NYCGuide
The Best Korean Restaurants In NYC
photo credit: Kate Previte
New York City has many fantastic Korean restaurants, and it seems like a new one opens every day (usually from Hand Hospitality). There are, of course, a lot of solid options in Koreatown, and you’ll also find a near infinite number of worthwhile Korean spots in Murray Hill, Queens. You probably don’t have time to read a list the length of Moby-Dick though, so here’s a roundup with a few of our favorites. Some of these places serve homestyle food, others do prix fixes, and a couple of them are grocery stores that are perfect for when you need to fill your pockets with banchan.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Kate Previte
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Of all the places in New York City where you can spend a face-melting amount of money on dinner, Atomix in Nomad is the one that’s most likely to stick with you. Dinner takes place in a sunken lounge with a 14-seat counter around an open kitchen, and it consists of around 12 inventive courses that are Korean at heart, even if they zoom off in different directions. Expect dishes along the lines of langoustine with foie gras custard, and luxe permutations of things like cherry blossom trout, Korean mustard, and rhubarb root. At the end of your meal, you’ll get a nice keepsake: a set of flashcards with an in-depth description of every dish that you ate.
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
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Unlike many other fine dining spots, Meju doesn’t seem to care about foie gras and caviar. The focus at this eight-seat spot is on probiotics. Around a U-shaped counter hidden behind a shop in Long Island City, you’ll eat a roughly seven-course meal that makes heavy use of traditional Korean fermentation techniques. Expect things like short rib with ssamjang, amberjack with gochujang, and fried seaperch accompanied by a dab of 128-year-old soy sauce. For an intimate night out with a chef who'll talk your ear off about healthy bacteria, Meju is well worth the $215 price tag.
A cross between a steakhouse and a Korean barbecue joint, Cote remains impossible to get into (emailing is your best bet), and there’s a reason for that. The quality of the beef is fantastic, and the $74 prix fixe, while not cheap, is a great deal for what you get. Called the “Butcher’s Feast,” the set meal comes with banchan, egg soufflé, two different stews, four cuts of steak, soft serve, and more. In the context of a dark, clubby room with neon accents, it makes for a fun night out. Especially with a piña colada or magnum of champagne on your table. Their fried chicken spot Coqodaq has a similar vibe.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Atoboy, from the Atomix team, is fine dining for people who don’t like fine dining. This Flatiron spot serves a four-course $75 prix fixe in a casual space with scuffed concrete floors, and their food is just as impressive as anything you’ll find at a spot with an overbearing maître d’. The menu changes frequently, but the Korean-inspired dishes are always one of a kind. You might eat some octopus served over a warm sweet potato puree, or you might have snap peas with kimchi and foie gras. Whatever you get, be sure to add on the optional fried chicken course.
photo credit: Kate Previte
If you hadn’t noticed by now, the team behind Atoboy cranks out new Korean restaurants like Disney pumps out Marvel flicks. Unlike Quantumania though, Ariari is totally worth your time. The food at this ’70s basement-looking spot in the East Village is inspired by Busan (a South Korean port city), so prioritize things from the sea like the DIY scallops handrolls and poached octopus with white kimchi. But you really can’t go wrong. A meal here is like that one birthday when you got every present you wanted. Just when you think the next dish can't get any better than the last, you’re proven wrong.
photo credit: Hahm Ji Bach
Located in Murray Hill, Queens, Hahm Ji Bach has been serving some of the best KBBQ in NYC for over 20 years, although nowadays they have some help from a robot who brings banchan to your table. The diverse (and bottomless) assortment of banchan is one of the main reasons to come here, but you’ll need some barbecue to accompany it. Try the beef sampler, which comes with thick, luxurious galbi in addition to a few leaner cuts. It costs about $110, and it’s big enough to split between three people. Hahm Ji Bach is open 24 hours, so bring a few friends the next time you get hungry at 3am.
photo credit: Kate Previte
At Kisa on the Lower East Side, $32 will get you an entree, soup, rice, and a wreath of banchan including kimchi, mung bean jelly, and soy-marinated shrimp. It’s a great deal, especially for the area, where that much money usually only gets you a small plate or a few shrimp with cocktail sauce. The walk-in-only restaurant is compact, bustling, and decked out like a retro Korean diner, and the waits can be multiple hours. Put your name in around 5:30pm, grab a drink somewhere, then come back and eat some bulgogi or stir-fried spicy pork.
photo credit: Bryan Kim
Geo Si Gi is a gamjatang specialist where you sit at a plain wooden table and eat from a bubbling vat with bones sticking out like icebergs in a kimchi-colored sea. The casual spot in Murray Hill, Queens serves a few different kinds of their signature pork bone soup, all of which come in huge shareable portions that start at less than $20 per person. Stuffed with rice cakes and kimchi, and accompanied by banchan, the soup is plenty of food on its own, but you can also get a combo with bulgogi, LA galbi, or seafood pancake.
