A new Japanese restaurant, Jazkaya, has made its way to Astoria, blending fresh sushi and hot ramen bowls with live jazz music in the space once home to the popular Creole and Cajun restaurant, Sugarfreak.
Photo by Jessica Militello
“Jazkaya is an inspiration of Japanese [cuisine] that blends with the New York taste and the melting pot around Astoria,” said Chef Sahawat “Erk” Suwanacheep, who co-owns Jazkaya, located at 37-11 30th Ave. in Astoria, with Chef Dhanapol “Oak” Marprasert, the same team behind popular Astoria Thai restaurant, Kam Rai. “We want people to come here, throw [their] sadness outside and enjoy the atmosphere, the service and the food. We try to treat everybody like family.”
Photo by Jessica Militello
Jazkaya, which blends the word “jazz,” inspired by Tokyo’s underground scene, and “Izakaya,” the name of a Japanese pub centered on alcohol and shareable small plates, opened on July 7 to an intimate grand opening party. The space has a low-lit, intimate atmosphere, with chandeliers and paper lamps, amongst decor like a wall of gumball machines, vintage vinyl records and a wall with bright pink floral wallpaper near its sushi counter.
Some of the paper lamps. Photo by Jessica Militello
The wall of gumball machines. Photo by Jessica Militello
The vintage vinyl records. Photo by Jessica Militello
Near the entrance of the restaurant, live jazz music is performed on Friday and Saturday nights, inspired by the intimate jazz spots and listening cafes across Tokyo. Presently, a variety of musicians perform, including a popular musician from Thailand named Donny, who performs something unique each weekend with a different artist.
“Jazz is all over the world,” Suwanacheep said. “Each country has their own version, but music is just the tuners of life for people; when you’re sad, you listen to sad music, when you’re happy, you listen to happy music, and you add that with a good drink and good food, that blends everything together.”
Photo by Jessica Militello
Jazkaya’s menu specializes in a variety of cold dishes like an extensive sushi selection, including the spicy crunchy tuna roll, made with spicy tuna, cucumber and scallion, sesame seed topped with spicy mayo, honey kimchi and sriracha sauce, special deep fried rolls, like the Do Re Mi roll, made with salmon, cream cheese, scallions, asparagus, deep fried spicy crab on topped eel sauce with spicy mayo, honey, kimchi sriracha and crunchy flakes, and sushi and sashimi pieces.
Other selections include tataki, a traditional Japanese preparation using a thick cut of fish briefly seared over high heat while the inside stays raw and cool, and carpaccio, which combines thinly sliced raw fish or meat with Japanese seasonings and Italian-style oil and citrus dressings.
In the kitchen, Chef Oak uses his expertise on the BBQ grill to create dishes like their signature, Jazkaya Don, made with garlic fried rice cooked in beef drippings, and served with flame-grilled picanha slice, the grilled pork belly bun and the shime saba, a flame-grilled marinated mackerel filet with crispy skin, along with ramen dishes like the Jazkaya Ramen and miso ramen classic.
“It’s Japanese inspiration with a blend of the culture to get the taste of New York, but elevated,” Suwanacheep said. “Everything here, like the sauce, we make it in-house, and in the future we’re going to add more vegan options. We’ll have a vegan spicy mayo; I’d also like to do a deep-fried roll for vegans, and we want to try to create more for them.”
The restaurant features a lunch special including a build-your-own sushi or lunch box starting at $16, along with a drink menu featuring classic cocktails, Japanese whisky, sake, beer and non-alcoholic options.
“When you come here, even if you don’t know how to eat sushi, and you want to start here, you can talk to us,” Suwanacheep said. “We can find a way to get [you] into it; maybe we can create something that you like, and pretty much we just welcome everybody. When you come here, be happy, be healthy and forget about sadness. Life is too short.”
Photo by Jessica Militello
Jazkaya is open seven days a week, including Sunday through Thursday from noon to 11 p.m., Friday until 10:30 p.m. and Saturday until 11:30 p.m. Live jazz music is on Fridays and Saturdays from 7 to 10 p.m.
Photo by Jessica Militello
Dining and Cooking