One of the pleasures of visiting a place that’s not only a new restaurant but a new concept for the area is perusing its menus for the first time.
Multiple visits will be required to sample everything that looks appealing to me at Izakaya Kinko, a new Japanese bar that officially opens Wednesday at 60 State St. in downtown Albany. It’s the second local venture for NeoVista Hospitality, which in December reopened Jack’s Oyster House half a block away.
Located in the basement of a former bank building, Izakaya Kinko opens simultaneously with The Vault, a wine bar at the front of the space that you have to pass through to get to Izakaya Kinko. Starting Wednesday, both will be open 5 to 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday (kitchen until 10:30 p.m.), closed Sunday, according to John Hwang, NeoVista’s chief operating officer. The first floor of the leased building is NeoVista’s banquet facility, called 60 State Place.
Think of an izakaya as the Japanese equivalent of a Spanish tapas bar. Izakaya Kinko’s main food menu has about 35 items, divided among categories including appetizers, soups, dumplings, rice-based dishes, fried items, grilled dishes and simmered preparations. Most are small plates or shareable portions, priced from $8 for spicy edamame to $19 for a pork cutlet with rice (a substantial plate representing excellent value). The three dishes in the simmered category — sea bass, pork belly and beef-vegetable curry — are larger and more expensive, costing $24 to $45. (Grilled sea bass is also $45.) A vegan menu adds another 14 options ($9 to $19), and there are three desserts: black sesame pudding, lychee sorbet and matcha-lavender creme brulee. The 10 signature cocktails run from $15 to $18, and I’m told that only one showcases a non-Asian spirit (a coconut rum paired with pandan liqueur and lime).
It’s a handsome space, with a clean, spare aesthetic of light wood, angular furniture and, at the back near the bar, a pair of small rooms each with a single horigotatsu, a traditional Japanese low table with a recessed floor beneath it. To offset an atmosphere that could seem austere, the NeoVista team adds whimsical touches: shelves with toys and table games, including a miniature Pac-Man machine, bonsai, sake packaged to look like a juice box and occasionally playful menu names like A Yakitori Party (grilled chicken and vegetable skewers) and Shisho Shade (yuzu vodka, yuzu juice, shiso leaf, club soda).
Wasabi-marinated octopus is a good way to start, as are corn ribs with gently spicy mango-habanero aioli. For a bolder kick of heat, dip into the housemade chile crisp that accompanies scallion pancakes, and ask for extra to go with pork-shrimp shumai.
For cocktails, the low-ABV shochu martinis are winners, available in six flavors, and I was an instant fan of Izakaya Kinko’s Kuro Ryu old-fashioned, made with sesame-washed whiskey, black garlic, black-sugar syrup and a sail-like shisho leaf…