Photography: Ben Hon
Photography: Ben Hon
Photography: Ben Hon
Photography: Ben Hon
Photography: Ben Hon
Photography: Ben Hon
Photography: Ben Hon
Photography: Ben Hon
Hear & There has all the ingredients of a Japanese omakase, down to the horseshoe-shaped dinner counter and menus that feature nigiri and otsumami. But the vibe stays true to its Williamsburg location. The new spot, opened by husband-and-wife team Howard Ng and Samantha Nie, makes mood lighting a central character of the design and music a key element of the vibe.
The owners called upon Danny Taylor of Brooklyn practice House/Under/Magic to stage each element like an event space. The eating counter is framed by recessed lighting from above and below, its surface made from a clever inlay of wood and Italian Lapitec stone. Antique mirrors complement the dark walnut wood furnishings and herringbone-patterned floor.
The same materials lead from the omakase tasting room into a cocktail lounge styled with a showcase bar, itself framed with tiered tube lighting in hexagonal layers. The room is styled like a modern kissa bar, with plush banquette seating and acoustic panels that enable guests to talk through the beats, even in the bathroom. Yet Ng and Nie refrain from calling it a listening bar, as vinyl isn’t the source.
Their first restaurant, Hear & There opened on 3 March as an audio-focused lounge and omakase with craft cocktails served by bartenders suited up like their Tokyo counterparts. The signature drink is the Rice & Nori, a take on an Old Fashioned with seaweed-infused Japanese whisky, brown rice syrup, house-made orange bitters, with an optional bite of fried nori and caviar on the side. The menu focuses on small premium Japanese bites featuring crab, tuna crudo and stuffed karaage. The house-made ‘black shari’ rice is a mix of white and brown grains blended with black vinegar.
