Yakuni is in the basement of a building on East 53rd Street in Midtown East, eighteen seats below street level with the specific atmosphere that comes from a room that only opens on Friday and Saturday nights. The sake program rotates constantly and runs alongside a selection of Japanese liquors and cocktails built around Japanese flavors. The team behind it also runs Bar Steight, which is in the same neighborhood.

The limited hours are the defining feature. Two nights a week, eighteen seats, a focused menu. That kind of scarcity creates a different energy than a bar that's open seven days, and Yakuni leans into it rather than apologizing for the operating hours.

Reservations go through email. It's the kind of bar that rewards people who plan ahead and punishes spontaneity, which is the trade it has clearly decided to make.