At Jazba, the new East Village eatery from the team behind Junoon, a casual vibe meets tantalizing Indian street food celebrating regional flavors.
"Chef Akshay Bhardwaj’s restaurant now offers brunch Friday to Sunday from noon to 3:30 p.m., with items like a kathi roll, fried chicken, green chile chicken, and pindi chole bhature with masala chickpeas. Look for brunch-only cocktails inspired by the menu." - Eater Staff
"The city’s collection of upscale regional Indian restaurants is ongoing, and Jazba is one of the latest additions. Occupying the sainted location of the former Momofuku Ssam Bar, it boasts an interior decorated with pastel murals of street vendors, and there’s an enclosed front porch looking out on bustling Second Avenue. Highly recommended dishes include green chili chicken that the menu attributes to Telangana, and fried chicken from Bangalore." - Robert Sietsema
"At this new spot in the East Village, you'll eat an a la carte menu of dishes that celebrate India’s food hawkers and roadside eateries, and drink cocktails made with ingredients like curry leaves and coriander purée. In the old Momofuku Ssäm Bar space, Jazba is a more casual spot from the team behind Junoon, the upscale Indian restaurant in Flatiron. We checked out Jazba. " - Will Hartman, Willa Moore
"Jazba, located in the East Village, gives him an outlet to explore the dishes that he relishes on his frequent trips to India. He explains that roadside cuisine is prevalent all over the country and found at hawker stands along highways. The dishes that these hawkers prepare are hearty, usually spicy and just plain fun: eating standing up around the stand with your hands and juices dripping down your chin are reflective of a snapshot of the moment." - Shivani Vora
"When the team behind Junoon, an Indian fine dining destination in Manhattan, announced it was opening a restaurant, Jazba, dedicated to street food, my heart did a hopeful flip. I knew I shouldn’t get my expectations up; I’d been burned before by restaurants promising something I’d eaten only in India, and serving a paltry facsimile. But when Eater NY reported that galouti kebab would be on the menu, and that the restaurant had brought a chef from Tunday Kababi, a famous kebab shop in Lucknow, to make it, I frantically made a reservation." - Jaya Saxena