Jungsik

My absolute favorite restaurant.
Pros:
— Easily made a reservation the afternoon of for dinner on a Friday night through OpenTable.
— Some of the best amuse bouche I’ve had! The fried chicken was especially yummy.
— I tried the uni quinoa, crispy red snapper, duck with black garlic, and panna cotta. The panna cotta was phenomenal. Not only was it plated gorgeously, I loved the balance of flavor and textures. The uni quinoa and duck stood out as well.
— Open, spacious dining room with lots natural light, perfect for food photos!
— Reasonably priced, as far as fine dining goes.
Cons:
— It’s in Tribeca so it’s slightly more difficult to navigate than the rest of Manhattan.
Takeaway:
I personally loved Jungsik since I’ve found that I prefer milder flavors. I’ve found Jean Georges and EMP’s food to be over-​salted, so I definitely appreciate the Asian inspired dishes here. I didn’t do the tasting menu when I went and opted to order a la carte, but I definitely want to go back and try it!

Very solid. I took my work colleagues here for dinner and really enjoyed the food. I think this is the only 2 michelin star Korean restaurant in the US.
The octopus was just amazing I highly recommend. The Uni quinoa was good but nothing earth shattering for me.
We also had the crispy red snapper which was delicious. The Kalbi in my opinion was good but for me it was seasoned a bit too sweet. The quality of the wagyu short rib is top notch, it just melts in your mouth.
The Frankorn dessert was also delicious.
Overall a great experience. Will definitely go back.

Jungsik really gives a great fine dining experience.
The space is very neat and nice. The service is great and surely very professional-​they recommended great wines.
I think they did a great job on integrating traditional Korean cuisine and western fine-​dining.
—
Second time visiting the restaurant we went with a la carte. The octopus is amazing as always, crispy, soft yet chewy. The wagyu beef noodle soup is incredible-​extremely thin-​cut raw wagyu poured over with hot miso soup and they were slightly cooked immediately– the beef tasted amazing and the whole dish managed to bring out its taste to the best. The lamb oh my oh! Carefully cooked and marinated– the meat texture was so good and it had a slightly sweet/​Korean Bbq taste to it. It was probably the best lamb I’ve had. And the desserts are of course great and different Asian ingredients were presented to them.
Definitely look forward to visiting again!

An amazing culinary experience is the best way to describe it. The food, the atmosphere, the service all plays together to make a fantastic dinner.
My friend took me here for dinner (reservations are very much recommended) and ushered into the lovely dining room. How nice! It’s very light and airy inside and has a wonderful ambiance to it.
To the actual food /​drinks:
Cocktails: While I am always up for drinking a nice glass of wine with food, I highly recommend everyone coming here to try their delicate cocktails. A lot of work and effort goes into their cocktails and I would have happily tried any one of them. I did try the Rose cocktail with blackberry and it was wonderfully presented and tasted delicious. Highly recommend a cocktail here before going onto wine.
My friend and I tried the tasting menu. While my own personal budget may not always allow me to try tasting menus anywhere, I can see why people do it. You’ll be quite delighted with all the food you’ll be presented with, and sometimes it’s such a tease to have something you love to eat come only in a small bite.
I do have to say some standouts:
–Amuse Bouche: Complimentary amuse bouche — it was delicious, delicate and I wanted more. My favorite was the uni in a little seaweed cup. Wonderful!
–Abalone — Very hearty — Abalone always has a very meat-​like texture and this did not disappoint. I really wanted more of it.
–Crispy red snapper — The fish is very well seasoned, but the best was pairing it with the bread. It seemed odd at first that they offered bread in the middle of a course, but make no mistake, the bread with the fish is delicious.
Highly recommend to come here for a special occasion. My friend had recommended to me that this was not a jeans place, and I would like to repeat that same advice to everyone here.

