Shochu Bar Hatchan

Not only is it closed but, true to NYC, the entire building has since been demolished! It’s now a plywood fence and some scaffolding! I miss this place SO much! It catered to a mostly Japanese business crowd, but it was just far East enough, midtown, that it always seemed possible to carve out a single seat or two. Very different vibe than Hagi but not much more expensive. The food, from the connected Japanese restaurant, was just OK, but Hatchan itself was a lovely dark and narrow gallery of Shochu, with good service. I love shochu over sake and I’ve yet to find an equal replacement for this perfect and genuine remote spot!

Wanted to get my review in because I’ve heard that Hatchan will soon close. Always liked stopping in here when in NY for the good izakaya food and great selection of shochu’s.

My son and I stopped in at Shochu Bar Hatchan one evening toward the end of the summer in search of some yakitori and a good drink in an izakaya theme. The layout has the entrance off to one side of its popular restaurant counterpart «East», when we walked inside the cozy seating arrangement coupled with a sleek, yet calm and inviting atmosphere had me thinking that I could definitely find myself spending some time here.
Service was knowledgeable, friendly and attentive but not to in your face, which gave us time to sit back bull shit and enjoy the fine cups of iced soju we had ordered from their extensive bottle list (which is handsomely displayed on a wall behind the bar). The house infused specialty drinks were great and the iced ceramic cups of imported soju quite refreshing.
Yakitori can be ordered by the skewer or in a set, selections ranging from chicken parts to grilled vegetables, pork & seafood were all there. Aside from that the sushi bar and kitchen from East offered a variety of specials that were brought to the bar as quickly as anything else we had ordered. Everything we had from our fried squid appetizers to the chicken liver skewers, small salads and green tea were delightful in presentation as well as flavor. Even after eating a ton of food and having more than a few drinks each we both felt satisfied and content on our walk back to the train without bloated guts or booze woozies.
Shochu Bar Hatchan is a great place to relax and enjoy as a Izakaya should be, Kanpai!
BSE20

(This review is for the bar, not the restaurant or the food)
Shochu Bar Hatchan is great! I found it on Unilocal when my friend and I were searching for a bar late on a Sunday night. It’s small and quiet enough that it deters boisterous, drunken people from hanging around. I read somewhere that the crowd is mostly Japanese, but that wasn’t the case when I went. It was cool that, even though we were first-​timers, no one stared at us or made us feel like we stood out. The bartender was polite and patient, and explained to us which drinks were strong (because the menu didn’t have descriptions). I had a delicious Calpico-​shochu drink that was smooth and not overpowering. My friend had a tumbler of sweet, cold sake, also recommended by the bartender.
Overall, I approve of Shochu Bar Hatchan. It’s not the last place I’d go on a wild night out, but it’s worth a visit if you’re looking to chill.

I’m Asian, and my family owns a Japanese restaurant and I have worked at many Japanese restaurants too, the taste was not good. I came in believing it would taste wonderful and was craving for Japanese food. I ate yakitori that everyone was raving about on Unilocal,it was not even hot or fully cooked. The yakitori assortment had chicken skin which is blubbery as one of the assortments, just in general it was nasty. Also the tempura wasn’t even flavorful, it was bland. Also tako pancakes tasted funny, like sour. To believe the only thing that tasted good was the dragon roll because it was the only thing that was cold. The hot plates were not hot it was like warm. In general I was really disappointed with my dinner especially when I don’t eat out a lot, and to eat here really made my day end bad, I wish I could’ve ate somewhere else. The only reason I gave it a star is because the roll was good and the waitress was nice.

Perfectly fine bar with decent food. The bar is stocked with all sorts of sake and Japanese whiskey, which is very much appreciated. The food is from the same kitchen as the restaurant next door, but we were told that apparently, different people prepare it. Whether this is true or not, it doesn’t matter; we got perfectly fine sushi (American Dream and Spicy Yellowtail), with egg custard (surprisingly sweeter than anticipated) and grilled eggplant. This place seems like the perfect «after hours» place to relax and enjoy a nightcap.

I’ve been wanting to check this place out cause of their unique food items. This bar is actually connected to East Japanese Restaurant, but its like its own entity. I love the space which is just a bar where you can have drinks and order from their overwhelming menu.
We tried a bit of everything, sushi roll which was humongous, some yakitori, some buns, pork ribs and grilled fish. Probably ordered too much for two people, but everything looked so good.
I would definitely come back for the food. This area is prob best for those who want to eat and have drinks. If you just want to eat, maybe go to the restaurant area.

