Spice up your Life at JinJu Korean Grill & Sushi

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Spice up your Life at JinJu Korean Grill & Sushi

Korean food has a special place in my heart. While I do not claim to be an expert, I did grow up eating homemade Korean food that my aunt would cook for the family. When I decided to check out JinJu Korean Grill & Sushi, I knew I had to bring my aunt (and uncle) along for the meal.

JinJu Korean Grill & Sushi opened just before the pandemic and were quickly instructed to close their doors. Lucky for them they survived the pandemic and remain open today. But that is not without struggle, over the past couple of years they have had to modify their menu to fit the needs of the guests (even sacrificing some of the traditional Korean ways of preparing dishes), are still dealing with staff shortages and also had to modify their hours to dinner only (they used to be open for lunch).

Despite the hardships they’ve gone through since the pandemic, you wouldn’t guess it while you’re visiting. The staff and owner all have big smiles on their face and seem to thoroughly enjoy serving up delicious food to their patrons.

Pork_Kimchi_Dumpling
Pork Kimchi Dumplings

We decided to start off with the Port Kimchi Dumplings. They are wrapped in a wonton skin and deep fried to the perfect crisp and filled with pork, kimchi and sweet potato noodles inside, then served with a tasty soy based dipping sauce.

Seafood_Pancake
Seafood Pancake

The Seafood Pancake is a savory pancake with shrimp, mussels, krab, calamari and veggies fried to perfection with crispy edges and served with a soy dipping sauce.

Galbi
Galbi
Banchan
Banchan
Lettuce_Wrap_Galbi
Lettuce Wrap Galbi

My aunt decided to order the Galbi, which is bone in short rib marinated and grilled, then served over mixed veggies. The dish is served with a ginger salad (they kindly brought one to everyone at the table), banchan (traditional Korean small side dishes, including kimchi, daikon, cucumber and seaweed, and fish cakes) rice, lettuce leaves and sauces.

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You can choose to eat the Galbi right off the bone or create a lettuce wrap with the banchan and Galbi.

The meat was tender, juicy and extremely flavorful.

Jap_Chae
Jap Chae

Jap Chae is my favorite Korean dish. My aunt makes it homemade often, so I am picky about the ones I have when I am out at restaurants. Jap Chae is clear sweet potato noodles stir fried with mixed veggies and a protein. I decided to forgo the protein this time. The Jap Chae wasn’t as good as my aunt’s, but I would say it would be a close second. And that might be my nostalgia and bias speaking.

BRB. Going to go eat my leftovers for lunch.

Kimchi_Fried_Rice
Kimchi Fried Rice

My uncle decided to go with the Kimchi Fried Rice with chicken. The fried rice is mixed with rice, kimchi, carrots, broccoli and eggs. The flavor was well balanced with the spice from the kimchi and a slight sweetness. The spice of the kimchi definitely sneaks up on you, though, so don’t power through it too fast!

Deep_Fried_Ice_Cream
Deep-Fried Ice Cream

We finished off the meal with the decadent Deep-Fried Ice Cream. A large ball of vanilla ice cream deep fried in a sweet outer layer with a cherry on top. I am not a huge sweets person and could only handle one bite, but it was surely delicious. My uncle said it was one of the best desserts he’s ever had.

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While we did not do the Korean BBQ tables or partake in any sushi, I will definitely be back soon to try both.

JinJu Korean Grill & Sushi
  • Readers Rating
  • Rated 4.9 stars
    4.9 / 5 (7 )
$$
  • Your Rating


  • JinJu Korean Grill & Sushi
  • (727) 592-1400
  • Korean Food, Asian Food, Sushi
    • Wed - Mon 5:00pm - 10:00pm
  • View menu
  • 2700 34th St N, St. Petersburg, Florida 33713,

Korean Grill & Sushi in St. Petersburg

DISCLAIMER: Kevin, Lori, Abby, Haley, & Lindsey do not dine anonymously (this would be impossible) and we sometimes get free food (though never expected). However, we dine with the locals and we support our own. You will always get honesty in a respectful manner. We do not include any large national or regional chains in our ratings and reviews. We focus on independent locally owned eateries exclusively.

PLEASE NOTE: Reviews reflect a certain moment in time. Some restaurants stay extremely consistent over many years, and some change for the better or worse. Some things that may change are: chefs, recipes, food suppliers, ingredients, philosophies, ownership, etc. We always hope that you have the same good, or great experience we had.
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