A Tokyo-style cocktail tasting experience has officially landed on the Lower East Side–and it’s rethinking everything you thought you knew about omakase.
Dubbed Cocktail Omakase, this new opening swaps out sashimi for highballs, bringing a curated, multi-course cocktail journey to a sleek, intimate setting. Even better? It won’t run you hundreds of dollars–each experience is priced at just $55.
Though the doors just opened today, March 27, the team behind it practically guarantees buzz. Cocktail Kingdom Hospitality Group–the minds behind NYC standouts like Superbueno, Katana Kitten, Mace, and The Cabinet Mezcal Bar–have teamed up with Tokyo’s Bar Libre, ranked among Asia’s 50 Best Bars, to bring the concept stateside.
Your Traditional Omakase Experience–But Make It Boozy
While omakase is typically reserved for sushi counters, this experience translates the format into liquid form.
Guests are seated around a 12-seat cocktail counter–a minimalist reinterpretation of a traditional sushi bar–and guided through a four-course cocktail tasting paired with complementary bites.
The experience lasts about 60 minutes and comes in three formats, so everyone can get in on it:
- Non-alcoholic
- Low-ABV
- Full-proof (spirited)
Each cocktail is served in 3–4 oz tasting pours, giving you a full progression without overdoing it. Expect inventive creations like an Ember Highball with lapsang souchong, cedar, and plum, or a Sushi Sazerac layered with shochu, rye, nori, and bonito bitters.
Menus rotate every two weeks, keeping things fresh with new seasonal ingredients and techniques.
Michelin-Level Bites To Match
The drinks don’t stand alone–each course is paired with a bite from Chef Phillip Kirschen-Clark, whose background spans Michelin-starred kitchens and some of NYC’s most influential restaurants.
The menu blends Japanese inspiration with global twists, featuring dishes like:
- Soy-marinated jammy egg
- Miso baked clam
- Japanese sweet potato latke with yuzu-wasabi tobiko
- Koji-marinated super-crunch chicken
Everything on the menu is also free of gluten, dairy, and nuts–without sacrificing flavor.
A Hidden Cocktail Den Inside
If one hour isn’t enough (it won’t be), there’s more to explore.
Tucked 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 den offering a more relaxed, à la carte experience with a tight menu of seven cocktails and seven dishes.
There’s also a 15-seat lower-level lounge, ideal for groups or private hangouts.
Designed With Japanese Precision
The space leans into Japanese design principles, with textured plaster walls, warm wood tones, and ikebana-style floral arrangements.
Iron mesh lighting nods to wabi-sabi–the beauty of imperfection–creating a calm, understated atmosphere that contrasts with the graffiti-adorned exterior by rotating Japanese street artists.
In other words: don’t expect a rowdy LES bar scene–this is something far more refined.
Know Before You Go
- Where: 217 Eldridge St, New York
- When: Thursday–Tuesday (closed Wednesday)
- Reservations: via Resy (walk-ins welcome at Bar 7)
- Learn more: via Cocktail Omakase’s website
A press release reads:
Cocktail Omakase arrives at a moment when New York’s drinking culture is increasingly defined by curiosity and a desire for deeper engagement. Guests are no longer simply ordering drinks, but seeking to understand the ingredients, techniques, and ideas behind them…Cocktail Omakase…[pairs] Tokyo’s discipline with New York’s pace and energy.