Tomi Jazz

Kinda feels like a bar out of a Murakami novel. Absolutely wonderful place. Good food, good music, underground, cozy and just overall fantastic. A+

What could be better than underground, jazz music and gourmet, Japanese bar food? After being welcomed into Tomi Jazz, I began to bubble over with giddiness at the smooth hip atmosphere, decent drink selection, and live bebop! The service was attentive. We asked our waiter what was in the Cod Roe Spaghetti that made it so delicious. He diligently went to the kitchen to ask the chef who told us it involved «noodle, cod roe, and cream.» If we wanted to learn the rest of the ingredients, they would, «reveal more secrets next time we came.» It made me laugh and I’ll definitely be going back!

A small space that was never uncomfortable and was very, very cozy. Lots of candles, lots of wood. Unique where the food served isn’t Southern as most Jazz bars do. Lots of Japanese influences on the drinks and food menu. There’s also pasta. For the two times I’ve been here, musicians were very talented — had their own brand of jazz that was smooth but not corny like smooth jazz. Only thing is that the food and drinks are expensive for what they are (wasn’t blown away by the food — Takana Pickle Fried Rice was alright but the Honey Toast was good) but I’ll let it slide because at that point you’re also paying for the atmosphere. Cover charge is very minimal too. Was also full on a Tuesday and Thursday night. Service was very courteous and professional.
For a comparison, Smoke has better food but there’s no doubt I felt more comfortable with the atmosphere and crowd here. It’s a bit more relaxed but one might argue a bit too relaxed as guests were sometimes conversing loudly during the artist’s performance. Either way, I loved the vibe and would come here again.

Jazz live was very nice and atmosphere was good as well.
But… The service was poor.
Guys are always complaining in Japanese, which made me uncomfortable. Foods smelled good.

Great date night vibe. We went on a Saturday night with live jazz music playing a little too loud; given the small space, I had to shout to speak to the person next to me but it was still enjoyable. There’s a $ 10 cover per person that night but we bought a bottle of bourbon and kept it stashed at the bar so it wasn’t any pricier than going to any other bar/​lounge. It has a low key, speakeasy (ring the doorbell) type of place if you’re particularly into that. The staff was also fantastic. I don’t know what it is but I loved drinking bourbon on the rocks when the rock is a huge chunk of chiseled ice. Made it just that much more sexy.

Small place with lots to offer. Great food. Solid drink selections. Great service. Very dark and mostly candle lit. Tightly packed with the band in the corner. Nice hidden gem.

I’ve been here on several occasions for live jazz performances. Tomi Jazz is a warm, compact bar, to relax preferably on a weeknight. The weekends tend to be packed and the bar sometimes charges a cover fee and a minimum order requirement. Be prepared to empty your wallet, but it is worth it for the intimate setting which is perfect for a date! But first you will need to find the secret entrance.

It is my worst experience ever. The server got a wrong order, so we complained about that. But nobody apologized to us and the manager said to us «what do you want?» We just want say «sorry»!! It is such a rude, so we didn’t eat anything that we ordered, paid and went out. I can’t understand the attitude.

Love this place so much! I need an excuse to come back soon x)
It’s a fairly small venue (no more than 40, maybe?), really hip with this rustic touch, filled with people and music. I honestly for the life of me cannot decide which I enjoyed more– the music or the food, which were both fantastic.
Came with my friend who loved Jun Abe and Tsutomu Nakai Sensei. Jazz piano + guitar, does it get any better? Oh but wait, it does. Honey toast box better. And grilled sausage better. (Honey toast-​not your Korean bakery toast, but toast box done right!)
The staff were SUPER nice, and the prices are SUPER fair. If you love jazz music over no-​frills bites, this is a must try.

Cozy little hidden gem in midtown. Great jazz music and good food. Good date spot or just to catch up and have drinks. I brought my parents here (out of towners). They liked the food and its definitely something different from what they are used to. Recommend this place to anyone who wants to have an intimate conversation or just a bite to eat with a small group of people.

Secret find/​with a basement door that requires ringing a door bell. Loved the ambiance (cozy) when I first walked in. And if you go there in time for happy hour, you’ll end up wanting eat everything on the menu — as we did. But some must haves:
— spaghetti with cod roe
— cucumber with nato
— sausages
— dry squid
— grilled chicken
I wanted to try the curry and udon but will come back and try it next time. Good sochu selection.
You have to pay $ 10 when the jazz band starts — piano, violin, guitar. Not bad but quite frankly, we stayed not for the music but because we still had sochu left.

