Katana Kitten

"Katana Kitten, a Japan-inspired bar in the West Village, serves some extremely impressive cocktails, made with things like salted plum, pandan, and matcha. But don’t skip the food—there’s a teriyaki smashburger served with nori fries, and a mortadella katsu sando on squishy milk bread. You could totally come here before or after dinner—or this could just be dinner." - willa moore, molly fitzpatrick, sonal shah

"Japanese cocktail bar Katana Kitten has two settings depending on the mood: Upstairs is a more open area for sipping cocktails like its Amaretto Sour (rye, amaretto, salted plum, honey, lemon, egg white, red shiso), while downstairs is closer in style to an izakaya. Katana Kitten made a splash in 2018, the year it opened, taking home a title for “best new American bar” and the awards have kept coming." - Eater Staff

"If you’re really looking for more of a drinks situation, try Katana Kitten in the West Village. This is a sceney bar with two floors, and it’s usually the perfect amount of crowded on weeknights (and very crowded on the weekends). The food is great - we like the teriyaki burger and fries with nori flakes - but you don’t need to eat to fully enjoy your time here. The highballs, ’70s film posters, and crowded bar area will take care of that." - hannah albertine

"What It Is: A Japanese cocktail bar in the West Village Perfect For: Date Night, Drinks And A Light Bite Katana Kitten is the kind of place that makes you feel about 50% cooler as soon as you walk in. It’s a new cocktail bar in the West Village with Japanese movie posters on the walls, ’60s classic rock playing over the speakers, and boilermaker beer-and-shot combinations with Japanese whisky and sake. When we came on a Friday night, it was packed, but not quite yelling-level loud. All of the cocktails and bar food we tried were great - especially the burger and crinkle fries with seaweed flakes on top. The Verdict: We like this place a lot - it’s worth going out of your way for. We’ve added it to our Bar Hit List." - hannah albertine, bryan kim, katherine lewin, hillary reinsberg, chris stang, matt tervooren

"If you want a great cocktail in the West Village, but don’t want to have to go to a speakeasy, head to Katana Kitten. This is a Japanese bar on Hudson Street, and the drinks here are excellent. They’re made with things like salted plum, pandan, and Japanese whiskey—and we especially like the house gin and tonic, which comes in frosty mug lined with shiso leaves. You can either hang out at the bar upstairs or grab a drink in the darker basement area, and there’s a short menu of Japanese-influenced bar food, too." - bryan kim, katherine lewin, neha talreja, carina finn koeppicus