JINYA Ramen Bar

Nice broth here — I got the tonkotsu assari. Noodles were good and toothsome, and the chashu was melt in your mouth good. Wish the soft-​boiled egg were a little bigger, but it was cooked well! Broth could be a little richer — perhaps another day with the bones, but overall a great dinner.

I love their soup base! Very very good!
Good portion.
Their fried chicken appetizer is tender and crispy. I for got the name of it, just ask for fried chicken!

If you’re ever in the Lincoln park area and think «what a great day to get food poisoning», this is the place for you. My order had the little warning asterisk for consuming undercooked food because of the soft boiled egg, but I eat soft boiled eggs all the time so I figured I’d be fine. I was wrong. So wrong. Everything was delicious but not worth the 2 days of cramping, sweats, nausea and other horrible effects of bad food

Lovei it! Flavor of the broth soaked deep into the noodles! One of the best Ramenya in Chicago!

The food: 3.5÷5. I got the black tonkotsu ramen, which I wanted to love, but the broth wasn’t quite right: not rich enough and far too salty. The noodles were good, but the pork belly was a little bland. I found it a lot better than at other places like Furious Spoon, Oiistar and Slurping Turtle, but not as good as at Wasabi or Ramen Takeay.
The service: ³⁄₅. The service was friendly, but the two waitresses that served us weren’t very knowledgeable about the menu. We asked questions about their sake selection, and they had no idea.
Overall: ³⁄₅. A decent place to get ramen. You could do a lot worse in Chicago, but you could also do a lot better.

JINYA TONKOTSU BLACK
I thought it was pretty good, considering that I am from Taipei, Taiwan. The broth is very nicely done. It’s very mild in terms of the taste in comparison to what I’m used to so if you like it mild, get this! The service is really nice too! The music and lighting create a nice mood at night, modern music with hipster lighting.
Really happy that I came here!

Another successful ramen trip I can add to my list. I went here for lunch (around 2) and the place was completely empty. Scary sight for a restaurant, and very surprising considering I found this place had so many good reviews on various sites. Fortunately, when we got our food, the place didn’t disappoint.
I got the Tonkotsu Black Ramen. It was delicious! I also got a side of chili oil — I love the. Compared to other ramen places in the city, the price was pretty standard for a great bowl of ramen. The atmosphere and interior decorating was nice and seating was comfortable. The place was also kid friendly as another family came in after us and they had high chairs provided for the child. Overall great dining experience.

JINYA TONKATSU BLACK
— creamy, hearty, garlicky goodness! OMG this is one of the best bowls of ramen i’ve had in my life and i’m from california. it was still incredibly delicious even though i had a 2 deep dish slices 1 hour prior!
spicy chicken ramen was not too great though
verfy friendly service
I’ll definitely visit the LA or Vegas locations if I get the opportunity to, i usually don’t repeat but this ramen is definitely THAT GOOD

One of my top 3 ramen places in Chicago. They offer happy hour tapa style from 3pm-​6pm. Servers are really friendly. You can get points from 5 star network

Excellent food, excellent staff. I will definitely be coming back again. The ramen is absolutely amazing. We tried 3 different types of ramen and they were all fantastic.