In NYC for our wedding anniversary and in search of a jazz venue and we happened upon this place. As another writer stated it’s a little difficult to find because you have to traverse down a flight of stairs and ring a doorbell. Inside it’s quite cramped and clearly not organized for efficient service with a large «L» shaped table taking up most of the space. There’s a small bar as well, but we chose to sit at the table.
They have happy hour from 530 — 730 PM with drink and food specials. We ordered hot sake to start. Throughout the night we sampled the ramen, tofu with bean curd, curry rice and spam balls (like a California roll, but with spam). Everything we sampled was excellent, but our sake was served up lukewarm (twice). We stayed until a jazz trio started playing around 800 PM. These guys were –great– and you should check ‘em out if you’re into modern jazz: Daniel Bennett Group.
Overall, I really liked the ambience and the intimate nature of the venue. The servers were very helpful and courteous, but service was a bit chaotic and «off». Thumbs up for excellent food and live music!

This place is hard to find. It’s located in the basement, so you have to go down a flight of stairs to find it. Once there, you gotta ring the doorbell so someone can open it for you. The place is small, dark but cozy. All these add to a unique experience.
I went to have dinner and watch some live Jazz there. It’s more of a bar than a restaurant. I ordered the ramen and it was okay. The Jazz trio was good and funny, though I’m more into instrumental Jazz.

Came here with Qian W as rehearsal chick for a date he was planning the week after. The fact that I loved this spot confirms that I am a Basic [Yelp] B, wooed easily by:
— inconspicuous «hidden» entrance
— cute dark space. +1 for exposed brick walls
— cocktails
— live jazz
— the irresistible cachet of Japanese culture
Tomi’s got it all.
They have a happy hour, 5:30pm-7:30pm, where huge swaths of the menu are discounted. The izakaya-​style food was attractively presented, tasty albeit forgettable nibbles. The cocktails were decent, but the Japanese beer list was great — included really interesting witbiers that were totally up my alley, like Ginga Kogen and Kawaba Snow Weizen. Waitstaff were cheerful and attentive. The live jazz was lovely. They go around with a donation jar for the musicians, but also charged a $ 10 cover since it was a Saturday.
Being charged a cover fee would kind of suck if you didn’t get seated right next to the musicians, though, so go early.

You go downstairs and find yourself atanding in front of a grey door with no knob or handle, but you notice a door buzzer off to the side.
You press the button, and after several seconds are greeted by a friendly Japanese who invites you into a dimly lit, intimate looking bar.
What an awesome speakeasy! Super intimate ambience, with an area to sit at the bar, a few tables if you want to bring a groul of 8 people or so, and seating if you want to bring a date.
They got a good selection of Japanese microbrews, sakes, and decent happy hour specials.
The appetizers were delicious. We got the spam balls (which were like larger Korean kimbap rolls, but with some mayo and scallions), curry croquettes, and fried brie with honey sauce.
They oftentimes have a live jazz band play.
Would definitely recommend checking out this place, especially if you want to bring a date!

So we went there again to give this place a second try and were not informed that the live music is not «free» (we have never been to a jazz bar and last time we were there, there was no live, so we have no idea how things work out in a place like this).
We were seated in the back and couldn’t see the band perform, which was fine because we have ears. The waiter didn’t explain to us there was a charge on the music and just quickly took our order without any facial expression. We were ignored for the entire dinner time with no greetings or checking upon us, even no water refill!!!
Definitely will NOT go back. Such a bad service and attitude!!!

5 stars! The kickers: prices, vibe, food quality.
The Food:
Pros:
–great price for food in a cozy place in NY.
–friends and I got the curry and rice, cod roe noodles, and (forgot the name) pan fried udon. The udon was full of flavor. Had great contrast. Pretty on point. The curry was really really good. Better than many places I’ve had (gogocurry and a couple hole in the walls within the U.S.)
–we split a bottle of wine for $ 30. Pretty good deal once again.
–had a cheese plate with the wine and a sizzling sausage plate for kicks. The sausage plate was super hot, but a classic dish for me. Growing up eat sausage or spam with some caramelized veggies along side rice, this was a throwback. Cheese plate was decent too
Cons:
–the Cod roe pasta was a bit too fishy for my taste.
Other:
Pros:
–very intimate. Great for a date or small group of friends. (Guess this could be a con for some)
–very friendly staff.
–food came out pretty quickly.
–Music is ON POINT.
Cons:
–it’s dark… really dark… too dark
–the stool seating (where we were seated) was a bit awkward. Literally directly next to where the waiter prepares utensils and what not.
–wish music started a bit sooner. Would go more often on weekdays.
This place is a must-​try. And as all good places deserve. «I’ll be back»