Dear lord. I really, really, really want to love this place but we had some pretty terrible service. We entered through the Shochu bar side because we didnt know the two restaurants were connected. We were seated in the tiny, dark corner — banished away from the main bar. We were never offered a place in the other restaurant. They didn’t ask if we were here for yakitori or skewers or shochu. There was no bar seating, why were we never asked or told that the two restaurants were connected?
The only thing about this place that I like is the extensive shochu list.
We ordered a beer, 5-​pc chicken skewer set, 1 extra chicken skin, fried octo-​legs
10 minutes pass: octo-​legs! yummy! + rec’d beer.
10 minutes pass: 1 chicken skin.
30 more minutes pass: beer done, chicken skin gone. Other guests who arrived later rec’d plates. Where is our order? Asked and the bartender said it’s on the way. Did she put the order in? It’s 5 tiny skewers…
We walked out and cancelled our order. Paid for only the beer, octopus and chicken. Does not take 40 — 50 minutes for 5 skewers no matter how good they are.

My brother and I dropped by here after having noodles, just to try something different. The plum wine is absolutely divine, although I was a little disappointed I didn’t get to try the homemade because they were all out. The bottled was delicious though, and if I hadn’t been limiting myself to one glass I’d have definitely ordered another.
The atmosphere is also great. It’s very relaxed, quiet, with barely audible music playing. I really like that it’s not blaring pop music, and I could definitely see myself sitting down with a book and a glass of wine and being perfectly content to read for a few hours. If it were closer I’d make it a weekly event.
Overall, definitely a relaxing place for a unique drink. I’ll be going again soon.

Great little place for HH drinks and small plates of food. The place is just a bar with one table off to the side. So maybe… 12 – 14 people total fit. Their dinner only menu of small plates of food range in specials of $ 3-​$ 5, so you can feel like your eating a lot for not much!
They have sapporo on draft and you can get mugs that range in four different sizes. One that is just a redic large mug for $ 10 I believe.
The last time I was here my group basically tried it all, we had yakitori, skate fin, oden, tofu, short ribs. All quite tasty and by the time we were ready to leave we didnt leave a plate with food on it.
Good stop in midtown if your looking for a place thats chill and low key for sake/​drink and some food to tie you over.

I had been a regular at East and never knew they had a bar up until recently. The bar is much quieter and relaxed and is great to get away from the kitchen fumes and chaos. I tried my first Shochu here. I tried a potato based one and a plum one of which, I preferred the plum, although, the potato is more traditional. The bartender is extremely helpful and will tell you about their Shochu if you ask but will also give you your privacy. I’ll probably order the food at the bar from here on.

Love this place for happy hour. Came with the gf before our reservations at sakagura on Sat and the place was empty save for another couple. The bartender was very attentive and refilled our bar snacks regularly. It was our first time trying shochu so we just went with two of the ones on the happy hour menu for $ 4 each. Out comes a huge glass of straight liquor on the rocks. The potato shochu tastes just like vodka where as the soduchi, which is citrus based, had a much more mellow flavor.
The food is straight out of east sushi next door and is very reasonably priced, even cheap some might say. You can get 5 chicken skewers for $ 7 and there are a ton of dishes to be had for around $ 5 – 6 if you happen to be an adventurous eater.
The space is long and narrow and the ambience is very moody with low lighting. Perfect place to drink alone if you feel so inclined.
Will definitely try to make my way here on the regular for happy hour.

$ 3-​$ 4 happy hour specials at the bar ’til 7pm. Went on two separate occasions and it was strange: Tuesday night, completely empty past the happy hour. Monday night, bar is packed. I wonder if it had anything to do with the half price skewers on Mondays. Decent fix for those too lazy to head down to St. Marks. DO NOT get the ramen.
Japanese owned/​run (which is always good) and a deep (I mean deep) food menu.
Be happy with the $ 3-​$ 4 specials.

Great little izakaya! Only one little table and bar seating so if you want a more formal dining experience, head to East Japanese restaurant which is connected to it. The izakaya tho was great. It was more intimate, the waitress/​bartender was helpful and service was quick and friendly.
We tried the shochu tasting and they had many options to choose from. Our favorite was the barley one (but that may be because I am a whiskey fan and it was similar to it.)
The food was also quite good! We started with the takoyaki which was the first time I have had it. It was gooey and mushy but in a good way and very flavorful. Perfect accompaniment to the shochu. Next we had the quail eggs wrapped in bacon and the chicken skin skewers. These were quite nice as well and the egg one was like breakfast on a stick. The chicken skin wasn’t really crispy like I was hoping, but it was very tasty. We then had the dried stingray fin and it was my favorite dish of the night. I preferred it without the mayo, since the mayo overpowered the flavor of the fins. It was chewy and pleasantly fishy like candied fish jerky. Yum! Highly recommended. Then we had a special roll with yellowtail and jalapeño and it was quite nice. Finally we ended with the onigiri which was nicely crispy and good for munching to go with the shochu. I would have liked if it was stuffed with some meat or something, but still satisfying.
Overall, this was my first visit to an izakaya type establishment and I was not disappointed! It seemed authentic and I would definitely come back!

