Jin Joo Korean Restaurant

Good food awesome service. Love the braised corvina. They can make it spicy. Love their tubu soup and they have tong kalbi.

I was there couple weeks ago with my friend’s family and We were so impressed with their taste, portion and the price and THE quality of their Big bone Kalbi is MUST try!
We had a great and budgeted early Christmas lunch, much mahalo to Jin Joo Resturant for making my Holidays easier.
Highly recommend with groups of family for this Holiday seasons.

The meat was really good but I was not a fan of the sides they gave us. This is probably just my preference though since this was my first time trying Korean food. It was fun to try everything but we will probably not be back. The ladies there were super nice!

The inside is pretty outdated and it could really use an upgrade. I know that alone would make a lot of people shy away or refuse to try this place. But not I… I am brave!
And a winner, too. Dude, the food here is so bomb it’s like AH MAH GAH I NEED ALL OF THE NOMS IN MY LIFE. Like, right MEOW.
The prices are pretty decent. The quality of the food that I’ve had from there is exceptional. My favorite is the spicy pork. They are the first to serve it to me with vegetables. Yay, I’m so healthy, right? LOL
They take cash and card.
I really thought the ladies were kind and attentive. I highly urge those that have not gone because of the way it looks to look past that and try this place out.

Best Kalbi I have ever had. Love all the vegetable dishes they serve with your meal and friendly service since the new owners took over

Great food at reasonable prices. Food has gotten 100% better since the new owners took over. And their staff is so friendly and accommodating. Also, really delicious and unique ban chan. Can’t say enough good things about this place. Oh, one more thing… squid stir fry! That is all

Maybe it is because my first choice for Korean bbq was closed! I thought of another nearby place on the way home. Jin Joo in Waimalu shopping center. Customer service friendly. I only had been here once and had never done takeout.
The quantity for take out was ok. And the taste was just ok. I feel like you get more food if you dine in.

The restaurant was OK, but just OK and nothing more. The restaurant was clean and well lit, but the décor has not changed a bit since the restaurant was founded, I guess. And the restaurant was founded probably in the seventies. The portions were not that tasty, and were not displayed nicely. The kalby beef was awesome, I have to admit that, but the portion was rather small. Too many deep fried food items on the menu. The prices were not too high, and the food was just OK. This restaurant could do better than this.

Been to this place about 4 times. First three times it was good and now mediocre/​sassy attitude. Man do was hard like rock. Thought I was eating jaw breakers. Don’t think will come back. We will go to shiro’s. At least the saimin is not hard like rock.

Really enjoyed this place! It looked like a hole in the wall and wasn’t sure what to make of it at first. But my husband really wanted Korean so we ended up here. It was delicious! Service was fast and flawless. The lady waiting on us did not hover but checked in with us a time or two to make sure everything was ok. She even brought us extra turnips when my husband asked what they were and requested more. Loved all the little dishes of food in the center of table too. Definitely recommend :)

Service sucks and food wasn’t that great! The portion u pay could get more else where… Dissapointed

Loved it from the old to new owner. We come here to get a taste of Korean while away from mom. It definitely satisfies my craving. Hubby tore up his bulgogi and meat chun. I really enjoyed their ojingo bokum (spicy squid stir fry). The chop chae was a bit on the sweet side for my taste. Wish there were more banchan (side dishes), but enjoyed what they did offer. Definitely recommend coming here for a quick fix on Korean food.

This place is a sort of hole in the wall establishment of the mom and pop type Korean restaurants. The service is good. The ladies are friendly and quick to check on your to see if you want any more of those yummy sides refilled. And keep waters filled. Been here several times now. I almost always get the kalbi ($ 15 for 2 large bone pieces + 1 piece without a bone) because this is one of my places I go to when I’m craving Korean. Your meal also comes with a broth to start. As you wait for your entrée to arrive to the table. Which doesn’t take long.
Their kalbi is well flavored and in decent portions. It’s very tender and yummy. You will definitely leave here full. I’ve also tried the meat jun which is ok. I prefer Kim Chee 3 for meat jun and chicken katsu.
Will be back when the craving strikes.

This restaurant is under new management since about 2013. I took a chance and went back when I heard restaurant changed owner. It is sooo much better. The food and customer service is much much better. Unilocal should close this since its under new management. The new owner dont deserve a negative review that was left from the previous owner.

