Noah Fecks/Katana Kitten

Missy Frederick is the Editorial Director for Eater’s dining team. She has covered the D.C. restaurant industry since 2007, offers expertise in business reporting and regional American dishes, and holds strong opinions on bar food and booze.

Not much has changed about Masahiro Urishido’s punky passion project, Katana Kitten, since it came on the scene in 2018. Nearly a decade later, you’re still guaranteed a good time at the West Village cocktail bar. Dollar bill chandeliers hang from the ceilings. Nostalgic Japanese movie posters promoting *Rocky Horror *and *Star Wars *dot the walls. Chatty patrons sip ambitious cocktails throughout the two-level space.

What to order

• The bar immediately became known for its mortadella-stuffed katsu sando; the plump slabs of bologna nestled between fluffy milk bread will give you a new appreciation for the still-trendy cured meat.
• Oh-so-salty nori-flecked waffle fries are a great bar snack; adding the $6 curry sauce is a must.
• Calamari topped with bonito, ginger, spicy mayo, and takoyaki sauce is an obvious but appealing play on okonomiyaki, without all that pesky cabbage.

What to drink

Japanese-style highballs are a calling card here. Think custom ice, precisely chilled glasses, and subtle but effective accents like shiso and lemon oil. The melon-lime soda represents a masterful use of Midori, recalling Mountain Dew and kitchy favorite Ramune. The Hinoki martini, presented in its austere wooden box, remains one of the classiest presentations in town. The matcha grasshopper, heady with pandan and coconut, can perform double-duty as dessert.

Make a night of it

We pregamed our last trip with a visit to another nearby, more buttoned-up Japanese cocktail bar, Angel’s Share. Reverse the order, though, if you want to take advantage of Katana Kitten’s solid happy hour.

Insider tip

If you like the drinks enough to purchase Urushido’s The Art of the Japanese Cocktail, it’s a gorgeous coffee table book, but prepare to restock your home bar and make everything from smoked pomelo salt to milk-washed tequila from scratch if you want to try the recipes.