If you find yourself in midtown east with a hankering for shochu (a Japanese distilled spirit), this is the place to go. An extensive list — over 30 to choose from — and the only place in town that secondary pot ages several shochu & Awamori. The clay pot aging mellows the spirit and changes the character in surprising ways. You’ll have to order by the glass to try them but it’s well worth it.
The food comes from neighbor East Yakitori next door. Solid izakaya food, but you don’t really come to Shochu Bar Hatchan to eat — though snacking while drinking is the Japanese way. You come to drink shochu guided by the certified shochu advisers behind the bar. Friendly if you engage them i conversation, yet willing to leave you alone if you don’t.
It’s a tiny place so don’t be surprised if you have to wait for a seat or settle for East next door. But if you do get a seat at the counter, they’ve got bottle keep so you can order something, drink most of it, and leave the rest for your next visit. More bars should do that. Great way to get customers coming back.

Came here on a Monday night with friends for «one drink» which ended up being several pitchers. We had just gotten dinner elsewhere so we only ordered some edamame and ei hire (dried stingray fins). Both were tasty, and great for sharing.
Shochu Bar Hatchan is ideal for those nights when you and your friends are craving the izakaya food and atmosphere. You can be rowdy here (they have private booths) while being seated and bingeing on delicious Japanese bar food that is good for sharing.

a very small bar connected/​sharing the same kitchen as East next door — dedicated as a full Shochu Bar but with a massive extensive izakaya style menu that incorporates all the basics (dumplings, yakitori) as well as some unusual and authentic items (rice balls and even okinomiyake).
the okinomiyake is actually quite good considering it’s $ 3.50 i believe.
overall, great place to go with a buddy, have giant Sapporos, good Shochu, and then satisfy late-​night buzz-​induced-​cravings with so many choices. The Japanese definitely have this right more than most cultures :)
I bet a big part of the mostly male clientelle is there for the bartender (Remy?) — can’t say I blame them.
Just wish it was open slightly later than midnight.

Great choice of Japanese shochu. Food is ok. I recommend the Onion salad and their free range chicken. Great for lonely guys who want to be catered by a very nice bartender Remi.
6 stars to the bartender
3 stars to the food
4 stars to the food
= 4 stars total

Cute little spot to get a drink. It’s basically just a bar with some barstools. If you’re looking for a sit-​down experience, it’s connected to East Restaurant, which has much more room (and the restrooms as well)
I tasted the rice shochu but it was a bit too strong for me (vaguely like sake) so I opted for the japanese citrus shochu and added soda (suggested by the bartender). That was definitely easier to drink. My second drink was the apple shochu, which was very appley. Neither drink was very strong. We also had some food, which was okay. Tried the shrimp shumai and the spicy tuna roll, which was very spicy. Neither was that spectacular, but not too pricey either which was nice.
Seemed like a very traditionally Japanese place, with several regulars who came alone (Japanese and non-​Japanese) too. 3.5 stars.

This place is a great combination of really special destination and chill neighborhood hang. Outwardly it’s low key and unostentatious — simple décor, clean lines and soft colors characterize the barroom. It’s not usually crowded before 9pm (and hopefully it will stay that way!), and many of the clientele are «regulars» — some of whom put their names on their bottles and save them for the next visit. The staff is friendly and conversational, and give the place an inviting vibe.
That simplicity and hominess belie the star attraction — a comprehensive menu of Shochu the likes of which you can’t find anywhere else in the city, all reasonably priced. The menus offer cursory descriptions of the varieties — distilled from everything from sweet potato to brown sugar — and the bar tenders are knowledgeable enough to provide recommendations. If you’re non-​Japanese like me, discovering Shochu is a little like entering an alternate universe with flavors that remind you of things you know, like bourbon and sake, but take you to a different place.
The food menu is a great compliment, featuring yakitori skewers, a wide range of a la carte stuff and the standard sushi faire. Standouts are the chicken meatball on a skewer with egg yolk and kurobuta sausage. The sushi and beef aren’t Masa-​level, but the whole menu is ridiculously cheap.
Here’s how you do it — roll into this place after work on a Thursday or Friday, get a nice buzz going, order a couple rounds of food, and just HANG. When the bill comes you’ll be startled by its cheapness.