Katana Kitten Reviews

Lovely dive bar ambiance with friendly staff and various seating options including outside. Did not eat but dishes eaten by other diners looked appetizing. Highball is the speciality but I wasn’t super impressed. I prefer shaken balanced drinks. I recommend to try this place but it won’t be my regular spot.

My fiancé and I spent a Saturday night out for drinks at Katana Kitten after a late dinner to celebrate our birthdays. We had an absolute blast! The decor is fun, and the bartenders were incredibly friendly, polite, and attentive. Excellent service and vibe. I especially loved the little cat holders we were given when we ordered shots. We felt perfectly at home despite not being NYC locals. We can’t wait to stop by for a drink the next time we’re in town. Thank you!

Underwhelming. One bartender was great. The other was terrible and no passion. Drinks were decent but not worth the hype. Run down. Certainly NOT one of the worlds 50 best bars.

Whiskey sours a go-go with dear cousin of mine. And his fab beautiful friends. Love this place. Tres chic. Music was retro cool - lighting- im a lighting fanatic- was stellar. It's a win.

Travelled from UK for a 3 day city break. Following t’internet recommendation since we had no idea where to go. Turned up at 16:30 and was told there was a private function until 17:30 ... fair enough. Hung around in the sports bar next door (not much of an experience) and went back at 17:30. Immediately ushered out of the door by some white dude effectively saying we had to hang around outside in the snow for another half an hour whilst they finished ‘the private event’. Lost an hour in NYC because of incredibly poor [time] management. Don’t bother.

Nice spot to grab a drink. Good vibe, cool decor. Loved the movie posters in Japanese. Staff was nice and brought our drinks quickly.

Great vibe for cocktails and sake al fresco on a hot and humid summer night. When I didn't like one of the drinks, staff very kindly offered to replace it - I would have been happy to just pay for a new one!

The drinks are weak, over priced and full of ice. Not worth it really. On first impression, the vibe is cool but after being there for a while you start to wonder “what is the vibe anyway”? It just a mishmash of loud music and expensive drinks that are watered down with ice gimmicks.

Saw this bar on the World’s Best Bars top 50 list (in the top 15) for 2019. Decided to try it out then and have been coming back since when I visit NYC (visited last week). I’m going to go out on a limb and say the drinks here are some of the best I’ve ever had and this bar is top 3 for me. The service is a 10, the vibe there is laid back and not snooty (like some nyc places), the drinks are a 10 and the food is a 10. Reasonably priced as well, compared to other places in West Village area.

Crowds become loud around 7pm. Best to go around opening time for quiet time. Bar is way too small and really need some renovations to have a bigger bar and newer interior. It’s more of a drinking place but I don’t particularly like their cocktails which were pretty bland. Their martini is in a glass that needs to rest in a bed of ice makes it really inconvenient for me. On paper, the food menu looks amazing but ham sando was really bland and flavorless. Nori fries tasted better but very messy on the fingers. Wings were overcooked and tough. Not edible for me. Service was ok but lots of regulars here so bartenders are busy chatting most of the time. I definitely been to better bars like the Dead Rabbit or really any of the places on Stone St would suffice and more elbow room, comfier seating, and better service. It’s dark here but they have to dim lights because the interior looks kinda run down. Not for me since I like a nice big bar with more beer options.

We saw Masahiro Urushido’s coffee table book (The Japanese Art of the Cocktail) at a coffee shop in Portland, Oregon and had to check this place out next time we were in NYC. It’s a really fun bar with Japanese inspired drinks and Japanese movie posters on the walls. We also got a chance to meet and talk to “Masa” while at the bar. We tried the Fancy Ramune, Panda Fizz, Scotch Ginger & Apple drinks and all were great!

was recommended here by a bartender from another craft cocktail bar. Stumbled in a little late but was pleasantly surprised. The bartender was skilled and made us a couple delicious cocktails. Didnt get a chance to try the food but it looked fantastic.

Visited Katana Kitten on a weekday evening. I'm not sure about the whole "World's Best Bar" thing since I think those types of lists are generally just made up from industry folks patting each other on the back but after taking a look at their cocktail menu online I decided to give them a try. Overall, I really just wasn't particularly impressed. They were quite busy but I was seated at the bar relatively quickly and the hostess was very friendly. From there, I waited perhaps 7-8 minutes before a bartender got around to offering some water and providing a menu. During that time, I enjoyed the company of a group of relatively loud gentlemen who were doing shots and "hooting and hollering" right next to me. Perhaps Katana Kitten should take a page from the old Milk & Honey playbook and publish some house rules. If I remember correctly, Milk & Honey house rule #1 or #2 was very clearly something about no hooting, no hollering, and no generally loud behavior. To me, a bunch of people standing around a bar and doing shots gave the Katana Kitten vibe on the night I visited much more of a happy hour at T.G.I. Friday's feel rather than that of a proper cocktail bar. The drinks were okay. The Meguroni was outstanding, the Momiji was not great at all, and my third drink was unremarkable as evidenced by the fact that I can't remember the name of it. I will give them credit for presentation--each of the drinks was visually appealing in its own way but some of the flavor combinations, at least to me, did not work. The Momiji, for example, had no discernible character. It was just a muddle of flavors. Lots of people seemed to be ordering whatever the house martini is so perhaps I should have gone that route. Service was relatively slow. I think I waited maybe 15 minutes after my first cocktail before the bartender got back around to me to ask me for my next selection. Drinks were priced at $18 for most and $20-$22 for the rest. So, not terrible by NYC cocktail bar standards but pretty pricey to get a packed sports bar feel and marginal service. Overall, there are lots of bars in NYC. I wouldn't go back to Katana Kitten.

Went to know why it’s 14/50 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019 list and was not disappointed. The bar have a very cool atmosphere and nice music. We seat in the bar and the bartender explain us the cocktail menu and made recommendations based in ours preferences. The cocktails were delicious, very interesting mix of flavors. Price range $13 and up. We also try the spicy crab nachos and was good only it’s a small portion.

PROS Very easygoing and well structured with 2 different floors and environments. Cocktails are pure fantasy and they are pretty good CONS A bit priced and service might speed up a bit