A review of Jax Kitchen in Tucson, Arizona.
Jax Kitchen serves modern comfort food in Tucson, Arizona. It is located at Ina and Oracle, just north of Ina on the east side of Oracle. Jax has a plethora of excellent acclaim, including selection as a top five overall restaurant in Tucson from Tucson Lifestyle Magazine. The restaurant is very small–almost feels like a big city bistro, yet it is very comfortable. The interior decor is all white with a flare of orange “jax” around the restaurant and painted on the front window. We highly recommend that you make a reservation because due to the limited number of tables, your shot at getting one without a reservation is slim to nill–especially on a weekend night.
The select menu is quite good, and they also have an extensive wine list. The menu starts with appetizers “firsts,” leads to salads and soups “seconds,” main courses, and of course a rotating dessert menu. Every night the dessert menu is different thanks to an amazing pastry chef.
The Kobe burger served with hand cut fries is delectable, as is the Ahi seared Nicoise salad. The Ahi is served with anchovies which is a very interesting treat. Of course, since most hate anchovies, you can certainly leave them off of the salad. A Jax specialty is the roasted chicken for two. You need to call ahead, because it takes about an hour to prepare, but it is simply sensational. Roasted with an excellent assortment of spices makes the flavor subtly explode in your mouth.
For dessert we tried the sour cream chocolate cake, which was delicious. A hard chocolate shell around the outside of the soft chocolate cake…just amazing. You can return every night because the desserts are different daily.
Jax serves dinner 6 nights per week–closed on Mondays. If you haven’t already, be sure to check it out. Brian and Sandy Metzger, owners, and executive chef, Jose Valenzuela, do an excellent job of incorporating the best of modern comfort foods with semi-fine dining. It fits the Tucson dining scene exceptionally well!
