Katana kitten bar nyc full#

In a way, that's what will mark the drink as special, he reasons, because the summer versions will taste slightly different. 'The shiso gin and tonic is not going to come off the menu as long as the bar's there,' Urushido promises. During the cold months, Katana Kitten will use a store-bought shiso. for the upstairs bar, with money decorated around the roof and the bar. Get the martini and the highball and don't skip out on the bar food. Even though Katana Kitten appeared to be pretty busy, our exceptional service. The wait was about 30 minutes on a Thursday night and we were able to put our name on a waitlist. Katana Kitten is definitely a fun spot, with dive bar vibes and fun cocktails. 'In wintertime, everything dies,' he says, surveying his lavender and wormwood plants. Katana kitten is a japanese inspired bar with amazing cocktails. Latest reviews, photos and ratings for Katana Kitten at 531 Hudson St in New York - view the menu, hours, phone number, address and map. That said, he's looking ahead to the winter, when everything but the roses wilts.

While the green shiso leaves appear in the gin and tonic (and in the burger), the red leaves are combined with a Japanese ume plum shrub, which is then used in the Amaretto Sour. Even with an every other day pruning, Urushido is confident there's enough leaves to keep servicing his drinks. (To protect the privacy of his neighbors, Urushido asked that the precise location of the garden not be disclosed.)Įvery other day, Urushido stops in before heading into the bar, and picks about two handfuls of leaves, which he packs in a Ziploc bag. The garden is organic, left to thrive on its own under the Brooklyn elements. Masahiro Urushido grows shiso in a Brooklyn garden. With the store-bought shiso, everything is a uniform size. 'It grows strong, like mint,' he says, as he gently plucks off leaves the size of his palm. Latest reviews, photos and ratings for Katana Kitten at 531 Hudson St. The second year, all the seeds spread and all these plants started coming up. 'I put them in a wet napkin, and I planted them. 'My grandma handed them to me, 'Oh you're forgetting something,'' Urushido says.

Katana kitten bar nyc full#

The plants, now full of sprightly fluffy leaves and standing about three feet high, began as two small cuttings from Urushido's grandmother's garden, in Nagano, Japan. (The red shiso is used in his Amaretto Sour update.) The green one is much more minty,' he explains.

But the biggest garden stars are two shiso plants (one red and one green) that vie for the majority of real estate in the five feet by seven feet plot. Urushido's small garden plot hosts roses, basil, sage and lavender. Otherwise you can have that drink somewhere else,' Urushido says. It's the shiso leaf that illustrates the bar's deceptively simple concept. 'We try not to buy things.