I want to talk about outer space.
It is black. It is outer. It is for all intents and purposes, seriously unknown. But we do know a few things.
In outer space, there are comets and things like galaxies. In those galaxies, there are solar systems and these consist of several components. Most notably, a number of planets which revolve around something called a sun. You should also know, a sun, is the same thing as a star.
Some solar systems even have two stars (like Kepler-​47 … which would be one hella baller restaurant name mind you).
Now here is something you may not know. After traveling to many one and two star solar systems, and even spending a substantial amount of time in a number of … wait for it …
THREE STAR solar systems.
I can conclude that this particular solar system (Jungsik) has maybe one star and even then, it could be dying and turning into a black hole.
Now for some technical details that may be useful for your journey:
Shuttle Cabin Quality (service): Intergalactic
Aliens (crowd/​atmosphere): Terrestrial
Number of planets (price): Astronomical
Food: You know how an average tuna sandwich costs way more in the airport, and if you buy it on the plane it costs like, way way more? Now imagine buying that same tuna sandwich on a freaking SPACE SHIP while traveling to a different galaxy. Then halfway through the journey, you find out that the ship has to turn back because someone forgot to put enough fuel in the tank. BUT you have to pay for the tuna sandwich anyway because they already made it. You don’t finish all of it and instead long to return to earth because you just want the trip to be over.
Has water? Yes
Will you need a space suit? No
Will you need a parachute afterward? Depends (i hope so)
Things up for debate:
Pluto is no longer a planet … or is it?
Michelin does do more than manufacture tires for NASA … or do they?

I grew up nomming Korean food at a bestie’s house and later spent two years eating my way through South Korea. The cuisine is spectacular, and so I’m a pretty big skeptic when it comes to trying anything Korean stateside. JUNGSIK BLEW MY MIND.
It went absolutely beyond my expectations. The food is more Korean-​inspired and French prepared, which made every course a delightful and unique surprise.
My partner doesn’t eat pork or shellfish, and the chef handled it wonderfully, serving him completely different courses than mine as necessary, none of which were spoiled or outshined by the delectable set menu I stuck with.
The most heartwarming part of the experience was when a dessert plate came out with what I thought was a dolharubang (), a traditional grandfather statue made of volcanic rock from an island called Jeju I lived on. It turned out to be a green tea cake, and I gobbled it up, bursting with joy and sentiment.
Our server was charming, and I was happy to share with him some Korean slang I’d picked up while living there.
We left with full stomachs and happy hearts. Great for those looking for something non traditional and delicious.

Jungsik tasting menu with wine pairing was amazing experience for my taste bud and visually very appealing. Some of dishes look like piece of art. Décor was very contemporary with plenty of room and space. Was very impressed with Korean — French fusion presentations and tasting. Haksoo, our sommelier was very pleasant and entertaining. There were 5 of us and we all enjoyed the experience. Only complain I have is their bathroom décor. Guess I was expecting too much. Definitely will go back to try other dishes from their menu.

2 Michelin Stars? 4.5 Unilocal Stars.
I was reading an article about how non-​European or non-​American cuisine is rarely found in the form of fine dining outside of their respective countries. (Which is true.) But then you stumble onto a spot like Jungsik — one of the few 2 Michelin star spots in NYC and the counterpart to its Seoul sister. (lol, see what I did there?)
One clarifying thing: the service is absolutely five stars. The experience is five stars. Fine dining is real and its two Michelin stars are well deserved. Why is it 4.5? While the food is beautiful and good, there was just something missing that didn’t take it over to my 5 star land.
The tasting menu is absolutely amazing but I do note that you don’t have to order it. Ordering dishes a la carte are equally as effective and you get to save a little bit. The tasting menu provides an overwhelming amount of well-​made small bites that. impress and fill. Each dish here is a piece of art and made with pain-​staking attention to detail.
The sea urchin was probably my favorite dish. It had the right amount of creaminess and was well balanced by the scallion, microgreen onions, and rice. It changed the tone of the meal for me. As did the fried oyster in the early part of the sampler.
If you are into unique and comprehensive dining experiences, go to Jungsik. It’s worth the price and time.

Jungsik is Korean inspired fine dining with very unique flavors. The food and service completely lived up to all my expectations. If you are looking for a something different than your typical French fine dining experience, Jungsik is a great option.
I was lucky enough to be taken here for my birthday. My friends and I opted out of the tasting menu and created our own four course menu. Everything was incredibility delicious and flavorful. There was plenty of food and although the portions weren’t huge you still leave satiated and not ripped off.

