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    Jin Joo Korean Restaurant

    3.6 (334 reviews)
    ModerateKorean
    Closed Closed

    Jin Joo Korean Restaurant Photos

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    JIN JOO KOREAN RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Jin Joo Korean Restaurant

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    Home cooked Korean food - Kalbi and mandoo and meat Jun and mandoo.
    Tina J.

    Small mom and pops restaurant, but tables were pretty full. For first timers that's a good sign. Food was tasty - mandoo was definitely home made - reminded us of pork hash! So meaty! Great service and kind waitress. We would go again for sure. Must try their mandoo!

    Meat jun and kalibi combo with 2 scoops rice.

    Came in for late lunch with my hubby. Greeted with a friendly staff and waitress. The food always hits the if you want korean food. Service was excellent!

    Fish juhn
    Leeny N J.

    The food we ate was awesome. My fave is the chop chae with bulgogi. Had the meat juhn and chicken combo. Meat juhn was great and the bbq chicken was not burnt. Hubs had the fish juhn and did not have any leftovers.The Banchan was good too. Wish it had beansprouts but I guess you can't have everything. It's byob so we had Makgouli with it. Yummers.

    Seafood pancake
    Tiffany H.

    Initially wanted to eat at another restaurant in this area but that restaurant was closed. Decided to eat here instead. Got the seafood pancake, meat/fish jun plate. The seafood pancake was crispy with lots of different seafood in it. The meat/fish jun was decent but seemed like a small portion for the price. The meat jun were also very thinly sliced meat without much flavor. We got a few refills of the banchan but when I asked for thirds of a couple items, the server told me that it would be the last time she can refill it. The banchan are fairly small portions so I was surprised she wouldn't give us any more refills of the items.

    side dishes
    MaryAnn C.

    We absolutely love this Korean restaurant. After Sorabol has closed, we have tried looking for a Korean restaurant the same standard as Sorabol and it is this restaurant here at Jin Joo. We liked how fresh the side dishes were and how the service was very good! Our soups came out very savory and spicy just the way we liked it. I think you should try them out.

    Storefront
    Nadine C.

    Dinner in Aiea, O'ahu, Hawaii... I was starving and couldn't think of where to go. I looked at the Bookmarks on my Yelp app and settled on pho. It just so happened that the pho place at Waimalu Shopping Center is closed on Wednesdays. That's lucky for Jin Joo Korean Restaurant, which is right next door! I easily found parking because I beat the dinner crowd. Several people stopped in for takeout, and there were a few people dining-in. The cheerful server greeted me right away, showed me to a table, and brought iced water, utensils, and a menu. I quickly decided on The Jin Joo Special Plate (#1) because it had some of everything: mandoo (with some glass noodles in it), BBQ chicken, bulgogi, kalbi (smokey flavor), zucchini jun, meat jun, and 2 scoops of rice. It was all good - delicious and hit the spot! The banchan arrived first - yum! I tried each side dish even though I don't like spicy food! The slightly tart and sweet seaweed was my favorite. The crunchy cucumber followed, with the tofu and fish cake next. The cabbage and especially the bean kimchi were too challenging for me. I enjoyed the pleasant, old-school vibe! The server really made me feel comfortable by chatting about Instagram because she noticed me taking several photos... LOL! I'll post there tomorrow... Haha! I devoured the meal and have major food coma! Zzzzz! Note: Magic Sauce was kind of like a ponzu sauce... vinegar and shoyu???

    Meat Jun, Mandoo, and Bbq Chicken (M.M.C)
    Jacob M.

    We were able to have our three kids watched by the in-laws while we go out one last time before my wife gives birth to our 4th (induced on Tuesday). Craving Korean food and heard that this place was as authentic as it gets. So we go. And it nailed everything. It was busy so we were told that the wait was going to be about 30 minutes. We didn't mind so we stood outside. They did not have an official sign in list and the cashier seemed to have wrote my name on the back of a receipt to keep track of who was next for seating. The waitress/hostess came outside and told us that she cleared her "work" table for us because she didn't want my wife to wait too long due to be pregnant and ready to pop any second. This was really nice of her and we appreciated it! Inside everyone is tightly packed. There are plastic partition walls they roll around to give tables privacy which was nice because when you sit down you don't even notice you are sitting a couple inches away from the other table, honestly. We ordered the M.M.C (Meat Jun, Mandoo, and Chicken) & a soup that I don't remember... and would probably butcher the name of. The dishes were delicious. No complaints besides I wish I had more. The staff were friendly and would talk to us about the baby wishing us the best as we left.

    Inside
    Sach T.

    A friend recommended this place a long time ago so finally decided to try it. I looked over the menu for the plate lunches and the pictures didn't show if it came with any banchan. Found out it comes with 4: 1. Bean sprouts 2. Choysum 3. Kim chee 4. Cucumber kim chee Ordered the Meat Jun for me and the BBQ Chicken for my husband. The Meat Jun was good as other Korean places I've bought from. It's the sauce that gives it the flavor but I'm still trying to find a restaurant that has a tasty egg batter I used to order from that is no longer in business **so sad**. As for the BBQ Chicken, it was a little dry even with the sauce they gave but it was tasty. This place is located in the Waimalu Shopping Center with lots of parking. The worker was friendly and said the wait will be about 10 minutes...the food was ready in less than 10 minutes! Yay!

