Chibi
New York, NY 10012-5761
Phone: (212) 274-0054
- Cross Street:
- Between Prince Street and Spring Street
- Directions:
- 6 at Spring St; B, D F, V at B'way-Lafayette St; R, W at Prince St
- Hours:
- Mon-Thu 5:30-12am, Fri-Sat 5:30-2am, Sun 5:30-11pm
Editorial Review for Chibi – by Angela Voulangas
The Scene
Intriguing Dutch owner Marja Samsom named Chibi (Japanese for "little one") after her beloved French bulldog. She fashioned this jewel box of a sake bar, part of her adjacent Kitchen Club restaurant, out of two cozy, candlelit rooms--the front room dominated by a magnificent sunburst brass chandelier. With warm coral walls and jazz in the background, the sensibility is refined and in-the-know, perfect for sparkling conversation with your own in-crowd.
The Draw
A mix of sake aficionados, locals and lucky stop-ins partake of the extensive sake selection--hot and cold, milky, sparkling, fragrant or dry. Menu choices are beguiling, be it delicate fresh dumplings, ethereal slices of beef and scallion, quail egg with salmon roe or edamame. If there's any question as to what to order, the staff is always at your elbow to suggest and explain. Japanese snack crackers, resembling little lacquered prizes, are always plentiful.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Save MoneyTipple on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and get a free order of mushroom dumplings.
The ExtrasTry Chibi's outpost, Chibitini on Clinton Street, and order the plum sake cocktail.
Look GoodConfused about which sake to try? Order a flight of three cold sakes. It's $15 Mon-Wed, and $20 Thu-Sun.
When to GoLive music plays from 9pm to 10pm every Monday.
User Reviews for Chibi
10/09/2006 Posted by klouie
Had a fantastic experience here on a quiet Sunday night. We came here for a birthday dinner, and despite the differing arrival times, no-shows, and food/no-food desires of a large group, the waitress was extremely friendly, accommodating, and helpful. Since there's only one waitress/bartender, you're dependent on that one person for your service but she was excellent when we were there. It's not a big spot, but we were able to fit our group of 15 comfortably in the back room (would be a much harder fit if there were other diners). The food was OK to excellent - the kitchen's shared with the Kitchen Club next door - and there are a surprising number of sakes for a tiny place.
Pros: Ambience, Service
Cons: Hours
03/28/2006 Posted by marigold77
i went for drinks and a chat with friends. the hostess told us a singer would perform soon, can we sit at the back of the room? we did so, and ordered $100 of food and drinks. soon after the singer began, we realized we couldn't chat, but we had ordered food and the waitress had belatedly put in our order. the singer then asked us to leave, and the owner was defensive when we told her we were offended by the experience. while the sake selection was decent, the cups smelled mildewy, and the dumplings were overpriced. if you want a quiet and clean place to talk, coming here is not recommended.
Pros: quiet
Cons: too quiet, bad performers, unprofessional host
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