Came to Jungsik last summer for dinner. Not every day you get to try a 2-​Michelin starred Korean restaurant, but this is more of a Modern American restaurant with a nod to Korean cuisine.
1. The set of amuse-​bouches to start the meal was one of my favorites in recent memory. There were little nods to Korean street food like fish balls, kimchi rice spoons, and Korean fried chicken pops, as well as more unique bites like smoked eel crème «cigars» and wagyu wrapped in gruyère cheese. Since amuse-​bouches are meant to be an introduction to the chef’s style, this was a good sign that a special meal was on the way.
2. Langoustine meat set in a sort of custard topped with osetra caviar was excellent. These sorts of ingredients are perfectly fine on their own, and you wonder if a combination is really necessary… but then you taste it and everything mixes together perfectly. It’s dishes like these that are making me love langoustine more and more.
3. Breaded scallop, uni sauce, uni, yuzu jelly, and assorted vegetables. We didn’t know coming in that this would be a seafood-​forward menu, but at this point we weren’t complaining. The breading on one side of the scallop was a nice touch in place of a normal sear, and the uni. well I just can’t say no when you throw some uni on my plate.
4. Fried oysters with squid ink, with seaweed sauce and pickled vegetables. The squid ink crust was so thick and dark that I couldn’t get a good picture of this dish… they just looked like black blobs. BUT, as for the taste: if you’ve ever had that moment when you taste a dish for the first time, and you and your partner immediately give each other «that look»… this was one of those dishes. Possibly the best oyster dish I’ve ever had and one of my favorite dishes of all time. They could have put this dish on the tasting menu 3 times in a row and I wouldn’t have complained at all.
5. Crispy octopus with assorted veggies. A single leg of octopus — perfect crisp on the outside and tender meat within. No chewiness to be found.
6. Crispy red snapper — the scales are left on and crisped along with the skin. Interesting take on a fairly common dish.
7. Wagyu-​mushroom congee/​broth. Umami overload? The wagyu flavor doesn’t come out too much in the broth, but very good nonetheless.
8. Miyeukgook — this was a little bonus just for my girlfriend since it was her birthday. I snuck a bite in though!
9. Wagyu tenderloin with potatoes and mushrooms — at this point I have to applaud Jungsik for giving us wagyu in three separate dishes along with caviar and langoustine, with zero up-​charge. In NY it’s all too common for these to be options that carry up to a $ 100 price tag.
10. Lemon olive sorbet with kalamata olives. These days we have all sorts of flavors in our desserts, including olive oil. actual olives were a new one for me, though.
11. Desserts — mont blanc and corn crème brûlée. Corn flavor definitely came through on the crème brûlée — will have to try replicating this one at home.
12. Petit fours — these come out in a three-​layered dumpling basket with a potted tree on the top level. Very unique presentation that ties the meal together in a really memorable way. There were 6 different types in our basket, including green tea mochi, macarons, moon cakes, and a rice bowl made of chocolate.
In terms of fine dining, Jungsik deserves to be up there alongside the 3-​Michelin starred restaurants in NY, and I wouldn’t be too surprised to see it get there in the next few years.

Jungsik is Korean inspired fine dining with very delicate flavors. The highlight of the meal was textures more than strong flavors, which was surprising from other Korean food I’ve had in the past. If you are looking for a something different than your typical French fine dining experience, Jungsik is a great option.
I was lucky enough to be taken here for my birthday. My husband and I did the tasting menu and I added the wine pairing. If you don’t eat certain things, they can easily fix the dishes to meet your dietary needs. For instance, I don’t eat beef and they were able to use soft-​shelled crab in the rice dish instead.
Highlights from our meal included:
– Scallop with Korean Pepper Paste — This scallop was huge and insanely tender and flavorful. It had a nice crust on the outside.
–Octopus — Very crisp on the outside but smooth and tender inside. It was probably the best preparation of octopus I’ve ever had.
–Crispy Snapper — The fish scales were cooked by spooning hot oil back onto the fish. So much crunch! This sounds weird, but it was the star of the meal.
–Mon Blanc — A chestnut mousse cake that was super light and fluffy with not too much sweetness
–Corn Crème brûlée — This was weird, but really good. Nice caramelization on top with creamy vanilla and a hint of fresh corn.
The wine pairing was on point and even had some surprises like a Korean version of sake that was slightly sweet and delicious. The server was very knowledgeable and made suggestions for substitutions for things I didn’t eat. He also explained some of the cooking methods when asked.
The only disappointment was despite my husband telling them it was my birthday, we didn’t get an acknowledgement or anything. Usually at a fine dining restaurant they make you feel special and do a little something. I’d read in other reviews that they do here too, but I guess we got skipped over.
Everything was incredibility delicious and delicate. I hope to go back someday. This place isn’t cheap. I’d better start saving now.

