Greenpoint’s U Omakase (173 Greenpoint Ave.) recently received its liquor license and has teamed up with local sake purveyor Bin Bin (29 Norman Ave.) to create a sake program complete with pairings for the restaurant’s tasting menu.
Since U Omakase opened in 2022, it has not been able to serve alcohol and had a BYOB policy. U Omakase’s Chef Luis Durand told Greenpointers that because he has always recommended Bin Bin’s sakes to guests, in essence, the local spot has been curating sakes for the restaurant since its inception.
Pairings for U Omakase’s tasting menu will consist of six different sakes handpicked by Sophia Sioris and George Padilla of Bin Bin. They will also curate U Omakase’s beverage menu with sake by the glass and bottle.
“George, Sophie and I have been friends since I opened,” Chef Durand told Greenpointers. “They will be fully curating our sake program. The menu will consist of sakes from Japan and local Brooklyn breweries that will change with the menu.”
One local brewery, Kato Sake Works (379 Troutman St.), made the inaugural menu. Bin Bin selected Kato’s yuzu sake, which is infused with Japanese yuzu lemon, to pair with U Omakase’s dessert course.
Sioris told Greenpointers that each pairing will be from a different brewery and the goal is to showcase a wide range of sake. “Pairings are a great way to introduce people to new producers and styles that they otherwise wouldn’t have encountered,” Sioris said.
“We also hope that in pairing sake with the food at U Omakase, which is inherently Japanese, but with a lot of influence from Paraguay and France, guests’ understanding of which food can be enjoyed with sake will expand.”
Sioris noted that U Omakase’s menu includes a wide variety of flavors in one dinner. “Sake, being as versatile as it is, is the perfect beverage to accompany it,” she said.
U Omakase and Bin Bin will take the partnership a step further. The teams will select a bottle to be featured as a sake of the month that will be sold at Bin Bin, so that if a customer tries it at U Omakase and loves it, they can purchase it nearby.