Came here once on a first date. Then I took all my friends here one by one and it’s gradually become one of my favorite bars/​food places in the area. THIS IS A GREAT DATE SPOT. Live music + dim lighting + speakeasy feel + really good food and drinks = one impressed date. It’s also a good place to catch up with a friend or two (not more; there’s not enough room), but watch out for all the couples/​first dates going on here. There’s also always that one person who dgaf sitting alone listening to jazz and drinking whisky — #lifegoals status.
Anyhow, the food is AMAZING and they have really fantastic happy hour deals. Come here if you love Japanese food with a bit of Euroasian flair. Don’t come here looking for sushi. As mentioned by everyone else, the cod roe spaghetti and avocado spaghetti are really delicious but I’m a huge fan of their baked chikuwa in proscuitto and their fried brie cheese with honey mustard. The okonomiyaki is also pretty on-​point. The honey toast is also so so so yummy. Drinks wise, they have a huge selection of whisky (including Japanese whisky), sake and wine. Not a huge cocktail person so haven’t tried their cocktails, but that whisky selection though. Example: a 12year yamazaki.
The bartenders/​waiters are mostly all from Japan but they’re all super friendly and easy to talk to, especially if you sit at the bar — they’re pretty good about food/​drinks recommendations and they’re so friendly I think I ended being facebook friends with one of them by the end of the night. Tab can get pretty high because their portions are pretty small, so come during happy hour when everything is super cheap.

I wouldn’t be surprised to find myself seating often at Tomi Jazz with a 12yr Yamakazi on hand while lost on the daily Jazz played at the absent stage. After all, I found it sort of the perfect spot that fills up all requirements; food, drinks, ambience, service, crowd and live music.
And why not, for someone who fancy speakeasy-​like establishments, Tomi Jazz may be one of the most truly to the concept without announcing it loud. In opposite to some of those, a seat or table when you walk-​in is a warranty when available. Granted, the cocktails won’t be as spectacular, but sometimes a good quality liquor; or beer; or just a drink, is all you need. I would recommend however to make a reservation particularly on weekend nights (from Thursday to Friday, as we all know). Thus, given its location at a underground alley in the streets of Midtown East, a door missing a handle but with bell to ring instead and a room candlelit illuminated I am quite surprised the speakeasy tag had not tag along a while ago.
Izakaya style food consisting in traditional Japanese dishes with European influences can be ordered both at the bar and tables. Western influences came mainly in a dressing form, demi-​glacé (red wine and tomato sauce reduction) to be precise. Somehow it does not work, at least for me, and last time we ordered the sauce to be served on a side which is my recommendation or else the sauce overpower the entire dish.
Rice Ball (Onigiri), Green Tea Rice with choice of Cod, Omurice and Crab with egg are among my favorites. Croquettes had the perfect outside crunchy texture, while soft and crazy inside no matter your filling of choice. Sausages on Hot Plate, Hayashi Rice and Okonomiyaki won’t disappoint and I personally love their Japanese Pickles to start.
Cocktails seems to fall into sweet category you may wanna just go ahead and order straight whiskey, sake or a Japanese beer. The selection for the latter is short but fantastic. Whiskey is a solid choice and plenty of Sakes are offered to satisfy the casual drinker but also the connoisseur.
Be aware of $ 10 cover charge per person during live music performance, except Monday to Wednesday when there is only a $ 5 minimum charge. Happy hour runs everyday from 530−730pm.
Yes, I won’t be surprised. For these and many other unspoken reasons. After all, I had the best time in both, while celebrating my bf’s birthday and later with friends. Those memories are the ones that at the end of the day will keep me coming back often.

Hidden under a bunch of restaurants, this place is a gem. You have to walk down a flight of stairs and ring the doorbell to enter.
Once you enter, you will be welcome into a dark lounge with jazz music. Its cozy and cute. There is a bar area as well as tables. They have happy hour here! You can get a bottle of sake for 30−40ish dollars. And the food is decent. I love the sausage, Japanese curry rice and pasta.
The performers will come by after a set with a bucket to ask for money, so make sure you have a couple of singles on you.