Izakaya Kinko is one of two bars in the basement of 60 State St. in Albany that are being opened this week by NeoVista Hospitality, which also owns the nearby Jack’s Oyster House. Similar to a Spanish tapas bar, izakayas offer shareable small plates, cocktails and wine.
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A former bank headquarters, 60 State St. is being leased by NeoVista Hospitality, which has a catering venue on the first floor and two bars in the basement.
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One of the larger plates at Izakaya Kinko, and value-priced at $19 for a substantial portion, is pork cutlet with rice.
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The dumpling section of Izakaya Kinko’s menu includes these pork-and-shrimp shumai.
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Horigotatsu, a traditional Japanese low table with recessed flooring below, is available in two small rooms at Izakaya Kinko.
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Corn ribs with mango-habanero aioli.
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Tako wasabi, an octopus appetizer.
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One of the menus at Izakaya Kinko has 14 vegan options. A vegetarian cookbook from Phaidon, a prestigious publisher works on art and culture, is part of the decor.
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Table games and decor line shelves at Izakaya Kinko.
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Toys include a miniature Pac-Man game and figurines of animated characters.
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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.
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The door of the namesake for The Vault wine bar.
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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).
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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).
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Scallion pancakes with spicy chile crisp.
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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.
The Huro Ryu old-fashioned.
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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.
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The Vault is a wine bar with a private room inside the original bank vault. It opens with a 250-label cellar and 24 to 28 wines by the glass, according to Josh Turo, NeoVista’s corporate beverage director and formerly a 10-year sommelier at Yono’s in Albany. By-the-glass wines will be priced from $14 to $19. Turo said he continues to build the wine list, with a goal of 350 to 400 labels. Because the izakaya and Jack’s Oyster House both boast strong cocktail programs, The Vault will have a limited spirits selection — one vodka, one gin, one tequila and a NeoVista-specific bourbon from Hillrock Estate Distillery in Columbia County — Turo said. The food menu for The Vault was not available on Monday.
A table for private dining is inside the vault at The Vault.
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Next up for NeoVista’s expansive plan for approximately 10 brands is Cafe 66, an all-day bakery-cafe at 66 State. Hwang describes it as a destination for breakfast, lunch and light evening fare and as a comfortable workspace option outside of an office, occupying the ground floor of a brass-doored building that previously was home to the large accounting firm UHY. An opening is projected in mid-June, dependent on the arrival of kitchen equipment, Hwang said, and hours will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Jack’s Deli, originally announced for 41 State St., with an entrance around the corner on Broadway, will now be launched at least on a trial basis inside of Cafe 66, Hwang said.
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Also in the pipeline: Jack’s SteakHouse, for which a downtown location has been identified but not made public; a grocery store called NeoVista Fresh Market, located a few blocks away at a five-story building NeoVista owns at 52 James St., coming later in the year (its Brooklyn sibling opens this week); and Funland, an indoor children’s playground at 52 James that will be created after the supermarket, according to Hwang.
In other developments, the second floor of Jack’s Oyster House has been renovated into two private rooms holding 10 to 12 people and a larger space to accommodate 30 to 50, Hwang said. The third floor will be renovated over the summer for banquets, with a capacity of up to 150. While the company intended to close Jack’s for an extended period for a full renovation, initially scheduled to happen this summer and then pushed until summer 2027, NeoVista now expects to keep the restaurant open throughout, Hwang said.
NeoVista currently employs 70, a figure that Hwang said will grow to more than 100 by the end of the year. The company has invested almost $8 million since buying the Jack’s Oyster House building 14 months ago, he said.
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This column originated in the Table Hopping newsletter, delivered for free via email on Monday and Thursday afternoons. Subscribe at timesunion.com/newsletters/table-hopping.