Katana Kitten
Bar · West Village ·
Inventive Japanese-American cocktails, izakaya fare, mortadella katsu
![Katana Kitten by Katana Kitten [Official Photo]](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63303141/katana_kitten.0.jpg "Katana Kitten by Katana Kitten [Official Photo]")
Inventive Japanese-American cocktails, izakaya fare, mortadella katsu
"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
"Katana Kitten is featured through Masahiro Urushido on a panel about the Japanese‑American approach to the Martini, underscoring that this bar has a serious, distinct Martini style developed over decades." - Amanda Schuster
"Katana Kitten, a Japanese-inspired bar on Hudson Street, serves some of the most impressive cocktails in the city. They’re made with things like salted plum, pandan, and matcha—and we especially like the house gin and tonic, which comes in frosty mug lined with shiso leaves. Hang out in the little bar area upstairs lined with Japanese movie posters, or get a table in the darker basement area—and don't forget to order a mortadella katsu sando." - bryan kim, neha talreja, carina finn koeppicus
"Katana Kitten is a party that doesn’t stop. This always-packed Japanese-American bar in the West Village is essentially a fun neighborhood izakaya, with signed dollar bills plastered to the rafters and a loud soundtrack that bounces between Blues Traveller and early 2000s dorm room bangers. But this isn’t a place for a vodka Red Bull. The signature cocktails are all inventive and delicious, from the martini made with sake to the simple, ice cold gin and tonic with a shiso leaf stuck in the side. Don’t leave without eating the mortadella katsu sando." - bryan kim, neha talreja, sonal shah, willa moore, will hartman
"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