This place is pretty good! Small place. But the food for the most part is on point.
What’s good (that I’ve tried):
1. Doenjang Jjiggae (Korean Miso Stew): DELICIOUS! Great balance in the broth and loaded with veggies, seafood, and pork. Definitely a winner!
2. Bi Bim Bap: Legit. Wish they offered it in the stone pot for the crispy rice. But the flavors all went well. Wish they would have given more gochujang to mix however. But still, Jin Joo’s version is great.
3. Meat-​jhun: OK. Not the best. And a little too thickly sliced for my taste. Last time I went, one side was still pink and undercooked.
4. Ban-​chan: AWESOME kimchi! Flavorful. The daikon pickle was great too. Forgot the other one… seaweed? That was good too!
Some quick points:
1. Water here tastes very much from the tap. I didn’t mind too much, but just something to keep in mind.
2. Customer Service leaves something to be desired. A bit of a smile would help, but otherwise, they are nice people.
3. Place is CLEAN and FOOD is good!

Parking: Blech, this whole Waimalu Shopping Center is really congested during lunch and dinner hours.
Ambience: Old fashioned and outdated, which means I trust it more. :)
Service: We had a seemingly local young waitress who was really on it. Friendly, efficient, and fast. But as a general rule, one does not go to Korean restaurants for friendly service. Efficient service, yes. Friendly, uhhh no.
Price: About $ 10/​plate. Comes with a starter broth and panchan.
Food: I had the mandoo and meat jun plate, hubby got the chicken and mandoo plate, and we shared a kim chi jigae. The plates were great, but the kim chi jigae was outstanding. It had pork, zucchini, rice noodles, carrot, onion, tofu and of course kim chi. As you dig through the soup, you find more and more treasures! The broth was super tasty as well. I loved their kim chi. The waitress said it was house made.
For all three items plus tip, it was $ 32.

This was my first time here to Jin Joo. The place is nice and clean. We were early so the place was empty. The guy at the counter taking orders did lack some personality (he was kinda stiff) but he was quick to take my order and ring it up. My wife and I waited for at least 15 minutes (maybe, it seemed shorter).
Okay now the food, I bought the basic Meat Jun and BBQ chicken. My rule is when trying a new place order the basic plate and if they can’t do that one right then what’s to say that the rest is good.
Well it was good. Tender Meat Jun and great tasting BBQ chicken. I wish they gave me more of their Kim Chee because it was really good. It did not lack flavor and it had enough of a kick.
I’m working on that whole shopping plaza at Waimalu. I’ve already tried the chinese place Wan Kung (?), Jackie’s Diner (great, great Hawaiian food and Pateles) Ohana sushi, Ezogiku’s and of course Zippy’s.
But I’m working on trying more.

Why such low stars? I had an AMAZING experience.
I think this place would be a HIT if it changed up it’s décor.
The prices and quality of the food is just such a STEAL! The waitress was so on point and friendly. I’m used to bad service from Koreans so I wasn’t expecting much but she just gave us her undivided attention and our waters were always full. The food came out hot and when we asked for extra rice she didn’t even charge us!
I got a Kalbi/​BBQ chicken combination plate and my bf Derek had the meat jun combo plate. Our total came out to $ 24. Their complimentary side dishes were awesome and plentiful. And i like the sauce they had. Free tea as wel.
I loved my meal. They were able to switch the BBQ chicken to Spicy chicken no problem. Had a great dinner for sure!

Small cozy korean joint serving up some good lunch plates!
We started coming here a couple of weeks ago. Its a small place, and is usually close to full everyday for lunch. Décor isn’t great, but for a cheap lunch place, who really needs it. And the ladies working here a great! Very casual and comfortable atmosphere
I’ve never been too big on kimchee so i couldn’t tell you how theirs is or the other weird looking things that come out, BUT what i can tell you about and whats great about this place is the meat portions!!! I stick with the lunch plate which is bbq chicken and beef with rice and some veggies, and the bbq beef, chicken, and meat chun served with the same.
The portions are nice! They don’t hold back on the meat, and its cooked very well. Has a simple but very tasty flavor that is not overpowering and takes away from the meat. Also, its not overcooked and dried out.
And its under $ 10 so can’t go wrong!

I’ve been coming to Jin Joo since I was a child. I was eating the kalbi plates when I was around… 5 or 6 years old? Back when they used to put the plates in white paper boxes instead of styrofoam containers.
I stopped coming here for the most part once I hit the college years, but I decided to stop in today after the gym. Wow, they switched owners. The old owner (and her husband), whom all the negative reviews here are written about are no longer there. They seem a lot more staffed than they used to be, when there would sometimes only be 2 or 3 people working total, including the cook.
I always get the kalbi. It’s big boned kalbi, not that cheaper short rib stuff. Portions are huge here. The food is even better than I remember from when I was a kid. The total for taking out 3 plates was $ 35. For the portion size, that’s not bad at all. The new owners seem nice, so give them a chance. The food is so good!