This subterranean Japanese restaurant in a hotel on New York’s Lower East Side 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 youth rebellion, from punk culture to rock ‘n roll, and rockabilly sensibility. The resulting design is a collision of Japanese street culture and Lower East Side culture that integrates seamlessly with the neighborhood’s history as a home for live music and performance and contemporary art, playing off of the tension to create a restaurant that, unlike a typical Japanese restaurant, is infused with the spirit of the Bowery. These seemingly disparate touchstones create the restaurant’s look and feel, with elements of leather, brick, wood, lush silks and velvets, Japanese horsehair, and deconstructed kimonos, all with a grittiness that matches its neighborhood.

Guests enter the restaurant through a striking double-height staircase descending from the hotel’s ground floor entrance. Two 8’ tall metal doors, feature an intricate geometric metal relief pattern with inlaid glass, flank a dramatic catwalk providing views to the restaurant below. The doors lead to two curving staircases with cascading glass and metal railings that embrace an intimate, curved bar below. A deconstructed kimono and textile installation fill the lofty space to either side – for this installation, the designers sourced vintage kimonos and replicated the patterns. The descent into the restaurant is a dramatic, theatrical experience, as guests take in the dining room and kimono installation. The leather guardrail on the back of the stairs is made of a patchwork of different patterns, evoking the biker spirit. A contemporary take on a parquet pattern can be seen in the wood-look porcelain tile floor (with a slate-colored porcelain perimeter) and the ceiling is clad in a truss-like metal structure. The tile bar die pops against a rich floral wallcovering.

In the main dining room, the ceiling has a curved coffer in the center with leather-like finish and a custom monumental chandelier inspired by Japanese pottery. Applied mirror on the ceiling reflects the light fixture. The walls are adorned by wood lathe curves, softening the grittiness of the brick behind. Hollywood-style banquettes line the perimeter of the room; their curved backs evoke the turned-up collar of a leather jacket, lined in kimono-like fabric. On the end walls, a custom embroidered wallcovering wraps the columns, its Japanese floral motifs inspired by the Bowery’s early history as a pleasure garden. The columns are also layered with tamboured wood and leather detailing.

Elevated above the main dining room to maximize sightlines, the 22-seat private dining room. The PDR features a tassel wall installation, inspired by Japanese horsehair and punk hairstyles, that morphs to into a draped, tent-like ceiling.