I’ve had nearly all the ramen spots in and around Chicago to date — HIgh Five, Wasabi, Furious Spoon, Strings 2, Yusho, Ani, Ramen Misoya, Santouka, Izakaya Sankyu, Slurping Turtle, Oiistar, to name a few. Yes I may die from the sheer sodium overload soon, may my headstone say «RIP may she be slurping ramen in heaven». With a pretty substantial ramen repertoire, I will say that JINYA is definitely in my top three for ramen, potentially tied with 1^st place. This is pretty big for me, Wasabi has been my number one for ages, and I think the bowl I had at JINYA ties my beloved Spicy Miso Ramen, or dare I say surpasses it?!
We arrived on the eve of Christmas Eve with a couple bottles of wine (BYOB no corkage although they do have Sapporo) and a set of hearty appetites. I decided to go with the Cha Cha Cha (A) fun name B) called a garlic lover’s dream so it was an obvious choice. I like how the menu is very descriptive, talking about not only the broth and accoutrements, but also the type of noodles (they have thick versus thin noodles available). My bowl came in a cloud of steamy deliciousness, super thick noodles, a creamy rich broth, a couple large swatches of tender pork, and an immaculate seasoned egg. I LOVE thick noodles, don’t give me any pansy skinny noodles when it comes to ramen, and JINYA is right up my alley. And that egg! I don’t even really know how to describe it other than yes, they are 100% telling the truth when they say it is seasoned. Like every part of the egg is utterly infused with this delectable flavor, I wish I could have one right now. Will be back ASAP to try their other ramen.

Merry Christmas, Pilgrims! Good luck on finding a restaurant that is open on Christmas Day.
JINYA announced that they will have normal business hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If you’re on the way to see a movie (see my «Century Landmark» review), I would say grab a bowl of ramen so that you can forgo to spend ten (10) plus dollars on pop and popcorns.
Since I’ve moved further west in another Chicago neighborhood, I don’t typically head this way much. However, hubby and I spent some time together exploring Lakeview East/​Lincoln Park this Christmas afternoon and stopped by JINYA.
I bookmarked JINYA due to a Unilocal Elite’s recommendation. I had «Cha Cha Cha» garlic ramen ($ 15.80 as of 12/​25/​2015). I think it’s easier to bullet-​point my reflection on this dish:
— broth: it was heavy, even though I liked the flavor. It could have been more enjoyable on a cold, snowy, or freezing day. Nevertheless, this winter has been unexpectedly mild.
— noodle: they utilized the chewy, very-​absorbent kind. It might be why the broth was this bold so that the noodle could «suck on» that liquid. If you’re a «traditionalist» on ramen, this might not be your cup of tea.
— chasu: it was delicious! My order came with three (3) slices, and I could have asked for the extra add-​on. The meat literally melted in the soup. I will come back for that chasu for sure.
— seasoned egg: it was excellent! The soft-​boiled egg was done impeccably.
Since it’s that wonderful time of the year, JINYA earned my four (4) stars for offering the vegetarian ramen to please my hubby and being open on a holiday.
Many spots in a posh neighborhood like Lakeview or Lincoln Park have a difficult time snatching my fifth star due to the pricing. Two (2) bowls of ramen cost us $ 33 before tip, at least I was comfortably full so I didn’t see the need to order tapas or dessert.

I have visited jinya two times in a week just to make sure I have my evaluation correct. My first time here, I had tonkotsu black with a bunch of sides (tokoyaki and crispy chicken); the second time here I had tonkotsu spicy.
Here is my evaluation: what’s perfect– the egg, pork chashu, the noodles. What can be improved– the broth is definitely authentic, but I feel it’s too heavy (I have the same feeling both times), so heavy that I can’t finished the bowl immediately (this is usually the sign I have for myself whether a ramen is perfect or not).
Overall, jinya can make it to the to-​go Ramen list in Chicago. It is also a raman bar that has a relaxing atmosphere for friends to hang out here. I still recommend the place as one of top ramen places in Chicago.

I came here for dinner last night with a friend and had a great time. I chose the Jinya No. 2 Tonkotsu Black, and my friend chose the Jinya No. 3 Cha Cha Cha for garlic lovers. The Jinya No. 2 was delicious. The pork broth was rich with thin noodles, and the pork chashu was soft and cooked to perfection. The ramen was topped with green onions, which added more flavor to the dish. The seasoned egg on top was also delicious.
The staff was attentive, and we were seated immediately. Our meals were served within 10 minutes. Dinner was $ 15 each, but the helpings were very generous, making it worth the price. I’d recommend this place to friends in the area.

