Sake Bar Decibel
“Graffiti from past patrons grazing every nook and cranny of the place gives Sake Bar Decibel flavor and a casual feel.”
“Tucked down in the basement of a building (you need to look carefully for the sign) is Sake Bar Decibel.”
“A designer friend of mine told me about this fab hideaway tucked down a small set of stairs.”
Sake Bar Decibel
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Oh man Decibel. You know you have to come here!
Came here with a friend. First thing you'll notice is it's inconspicuous location. Be sure to be on the look out for it; you can easily walk past it multiple times. Had my friend not brought me here, I likely would have never found it. I'm sure you have a better sense of direction and perception though.
You walk down to this underground sake bar and notice that it's just one room. One room with the smallest bar ever and the employees are looking at you funny. You say party of two and they lead you under a rope and through a small back corridor you didn't even notice. That wasn't the way to the back, it was the way to the larger room.
Now you're in the larger room and you're embraced by a room pregnant with sharpie graffiti. It's on the walls, on the ceiling, and everywhere you can look. You sit down and look at the menu full of sake.
The menu is a treat. It contains more sake than you ever thought existed. How do you choose? Well they list their sake much like folks describe themselves on their tinder profiles. Sharp and full bodied. Creamy, thick, with a distinct after taste. Bitter and full of flavor. It's impressive that they can make each sake so distinct.
The sake gets to the table and they give, what is in my opinion, the most generous pour of liquor I've ever had. This is good considering it cost $11. That's not much by city prices, so this generous pour seems even more magnanimous than you could have expected.
I would encourage anyone visiting Decibel to try several sakes, but can honesty only recommend the Otokoyama. That was my favorite. Chilled, it tasted like a bit of heaven.
Stop reading and go here.
Decibel is definitely one of the more unique sake bars in the city. From its lantern-lit interior to the rioting graffiti sprawling across its walls, this underground bar is a sanctuary from the mainstream scene above. The inside is divided into two sections. The stairs immediately lead you to the first but smaller bar that seats about half-a-dozen. The main bar area is actually hidden behind this one, connected by a short passageway. Here, the space expands and provides plenty of seating. Decors aside, the menu is eclectic and reminiscent of Japanese sake culture. Fittingly, most dishes are quite small and are meant to be enjoyed as a series of shared bites. My favorite was the tea-soaked rice. It had the consistency of porridge and blended really well the flavors from tea and the toppings. Watch out for the wasabi dumpling: they are delicious but swallowing whole and inhaling the hot steam will not end well – keyword is "wasabi". Finally, we also tried a bottle of their seasonal sweat sake. It was really fragrant and had a strong fruity aroma. Overall, a great place to hang out if you are looking for an unique experience around St Marks.
It is easy to miss this place as folks are too drawn to the lights and people traffic around St. Marks. For us, this played to our favor since we were looking for a place that was not obscenely crowded at 11pm on a Saturday night.
Super dope with good divey spot! The entrance is like a time machine that took us to the retro Japan upon entrance. My friends and I went there post midnight after a visit to angles share. Great ambiance, great music! Famous for its sake, sake bar decibel offers pages and pages of sake selection, plus a limited page of food. For sake, please consult the waiters/waitresses. They offer great advices based on your preference for sweetness, smoothness, etc. Food was solid and great for share too! We got green tea cod roe soup rice, tofu, seafood pancake, fried purple sweet potato, and edamame. Everything was delicious! The warm green tea cod roe rice soup is a great comfort to my thirsty mouth and my intoxicated stomach.
Very nice spot. Ambiance is also very intimate (Great for dating too!).
The place is super hidden but once you manage to find it it feels like you're in another country. The interior is so grunge and dark. I really liked the interior of this place though it's small. However we went to this place because of the "vegetarians go nuts for this" sadly I think they only had 3 options for us and the portions were SOOO small. So it's just a little annoying because I'm getting trashed with sake but the food portions are small. Over all though it was a enjoyable experience but just remember if you're vegetarian the protons aren't big and you have a limited option.
My 1000th review! I will be proudly donating this one to the farewell drink for my best friend at work, who will be leaving for work in Japan in the coming week.
We came in really late, around 10pm, after a short drink at another Japanese bar. Apparently this one had present a more authentic Japanese bar culture (by showing handwritings on the wall/ceiling) and a variety of small plate selections. We shared a sweet bottle of sake, as well as okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake), salted edamame, warm tofu bowl, green tea rice with salmon, and the wasabi shumai. Portion was just about right to share and flavor even reminded me my time in Tokyo. I suddenly remembered that I had passed this place many times visiting east village and always would like to give a try. Now dream came true.
If there was one thing to complain, that will be the fact that they only took four credit cards. Otherwise, if you prefer to enjoy some hearty Japanese dishes at late night and happen to be in this neighborhood, Decibel was a good one that you cannot miss!
This bar is pretty deceiving because when you walk in, it seems empty and TINY. Literally there were only 4 bar seats or something. Turns out, the actual space is downstairs, which was pretty cool. Our group of 8 was squeezed into a small table since the room was pretty packed.
The sake here was really good. I'm not sure what we ordered since one of my friends ordered, but I think we got the lightest one. We also ordered a lychee sake. I was surprised since I actually dislike alcohol taste and thought the sake tasted fine. In fact I initially thought the cup with clear liquid in front of me was water since I was busy chatting. After 4 big gulps did I realized that it wasn't water. 😛
Overall, fun place to be if you're looking for sake!
If you walk too fast, you'll probably miss it because much like its inner decor, it looks like a shady horror movie basement. Nothing but a mere sake bottle icon to mark its entrance. But once inside, this sake bar is a unique experience. The concrete walls lined with graffiti, folding stools, and low ceilings will make you feel like a yakuza drug lord sitting down to sake with your entourage. The law can't find you down here, oh no.
Their selection of sake is terrific. I was never a fan of sake, but even a reluctant amateur like me can find something that she likes here. Don't have a large database of sake knowledge? The waiters will gladly recommend something for you based on your taste. Sweet, dry, milky, wheaty–there truly is something for everyone. Perhaps the next best thing this place is useful for? Being a place you can bring your friends to make you seem like a swanky restaurant expert that knows all the hidden underground bars in the city.
Lovely place that is hidden in plain sight. The decor here is very unique and has a modern Japanese spin to it. We had 8 people seated around a small square table, which was perfect because the atmosphere here was extremely lively, so sitting very close was actually a plus.
Started off with some sake shots, which quickly escalated to ordering a huge bottle of sake and rounds of sake bombs. Everyone had a great time and couldn't have been happier!