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Karasu

4.1 (139 reviews)
Closed • 5:00 pm - 11:00 PM

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KARASU ATMOSPHERE

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Happy hour menu as of 6/17/25
Jennifer C.

Located in the back of a restaurant, you need to go through the restaurant into the back to get here. We came for the happy hour and was able to get a spot without a reservation around 6 on a Tues and they just gave us a heads up that we had to leave by 7:30. We tried the Midori rum highball. Very refreshing and well made. Could have used slightly stronger melon flavor but still enjoyable. $9 for the cocktail on happy hour which was decent and expected for this kind of place. Service could definitely have been better. I got water spilled on me by the bartender and she was barely apologetic and didn't come check on me after handing me a bar towel. She did comp my drink but just left an overall poor taste on an otherwise good experience.

Vivian L.

Love a vibey cocktail bar! This speakeasy is so chic and perfect for catching up with friends. The service is always very gracious and the drinks are delicious!

The view from the seating area.

Beautiful and relaxing spot. Super friendly staff and great service. The drinks are sophisticated and tasty. A nice selection of pastries. We'll be back. Thank you.

Fairy F.

This is a cute little spot. Perfect for date night - especially if you need somewhere with good snacks and drinks that can morph into dinner if the date is going well (or end at the first cocktail if shits goin south). I think the highlight of the place is that it's tucked behind Walter's; so for anyone going for the first time it truly feels like a speakeasy. It's really cozy - as in it's small...but it's well set up to optimize space. With that said, it's not a bar for big groups - it's more of an intimate place. Snacks and food are good. I'm a fan of the cocktails. My must try things are: - whole fried fish (why not) it's crunchy and moist plus the head looks cool - Lily pad - yummy sweet and flirty - Wabi sabi - way more complex than I anticipated when ordering it. Unexpected - Cupids bow - cool if you like spicy and will knock your socks off The staff are also really sweet and will guide you where you need to go based on taste. Try it for your next date!

Drink
Pratima M.

A cozy speakeasy tucked into the back of Walter's -- they serve up Japanese fare and unique drinks. We stopped by for a pre-show bite, since it's close to BAM. I'd recommend getting family-style small plates to share. Everything was very flavorful, my personal standouts included Eggplant and Salmon Don.

people sitting at tables in a dimly lit restaurant
Jina P.

This speakeasy restaurant is hidden at the end of the hallway at Walter's so it can be difficult to find. The space is somewhat small but the ambience is quite nice and feels like a good date spot. In terms of service, everyone was nice but the food did take some time to come out. The oysters and the katsu sandwich on the happy hour menu were great and reasonably priced. That said, I was highly disappointed with the Ikura Don dish. It was mostly rice with a drizzle of soy sauce and very few pieces of raw salmon. It felt a bit salty at times and was honestly way too overpriced for what it was. The karaage was tasty but again felt overpriced for the portion. Overall, the food and atmosphere were great but I don't think I would return for the food. It just didn't feel worth it for the high price point. That said, I may return for the happy hour menu and drinks.

Edward W.

Who doesn't love a restaurant within another restaurant? Friend recommended this gem and it was an amazing experience. All the drinks were amazing and the small bites were delicious. I think personally if I were to come back I'd focus on the drinks and order a few sides. hamachi - favorite small bite. extremely fresh fish yaki imo - who doesn't like butter with sweet potato tuna tataki - pretty normal tuna, nothing special. chicories - delightful and crunchy lotus root. sayoko's karaage - not the best but was satisfying. a bit too much batter and overcooked. shishitos - yum. yuzu with some peppers prime ribeye for two - the koji and tosazu sauce was amazing with the prime rib. prime rib done extremely well

Steak
Nicole S.

Meh, nothing too special. Would I come back? Probably not, but the ambience is nice and the whole speakeasy thing is cool....maybe for drinks. My friend and I split the udon and the steak; the udon was vegetarian and kinda reminded me of pizza without tasting like pizza. I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. The steak was also just ok, which was disappointing. I've had $100 steak before, and this one just wasn't worth the price tag. I don't mind blowing money on food, but I didn't love anything I ate that night. I will say though, the service was good and they were really polite when my friend and I were running late. We appreciated that they called us asking how late we'd be rather than cancelling + charging the cancellation fee.

Chris B.

Came here for dinner on a Sunday night and enjoyed the quiet, cool atmosphere it had, very laid back. The food itself was very good and definitely worth checking out.

a variety of food items on a table

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1 year ago

Excellent food, excellent sake, very friendly service, wonderful atmosphere! Really just about perfect!

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2 years ago

The wagu beef special looked like puppy chow, but in general the food, staff, and ambience are exquisite. Would definitely go back again.

