a good place to take business associates. I highly recommend it.

Love the atmosphere. Great happy hour with appetizers and drinks $ 5 so beat the heat and lounge thru from 3 – 7;00 ! Shaking beef was very lime flavored, yum !! Ribs in hoisin sauce also quite good. The coconut soup is $ 4 with an entrée, worth it ! The entrée that keeps us coming back tho –
CHOW FUN WITH CHILI. House made hand cut noodles are smoked — wow ! Gives them a unique chewy texture. The dish includes «marinated tofu «and if tofu always tasted this good — best ever. Service was fine, really. Great place for a date, girls nite, or anytime you want to relax with your dining companions.

Went here with my book club last night and in a nut shell the food was good, the food was pricey, and the service was absolutely terrible.
I got chili tofu chow fun and I have to say it was quite yummy and I am super picky about how my tofu is cooked. It was spicy enough but not too spicy that you couldn’t taste anything else. However, it cost $ 15 for my food and that is definitely WAY overpriced in my opinion. The food was good but didn’t warrant that price range and I would’ve been much more satisfied if it were say $ 5 less. We also shared one of the desserts– a macadamia cake and ice cream-​and it was good but it was almost $ 8 and the serving size was super small and again didn’t warrant the price range.
The service was AWFUL here though… our waiter forgot my friend’s appetizer, they forgot two glasses of wine that my friends were waiting for over 15 minutes, they didn’t refill our waters, didn’t check in on us, etc. You get the drift.
Basically, the food was good but because of the high cost and the service I won’t be going out of my way to go here again.

The food is very flavorful here — a bit on the salty side but I still like it. LOVE the Duke’s Blue Hawaiian as well. Service has always been very good.
A nice, intimate spot with a nice atmosphere. That’s why I keep coming back!

I just moved to Albuquerque from Los Angeles thinking there wouldn’t be any restaurants to compare with the ones in the big city, but Jinja gave me some hope.
I’ve been here twice in the same week and I love it! The wait staff is very friendly, attentive, and informative about the many food options. They offer everything from Ahi Tuna to Orange Peel Chicken, and my new favorite, the Red Curry Beef. The restaurant has two full bars, succulent meats and vibrant veggies. I was pleasantly surprised and the portions are just right for the price. Every time I need a curry fix, I will hit up Jinja. Bravo!

According to other reviewers I need to try the pot stickers and the shrimp, ok… I did, and was not disappointed. Very good, though I’m not entirely sure the shrimp were actual tiger shrimp.
Service was ok but just a little lacking in attentiveness.
I joined a couple of friends for dinner but only opted for the appetizers in an attempt to get a feel for a range of tastes. The two I had were good, I’ll be interested to go again and try an actual meal. My friends soups were large and smelled really good, I’ll have to try one next time.
I will be back, this place deserves more of my attention, even if only to give a more thorough review.