    Clam tofu soup, pork & squid spicy stir fry, meat jun plate, side order Kalbi
    Mae D.

    Love this place. The food and service are great. The restaurant has a lot of seating and there are rolling boards as dividers to separate the tables. There is a great option of different foods to try. Everything we ordered was amazing and I love how they ask you how spicy you want your food!!

    Bibim Kooksoo
    Scott G.

    The food is always pretty good here. I had the Fish Jun but forgot to take the pic. Lol. We also had the Bibim Kooksoo, which was not spicy enough but was still tasty. They give plenty of banchan(sides) for the table. Parking can get a bit hectic and sometimes even scarce, but be patient, and you'll find one. Aloooooha and happy eating.

    BBQ Beef, Mandoo, and Meat Jun

    Aiea Korean mom and pop restaurant thats been around for years in the Waimalu shopping center. Great combo meals and banchan, dont forget to use the magic sauce. Usually get the Bbq beef, Mandoo and the Meat Jun combo Typical service when you go to a Korean restaurant, gotta flag down the server. Lots of parking in the lot so thats a plus. 4 stars.

    Mushy rice

    They are so rude and it seems like they are only rude if you are not Korean. I was there for about 2 hours and seen it. Their rice is mushy, you need to beg for more Banchan. I won't be back here again as I already gave them another chance.

    Jin Joo special and side dishes.
    Jennifer W.

    I highly recommend this Korean restaurant. The food is really good and the service is excellent. The ambience is cozy and warm. The server is attentive and friendly. My favorite Korean restaurant.

    Kalbi plate, seafood tofu & spicy squid

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    9 months ago

    Always good food, fun service! Wish it was bigger for more tables but the turn around is fast!!!

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    5 months ago

    Delicious Korean food! Friendly staff and convenient location in Waimalu with ample parking.

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    8 months ago

    Expensive, our food didn't have much flavor and the customer service was not great. I would not go back here again.

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    1 year ago

    Bomb authentic Korean food. Excellent service every time we go. 5/5 stars. Now I need to write random words to fill the 85 letter quota.

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    Kim Chee Restaurant 7 - 3 choice (Shrimp Katsu, TonKatsu, BBQ Chicken), white steamed rice and all the standard sides and dipping sauces.

    Kim Chee Restaurant 7

    4.1(765 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    First time dining here. Four of us made plans to have lunch here at 11 am. 3 of us arrived early…read moreand when the Open sign turned on at 10:30 we entered. We were given a regular menu and a single sheet with Lunch Combos. Three of us decided upon a two choice lunch combo with different choices. One wanted cold noodles. Our jaws literally dropped in awe as the first plate arrived with vegetable tempura and bbq pork. It was humongous!!! My meat Jun and zucchini was pretty huge as well. The person who ordered kalbi with another choice paid $3+ extra for the kalbi selection. We all remarked how delicious our meals were and we all took left overs home. The servers are friendly, refill your water and don't chase you out after you paid the bill. We hadn't all met together since Covid so we had lots to catch up on. You will need to ask for a key to use the outside restroom. The interior furniture and menus show they've been in use for quite some time. If you don't mind that, the food alone is worth coming for or you could order take out.

    Local Korean restaurant with ginormous portions!…read more We got the 2-choice lunch plates with meat jun, fried mandoo, vegetable tempura, and tonkatsu. Very affordable price especially given the huge size! The veggie in the tempura seemed to be more raw so it wasn't our favorite. The tonkatsu was interesting as it was very thin. The meat jun and mandoo were good. Banchan and a small bowl of seaweed soup is included! They were busy but service was fast and great! Small cute local restaurant vibes.

    Photos
    Kim Chee Restaurant 7 - Restaurant interior

    Restaurant interior

    Kim Chee Restaurant 7 - Kalbi and Meat Jun Combo...

    Kalbi and Meat Jun Combo...

    Kim Chee Restaurant 7 - Kalbi and Meat Jun

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    Kalbi and Meat Jun

    Korea Garden - Beef sampler (tongue, brisket, marinated flank, marinated rib eye (burried under all the other meats)

    Korea Garden

    4.6(350 reviews)
    9.7 mi

    Excellent food and service, so good we went twice in 3 days! Friendly service and clean environment…read more!

