The bacon is cured in-house rather than bought pre-made, and the asparagus is wrapped and grilled over tamarind wood which adds a slightly tart smoke note to the fat. Multiple reviews flag this as the dish to order alongside sake — the salt level and fat content are calibrated for pairing.
Tips from diners
The Kozaemon House Junmai (B250) pairs particularly well with this — ask staff if the bottle is still available as they rotate the sake list.
Chef Adkins sources local banana prawns and grills them over aromatic longan wood rather than standard binchotan, adding a faint fruit-smoke to the shell. The durian butter melts over the prawn as it arrives at the counter — a distinctly Thai-Japanese combination that reviewers consistently highlight. One of the few dishes that blends local Thai produce with Japanese kushiyaki technique.
Tips from diners
Sit at the ground-floor granite bar to watch the skewers come off the grill. The upper room is good but you lose the kitchen theatre.
Order this early in the session — the prawns sell out on busy nights and the kitchen won't always have them mid-way through service.
The chicken is marinated then fried in a light batter spiced with shichimi togarashi, a Japanese seven-spice blend. The yuzu mayo on the side brings acid to cut through the richness. This is the entry-level order — almost every review mentions it as essential for first-timers, particularly at the $$$ price point relative to the quality.
Tips from diners
Order two portions if there are four or more people — one disappears quickly and this is the dish that converts the table to wanting more skewers.
Caesar salad with a miso vinaigrette in place of the standard anchovy dressing.
Tips from diners
A good mid-session refresher between the richer skewers. Order it after two or three meat courses rather than at the start.
Chef Adkins uses ox cheek rather than the standard chicken parts — one of the non-traditional kushiyaki choices that distinguishes Jua from straight yakitori bars. The veal jus base gives more depth than a standard tare sauce. Reviews from food media call this the most 'kitchen-serious' item on the menu, reflecting Adkins' fine dining background.
Tips from diners
This is where Adkins' fine-dining background shows up most clearly. Order it mid-session rather than at the start — your palate will be primed for it after the lighter skewers.
Opened by chef-owner Chet Adkins (previously executive chef at Ku De Ta, now Ce La Vi) in a three-storey Charoenkrung building that operated as an illegal gambling den for over 20 years — 'Jua' is the Siamese blackjack call for 'hit me'. The format is izakaya sharing plates built around binchotan-grilled kushiyaki, with a sake list that runs to artisanal and small-batch labels rarely seen elsewhere in Bangkok. The space seats about 40 across a ground-floor granite bar and an ink-walled upper room.
Book ahead on weekends — the 40-seat space fills quickly on Friday and Saturday. Weeknight visits are more relaxed and the bar seats are usually available walk-in.
The entrance is on Soi Charoen Krung 28 near the river. Look for the three-storey building — there is no large signage, just a door. Coming from the river end of the soi makes it easier to spot.
Ask for the sake menu as soon as you sit. The list includes artisanal and small-batch labels that are hard to find elsewhere in Bangkok. Staff can guide by flavour profile if you tell them dry vs fruity.
There is an omakase option available (around 1,177 THB net) for those who want the kitchen to decide the progression. Worth asking about when booking.
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