BAR GOTO NIBAN — Restaurant in New York

Seemed like a really great bar, it’s a shame that we didn’t enjoy it due to rudeness of the hostess. It was 6 of us and we went to the bar, but realized that it would be very uncomfortable for us to talk there, so we moved to the area in front of the bar, the hostess came up and said “What’s going on here?” in a tone like we were children misbehaving in a classroom. We explained ourselves, she seemed very annoyed with us, although i have no idea what we did wrong. And then i took one chair from the bar (the bar was empty, there were only 2 people at the other side of it) because my stomach was hurting and I wanted to sit down. She came up and scolded us saying “You can’t get chairs from the bar, you either sit there or you stand here”. My sister told her I wasn’t feeling well, and she just walked away. At which point we didn’t wanna stay there any longer, we told our friends not to order their drinks, finished the two drinks that the bartender has already made and left. Somebody who is so bad at customer service shouldn’t work in restaurants, especially in such a nice place. Giving it two stars and not one only because the bar looks amazing, the bartenders were friendly and the drinks tasted fantastic. Would love to go back to actually enjoy the place, but i am scared to run into the same hostess (didn’t get her name, but it was Saturday evening, 05/03) Tl;dr: looks like a great place, the hostess...

As you can see from my review history, I rarely, if ever, give poor reviews. And, maybe, tonight things were ‘just off.’ But this place has to have some of the rudest bartenders I’ve encountered in Brooklyn. Ruined the experience at what seemed to be a promising place!

A sequence of events:

(a) I arrive at bar to meet date. Sign says ‘Please Wait to be Seated.’ No one acknowledges I am there. I eventually mosey on up to the bar. Note: it is not busy at all;

(b) Bartender 1 continues to chat up patrons near me (regulars?) Zero interaction. Okay…;

(c) After chatting up (different) patrons for quite some time, Bartender 2 comes over to take my drink order and brings water. I order. Bartender 2 corrects my order by drawing attention to my speech impairment—thanks;

(c) My date arrives and uses the restroom. Bartender 2 (without asking) moves date’s water, napkin, and menu to the seat on the other side of me. Proceeds to snap ‘we keep seating in pairs here.’ Great, but, again, see above re: not busy at all;

(d) Drinks were brought. Zero follow up re: how the drinks were and/or inquiring if we had any questions about the menu;

(e) icing on cake: Bartender 1 and Bartender 2 (within earshot of date and me) have an actual verbal back-and-forth. ‘Are you going to be mad at me all night’ vs. ‘Are you going to victim blame?’

We didn’t even stay for dinner…we paid for our drinks and...

Spicy Miso Wings Heat: 5 / Flavor: 9.5 / Texture: 9.5

These folks have completely changed the game on coated wings. If I had to guess I would say it’s a light amount of rice flour, making for an insane textural experience. All the flaps are clipped into individual wings, so you can properly clean these bad boys in a hurry. Flavor was incredible, bursting with miso and sesame and a subtle building heat.

The Kombu Celery was not just a side piece in this adventure, but a star of its own. Salted kombu, red shiso, and sesame. At $9 the food cost on this item alone must be keeping the doors open, but I must say it was worth every penny and I would not hesitate to order it every time I was able to patronize this fine establishment.

A truly mind melting wing experience paired with a mezcal cocktail that knocked my socks off.

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