The group behind Superbueno and Katana Kitten, Cocktail Kingdom Hospitality, is turning omakase into a cocktail format at Cocktail Omakase, which is opening on Friday, March 27, in the former Uchū space at 217 Eldridge Street, at Stanton Street, on the Lower East Side.
The space includes a 12-seat omakase counter up front and a seven-seat walk-in bar, called Bar 7, in the rear, developed in collaboration with Tokyo’s Bar Libre (No. 49 on Asia’s 50 Best Bars), known for its classic and fresh-fruit cocktails.
Here in New York, there’s been no shortage of Japanese cocktail bars, from the original Angel’s Share, which helped define the genre in the city in 2000, to newer additions over the last decade like Bar Goto, Katana Kitten, Martiny’s, and Shinji’s, among others. Yet the omakase-style format remains relatively novel, with chefs like Daniel Humm’s at Clemente Bar (above Eleven Madison Park), followed by Midtown’s Ophelia Lounge, which introduced its own seven-course “Omacocktail” experience earlier this year.
Think of Cocktail Omakase as a prelude or nightcap, with four mini-drinks served over the course of an hour. Cocktail Kingdom Hospitality founder Greg Boehm describes it as a marriage of “Tokyo’s craft with New York’s dynamic spirit.”
Mathew Resler (Bar Goto) and consulting beverage director Jillian Vose (the Dead Rabbit) lead the experience, serving a mix of original drinks alongside adaptations from Bar Libre. Tasting menu options include three $55 menus: nonalcoholic, low-ABV, or full-proof, each featuring four smaller-format (around three- to four-ounce) cocktails paired with Japanese bites from chef Phillip Kirschen-Clark (Paradise Lost).
In keeping with kodawari, the Japanese pursuit of perfection, the drinks lean technical but not necessarily heady: a nonalcoholic, toasty lapsang oolong highball is brightened with ume. A silky take on a Sazerac is fortified with shochu and whisky, layered with nori, soy, and bonito, and finished with melon bitters.
The team plans to swap out drinks every two weeks. Food could include a halved jammy soy-marinated egg, or a crisp Japanese sweet potato latke finished with kosho aioli. The idea is to deliver a tasting-menu level of detail without the time commitment or fancy prices.
