NYCReview
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
Bar Moga
There aren’t many places in NYC better than this Greenwich Village Japanese bar to grab drinks and food. Other spots try the $20 cocktail and snacks thing, but most are either too serious, or become trendy and impossible to get into.
At Bar Moga, though, you can drink a $20 cocktail that should be $20, and eat one of the best katsu sandwiches in town next to ornate light fixtures and Japanese art. Or try a flight of high-quality Japanese whiskey and take breaks with bites of omurice with runny egg that’s sliced tableside. And you can pretty much always get a reservation or just walk in.
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
Cocktails rotate seasonally and typically use ingredients like yuzu and Calpico, and spirits like shochu. But drinks are only half the reason to come. The quality of both the food and beverages put Bar Moga ahead of other NYC izakayas—and other spots where you can stand at a high top with your old boss to trash former coworkers. There’s not a single tough strand of pork in the fried chop that they use for the katsu sando, and the breading always stays intact, keeping all that juicy meat in. And though dishes like croquettes, arancini, and crudo might sound familiar, Bar Moga spruces them up with crab in the croquettes and uni in the arancini.
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
The next time you need a relaxed place to hang out with an awkward couple, or maybe sit at a bar to disassociate over a cocktail and some snacks, remember Bar Moga. The location is also handy if you need a spot before or after dinner—you could walk out of here, throw a brick, and hit at least five great restaurants. Which you’ll appreciate after abandoning your early bedtime to score a reservation at nearby Dame or Carbone, some of the toughest spots to book in all of NYC.
We’ll leave you with two thoughts: First, please don’t throw bricks. And, secondly, after visiting Bar Moga even once, you’ll probably just want to abandon your Super Serious Reservation and hang out here for katsu and drinks instead.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
Katsu Sando
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
Omu Rice
Uni Arancini
Kani Cream Croquette
Gyutan Curry
photo credit: Alex Staniloff