    This KBBQ is Seoul good. You might even say Korea Garden is my Seoul-mate!…read more The birthday extravaganza continues! More fire, more good eats, and more soup! We got the seafood pajeon, cold noodles in beef broth, meat jun, galbi-jjim, steamed egg pot, and bibimbap. No actual grilling was done but we weren't exactly here for that. We came here to try meat jun and ended up getting a little bit of everything else. Let me tell you something... the galbi-jjim here alone is enough to pay them a visit. If you don't know what galbi-jjim is, let me explain it real quick. Galbi-jjim is a popular Korean dish of tender, braised short ribs, typically beef or pork, cooked in a savory-sweet soy sauce-based liquid with garlic, ginger, and often fruits like pear or apple for sweetness and tenderizing. It was perfectly savory and saucy, fall-off-the-bone tender, and I want to scream just thinking about it. The first bite alone had me sitting back in my seat. Had I been wearing a hat, I would have taken it off and held it over my heart. It was that good. And since it was my birthday, they brought over a complimentary seaweed soup and a tower of Choco Pies. They even sang Happy Birthday to me and made me blush. Solid eats and excellent service. The parking situation seems nerve racking but they have an attendant at both sides of the restaurant that helps stop traffic to help get you out of there which I found pretty cool!

    Photos
    Korea Garden - Nicely decorated

    Nicely decorated

    Korea Garden - Hot stone pot bibimbap

    Hot stone pot bibimbap

    Korea Garden - Cold noodles in beef broth

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    Cold noodles in beef broth

    Moobongri Soup & Yakiniku - Bibimbap

    Moobongri Soup & Yakiniku

    4.4(102 reviews)
    9.9 miMo'ili'ili
    $$

    I'm waffling somewhere between a 4 and a 5 for Moobongri's AYCE Korean BBQ experience. For the most…read morepart, their Korean BBQ experience is great. The meat is reasonably high quality, the banchan is generous (the last few times I went they even had poke as a banchan included with the meal), and the service is friendly. The "kimchee soup" is one of my favorite kimchee jjigaes on the island. Refills of meat flow generously out of the kitchen, unlike some other AYCE experiences where each subsequent order gets smaller and smaller until they finally cut you off because you've reached the time limit. I only have one gripe. While each table has a very powerful burner for grilling the meat, their universal approach is to prop up a tilted cast iron plate over the fire to grill on. It's propped at an angle so that the oil flows into a catch pan on the side. This usually means that the half of the plate tilted closer to the fire gets really hot, while the other half struggles to get hot enough and risks just boiling your meat. It also makes adjusting the fire a tricky process - if there's a lull between meats coming to your table, someone might come by and, understandably, turn down your flame. That's fine, but when the food does come out, it takes a long time to get the cast iron hot again. This doesn't stop me from coming back for more here, but just one thing I wish was better about an otherwise great experience. There is a parking lot out front but it is cramped and usually fills up. There is usually someone helping to guide parking, but when it's completely full there's only so much they can do. Street parking in the area can also be a little bit tricky.

    Still my favorite place to come for my soondae fix! Since we live on an island, soondae soup is…read moresuper limited. This place makes their soondae in house as I can tell the difference with frozen soondae and non-frozen ones. Until I go to Korea to try the real thing, this is the best I can get. I definitely think they improved their recipe from the first time I tried it. The aunties here are still very nice but as always give grace because it does get busy here and one aunty would have to take care of multiple tables and party size as well. Overall I'll be coming here whenever I need my soondae fix!! If you haven't tried, definitely come and try! I still need to try the acye here with friends one day!

    Photos
    Moobongri Soup & Yakiniku - Inside

    Inside

    Moobongri Soup & Yakiniku - Banchan

    Banchan

    Moobongri Soup & Yakiniku - Bibimbap

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    Bibimbap

    Stadium Camellia Restaurant - My son's favorite Kalbi.

    Stadium Camellia Restaurant

    3.8(609 reviews)
    2.0 mi
    $$

    Went on a weekday for an early dinner before 6pm and thankfully the usual fight for a table didn't…read moreexist. Camellia's Yakiniku is a really solid go-to spot when you're craving $30 all-you-can-eat yakiniku. The variety of sides is actually one of the highlights. Along with the meats, you get access to tasty options like pickled cabbage, kimchi, seaweed, and other little banchan-style bites. I also love that it comes with unlimited rice, plus extras like seasoned salad, lettuce wraps, soups, and even things like fried chicken and mandoo. The quality of the meat isn't superb, but honestly it's more than fair for the price point and AYCE format. Service is quick and attentive as always, and the staff frequently changes the grill so your meat doesn't burn -- which I always appreciate. It's an easy weekday dinner spot with pretty good ventilation, but like any good yakiniku place, you'll probably still leave smelling like smoky grilled meat... and honestly that's part of the experience lol. The cherry on top is the pineapple ice cream, which is also unlimited and a perfect sweet finish. I'll definitely keep coming back on days when I have a big appetite and want something convenient and satisfying. Just keep in mind that parking is shared with a bunch of other restaurants in the area, though there is an additional lower lot behind the restaurant. And of course -- don't forget to order the short rib kalbi. Always a must.

    This place is still hanging on!! Old school! Plenty of parking, decent amount of seats/tables…read more Interior is a bit out dated. Friendly service, waitstaff was prompt at bringing dishes, refilling water & changing out grills. Decent prices for AYCE!

    Photos
    Stadium Camellia Restaurant
    Stadium Camellia Restaurant - Brisket and seasoned lettuce

    Brisket and seasoned lettuce

    Stadium Camellia Restaurant

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    Jin Joo Korean Restaurant - korean - Updated June 2026

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