damnlines.comdamnlines.comAward-winning Japanese-American cocktail bar; walk-in only, so the line spills onto Hudson Street on busy nights.
Katana Kitten is walk-in only. It takes no reservations, so entry is first-come, first-served at the door. Art of the Cocktail describes it plainly: the bar is 'walk-in only, and the line often curls onto Hudson Street—but it moves quickly.'
The room is small—a subterranean West Village space over two floors—which is why a crowd shows outside fast. The Infatuation says it's 'relatively easy to walk in at non-peak times,' but on weekends 'the bar gets three-people-deep.' Demand tracks the bar's pedigree: No.27 on The World's 50 Best Bars in 2023 and No.12 on North America's 50 Best Bars in 2024, per the 50 Best listing.
The standard play is to arrive early or come on a weeknight. The bar opens 4pm Monday through Friday and 2pm on weekends, per its own site; the sidewalk line is a nighttime-and-weekend problem, not an all-day one. We do not have a camera here—these are reported patterns, not a live count.
No camera here yet — but these lines are on camera right now:
L'industrie Pizzeria · 3 min walkclosedSalt Hank's · 5 min walkclosedBreakfast by Salt's Cure · 5 min walkclosedNo. Guides describe it as walk-in only with no reservations; entry is first-come, first-served. Art of the Cocktail confirms it is 'walk-in only.'
No source publishes a wait time, and we do not have a live camera here. Art of the Cocktail says the line 'often curls onto Hudson Street—but it moves quickly.' The Infatuation says it is easy to walk in off-peak and 'three-people-deep' on weekends.
Weeknights and non-peak hours. The Infatuation calls it 'relatively easy to walk in at non-peak times.' The bar opens 4pm Monday–Friday and 2pm Saturday–Sunday, per its own site, so arriving early beats the evening crowd.
531 Hudson Street, in the West Village. Hours are 4pm–2am Monday–Friday, 2pm–2am Saturday, and 2pm–12am Sunday, per the venue's site.
By reputation, yes: it reached No.27 on The World's 50 Best Bars in 2023 and No.12 on North America's 50 Best Bars in 2024, per the 50 Best listing. Whether the line is worth it is your call.