Tonight, the West Village adds a new subterranean hangout to its roster: Love Thy Neighbor. The curvy, tan all-day dining and cocktail spot is opening at 55 Christopher Street, in the longtime home of the 55 Bar, and is banking on a mix of snug booths, experimental drinks, and Japanese-inflected small plates. The whole premise leans into neighborhood vibes, complete with a Marsha P. Johnson quote by the entrance and a bar team drawn from Tokyo cocktail houses.
The Team And The Concept
According to Time Out, Love Thy Neighbor is led by bartenders Shigefumi Kabashima and Atsushi Suzuki, with chef Elias Popa overseeing the transformation of the basement space and Takanori Akiyama in charge of the kitchen. The duo built a cocktail program rooted in Japanese bartending techniques, while the room follows a playful "no straight lines" directive so it feels intimate, curved, and a little surreal. Time Out notes that the goal is to keep the drinks program ambitious yet genuinely neighborhood friendly.
From Tokyo's Bellwood
Suzuki draws heavily on his Tokyo background for the beverage lineup. His bar The Bellwood landed on The World's 50 Best Bars list in 2025, and its kaiseki-inspired approach to sequencing cocktails carries over to Love Thy Neighbor. The Bellwood playbook, a technical and course-like style that foregrounds Japanese ingredients and technique, is the throughline connecting the two projects.
What To Order
The menu leans into sweet, savory, and a little bit odd all at once. Early standouts include the Tokyo Banana, which combines banana-infused whisky with milk-brewed coffee and shio koji, and the Wagyu Coke, a wagyu fat-washed bourbon cocktail. On the food side, shareable plates range from karaage with brûléed lemon to a pastrami tartare that nods to Popa's background, as detailed in a May openings roundup from the Observer. Drinks are built around texture and seasoning as much as alcohol content, so expect items that read a bit like snacks disguised as cocktails.
Space, History And Plans
The team has reworked the basement that held the 55 Bar until its 2022 closure, and Popa even salvaged a loose brick from the neighboring Stonewall Inn to work into the build, Time Out reports. Love Thy Neighbor is starting with evening service, with plans to add a daytime café and brunch service, then introduce a sushi program developed in collaboration with Tokyo's Bellwood once the kitchen finds its rhythm. For now, the bar will operate Tuesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. until close.
For West Village locals, the newcomer reads like a downtown experiment that still wants to function as a communal living room, with Tokyo-level technique translated into shareable cocktails and small plates. If the early lineup is any indication, Love Thy Neighbor is set up to be explored slowly, one eccentric drink at a time.
