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JY Kitchen

4.9 (73 reviews)
ModerateKorean
Open • 11:00 am - 2:30 pm, 5:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Updated 3 months ago

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JY KITCHEN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Trendy
Good for groups

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Recommended Reviews - JY Kitchen

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seafood udon soup
courtlin l.

I had never been here before and I left very satisfied. It was delicious!! We came in for lunch. I got a seafood udon soup that was just amazing. They give you pickled radish that is just so good. I also tried the vegetable dumplings delicious. It was just one man running the place that I saw. He greeted us at the front and took us back into a little room. It's very clean and nice. It's definitely a hole in the wall. It's like a house turned restaurant almost so very cozy. The man was very nice I would go here again and recommend!

Kyle F.

Definitely a hidden gem! Well worth a visit. True home cooking. The space was simple and structured in the style of a house, with a dining area within a smaller room. The Pancake with Shrimp and Zucchini was perfectly cooked. Just the right amount of crispiness and the flavors were excellent. I would highly recommend it as an appetizer option. They spicy pork was also delicious. It came with some greens, rice, some kimchi, and a small soup. The host/server was very friendly and pleasant throughout our visit.

Ramen with pork dumplings
Will H.

What a hidden gem! Food was fantastic. We got the ramen with dumplings, beef bulgogi and the best was the sweet apple pancake. Service was excellent and knowledgeable.

John B.

This place was definitely Korean, and not some generic Asian smorgasbord, in both its menu and its vibe. Korean cuisine has this odd duality of being heavy on tofu and not vegetarian friendly, but this is one of the places that will make vegetarian versions of a fair number of its dishes. When I stopped in to order takeout (they were doing dine-in, though that didn't seem as popular), the menu in person was a bit different (and less clear) than the one online. Nonetheless, I found some veggie dumplings and japchae. My meal arrived with a variety of add-ons, including a miso soup, pickled daikon, and my noodles came with a side of white rice for some reason. Frankly, I would have preferred a larger portion of noodles, but I did like the noodles, which had a distinctive chewy texture, and came with plenty of vegetables and fried tofu. My dumplings were crisp as well, and had a bit of soy sauce for dipping. I got a pancake with stewed apples on it for dessert. The smell of sesame oil was definitely strong (not that I don't like sesame oil), but despite the variety what was missing was something spicy, and nowhere in my numerous accoutrements did I get any sweet chili paste. The apple pancake was nice, but I wondered if another dessert would have been better. I also rather wished they'd had some more dishes like soba noodles or dukbookki. While the options they did have weren't the best Korean I've ever had, it was definitely good enough to try again.

Oh so yummy ramen and dumplings

Oh my. Was looking for a new place to eat while in town and the name caught my eye due to a dear friend goes by JY so I figured it was a sign and saw 5 star rating. Cute place inside and decided on the ramen with dumplings with hot level. Oh my, oh so yummy. Can't wait to come back in town and try the spicy fish ramen. Thank you for a delicious and great priced dinner. No alcohol drinks are on the menu.

Ramen with Dumplings. Very very good. Burdock root roll is also amazing.
Allan B.

Found JY Kitchen, this afternoon while I was looking for some Ramen to warm my bones on this cold December afternoon. At first sight, JY Kitchen, is very clean, customer service had been amazing and the Food speaks for itself. Just delicious! Due to Covid restrictions, JY Kitchen, is for the most part Take out only. But with reservations, you can eat in as I did.

Bulgogi
Dan S.

This place is a true find. It's located in an industrial type setting. Don't expect signage designed by a national advertising agency. No. You walk into a gray one story building. However, once inside you are greeted with kindness and hospitality. You are seated in a simple dining room that has no trappings that transcend you to another place. The food does all the talking in this restaurant. And the food screams flavor - authentic Korean flavor. They spent all their money on the chef and the ingredients and had none left over for the decorator. And I love their priorities! Thanks! I cannot wait to go back so I can try every item on their menu.

Shrimp and zucchini pancake.
Meghan G.

We also had the Jab Chae and chicken with Korean BBQ sauce. This is hands down the best Korean food in Lexington. I can't express how delicious the food is. The pickles are tasty, the kimchi is spicy and delicious. We sent our order via text from Pivot and it was delivered hot. If you're on the fence, don't be. You'll not be disappointed. I promise.

Korean bbq chicken and beef bulgogi rice roll.
Harleigh S.

Looking on the outside you wouldn't be able to tell that this place has homey and amazing food. The dining room was small and intimate, the server (who I think is the owner) is very nice and friendly, and the food is amazing! We ordered a lot of food to try some new things out and loved all of it! Absolutely no complaints. If you love Korean food, nice people, and good atmosphere, or just want to try something new, come to JY Kitchen.

Ramen with dumplings

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6 years ago

Awesome food. Prompt delivery to Pivot via text message. Owner is super friendly and has passion. Great place

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3 years ago

so impressed!! best authentic korean food in lexington! it was definitely worth the visit and eating dine in

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8 years ago

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6 years ago

Amazing food and the friendliest staff. Been here a few times and it's been wonderful every time.