photo credit: Phil Yoon
Nowadays, there are a lot of places (like Atoboy and Ariari) doing innovative things with Korean food. Cho Dang Gol is not one of them. This is a homestyle spot in Koreatown, and it’s where you should go when you need an excellent, unpretentious meal. The sweet, heavily marinated bulgogi is always a good option, but this restaurant makes its own tofu, so that’s where you should start. Their soondubu jjigae isn’t just one of the best versions in NYC—it’s one of the city’s best dishes, period. Scalding hot with a spicy, ultra-concentrated broth, it’s a mandatory order. Despite the fact that the space offers very little in terms of ambience—aside from a few tchotchkes and string lights—there’s usually a wait. Take that as a good sign.
photo credit: Alex Staniloff
A meal at this small, homey KBBQ spot begins like many others in Murray Hill, Queens: with a vast selection of banchan (including some exceptional kimchi). Unlike nearby competitors, however, Mapo uses charcoal. After you place your order, a server will place a bucket of glowing coals under the grill in the middle of your table. Order galbi and marinated pork ribs, then enjoy your sweet, charred meat alongside some kimchi jjigae or an icy bowl of naengmyeon.
This small, cafeteria-like Korean restaurant in Murray Hill, Queens only serves one thing: beef bone soup (spicy or non-spicy) with cellophane noodles and a few accompanying banchan. According to the signage, the soup is simmered for four hours, but it tastes like it’s been cooking all day. Your steaming hot bowl of noodles and broth will arrive around 30 seconds after you place your order, and in the center, you'll find an enormous bone lined with meat that falls off as soon as you touch it. The meal also includes rice and sheets of gim. All of this will cost you roughly $20.
photo credit: Noah Devereaux
Her Name is Han serves the type of Korean comfort food that you want to eat in your needs-to-be-laundered loungewear while a bomb cyclone is happening outside. We like that the rice cakes aren’t drowning in sauce, and the shrimp pancake is uniformly crisp, but the dish that’ll really raise your body temperature a few degrees is the fire engine-red seafood stew with plump pork dumplings. This restaurant is ideal for drinking and ordering as you go in the space that looks part-tavern (wood beams, deer antlers) and part-movie set (huge spotlights).
photo credit: Bryan Kim
A modestly sized restaurant in Murray, Hill Queens with big, flat grills on every table, Kum Sung is the rare KBBQ spot that specializes in duck. The most popular item here, it arrives sliced into thin strips, which crisp and caramelize alongside kimchi and whole cloves of garlic. If you need some variety, they also offer bulgogi, galbi, pork belly, and a vast number of non-BBQ options, like kalguksu and pan-fried squid. The naengmyeon here is particularly good. Try the one with sliced beef and spicy sauce.
photo credit: Gopchang Story
There are roughly two million places in K-Town where you can get yourself some galbi, and Gopchang Story is technically one of them. But you don’t come here for short ribs. You come to eat little tubes of grilled intestine lined with fat that melts in your mouth. A combo platter at this KBBQ spot, which specializes in the intestinal cuts known as gopchang, is one of the most satisfying meals in town, and it’s also the perfect drinking food. Bring a few friends, and order some soju The dining room is up a flight of stairs on 5th Avenue, and it’s about as casual as your typical gastropub. There will probably be a short line to get in, but it’s worth it.
photo credit: Bryan Kim
The next time you’re looking for homestyle Korean food downtown, head to Tofu Tofu. The Chinatown spot isn’t anything fancy, but they serve some tofu soup—with an abundance of varieties and heat levels to choose from—in addition to things like ramen, bibimbap, and spicy fried chicken that tastes like it was dipped in pure honey. It isn’t tough to get a table, and there’s plenty of room for groups in the avocado-green room with hanging edison bulbs and a K-pop soundtrack.
photo credit: Bryan Kim
Little Banchan Shop is to banchan lovers what Graceland is to Elvis fans. It’s a magical place in Long Island City, lined with fridges stocked with pouches of various Korean sides. From dried squid and baby anchovies to spicy fish cakes and world-class potato salad, the selection is overwhelming. Grab a few items, then come back a week later and grab a few more. In addition to banchan, this place sells prepared meals and Korean pantry items, and they also serve a few made-to-order items like bulgogi and fried chicken. If you want to sit down and eat, grab a seat at the tiny counter by the entrance.
photo credit: Kimchi Kooks
Another banchan specialist, Kimchi Kooks is a family-run store in Bay Ridge where you'll find some potted plants, an antique television, and several fridges stuffed with a variety of Korean snacks and side dishes. Swing by to pick up some lotus root jorim, marinated eggs, or fish cakes. There is, of course, kimchi available in several varieties like classic cabbage and tangy kale. We’re partial to the white kimchi, which is light, crisp, and juicy, with just a hint of anchovy. This place also serves a few takeout dishes, prepared in the DIY-looking kitchen right behind the counter. Stop by on the weekend for specials like bibimbap and soondubu jjigae.