Personalized menus are provided for special occasions, which is a good touch and superb service. One of my friends is a vegetarian and they easily altered the amuse bouche to be vegetarian and made various recommendations for her.
I highly recommend the royal bibimbap it is delicious and very filling despite the small portion. The truffle and the foie gras complemented each other perfectly! The scallops are large, delicious and cooked perfectly — loved by my vegetarian friend.
I would definitely come back again for a fine korean — french dining experience, and a Michelin star restuarant at that!

We visited this restaurant on Valentine’s day and LOVED it. Jungsik has unique korean influenced dishes that you will not be able to find anywhere else in the city. The tasting menu for Valentine’s day had a diverse mix of dishes and I left satisfied and impressed.
The ambiance of the restaurant is comfortable and romantic. I loved the light fixtures in restaurant. The staff is friendly and helpful. I did not feel much pretentiousness you feel in some high-​end restaurants. Our waitress was super helpful and awesome as well.
The food is amazing. The galbi, the truffle fried rice, the fatty tuna appetizer, the Cod, and the dessert chocolates were among the most memorable. A bunch of other dishes were included in the Valentine’s day tasting menu that we got to try. I will try some of the other dishes the next time we go there.
I liked that at the end of the meal they gave us a copy of the menu in case you forgot what you ate. I also thought it was great and unique that we went on the fiancé’s birthday (which happens to also be on valentine’s day so yay for 1 gift for 2 special occasions) that they brought out a seaweed dish that is traditional for Korean birthdays.

We did the tasting menu.
It was filling.
baked oyster — awesome
octopus — crisp outside and perfect texture inside.
fish dish — great flavor
pork dish — new plate for them, added to menu recently — not as impressive — the pickled flavor was over powering and the texture combo was off.
Super desserts!

My top 3 favorite restaurant in New York City along with Masa and Jean Georges. Where else can you get cooking, ambiance, service, and quality at the highest level for $ 25-​$ 34 for most entrees? This truly elevated Korean cuisine even inspired me to start a Korean Restaurant review blog. Read my in depth review of this location
Ambiance is 5/​5, revamped old Chanterelle space in quiet Tribeca. Dark woods and creamy interior.
Service is ⁵⁄₅ with pleasant waiters and knowledgable sommelier.
The quality of all the dishes is top notch, especially the beef dishes. I find the best marbled cuts of meat here cooked to perfection. My favorite dishes here are the lobster ($ 34) and uni rice ($ 20).

Amazing. A well deserved two Michelin star restaurant. The décor and presentation was perfect, the food was amazing and staff pleasant. Perhaps too pleasant without all of the pomp I had anticipated, but maybe a little casual is okay.
I think I would suggest ordering not the prix fixe, but instead two appetizers, must include sea urchin, one meat or fish, galbi was best I’ve ever had (small portion size) and a dessert, the rose is the best dessert.
I did have the octopus which was good but not amazing. The lobster was fine but would recommend to try something else.
Overall, I was very impressed.

Modern Korean/​Korean fusion restaurant. Worthy of the two Michelin stars.
This is a special restaurant.
For me, I would rank this as one of the best in NYC so far, along with EMP, Bouley, Jean Georges, and Piora; Reasonably priced.
Overall, all the creative courses were simply amazing. Very impressed. Korean fusion cuisine at a totally different level.
Highest compliments to Master Chef Jungsik Yim and the pastry chef Jonghun Won.
Highlight dishes: Honestly, all.
Many thanks to Dan & Co. for the impecabble service and the wine recommendation.
Pacing was perfect.
This is one restaurant that I would come back again and again.
Relatively easy to make early dinner reservation.
The highest recommendation.
: A+

