Midtown Lunch

If you were to create a ramen compass of Los Angeles it would be fairly simple… any of the places in Torrance to the South, Santouka to the West, Daikokuya to the East (in Downtown), and the new’ish Ramen Jinya to the North (Studio City). For most people the decision over where to ramen is one of proximity, but what about those who are smack dab in the middle? That problem seemed to be solved thanks to the news that Ramen Jinya would be opening a new spot, Robata Jinya, on 3rd Ave. and Crescent Heights. And when I read yesterday that they were now open for lunch and serving up ramen, I rushed right over to check it out.

Ramen Jinya opened to much hype over the summer in Studio City (praised by both Rameniac and “The Guru”), and even though the centerpiece of Robata Jinya is the robata grill behind the bar, they also serve the exact same tonkotsu (pork) ramen served at the original Jinya (on the lunch menu for $8.50).

Rich and super garlicky with a hint of fishiness in the background, Robata Jinya’s ramen did not disappoint. Jinya’s broth is not as oil slicked as Santouka’s, or as porky as Daikokuya’s, but it has a refined flavor all its own, and the slices of fatty pork melt in your mouth. Their noodles, despite not being made in house, are also excellent and retained a nice chewiness despite being slightly overcooked (a problem I’m sure that will get better with time.) As of now there is only one kind of ramen on the menu (the pork ramen) but you can order it spicy (same price) or with gyoza inside the soup for $2 more.

And if you’re super duper hungry and feel like splurging (you know we’ve all been there!) you can add a chashu bowl, spicy tuna roll, california roll, or side dish of curry for just $4 more.

Got a co-worker who isn’t into slurping down a huge bowl of fattening pork-tastic goodness? They’ll be perfectly happy with the $12 sushi combo (one roll, 6 pieces of nigiri, w/ salad and soup) or the pretty hefty $11 Robata Bento Box- which comes with tempura, one sushi roll (california or spicy tuna), 3 yakitori skewers cooked on the robata (one breast, one wing, and one skewer of grilled shishito chilies), miso soup, salad, and rice. The robata stuff was pretty dried out, but the flavor was fine and overall it’s a lot of food for $11.

In other words, leave the bentos for the boring folk for now and stick with the ramen. After all, there are plenty of places to go in the area for generic Japanese bento boxes… there’s only one place to go for great ramen.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• A quality bowl of ramen for $8.50? Awesome
• I work in the area and am so excited I don’t have to drive Downtown or to West L.A. for a good bowl of ramen now!
• I love Ramen Jinya’s tonkotsu ramen… super excited I don’t have to go to the valley to eat it anymore
• I love me some garlic
• Their curry rice was really tasty
• The noodles are very good

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Only pork ramen? I hope they bring down the other kinds of ramen from Jinya! (Like the chicken one)
• I prefer a stronger pork flavor, like Daikokuya
• I prefer a greasier, richer broth, like Santouka
• The noodles were a bit over cooked (hopefully it was an anomaly)
• The yakitori on the bento was not great… hopefully they’ll improve the robata stuff as time goes on

Robata Jinya, 8050 W.3rd St (near Crescent Heights), 323-653-8877