The Last Call brings yakitori (and Japanese hi-fi) to Williamsburg

By Max Kalnitz

At first glance, yakitori doesn’t seem like anything more than some pieces of grilled chicken stuck on a skewer. But the Japanese bar snack, which translates to “grilled bird,” is actually one of the most challenging foods to perfect.

“There’s a saying in yakitori — it takes three years to put the meat on the stick perfectly,” says Noriko Jimbo, owner of the new Williamsburg yakitori bar The Last Call. “Grilling is a whole life journey to master.”

Jimbo, who moved to New York eight years ago, returned to Japan last October to attend a yakitori school in Tokyo. For three weeks straight, she studied for 14 hours a day to learn the craft.

“I’m a little selfish, so I kind of created this place because I’m missing home,” Jimbo says. “It’s a really good feeling. I wanted a place to go get yakitori as well.”

While fun, there have been challenges. First there was learning how to correctly trim a chicken to yield the various parts used in yakitori — while breast meat is the lowest barrier of entry Stateside, cuts such as heart, liver, and tail are extremely popular in Japan.

Jimbo says she wanted to open The Last Call because Brooklyn doesn’t have many spots offering yakitori. Whereas ramen has become ubiquitous throughout the borough, you normally have to travel to Manhattan in order to eat yakitori.

There’s a science behind cooking all pieces on a yakitori skewer equally. The bottom piece must be the smallest, since the heat at the bottom of the rectangular charcoal grill used in yakitori is weaker than at the top. The skewer must be placed directly in the middle of the grill or else the heat won’t distribute equally.

After passing the course, Jimbo returned to Brooklyn and opened The Last Call at the end of 2022, during Thanksgiving weekend. The bar’s menus largely contain quintessential Japanese bar food and street snacks. You’ll be able to order takoyaki ($11), karaage chicken ($10), crispy wonton nachos ($15), and nori fries ($6) seven days a week. Yakitori ($3.50 – $11) — of which there are 20 variations on rotation, including vegan options — Japanese potato salad ($9), grilled corn ($6), and grilled edamame ($6) are only available Thursday through Sunday on the days that Jimbo works.

(Courtesy The Last Call)

If visiting, try to go on a day when Jimbo is grilling up yakitori, though. She suggests starting with the chicken wing skewer, but encourages patrons to try a cut of meat they normally wouldn’t consider. There’s also a specialty skewer each week, like wagyu beef, which is more expensive but worth the price.

As far as the supporting menu items are concerned, the crispy wonton nachos are by far the standout option. Featuring wonton chips, tuna tartare, tobanjan mayo, sweet soy sauce, nori, and avocado, the dish is one of the most unique fusion dishes you’ll find in Williamsburg. At first it’s hard to figure out which flavor to focus on. You wouldn’t think the cold, moistness of the tuna would pair well with the wonton chips. But with each bite you’ll crave it more and more.
Despite the sauce and toppings, letting the dish sit for some time while enjoying a drink doesn’t compromise the crispness of the chips like regular nachos. It’s perfect for sharing.

Takoyaki is another solid choice. The doughy fried balls melt in your mouth revealing a chewy piece of octopus. The accompanying sauce, mayo, and bonito flakes only add to the dish’s wonderful umami.

The bar offers classic Japanese drinks like chühai (shōchū highballs) and Kirin Ichiban beer. But the specialty here is sake. The bar has a self-service fridge stocked with about 20 different bottles of sake, each with an accompanying tasting card.

Japanese whiskey may be regarded as best-in-class, but Jimbo feels not as many people are familiar enough with different kinds of sake. “I do want to educate people too on [sake] and grow a little sake community, that’s kind of my side passion,” she says.

Food for your ears, too (Courtesy The Last Call)

Every Monday through Wednesday The Last Call hosts a pop-up with Brooklyn Ramen, which serves up spicy miso and vegan ramen options, among others. Once ramen season is over, Jimbo hopes to work with the Brooklyn Ramen team to create a summer menu. Mondays are also industry night, when local bar staff enjoy happy hour all night.

In addition to food and drink, the bar also boasts a high-fidelity sound system. Inspired by the record listening bars of Japan, The Last Call bartenders spin vinyl records and hosts DJs who do their own thing on Fridays and Saturdays.

“I wanted to bring the Japanese listening bar and hi-fi bar in a more funky way. So, I mixed the grunginess of a yakitori bar with a little bit of an elevated hi-fi sound,” she says.

“I’m still learning every day, and it’s actually been a really fun thing to learn.”

The Last Call is located at 588 Grand St.in Williamsburg and is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and 4 p.m. to midnight on Sundays.