Tao Group Hospitality Opens Sake No Hana in New York City

Tao Group Hospitality announced the opening of Sake No Hana on December 6, located inside the new Moxy Lower East Side in New York City. A buzzy addition to the Lower East Side dining scene, Sake No Hana is a modern Japanese restaurant featuring an extensive menu of Japanese specialties in a supercharged setting on the Bowery.

The culinary vision of Sake No Hana is helmed by Chief Culinary Officer Ralph Scamardella, and the menu was created by Chefs Yoshi Kojima (VP of Culinary Development) and Jason Hall (VP of Culinary Operations), who have translated Japanese flavors steeped in culinary tradition with new world tastes. Sake No Hana is an elevated dining experience that combines the energy of an Izakaya paired with fresh ingredients executed with the highest level of technique. The culinary and sourcing style reflects the team’s meticulous care and respect for Japan and its culture while also freely blending Western ingredients with a playful, modernized approach. Sake No Hana Executive Chef Nick Phongmekin will execute the menu.

From start to finish, dishes throughout the menu utilize ingredients sourced from prime purveyors at peak status, including fish flown in daily from the prestigious Toyosu Market in Tokyo, snow-aged sirloin from Niigata in Western Japan, and dry-aged specialty cuts from Meyer Farm.

Custom culinary equipment was procured to execute Sake No Hana’s unique cooking style, featuring a robata grill for Kushiyaki skewers, a seed press for fresh sesame oil made in-house, and cuts of Japanese Wagyu grilled over Binchotan Charcoal. 

Offering guests a heightened sensory experience of both flavors and presentation, the menu is broken into six sections, including Zensai, Sushi, Robata, Noodles & Rice, Entrées, and Imperial Cuts. See highlights by menu section below: 

• Zensai

• Otsumami (Snacks): Tsukiji Market Sweet Potato Chips, Smashed “Mitsukoshi” Cucumber Salad 

• Chi Sai (Small plates): Black Truffle Steak Tartare, Amiyaki Mushroom Salad 

• Ookii (Large plates): Kogen Wedge, Crispy Tokyo Gyoza, Pork Tonkatsu “Narikura,” Three Egg Chawanmushi 

• Sushi

  • Rolls, Temaki, Sushi, Sashimi, and specialties, including Kelp-Wrapped Tai Snapper and Bluefin Tuna Toro Tataki

• Robata

  • Offal with Veal Sweetbreads and Wagyu Heart, Pork Cheek and Shoulder, Vegetables with Asparagus and Shiitake Mushroom

• Noodles & Rice

  • Wafu Carbonara, Short Rib Yakimeshi, Inaniwa Udon

• Entrees

  • Bamboo Branzino, Ginza Chicken, Maine Lobster

• Imperial Cuts

  • Niigata Snow-Aged Sirloin, A5 Miyazaki Tenderloin, Imperial Wagyu Ribeye

“We took a lot of care with conceiving the Sake No Hana menu,” says Executive Chef Jason Hall, “We traveled to Japan to immerse ourselves in the culture and used the knowledge we gained there to perfect every item on the menu and feel it’s a proper homage to Japanese cuisine.” The development of the Sake No Hana menu was a sentimental experience for Japanese native Executive Chef Yoshi Kojima, who worked in partnership with Chef Hall. “Creating a Japanese restaurant has been a lifelong dream,” says Chef Kojima. “I cannot wait for everyone to experience all our hard work and truly indulge.” 

The beverage program at Sake No Hana is led by a powerhouse all-female beverage team Erin Davey, Corporate Beverage Manager, Megan Ardizoni, Vice President of Beverage, and Nikki McCutcheon, Senior Beverage Director who sourced inspiration from Japanese fashion to curate the thematic menu. The cocktails are whimsical, elegant, and playful, separated into three unique collections representing traditional Japanese fashion, streetwear, and high fashion. Standout cocktails include:

• Liquid Swords, a savory, old-fashioned-esque cocktail that features a Mizunara oak-aged rum that has been filtered with Japanese coral for added purity

• Harajuku Icon, which marries Japanese spirits with classic Southeast Asian flavors and is served in a gold ceramic Buddha

• Full Happiness, is a cocktail infused with Szechuan peppercorns to create a tingling heat on the tongue, a sensation that transforms the other flavors for a lush, unforgettable libation

The interior design for Sake No Hana was the work of Rockwell Group, led by Tao Group Hospitality's Vice President of Design and Development Susan Nugraha. Theatrical and moody, Rockwell Group’s design for Sake No Hana blends cues from the neighborhood’s 1980s punk scene — shadows, motorcycles, street style — with yankii, a Japanese street subculture of the same era that celebrated an obsession with American rock music, rebellious hairstyles, and clothing.

Guests enter Sake No Hana via two dramatically curved metal, glass, and leather staircases that descend from the catwalk at the hotel’s entrance. Flanked by large kimono-inspired tapestries permeating the double-height space, the staircases form the perimeter of the bar area below, with its curving banquettes and floral wall coverings.

The main dining room has a mirrored ceiling surrounded by leather and wood panels and hung with bespoke lighting fixtures inspired by Japanese pottery. Hollywood-style banquettes line the perimeter of the room; a detail on their backs evokes the turned-up collar of a leather jacket lined in kimono-like fabric. Latticed wood and embroidered fabric panels with cherry blossoms and fantastical birds cover the walls, and lantern-like fixtures hang from columns — the restaurant’s yankii-inspired take on the hotel’s “pleasure garden” theme. The design creates an alluring atmosphere that matches the buzzy vibe of diners sharing teppanyaki platters and sushi rolls and sipping on sake cocktails. 

Sake No Hana is located at 145 Bowery, New York, and is open Tuesday - Thursday 5:00 PM - 12:00 AM and on Friday/Saturday 5:00 PM - 1:00 AM.