We had a great time at Kinjo Room. The food, drink, service, and ambiance were all excellent. If you're in the mood for high-end sushi, Kinjo Room fits the bill for a nice night out.
This place has style *and* substance. They definitely have it going on with the atmosphere. The restaurant design is stunning. Kinjo Room has one of the more memorable interior designs among Atlanta restaurants I've visited in recent memory.
I expect no less from the restaurant's namesake, Alex Kinjo. If you're familiar with the Atlanta dining scene, Alex needs no introduction. As I wrote in my review for MF Sushi in Inman Park ( https://bit.ly/3Pr1Icr ), his restaurants have always been swanky and stylish. It's clear Alex is talented when it comes to visual aesthetics. His restaurants are gorgeous. Kinjo Room feels like a luxe Japanese bar and lounge. The aura of Alex's restaurants defines them and sets them apart. Most recently, he opened Kinjo Room in April 2022, Mai Kitchen in August 2022, and Yakitori Kona in September 2023.
Kinjo Room is inside The Interlock, the bustling development across from now-old-school Westside Provisions District. This part of town has exploded over the last several years. Next door to Kinjo Room is "Kinjo Next Door," another exquisite space. It functions as an omakase bar, private event space, and an overflow room. Kinjo Room itself isn't huge and indeed can feel more like a large room instead of a restaurant. It's dimly lit and intimate with beautiful decor, comfy sofas and pillows, and some of the most luxurious bar stools I've seen.
The most convenient place to park for Kinjo Room is inside The Interlock's deck. For us, it cost $15.45 for 2 hours and $18.45 for 3 hours. Use the ParkMobile app. Zone # 3232. The restaurant does not validate.
Book your reservation using OpenTable and earn dining points which can be used to redeem restaurant discounts, Amazon gift cards, hotel stays, and more. I was surprised to see I was awarded 1,000 points for my reservation here. It's been years since I had a 1,000-point reservation on OpenTable. They're usually 100 points each. Thank you, Kinjo Room.
Kinjo Room works well solely as a cocktail/sake bar as well as a full-fledged restaurant. Both the food and drink menus offered a solid variety of alcohol, sushi, and non-sushi Japanese or Japanese-inspired dishes. Omakase is available at Kinjo Next Door. For details on booking omakase, call 470-355-9138 or email info@kinjoroom.com.
Here's what four of us got:
Cocktails
* Fall of Man ($15) - Kakira Spirits Ugandan rum, lime, Granny Smith apple, aquafaba, nutmeg
* Osaka Fizz ($18) - Toki Blended Japanese Whisky, lemon, orange oleo, bitters, thyme
* Yard Bird ($25) - coconut-washed Michter's small-batch bourbon, lime, yuzu, campari, salt
* Proper Measure x2 ($22 each) - Blade and Bow bourbon, Demerara Gum Syrup, bitters, smoked
* Aged Woodford x3 ($20 each) - seasonal Woodford cocktail aged in Woodford oak barrel
Beer
* Yo-Ho Brewing "Wednesday Cat" Belgian White Ale ($10)
* Sapporo x2 ($7 each)
Appetizers
* Baked Scallops ($16) - baked in Japanese mayo, topped with masago, eel sauce, red tobiko, sesame seeds, scallion
* Calamari Karaage ($12) - fried calamari served w/ eel sauce, spicy mayo
Special Rolls
* Lobster Box ($27) - mayo, green onion, tobiko, eel sauce
* Lobster Tempura Roll ($24) - shrimp, eel sauce
* A5 Wagyu Beef roll ($30) - asparagus, truffle soy
Yakitori
* A5 Wagyu Beef yakitori ($35) - tare sauce, garlic chip, shishito peppers, green onions
Sushi Appetizers
* Otoro Carpaccio (market price $35) - topped w/ Nikiri Shoyu, microgreens, black pepper
* Fresh Yellowtail ($20) - lemon zest, cilantro, serrano pepper, grated wasabi
Kinjo Nigiri Sushi
* Otoro (MP $30 for 2) - super fatty tuna w/ serrano pepper, truffle soy, caviar
* Uni x2 (MP $30 for 2) - sea urchin roe w/fresh wasabi
* Salmon Belly ($16) - not on menu
* Chef's Signature Nigiri Menu x3 ($77 each) - 8 pieces premium nigiri
Everything was fresh and high quality, especially the fish and uni. In general, Kinjo Room's sushi was on the same level as I remember from my visits to the various MF Sushi locations over the years. The options for upscale sushi in Atlanta continue to grow and become more competitive. The sushi I had here was comparable to the top places I've been to in recent years (e.g., Nagomiya, NoriFish). The Nigiri Menu included maguro, king sake, sake, chutoro, seared salmon belly, seared hamachi, and A5 wagyu aburi. Each piece was dressed/sauced in some way and every bite was outstanding. The uni, from Hokkaido, was superb. Both it and the otoro stood out. Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, and packed with umami. Just terrific.
The cocktails were phenomenal all-around. If you like old fashioneds, I recommend the Proper Measure. Ours were finished tableside with a flame and smoker. The presentation was fun and the drink's taste was rich and complex as well.
Our server Daniel was great. Service was fantastic overall. read more