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JY Kitchen Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - JY Kitchen

I don't see the pork cutlet on the website menu, is it available?

Hi Edward, thank you for reaching out. The pork cutlet is only sold at pivot! We are at pivot every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5PM - 9PM.

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot

KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot

4.2(145 reviews)
2.4 mi
•$$

So as a reviewer I have always reviewed places I have visited from a perspective of pleasure or…read moredispleasure, but they have always been places I am somewhat familiar with. Tonight I stepped well out my "normal" to experience something untypical from my usual. As the old adage goes, "Try it, you might like it". Tonight my wife and I ate at the KPot to celebrate my son's birthday. He and his wife joined us. We were a party of four. I'll be honest, I didn't necessarily enjoy my time spent there. But here is the anomaly to my typical review. It wasn't because the establishment did anything wrong. It just wasn't my jam. I will be honest, I didn't see a lot of gray hair there. I'm pushing fifty and the crowd I saw was the 20-35 crowd. Some families but not the overwhelming demographic. It seemed more like single and mingle and bff night out kind of crowd. There's nothing wrong with that of course, but we don't really fit that demographic. So despite my own lackluster feelings, let me give an honest review here. What was good? Let's start there. Parking lot fairly large and well lit. Greeted at the door with a smile. Wait was about fifteen minutes. Bathroom...impeccably clean. Dining area, also very clean. Tables were clean and all stations worked. Seating was ample. The atmosphere is modern and retro. Waiters work alongside robots to provide food to the tables. It has a very contemporary ambience. Everything brought to the table was fresh and well presented. We purchased the K Pot and the barbecue so we could immerse ourselves in the complete experience. The food tased good. Here is what I didn't care for. First, when stuff was brought to the table, no one explained what each service was and we lost track of what was delivered to our table. We all kind of sat there trying to figure out which service had been delivered to the table and whose order had arrived. Four people cooking became a little chaotic to suit me. Again, just not my thing. I enjoy sitting down and relaxing while someone else cooks my meal. Doing so myself was not relaxing. I didn't like having to wait between courses to heat up the rest of my meal before eating it. Had I understood the concept better I may have timed my eating while cooking was being done, I don't know. The other thing that contributed to my lackluster experience was that all the sauces were listed using their traditional names, which gave me no indication of what they tasted like. Part of the fun I guess is experimenting, but again, I'd much rather just order something I know I enjoy eating. The guessing game was not something I found appellate. We also found that after awhile of eating and ordering, the waiter came around less often and our plates no longer were cleared by bus staff. We started to genuinely feel like we were subliminally being pushed out. Our waiter wasn't bad but nothing stood out per se about his service. I went for quite awhile with an empty drink and had to ask twice for the same refill. Given some of the spicy stuff I was trying, a fresh beverage would have been appreciated. Here is my honest take. If you like a modern and unique dining experience, this is a great place to go. It does not have a cozy or romantic feel. It is very "hip" atmosphere. I left full. I left having had a new experience in life. My family had a good time together celebrating my son's birthday. It was a win. The last thing I have to mention is price. My daughter in law had a ten dollar drink but other than that we all did standard soda or water drinks. Our bill was almost $200. Some may argue that's fair. It seemed a little high for food I had to cook on my own. I honestly probably won't be back, but that is no fault of this establishment. They run a clean friendly restaurant and it's worth eating there at the very least, once. For that reason I give it five stars! If this is your jam, you'll like jamming here. If it's not, you came you saw and you left full. If you didn't, it's your fault!

I've been to this place twice and each time I walk out feeling like I won't be able to eat again…read morefor days. Each experience was really great, but I just can't stop myself from over-indulging with the unlimited options. I feel like you have to devote at least two hours to get the full experience and really enjoy all the different things. Be prepared to focus on cooking all of your food during a visit here. That's really what it's all about. A huge selection of meats and vegetables is available for both hot pot and the Korean bbq and it's hard to not just do both when you only have to pay $5 extra for the additional experience. I would suggest experimenting with different sauce combinations from the bar to go along with the bbq meats. Some of them are not flavorful at all without using sauces. I found the hot pot to be pretty flavorful, though. My only complaint about this place is that they don't really give you enough detail on how to pace yourself and order in phases instead of ordering everything upfront and being overwhelmed. It might have just been our server, but we felt the service was great although not enough detail was provided on how to cook the food appropriately. In the end, I love this place and think it's great if you are a meat lover. You can certainly get away with just all vegetables and rice/noodles as well. If I came here more often, I would devote each visit to just choosing a few specific meats so I could fully enjoy and avoid being overwhelmed.

Photos
KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot - Sauce Bar

Sauce Bar

KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot - Crab Leg

Crab Leg

KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot - Korean Seafood Soup

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Korean Seafood Soup

JY Kitchen - korean - Updated May 2026

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