Jazba

At Jazba, a casual East Village spot from the Junoon team, the menu is organized by half-ticket (appetizer) and full-ticket (main) dishes, a reference to discounted fares for kids on Indian trains or at movie theaters. Unlike a train journey or a Bollywood film, however, the food at this peppy yellow restaurant neither transports, nor entertains. 

That’s not for lack of ambition. Borrowing from the formula that made Adda and Dhamaka so successful, Jazba offers a sampler of regional Indian bangers, including some, like pandi curry, that we haven’t seen in New York. But while the skin-on pork cubes are appropriately fatty, the curry lacks the oomph of freshly roasted, coarse-ground spices—and it’s not the only dish that feels flat, despite playful little flourishes of presentation. Though it has a promising menu and drinks selection, Jazba, which means passion, doesn’t quite have us head over heels.

photo credit: Alex Lau