Reader Review: Jin's Asian Bistro

Editor's note: The following restaurant review of in Eldersburg was submitted by reader Jessica Schwoyer who visited the restaurant during its opening week. Submit your own review of the restaurant . 

Overall rating: 2 out of 5 stars.

Food: Excellent. Everything was fresh, and was presented beautifully (4 stars, losing points for using frozen fish).

Service: Servers were highly unattentive, and we waited many times for simple things like a refill of water, or for the bill (1 star).  

My meal: 

• Smoked Salmon Salad: A bed of lettuce with a large piece of smoked salmon on top, with Miso dressing. It was very tasty, especially the smoked salmon. It was a nice, thick piece, unlike the paper thin shavings you usually see. The dressing was slightly overpowering, but the overall salad was fresh and very flavorful. 
• Eel Sashimi: Their sahimi comes with three pieces, as opposed to the two pieces that come with their a la carte sushi. The Presentation was beautiful, taste was even better. It was fresh, and sliced so thin it almos melts in your mouth. The amount of sauce was perfect, which is a huge compliment to the sushi chef, because from my experience many chefs overuse the sauce. 
• Yellowtail Sashimi: Flavorful, so much that it didn't need any soy sauce. It was delicious. 
• Squid Sushi & Sashimi: Texturally very unique. Very tasty, but the chewy/milky texture isn't for the weak. Tastes very good with lime juice squeezed on top, as it is served. 
• Octopus Sushi: Texturally very good, but the flavor wasn't as pronounced as octopus we've had in the past. 
• Sweet Shrimp Sahimi: Full flavor, definitely sweeter than the usual shrimp sashimi. They had a nice snap to them when bitten into. I really enjoyed these. My only complaint was that while we were waiting for them, the sushi chef told us that they were frozen and were being defrosted. The amount of time we waited (about 5-8 minutes) was not the issue. The reason why was just a bit disappointing. 
• Thai Drunken Noodles with Beef (extra spicy): First impression was that the amount of food wasn't enough for the price ($11.95 I believe). However, it was difficult to finish this plate because it was very dense, rich, and delicious. The beef was the perfect consistency and the amount of Thai chili peppers was definitely enough to kick up the heat. 

We then asked the sushi chef to bring us what he was the most proud of, and out comes a beautifully presented custom sushi roll for us, 12 pieces or so, lined up diagonally across a large square, white plate. Inside was salmon tempura and cucumber, surrounded by seaweed and rice, like normal. On top was alternating slices of eel sashimi and avocado.

The entire roll was drizzled with a wasabi-based sauce, and sprinkled with crushed rice crackers. Flanking the sushi were two chocolate pocky sticks. In my fiance's words, this was "a symphony of flavors and textures", and he was right. From the warmth of the salmon tempura to the crunch of the rice crackers on top, this was definitely a great choice for the chef to showcase his talents. This was, by far, my favorite dish. 

While we were finishing up the final roll, the sushi chef surprised us with a complimentary plate of beautifully arranged fruit pieces. Strawberry slices, kiwi, fresh (not canned) pineapple pieces, and orange slices, all arranged in a design around a large white plate. It was a pleasant surprise for us and was a great way to wrap up a great meal.  

Service: At the time we were there, we were the only two people at the sushi bar, and the only other people there was a small table of three or four people behind us. The rest of the place was empty. There were at least 4 servers that I saw walking around. At first, the server was great. She was pleasant and took us to the sushi bar where we had requested to sit. When we saw how huge the menu was, naturally, it took us awhile to look through it.

She came up to us to see if we had decided, which we hadn't, so she gave us a few more minutes. But by the time she showed up again, we had been sitting with our menus closed, ready to order, for nearly 10 minutes. Plus she only showed up again because the sushi chef noticed us waiting and called her over. A different server approached us to give us refills of our water.

A third server, presumably the owner or manager, brought us chopsticks we requested, but only because our main server was no longer paying attention.During our meals, we needed a second refill of water, but all four servers were standing around talking, less than 10 feet away from us, completely unaware. 

Despite several attempts to wave to call them over, they never even glanced our way. Whenever we had plates we were finished with, it took them a long time to come pick them up. I even pushed them to the side, towards the direction they were all standing, but again, for more than 10 to 15 minutes no one even glanced slightly our way to notice.

Then, when we were finished eating everything, and waiting on our bill, it took them another 10 minutes at least to bring it to us. Once we had our credit card in the folder, sitting on the counter, we again had to wait nearly 10 minutes for someone to notice.

This waiting game grew old very quickly. Overall, the food was fantastic, and the decor of the restaurant was modern and fun, but the service was pretty terrible. The servers were pleasant, but only on the rare occasion that they actually showed up to help us with anything.

The sushi chef was pleasant, knowledgable, innovative, and hands-down the best asset the restaurant has. Jin's Bistro would have easily scored a 4 (at least) if not for the entire serving staff's lack of attention paid to its customers, however I would recommend their food to others--but only for takeout.