Tokyo's Omakase Cocktail Experience Lands in NYC's Lower East Side
A Tokyo-Style Cocktail Tasting Experience Has Officially Landed in the Lower East Side—And It's Redefining Everything You Thought You Knew About Omakase
Under the name Cocktail Omakase, this new venture swaps sashimi for highballs, offering a curated, multi-course cocktail journey in an elegant, intimate setting. And the best part? It won't cost you hundreds of dollars—each experience is just $55.
Though its doors only opened today, March 27, the team behind it is already generating buzz. The Cocktail Kingdom Hospitality Group—the minds behind New York staples like Superbueno, Katana Kitten, Mace, and The Cabinet Mezcal Bar—has joined forces with Tokyo's Bar Libre, ranked among Asia's 50 Best Bars, to bring the concept stateside.
While omakase is typically reserved for sushi counters, this experience translates the format into liquid form.
Guests take their seats at a 12-seat cocktail bar—a minimalist reimagining of a traditional sushi counter—and are guided through a four-course cocktail tasting, each paired with complementary bites.
The 60-minute experience comes in three formats to suit every preference:
- Non-alcoholic
- Low-proof
- Full-proof (higher ABV)
Each cocktail is served in 90–120 ml tasting glasses, allowing for full appreciation without overindulgence. Expect inventive creations like the Ember Highball, blending Lapsang Souchong tea, cedar, and plum, or the Sushi Sazerac, featuring shochu, rye whiskey, nori, and bonito bitters.
The menu rotates every two weeks, ensuring fresh seasonal ingredients and techniques keep things exciting.
The drinks don't stand alone—each course is paired with a small plate by Executive Chef Phillip Kirschen-Clark, whose résumé spans Michelin-starred kitchens and some of New York's most influential restaurants.
The food menu blends Japanese inspiration with global influences, offering dishes like:
- Soy-marinated jammy egg
- Miso-baked clams
- Japanese sweet potato latke with yuzu-wasabi tobiko
- Ultra-crispy chicken marinated in koji
Everything on the menu is also gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free—without sacrificing flavor.
If one hour isn't enough (and it won't be), there's more to explore.
Hidden behind handcrafted shoji screens by Miya Shoji—one of the oldest shoji makers in the U.S.—you'll find Bar 7, a discreet seven-seat cocktail haven offering a relaxed à la carte experience with seven cocktails and seven dishes.
There's also a 15-seat basement lounge, perfect for groups or private gatherings.
The space embraces Japanese design principles, with textured plaster walls, warm wood tones, and ikebana-style floral arrangements.
The wrought-iron lattice lighting nods to wabi-sabi—the beauty of imperfection—creating a serene, understated atmosphere that contrasts with the graffiti-adorned façade, designed by rotating Japanese street artists.
In other words: Don't expect the usual raucous LES bar scene—this is something far more refined.
