Joy

Get there early. Line moves fast and the staff do their best to accommodate but it’s just too popular. First time visiting and I was impressed how friendly the staff were to everyone. The hipster Asian vibe was also everywhere. Food / noodles were excellent and the dessert, peanut mochi was decadent (so much for losing weight). Also the menu is very reasonable and not over priced. Besides how nice the staff were, my second biggest surprise was how inexpensive the food was. Definitely recommend but not in big groups, more of a date night place.

Joy holds a special place in my heart. I’ve been coming here for years, since I lived in Highland Park. It’s a wonderful and poppin neighborhood spot, with friendly staff and delicious Taiwanese dishes. The Dan Dan noodles are my go-to practically every time. The thousand layer pancake and shrimp wontons are also elite. This is the sister restaurant to Pine & Crane, so there are some menu overlaps; but they’re both worth trying independently. Vegetarian options: Dan Dan noodles, mapo tofu, and a few other vegetarian knockouts.

The decor and "Vibe" is different than all of the Taiwanese restaurants I have visited. The menu is authentic but lack the taste I was looking for in a Taiwanese restaurant. It could be because it is located in a hip area so the restaurant make some of the dishes more "fusion" to fit most of the customer. I ordered the Dan Dan noodles, my wife ordered the Mapo tofu which is very different and the sauce tasted like the Mapo Tofu at a Japanese restaurant (中華料理), not bad but not we were looking for at a Taiwanese restaurant. I have been using chopsticks all my life and still could not get used to a metal chopsticks, they are quite challenging to pick up anything.

I’ve been coming to Joy for years since it opened, waiting in lines, getting food to go, waiting for a table… at least once a week. Loved their food. BUT recently the rice dishes esp with meats and sauce started tasting REALLY SALTY! My husband has high blood pressure. The food was borderline inedible! We had to drink lots of water as we ate and were both so thirsty afterwards it was unreal!! Please go easy with the salt/soy sauce. The amount of salt is unhealthy, not to mention it was almost inedible. We won’t be back unless things change.

Quite literally made me throw up on the side walk not sure why- like eat there if you want. Just my experience dawg (Don’t order the boba fr blud‼️ )

try it, trust me. it’s so good