The restaurateur behind one of New York’s finest Indian eateries is currently developing a brand new concept for the East Village.
Jazba is the latest concept to arrive from celebrated restaurateur Rajesh Bhardwaj. Bhadwaj is well known as the owner and founder of Junoon, an award-winning fine dining restaurant on West 24th Street that redefined Indian gastronomy and elevated it to unprecedented heights. Bhardwaj studied Hospitality Management in both India and Rome before moving to New York in the 90s to operate his first independent venture.
After finding success with his first project, Bhardwaj went on to launch the highly successful Cafe Spice restaurant group, introducing a modern bistro style of Indian dining and ultimately expanding to 12 locations across the US. In 2009, Bhardwaj left Cafe Spice to establish Junoon, where quickly earned both a Michelin star and a Best Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator.
Now, it appears that Bhardwaj is once again gearing up to launch a brand-new concept of his own design. According to a recent liquor license application submitted with Community Board 3, Jazba is slated to arrive sometime this year at 207 Second Avenue. The location was formerly home to Momofuku Ssam Bar and offers an estimated 5,500 square feet of space. While David Chang’s beloved pork-forward restaurant will be greatly missed by the neighborhood, he thankfully still operates a location in the South Street Seaport.
According to Bhardwaj, Jazba will feature a craft cocktail bar at the front of the restaurant as well as two dining rooms that will serve recipes inspired by Bhardwaj’s many visits to popular roadside eateries in India. Bhardwaj also told the Commercial Observer “We want to bring the best of the best food from India,” adding that his “whole team is excited to be in the East Village and to bring a new style of Indian food to the area.”
While Jazba does not yet have an online presence, you can visit Junoon to try out the dishes that earned Bhardwaj so much critical acclaim.
