A New Spot for Sushi Omakase and Music Opens in Williamsburg

1. This spot could be the first of many.

This is the first restaurant venture for Ng and Nie as a group, although they’ve previously been involved as restaurant investors for other projects.

“It’s been a journey, but it’s been exciting altogether. I think we’re a little bit sleep deprived,” Nie says. “There’s definitely a lot of pride and satisfaction.”

They’re hitting the ground running, already thinking ahead to possibly opening additional restaurants with their newly formed group, Third Date Hospitality.

Doing things on an all-or-nothing basis seems to be a common theme for Ng and Nie. The name comes from, you guessed it, their third date, on which they traveled to Aruba on something like a whim.

“It was a very spontaneous decision on both of our ends that worked out in that time of our life,” Ng laughs. In the years since, they’ve gotten married, and have been together for a total of 10 years.

“We love dining out. We love, obviously, being in New York, and we love to travel,” Nie says.

2. The space is split into two distinct concepts.

Hear and There’s space was designed to be two different experiences — the lounge, and the omakase tasting room. Each has unique menus for food and drink, a distinctive feel, and offers something completely different to those who choose to visit.

“The goal is for people to come and experience both areas,” Nie says. “There’s a bit of a closure between the two spaces, so you can’t really see to the other side. They’re built out to have their own identities, but a lot of the design elements are carried through the entire space.”

The restaurant was designed by Danny Taylor of HOUSE/UNDER/MAGIC, the team also behind The Weather Room, Mezcaleria Milagrosa, and other audio-focused spots in the city.

There are antique mirrors, dark walnut wood, herringbone patterned floors, and Italian Lapitec stone all through the space. The sound was important to both of them as well, and the speaker system seamlessly follows diners through both spaces, even into the bathroom.

3. But don’t call it a listening bar.

They’ve got a special focus on music and the audio output, and the name, of course, is Hear and There for a reason, but Ng and Nie say they don’t consider this to be a listening bar akin to Eavesdrop or All Blues .

“We’ve been using ‘audio focus,’” Nie laughs.

“I would not say we’re a true listening bar. We don’t have the vinyl [records] and everything to really be that,” Ng adds.

Even so, they’ve designed the space with the audio in mind, intentionally making sure that the walls are acoustically friendly and that you’ll be able to hear both your neighbor and whatever music they’ll be playing.

They’re still testing the playlists, Nie says, but so far, it’s been cheerful and light to start, turning more R&B and hip-hop focused as the night goes on.

“We don’t want to play anything so heavy that it disrupts your experience,” she says. “I think the ideal thing would be if you want to sit there and listen to the music, you can, and if you want to have a conversation with someone, you can.”

4. One side is the lounge.

In the lounge, which everyone enters through, the vibes are relaxed and luxe, with lavish banquette seating. Cocktails are the focus, with beverage director Larry Gonzalez, previously of Please Don’t Tell (PDT), behind the menu.

The drink they’re calling their signature is the Rice & Nori, a take on an Old Fashioned, with seaweed-infused Japanese whisky, brown rice syrup, and housemade orange bitters, plus an optional fried nori and caviar bump on the side. Other drinks on offer include the High Frequency, made with pisco, shiso leaf, lemon cordial, snap pea syrup, pineapple, and grapes, and the non-alcoholic Big Apple with Seedlip, green apple, lemon, and tarragon.

There’s cocktail lounge food menu serves otsumami and more substantial Japanese-inspired fare. Think dishes like crab toast, aged tuna crudo with watermelon and nori, stuffed karaage, and a bao bun with sausage that’s a take on a Chicago-style hot dog. The kitchen is led by executive chef Mark Garcia, a former co-founder of the group behind Kissaki Omakase Bowery.

“It’s good food, but elevated. We have a full kitchen, so we want to showcase that,” Ng says.

5. And one side is the omakase.

In the omakase room, which can seat 22 guests at the horseshoe shaped counter, there will be a choice between two 13-course menus.

You’ll have the option between a seasonal nigiri omakase ($105 per person) and a luxury otsumami omakase ($165 per person) which includes “luxury” bites like tamago and crab shinjo toast with uni.

These courses will change, Nie says, with the seasons, highlighting what’s freshest at the moment.

All of the bites are made using “black shari” rice, a creation of chef Garcia’s that he came up with after dealing with health issues during the pandemic.

“Sushi rice became something he couldn’t really eat, so he cultivated something a little bit healthier. He used this rice [that’s kind of] in between a white and a brown rice, with a blend of aged red and black vinegars, natural sugars, and Celtic salt,” Nie says.

They’re also dry-aging many of their fishes in house, something that they say gives a more intense flavor profile.

You’ll still be able to order select high-end spirits in the omakase room, but the focus here will be on wine. Led by sommelier Amy Lim, formerly of Atoboy and Frevo, the list focuses on both wine and sake.

“Right now, it’s over 120 bottles of wine and Champagne, with about 30 bottles of sake. We want to focus on the wine program [in the omakase room], and in the future we’ll have a beverage pairing as well,” Ng says.

Hear and There is open from 5 p.m. until midnight Sunday through Wednesday, and until 1:30 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.

Ellie Plass is a freelance writer based in Brooklyn. Follow her on Instagram and X. Follow Resy, too.