New Scottsdale spot balances eclectic eats and high-energy vibes

There’s a new vibe dining sushi bar and steakhouse in Scottsdale. It just may not be where you expect it. 

JING, a Denver-born upscale restaurant with an eclectic menu, quietly opened in late December on the site of a former Jason’s Deli at the northeast corner of Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard.

The restaurant serves a mix of sushi rolls, sashimi and shellfish platters along with dumplings, fried rice and meats cooked on a Spanish Josper grill. American steakhouse staples, including a Caesar salad, garlic French fries crisped in duck fat and a 14-ounce Delmonico ribeye, can be ordered alongside Peking duck, spicy pork wontons and prawn garlic noodles.

That’s by design, members of the JING Hospitality Management Group shared during a recent tour of the globally-inspired restaurant. 

“Jing means the synergistic balance of energy between light and dark and fire and water. It’s the balance of everything,” Corporate Executive Chef Thomas Griese says. “The high-end luxury steakhouse vibes, the sushi, the wok elements, they’re all here.”

Though the food comes first, the hospitality group wants an atmosphere to match. The Art Deco-inspired space features a curved bar at the center, dividing a more traditional dining room and a lounge that boasts club chairs and scalloped love seats arranged around tables that abut a DJ booth. The entire space is bathed in luxe details, from mosaic stone tiled floors to tropical wallpaper and a showstopping central chandelier. 

This is JING’s fourth outpost since its 2008 debut. Its other locations are in Aspen and Las Vegas’ Summerlin area. The company noted that people who spend time in those two locales also visit Scottsdale. There’s also an opportunity to appeal to customers in the surrounding neighborhoods who want a taste of Old Town without the commute, says Alex Kane, the JING group’s vice president

“If you don’t want to make it all the way down to Old Town, we still have that kind of offering here,” Kane says, “a high-end, upscale but approachable, energetic, fun place to hang out.” 

What to expect at JING Scottsdale

Since opening, local diners have devoured JING’s Alaskan snow crab rolls, miso black cod and happy spoons. These luxe bites of Wagyu, salmon, tuna or uni originated as a chef’s amuse bouche for special guests, served on a bed of crushed ice, with smoke from dry ice billowing around them.

“Everyone can get that same VIP experience with one bite of uber-delicousness,” Griese says. “It went viral the first week.”

Other popular dishes include a Chinese five spice-braised short rib and Griese’s personal favorite: Josper-grilled Colorado lamb served with a pistachio, rosemary and garlic gremolata.

JING’s Spanish grill is fueled by a blend of binchotan charcoal, mesquite, pecan and oak. It sits between a line of woks and a sushi-making station in the Scottsdale kitchen. The chef likes the versatility of a Josper, which not only reaches high heats but also imparts smoke into dishes.

The broad menu is built for family-style dining, Kane says.

“It’s cool to see plates with a steak and sesame chicken and mac and cheese and a sushi roll on it,” he says. 

JING also features a vegan and vegetarian menu with tofu lettuce wraps, crispy honey cauliflower and a green goddess roll made with cucumber, avocado and scallion. 

At the bar, guests can choose from beer, wine, sake and cocktails that Kane says riff on tried-and-true classics, often by infusing Asian flavors. JING’s signature sip is the Drunken Buddha, made with lemon-infused vodka, limoncello, sauvignon blanc and pineapple. The drink is garnished with a Buddha button, otherwise known as a Sichuan button. This delicate, edible yellow flower produces a tingling sensation that can also briefly affect the imbiber’s palate. 

“When you drink water after eating it, water tastes kind of sweet,” Kane explains. “It changes the flavor profile of the cocktail.”

JING also unabashedly caters to a late-night crowd. The area is largely a late-night food desert, save for a few fast-food drive-thrus. The new restaurant is designed to change that. The kitchen stays open late, serving until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Built around locals

JING will begin offering lunch service in March, in addition to the currently available dinner and daily happy hour with specials on martinis, starters and sushi rolls. 

“We wanted to be a community restaurant where we built it around locals, we built it around people that are going to come back every week,” Griese says, noting they’ve already had folks stopping in daily in hopes the restaurant is open for lunch.

The atmosphere of the dining room, bar and lounge progresses throughout the day and evening. 

“Our owners always wanted to make sure we create that energy within the building,” Kane says. “It’s a lot of small things that we do very intentionally.”

Around happy hour, the space is brighter. The energy starts to come up with the dinner rush. Lights hidden in the ceiling and tulip-shaped pillars transition to more colorful tones and DJs come on around 9 p.m., creating more of what Kane describes as an ultralounge vibe.

“We’re very cognizant of the guests and who’s in here and what kind of experience they’re looking for,” he says. “Music is very slowly creeping up. We never want to get it club-level popping in here, but it definitely gets a little bit louder.”

JING also boasts two identical covered patios, featuring bistro seating and curved couches centered around a dual fountain and fire pit.

Though they have considered opening a location in the Valley for years, the JING team says they’ve found the right spot with their new outpost in Scottsdale. 

“It’s been so organic, the growth that we’ve seen,” Griese says. “It’s just been neighbors bring their neighbors bring their neighbors.”