Sake Bar Asoko

"Fans of go-to date spot Sake Bar Decibel will love Sake Bar Asoko, a new bar from its alums. The small bar features various sakes plus shochu-based drinks with ingredients like togarashi, matcha, and Pocky. A brief food menu includes marinated quail eggs, daikon radish with cream cheese, chicken karaage, cold udon noodles, and more." - Eater Staff

"Sake Bar Asoko works well for a casual night out or a first date in Chinatown. It’s small and sweet, they spin vinyl, and most of the plates and glassware belong to one of the owner’s grandmothers. No matter your level of sake literacy, the servers can talk you through the expansive list. And the room doesn’t get too loud, which means you can yap with your date about all the movies you’ve seen lately over one, two, or three glasses of sake. And then perhaps a shōchu cocktail and some otsumami snacks like a shredded daikon salad drenched in a creamy sesame dressing." - bryan kim, will hartman, willa moore, neha talreja, molly fitzpatrick, sonal shah

"On the Lower East Side, Sake Bar Asoko is, you guessed it, a sake bar, and one we’re pretty excited about. It comes from a couplenof Sake Bar Decibel alums, so we’ve got high expectations for their sake selection. They’re also serving shochu and will be spinning vinyl every night they’re open." - will hartman

"Sake Bar Asoko is a train car-sized bar that works well for a first or second date in Chinatown. It’s very cute, and made even more charming by spinning vinyl and the map of Pokémon regions hung up in the bathroom. The people who work here will earnestly ask about your day and might even compliment your outfit before taking your drink order. Aside from the sweet service, we like this place because it appeals to all levels of sake literacy. You can get a great suggestion for warming, unfiltered nigori, or talk shop with the servers about a savory kinoene umakara or a rich ginjo. Order a carafe of something you've never tried before—they each cost around $33 and come in the owner’s grandmother’s own glassware. And if you get hungry, we like the crunchy daikon salad in sesame dressing and thick slices of hamachi coated in crunchy, acidic leeks. photo credit: Will Hartman" - Will Hartman

"Sake Bar Asoko, from Shintaro Cho and Yuri Itakura, former managers at East Village izakaya Sake Bar Decibel, is opening this summer in Chinatown at 127 East Broadway, near Pike Street. The new spot 'aims to merge nostalgic analog culture of the early Heisei period (early 90’s to mid 2000’s) with a modern flair,' a spokesperson says. The bar’s menu will highlight sake and shochu, as well as cocktails with flavors like yuzu." - Luke Fortney