Katana Kitten

531 Hudson Street New York, NY 10014

Masahiro Urushido’s Katana Kitten is one of NYC’s great bars from a consummate barman whose bartending years in NYC and Tokyo inform his hospitality and precision. Katana is also about fun: lined with Japanese movie posters, communal seating in the basement and playful tunes, the laid-back vibe appeals to industry and non-industry alike with delicious bites like Masa’s grandmother’s fujimi crispy chicken. Drink offerings include a creative highball section with the likes of a shiso gin and tonic and a melon-lime soda with Absolut Lime, Midori, sudachi-lime, matcha and lime leaf. Gin gets the right treatment everywhere, from a martini stirred with gin, vodka, fino sherry, junmai-daiginjo sake and hinoki tree essence, to Old Duff genever in a Negroni-inspired combination of aged umeshu (Japanese plum liqueur) and bitters.