Came in with high expectations. I’m a ramen lover and love trying new ramen restaurants. This is probably one of the worst ramens I’ve had. Both mine and my friends were less than satisfactory. Mine was way too salty (and I’m a salt lover!). We were seated right away; the restaurant was less than half full. So I’m wondering where all these good reviews are coming from… Did we go on a major off day?

I was totally excited about coming here, but I’m afraid it fell short of my expectations. I ordered the Tonkotsu Black and Crispy Chicken combo. While the chicken was pretty good, the broth wasn’t up to par with the usual creamy consistency and rich flavor of a good ramen bowl. I also felt that it lacked a bit of flavor as well. The noodles were also not the kind of noodles I prefer for my ramen — the wider, wavy noodles. My friends and I also ordered the takoyaki which was okay, very creamy on the inside and well presented.

My friends and I came here for brunch on Saturday. We arrived a little before 11am thinking it would be a long wait for the 8 of us (2 are babies). We were wrong, there weren’t much of a wait as it was just a group of 3 people ahead of us. Throughout the morning to early afternoon it wasn’t as busy as I thought it would be so crowd isn’t so bad. Most of us had different types of ramen. I had the spicy tonkatsu with additional spinach and corn ($ 1 each per addition). I thought it was decent. I like the thick noodle. They gave very little spinach, slightly disappointed with that. Couple of my friends had their premium whites… they thought it was okay, too. My husband also ordered their baby leaf salad which was typical salad. The brussel sprouts looked interesting as it was deep fried.
Overall, decent ramen. Right now I would rank this ramen joint #4 for Chicago/​Chicagoland behind Santouka (Mitsuwa), Wasabi, and Ramen Takeya. My husband and another friend agree.

It’s nice to see a ramen chain in Chicago vs the myriad other pizza and sandwich and Mediterranean joints. It’s a great addition. The ambiance runs more like a coffee shop that is BYOB… rather laidback.
The service is busy and scattered but once you flag them down, they are eager to help. I got the tonkatsu black. I liked that it was not salty or too garlicky. This bowl had thin noodles which I wonder if could have opted for thicker noodles if I wanted to. Being a chain, I hope they can excel on consistency which other places may lack. I would return to try the tonkatsu white or the other bowls.

Lately I have been on a Ramen kick.
My goal is to try every Ramen place in the City.
I tried this place because my favorite place was closed.
The service was great, The location is various spacious so there wasn’t a wait.
We started off with Shishito Peppers, those were absolutely delicious.
For my Ramen bowl I had a huge craving for something spicy with thick noodles. So I picked Tonkutso Spicy — Spice level Hot and added a seasoned egg.
The flavors balanced so well and the spicyness hit the spot.
It definitely made it #2 on my list. If I could eat it every week I would.

I’ve come here twice and on both occasions it was fairly easy to snag a table without needing to wait. The service was okay, nothing spectacular. Our waitress seemed really lost and confused as she kept wandering back and forth. My friend asked for no green onions and the waitress reassurred her that it would be taken care of – and lo and behold… there were green onions in her ramen.
Ramen:
The first time I ordered the tonkotsu assari ramen (pork chashu, green onion, bean sprouts, seasoned egg, and thick noodles). On my second visit, I ordered the Jinya tonkotsu black ramen (pork chashu, green onion, nori, garlic chips, garlic oil, fried onion, seasoned egg, and thin noodles). Although the Jinya tonkotsu ramen is a tad bit more in price, it left me slightly disappointed – the thin noodles were not as appetizing as the thick noodles that came with the tonkotsu assari ramen. HOWEVER, my bf ordered the cha cha cha ramen (pork chashu, bean sprouts, onion, green onion, fish powder, Korean powder, seasoned egg, and thick noodles), which was very flavorful and left me wishing I had ordered the same.
Appetizers:
The takoyaki was a complete miss for me – there was way too much dough and not enough octopus. If you are in the mood for an appetizer, try the crispy chicken.
They do NOT serve any alcohol but it is BYOB.