NBetween is at 443 West 15th Street in the Meatpacking District, designed as a Japanese vinyl listening bar with a cocktail program that takes Japanese botanical ingredients seriously. Sakura, sencha, sudachi, and sansho show up across the menu alongside more conventional base spirits, used in ways that are specific rather than decorative. The food side runs karaage and skewers, keeping the kitchen coherent with the overall aesthetic.

The listening bar concept comes from Japan, where certain bars are designed around a serious sound system and a curatorial relationship with recorded music. NBetween brings that model to a neighborhood better known for its history of nightclub excess, which makes it a different kind of option for the area.

The Meatpacking District has changed enough times over the past thirty years that a Japanese speakeasy with a vinyl collection in 2024 is as plausible a business as any of what came before it. NBetween makes the concept work through specificity rather than novelty.