Japanese Greenpoint
If you were seeking Japanese establishments in the early aughts, the East Village was the place to go. In the last few years, Greenpoint has started to earn the title of “Little Tokyo.”
With the arrival of these shops in the North Williamsburg and Greenpoint, we were inspired to compile a guide to this enclave of Japanese shops and restaurants.
"There are also many people in the neighborhood who are highly attuned to craftsmanship, food, art, and architecture, creating a community that appreciates Japanese attentiveness, subtlety, and aesthetic sensibilities. From the perspective of Japanese brands, it often feels less like 'expanding overseas' and more like becoming part of a community, which is why many are drawn to this neighborhood."
- Yuriko Kawazu, Store Manager of Cibone O'te
Acre (64 Meserole Ave)
A cafe and shop featuring a curated collection of Japanese soft goods, incense, cleaning tools, ceramics, handmade cards, and much more. Their kitchen serves a variety of dishes and bento boxes based on the Japanese approach to nourishment, fermentation, and enzymology.
Ashbox (1154 Manhattan Ave)
A small cafe at the northern-most point of Brooklyn, a mere five minutes from Greenpoint Landing Esplanade, and a 20 minute walk from MoMA PS1. The owner, Yoko Kubo, serves honest fare such as onigiri, salads, sandwiches, and specials that change daily. The cafe is open daily from 10am until sold out.
Bin Bin Sake (29 Norman Ave)
A sake and wine store from George Padilla of Rule of Thirds and Sunday in Brooklyn acclaim. It’s definitely worth popping in to learn more about sake, or to look at all of the beautiful bottles that they stock. Bin Bin holds ticketed tastings the first Thursday of every month for those who are curious.
Cibone O'te (50 Norman Ave)
Cibone O’te sells a curated collection of houseware from antique and contemporary ceramics, to kitchen appliances, to stationery. The open concept store at 50 Norman makes for an excellent place to browse, admire, and on a good day, to purchase.
Dashi Okume (50 Norman Ave)
Dashi Okume is the Brooklyn based counterpart to Okume Shōten, a Dashi retailer in Tokyo since 1871. Guests can enjoy a fish teishoku, a Japanese set meal, and customize their own dashi to take home by combining different types of dried fish, seaweed, mushrooms, and vegetables.
Kettl Matcha Sen Mon Ten (38 Norman Ave)
A shop dedicated to matcha. Kettl Sen Mon Ten offers a their range beautiful teas and matcha powders milled on-site, highlighting the specific producers they partner with and the unique ways they serve their teas.
Takusando (29 Greenpoint Ave)
A shop dedicated to Japan’s unique sandwiches, or “sando,” with a modern twist. Egg-salad, Japanese potato croquettes, pork, chicken, or fish katsu are all available on their shoku-pan made daily in-house. And a natural wine and sake selection are available by the glass or bottle.
Acre
64 Meserole Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
ACRE is a breezy, meticulously tended cafe and shop that is a must-visit destination in Brooklyn. Nami Torimaru and Ayaka Suzuki's kindness and commitment to their store is apparent from the moment you walk in.
Their dishes all feature inherent components of the everyday Japanese diet, balanced, and designed to be approachable for everyone. But what becomes immediately clear from tasting the food and drinks at ACRE is that these representations of the everyday are anything but ordinary.
Nami says, "Behind our dedication to making everything by hand is the desire to serve delicious food. It’s a kind of love, I suppose. We all work together every day to create that. Our concept is to deliver food that’s entirely handmade and filled with care."
Everything they serve is made in-house which reflects what Nami and Ayaka most want their customers to taste: the feeling, consideration, and love that goes into all of their menu items.
Co-owners Nami Torimaru and Ayaka Suzuki
The philosophy behind ACRE is simple: to share with our Brooklyn community restorative Japanese cooking that is gentle on the body and gives you a sense of calm when you eat it.
- Nami Torimaru, Co-founder and CEO of ACRE
Cibone O'te
50 Norman Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
50 Norman, the complex that houses the Japanese outposts of Cibone O’te, Dashi Okume, House, Kama-asa, and Balmuda expands across a half block of Greenpoint.
Greenpoint has a unique charm in that, rather than being a commercial district dominated by large capital and major corporations, it is a place where small but highly distinctive shops can naturally coexist," says Yuriko Kawazu, Cibone O'te's Store Manager.
Cibone O'te captures the Japanese ethos of simplicity, mindfulness, and the Japanese spirit of mottainai through their carefully sourced products, from established Tokyo businesses like Todaya Shōten, to artisans like Etsui Noguchi.
"We often say we like to gesture at tea ceremony."
Kettl Tea
38 NORMAN Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
At Kettl, a similar intentionality as ACRE and Cibone O'te drives the business. Owners Zach and Minami Mangan built relationships with Japan’s top tea producers, and began importing and selling the loose tea to wholesale buyers.
Kettl's Director of Retail, Jacob Morgan tells us, "We hope to change the perception of Matcha from a commodity product to something with more depth and culture, not just centered on the Matcha Latte that most people in New York might be familiar with—although our front counter offers that too."
Visitors can enjoy a flight of teas, including their house-milled Matcha prepared three different ways paired with seasonal wagashi (Japanese sweet confections) as a nod to traditional tea ceremonies, bridging traditionality and the Greenpoint sensibility.
Seasonal wagashi made by local Wagashi Artist, Phoebe Ogawa.
