Katana Kitten

The Timeless Punk Rock Japanese Bar Serving Highballs and Mortadella Katsu Sandwiches | Eater NY

"Nearly a decade after opening, Masahiro Urushido’s punky passion project still guarantees a good time in a two-level West Village space where dollar bill chandeliers and nostalgic Japanese movie posters for Rocky Horror and Star Wars set the tone as chatty patrons sip ambitious cocktails. The mortadella-stuffed katsu sando remains the signature bite, with plump slabs of bologna nestled between fluffy milk bread; oh-so-salty nori-flecked waffle fries are a great bar snack and adding the $6 curry sauce is a must. Calamari topped with bonito, ginger, spicy mayo, and takoyaki sauce is an obvious but appealing play on okonomiyaki, minus the cabbage. Japanese-style highballs are the calling card here—think custom ice, precisely chilled glasses, and subtle accents like shiso and lemon oil. The melon-lime soda is a masterful use of Midori, recalling Mountain Dew and kitchy favorite Ramune; the Hinoki martini, served in an austere wooden box, remains one of the classiest presentations in town; and the matcha grasshopper, heady with pandan and coconut, can do double duty as dessert. The happy hour is solid, too." - Missy Frederick