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Ask the Community - Karasu

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The Little Pig - Arancini.

The Little Pig

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Came to Brooklyn for a concert and found this place…read more Fantastic. We got the burrata, which was delicious and very fresh. I had the chicken bacon ranch sandwich, with grilled chicken, which didn't feel heavy at all and was absolutely delicious. The pork belly sandwich that my friend had was good, and he said that it had a spice to it that made it unique. We got a few rounds of the pigtail, and it was light refreshing and very summery. The wait staff was very friendly, and attentive.. and we sat out in the back and it was great. Would recommend if in the area!

Boy, this place should have been fantastic and just couldn't get there. My top-tier chum who…read moreliterally went to the school of hospitality and I stopped by here Tuesday night prior to the Nets game for some light bites and cocktails - I refuse to buy the overpriced crap at Barclays, so this seemed like more than a good compromise. I also had multiple chums from Brooklyn endorsing this spot, so everything seemed to be lining up for an excellent night. Unfortunately, I'm starting to think you just can't go to places like this on a Tuesday, but maybe it was just a bad night. I got here way before my chum due to our work schedules, literally 45 minutes or so. It wasn't 6pm yet and while there were definitely customers in both the bar area and the backyard outdoor section, it was pretty chill. I was able to secure a small table next to the bar right by the open window in the front (probably because the sun was glaring down on it, which wasn't an issue 10 minutes later) and just chilled out for a while, enjoying the excellent warm weather. This was the highlight of the experience, which unfortunately my chum did not get to enjoy. A lot of this was just unfortunate timing, I think. As I was waiting for my chum, people were practically streaming into the bar, probably about 25 or so, which I watched with increasing trepidation. Pretty much all of them wanted a drink, and there was only one bartender. They did not fix that problem until well into my chum's visit, so there was literally just the one guy making a gazillion drinks for about 45 minutes. Just no reason for that at all, especially given that they DID have the resources to divert and had a young woman back there at a certain point. But once I saw how crazy it was getting, I tried to pre-emptively order a second round, which he forgot about and had to ultimately be reminded of. It took literally half an hour to get the second drink. When my chum arrived, she went up to the bar to order her own drink and some of the arancini. She came back 10 minutes later and said she wasn't given the opportunity - THAT is completely insane. If you're so swamped that customers have to wait that long to even order much less get their drinks, you need help. Not clear where the disconnect was, but what started out as a great experience pretty much crash landed. Really disappointing. The crowd did thin out ultimately but the damage had been done. We were able to get the drinks but didn't bother with the additional app because we didn't want to risk missing a big chunk of the Nets game. So by not being even remotely attentive for a significant period of time, they left money on the table. I will say that the bartender himself maintained his professionalism throughout, and just kept making the drinks. Pretty much the opposite of what would have happened on Bar Rescue. This was on management, not the bartender. The drinks WERE good, which also made the service problems a shame. I got the Witch Doctor, which featured bourbon, rosemary, maple and lemon. Really well made, and appropriate for the unseasonably warm evening - it's the kind of bourbon cocktail made for summer. Would absolutely get that again. And the food was very solid. The star of the night was the arancini, which were featured prominently on the apps menu right at the time and promoted as one of their big selling points - deservedly so. These were honestly some of the best rice balls I've had. The cheese in the middle emphasized the flavors and wasn't too dense or overwhelming, the balls were cooked perfectly, and the sauce (the underrated part of rice balls for me) was delicious. Huge recommend. I also got a margarita flatbread to share with my chum, and that was good as well. Everything was going to come up short to the arancini, but it hit the spot. As mentioned, this was a random Tuesday night when maybe they don't have their full crew ready to rock. Maybe it was a fluke crowd surge? I just don't know, but the bottom line was that they weren't prepared for the customers who came in and were already there, and that's a big problem. If you can't deliver the same quality that you do on the weekends and predictably busier times, then you shouldn't be open that early in the week. Hopefully they figure it out because there's a lot to like here.

Honeycomb Hi-Fi Lounge - Stormbringer

Honeycomb Hi-Fi Lounge

(39 reviews)

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It's clear this place takes inspiration from Japanese vinyl listening bars, from their menu of…read morehighballs to their vinyl collection and attention to the audio experience. I've made it a point to visit every vinyl listening bar that I learn of in town, after enjoying the shared experience of someone curating a select vinyl list in intimate spaces in Tokyo. Few have been able to replicate the experience, but Honeycomb Hi Fi Lounge comes close. That the space is narrow with just a few seats along the bar and a few tables mimics the Japanese experience best, where you can almost have it so the whole room is having one conversation together. The music is the focus. The cocktail menu is rather simple, and my Stormbringer drink, with dark rum and ginger beer was not anything to write home about, but $15 is pretty low for cocktails these days so I'll take it. If they introduced new cocktails to the menu with more interesting ingredients I'd be more inclined to return, but the vibes overall are pretty good and the staff really nice.

