Slurp Up: JINYA Ramen Bar Now Serving Steaming Bowls of Noodles in Midtown

After a two-week delay derailed its original debut date, it's finally opening day for JINYA Ramen Bar in Midtown. The California-based ramen restaurant chain debuts its second outpost in the Greater Houston-area at 3201 Louisiana at 11 a.m., a few doors down from Holley's Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar at the Mix @ Midtown.

On the menu: ten ramen options, including its signature tonkotsu topped with pork chashu, green onions, an egg and a host of other delicious morsels. JINYA Ramen offers a long roster of add-ons, which includes corn, spinach and bok choy for a customizable bowl of noodles.  Other notable selections include a steamed bun filled with chashu pork, brussels sprouts tempura and rice bowls.

Franchisee Jim Wang, who is also the proprietor of Ichibon Japanese Seafood and Steakhouse, opened the first Houston-area JINYA Ramen in Webster last fall. Wang has mentioned that there could be more locations in Houston in the future. Of course, that all depends on the success of the Midtown outpost.

Tiger Den and Ramen Jin provide quality ramen on the west side of town, but for Inner Loopers who don't want to make the daily or weekly commute, there are more dedicated noodle houses nearby. Ninja Ramen and Samurai Noodle are serving crave-worthy bowls along the Washington Corridor, not too far from JINYA. If often crowded tables at Houston's two inner loop ramen shops are any indication, Houston can handle more JINYA locations.