The team behind arcade bar NQ64 is launching NQJPN, a new late-night bar, club and Japanese arcade concept on Berwick Street in Soho on Friday 23 October.
NQJPN will occupy the former NQ64 site at 53–54 Berwick Street following NQ64’s move to a larger Soho location at Orange Yard.
The new venue has been developed as a separate concept from NQ64, combining two contrasting spaces within one site.
The main NQJPN bar will feature black, red and chrome interiors alongside street-art influences and a late-night electronic music programme.
Its drinks menu will include 12 signature cocktails using ingredients and flavours including dragon fruit, matcha and cherry blossom.
Drinks will include a Melon and Cucumber Daiquiri, Frozen Dragon Fruit Piña Colada and Chilli Pepper Margarita alongside alcoholic bubble teas, Japanese highballs, whisky and alcohol-free options.
The venue will operate until 3am seven days a week, with DJs taking over the bar on Friday and Saturday evenings.
A separate arcade will sit beyond the main bar and feature specialist machines imported directly from Japan.
Games will span rhythm, action, driving and candy-cabinet formats, with titles including maimai, jubeat, Wacca and Dancerush.
The arcade takes design references from late-1990s and early-2000s Japanese gaming, manga and anime.
Located within the arcade will be NQ Mart, a drinks and food counter influenced by Asian convenience stores.
Guests will be able to create more than 2,000 drink combinations by selecting a spirit, soft drink and flavoured syrup or foam.
The offer will also include alcoholic bubble teas and more than 20 soft drinks sourced from Japan, the US, Thailand and other markets.
NQ Mart will also feature a self-service ramen station.
Matt Robson and Andy Haygarth, co-founders of NQJPN, said: “While NQJPN comes from the same team as NQ64, we wanted to create something that feels completely different.
“The starting point was the games. We’ve brought over an incredible collection of arcade machines from Japan that you just don’t normally get to play here and built a whole new world around them.
“From there we’ve taken influences from Japanese drinks and gaming culture and mixed them with everything we love about late-night bars, electronic music, street art and arcade culture. The result isn’t supposed to recreate somewhere that already exists – it’s our own version of what a futuristic arcade bar can be.
“There are loads of details to discover, from cocktails made with Japanese ingredients, Purikura inspired photo booths to NQ Mart and an arcade that feels and sounds completely different from the room you’ve just left. We can’t wait for people to see it.”
More from NQ64 can be found on the group’s Instagram page
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