Was brought here by a dear friend, a neighborhood regular…read more The cocktail was amazing, selection very diverse- many hard-to-find liquors, etc. Bartender was incredibly knowledgable and attentive. My friend and I each order a cocktail, and are catching up. I'm from Brooklyn, however I no longer live here, and this was precious catch-up time with my friend. Then I get interrupted mid-sentence by the old-timer DJ from his low seat in a corner behind the bar. I had bumped the bar with my wrist (bumped my wrist watch as well, not deliberately) and then placed my hand down (granted- more than placed but definitely not slammed), and he decided to warn me that I COULD HAVE made his record skip. It was the Eagles or Santana (far from eclectic, but that's just me). I'm also 99% certain he turned the volume up afterwards, making it even harder to enjoy the company. After that interaction, I struggled to pick it back up with my friend, because I found that distraction very effing rude. When this "4th wall" gets broken down with service, it is hard to then enjoy the space in an uninhibited state. I am all for the Tokyo Vinyl Bar vibe, and I'm also for also giving talent an outlet to share their collection, but this interaction colored my experience, and I closed out after one drink and went elsewhere. I mentioned this to the bartender, and he was kind to offer a buy-back of a rare whiskey, which I did accept. 5 stars for the bartender, but 1 for my experience. I don't like to be harsh or unnecessarily cruel, but this is what it is. I have visited in the past and enjoyed myself. Nonetheless, I certainly won't be coming back.

Sunken Harbor Club - Shallows drinks

Sunken Harbor Club

(115 reviews)

$$$

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I've been trying to go to Sunken Harbor for over a year now. I don't know how it's possible but…read moredespite being local it always seems to have a private event whenever we have plans to go. The stars finally aligned this winter and I had the opportunity to try it out. The vibes are perfect. Fog and bubbles, sea noises and all of the art go together seemlessly. Drinks were great. We had three and left suitably sloshed for the night with no aftereffects. We didn't have too many bites but the food was very good for a bar. I'm excited to go back and I hope we have just as much luck getting in next time.

This is a "speakeasy" above Gage and Tollner. An undersea Tiki style adventure with a sexy mermaid…read moreheading up the bar. Nautical theme throughout with weathered leather, ropes, fish. Cocktails are made with various types of rum and ingredients like grapefruit, maraschino, wormwood amaro, falernum, thyme, Assam tea, spiced lime, allspice, coconut, cucumber, nutmeg, sour orange. All the drinks keep with the tropical, fruity taste with a hint of spice. They are also broken up into categories (dry land = no alcohol, shallows = average amount of alcohol, and abyss (larger amounts of alcohol). The abyss section has some cocktails that are limited to two per customer. They have some bar bites like fried green tomatoes, shrimp toast, broiled oysters, ricotta, dumplings, sliders. I had the French fries with kimchi ranch, which were underwhelming. Bartenders were cool and kept the drinks coming. I got in immediately without an issue or a wait, but it was right after a snowstorm. I've seen some people struggle to get in or have a long wait.

Barely Disfigured - Charcuterie

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(182 reviews)

$$

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This bar has a very fun fun concept- a bar turned from a former brothel. The motif on the door is a…read moreplay on the 'this is not a pipe' work, which really added to the vibe I was expecting. Unfortunately this place fell very flat. Leading with what we liked: Their mocktail offerings were good, promising a 0.0% ABV which is hard to come across when mocktails are offered. They serve oysters, which adds to that aphrodisiac experience of the oh so 'wow this is a former brothel!'. The bartenders and servers were fast and very sociable with the more sociable customers. The immediate entrance is very tight, and it was uncomfortable navigating the space. We expected there'd be more seating in the back, which there was, but it was limited and not offered to us until we asked for it. We honestly had no clue where it would be and only asked because of how this place was advertised. While it was comfy once we made our way back there, it was reminiscent of a lounge style bar space that almost any bar could replicate with the right room and budget. We didn't feel as though this hit the spot and were let down by this experience. I'm not sure if I can judge the menu of drinks/ foods as expensive, but we left hungry bc we couldn't justify some of the prices. In addition, I've seen a lot of complaints about the volume of the music: it's definitely loud at the front but a lot lower in that back lounge space. It's as loud as any bar's music level would be, but truth be told we were expecting music that matched the vibe of what was advertised and yes, at a lower volume.

i love this bar!! it's not great for big groups, but perfect for a date night or group of 2-3…read moreit's a pretty small space favorite drink is the hokusai, i absolutely love it

Karasu - japanese - Updated May 2026

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