Hot Joy

This is a very trendy place for young college age kids. The food was good, but the menu was limited. The chef was able to accommodate for the lack of a children's menu. It was a little hard to get used to listening to country music in an Asian restaurant, but overall, the experience was good. Update: The restaurant didn't have several menu items available. The music was so loud you couldn't have a conversation with other people at the table. The fried rice and noodle dishes were a little too oily.

I used to eat here more often with my group of friends. They recently changed the menu and you can only order Ramen on a certain day of the week. Boo. I was unsure of who my actual waiter was since at least 3 different people came to my table and we were seldom checked on. Staff was not as friendly as I remember and came off like they didn't actually want anyone in the restaurant. I was hoping for a better experience since this was the first time I brought my new partner here - at least the artsy atmosphere didn't change. And my "table" was some rickety bamboo thing that was barely wide enough to fit our two plates of food on. Again, boo. To the abrasive female bartender: it's ok to smile. To the hostess: I was perfectly fine waiting for a table until you made it seem like it was a bother to have us there in the first place. I genuinely hope management hires better staff before I decide to take anyone else there. Super disappointed - this used to be one of my favorite places to take visitors when frequenting downtown. I've worked in the service industry and I have to say this was just awful service, hands down. No excuse for treating good customers like they are unwanted before they've even had a chance to sit down. Update: My brother decided that he wanted to have his birthday dinner at Hot Joy yesterday. Considering my last experience (see above), I was naturally hesitant to accept the invitation, but I went with my boyfriend, mother, brother and his girlfriend. Upon arrival, we were told there would be a 30 minute wait, but then... the hostess went out of her way to find out if the large party before us was still coming (points). She then let us know that they had canceled and nicely asked us to follow her to our booth. Our server was Russell, who was very attentive, informative, and personable (points). He was also pretty funny - when I told him I was allergic to pretty much everything and wanted a non-alcoholic drink with no coconut, he made an informed decision to bring me a "virgin sacrifice". That drink is SO delicious. I definitely recommend trying it if you like pineapple (points). Our food came out in a timely manner and he checked on us just the right amount of times to make sure we were doing alright and ask if we needed anything (points). Overall, this was a MUCH better experience. Oh! And they also changed their menu - more options (points). I don't know if it was a plethora of bad reviews or if they were just having an off day during my last visit, but I WILL be recommending Hot Joy once again. Thank you, Russell, for making it a worthwhile visit.

Went to lunch with my gf in San Antonio and this restaurant is one of my favorite here in SA. We both started with cocktails, I had the frozen painkiller, which was only $5 on their happy hour! We got the lemon pepper curry wings and egg ros as appetizers, I liked the egg rolls but the wings were INCREDIBLE! We shared the pineapple chicken and spam fried rice as entrees. The spam fried rice is delicious. The pineapple chicken was good but a little too sweet for me. Everything I’ve eaten here is delicious, well worth the drive from Austin for a meal.

Have only eaten the egg rolls here so far, but they were good. The drinks are a bit interesting and tropical themed. I dont like them as much as other places, but this place is pretty cool inside. I will have to try more of their food soon. I believe this is Asian fusion foods as I see twists in what they serve.

Love the vibes at this place. It really is the best happy hour around that I have seen. I only wish I had come here sooner! We tried some of the mystery wings of the day which was some kind of lemongrass combination. Super good! Got some pineapple chicken which was a twist on orange chicken. I was delighted by the flavors. We also tried the chengdu pork noodles. Not as much of a favorite but it was still very good. Then we tried a few shrimp dumplings. Those were tasty with their dipping sauce. Loved the tiki drinks on the menu. The frozen papa dobles swirled with the frozen painkiller was awesome. Also tried a tikila colada from the limited time menu. Highly recommended as well. Legends of the hidden temple was a great passion fruit drink too. I am definitely coming back for a tiki bowl soon.