This food and service completely lived up to all my expectations. Perhaps the only downfall is that my stomach didn’t have enough room to handle the amount of deliciousness by the time dish #10 came around. To be accurate, this is not Korean food, it’s Western food with a Korean influence.
We both opted for the tasting menu with wine pairing suggestions from our lovely waiter. Below are my favorites for the night.
Ban chan (complimentary) — Not your traditional small Korean appetizers, this version previews the amazing flavors of Jungsik, including Hokkaido uni, wagyu, truffle, seaweed, foie gras and more! Talk about starting the night off on the right track!
Caviar with tuna and quinoa — Literally PERFECTION. The tuna mixed with caviar simply melted in my mouth, and the quinoa added a subtle, yet amazing crunch to the dish.
Mullet with oyster — If I could ever describe my love for the ocean, I would do so with this dish.
Royal bibimbap — Not exactly a bibimbap at all. There’s no rice or hot stone. Instead, it’s a bowl of risotto mixed with foie gras, parmesan and topped with a very generous portion of black truffle. I have never had «bibimbap» so rich in flavor before. I loved it so much that I’m still dreaming about this dish.
4 rounds of dessert — What a fantastic way to end the night! We thought the dessert would end after round 2, but our server kept on coming with more! Make absolutely sure you have room for this fantastic selection. My boyfriend, who is dairy-​averse, received a few sorbet substitutes that were also simply divine.
After 3 hours of dining, I could not be more full or happy, thank you Jungsik for the wonderful dining experience!

When I booked a reservation for Jungsik, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into. As a Korean, I’ve eaten and made Korean food ever since I could remember… but I had trouble wrapping my head around the idea of «New Korean» style of food. I thought that this would either be an amazing dinner or a disappointing one.
It was amazing.
First, the restaurant itself is very beautiful. It has a classic yet modern feel to it. It also blends Western and Korean elements very well too. I liked it a lot.
My friend and I ordered the chef’s tasting menu with wine parings. The dishes themselves are small – as a tasting menu’s plates should be – but by the time we were done with our meal, we were completely stuffed.
Amuse bouche: these playful takes on Korean banchan (side dishes) came beautifully presented. My favorite was the eel mousse on the squid ink cracker (at least that’s what I think it was).
Caviar: i mean, come on, it’s caviar. how could this NOT be good? oh yeah, and let’s add a sous-​vide egg with a custard-​like yolk. yum!
Scallop: Perfectly cooked scallop.
Braised Octopus: probably my favorite dish of the night. the octopus was incredibly tender (the server said it was braised in dashi for an hour) and the ssamjang aioli was one of those things where I went, «why didn’t I think of making that?»
Red Mullet: the scales were (purposefully) still on the fish, giving it a very crispy texture.
Truffle Bulgogi: Probably the closet to having a «traditional» Korean dish. It was still elevate by using quinoa and truffles. It worked but it was also a very decadent dish.
Wagyu tenderloin: Very tender and flavorful.
Lemon-​Olive sorbet: I wasn’t sure about this when I heard the description… I’m not a big fan of olives. But wow, this was really good! And it’s lightness and acidity definitely helped cut down on the heaviness of the tenderloin and bulgogi courses that preceded it.
Mont Blanc — A dessert made with pat (sweet red beans). I’ve always thought that the sweet red beans were reminiscent of chocolate and I think this dessert played on the similar flavor profiles of red beans and chocolate.
Crème Brulee — I forget the details of this crème brûlée… but it was definitely among the better crème brulees I’ve had.
Petit fours — a bunch of little pastries and such that are modern, playful reinventions of some traditional Korean treats (like yakgwa – honey cake, and dduk – rice cakes).
There was also a bread course somewhere in the middle.
The wines that were paired with the dishes went really well. It is a pricey upgrade but it really adds another dimension to the dishes. Additionally, we were offered a refill on the wines if we liked it.
That being said, there were some missteps too. Both my friend and I got the impression that our main server either didn’t like us or was a little on the pretentious side. Yeah, definitely first world problems right. The other servers were really nice and friendly (yet professional) though :) Either way, it wasn’t a big deal… the overall experience at dining at Jungsik wasn’t affected by it.
Also because it was a special occasion, we asked for a copy of the menu. It was delivered to us in a beautiful envelope. Pretty cool! Except there was a mistake on the menu. On the menu, under each course’s name would be the Korean translation. Under truffle bulgogi, the Korean translation read «Royal bibimbap.» Again, not a big deal but I suppose for a Michelin restaurant, it is a little embarrassing.
Honestly, I think Jungsik should be ranked closer to 4.5 than a full 5 stars. But since Unilocal doesn’t give out half stars, 5 stars it is :)

This Michelin 2-​star restaurant is one of the best amongst world-​class restaurants in the city. It also may be one of the few Korean restaurants that offer a fine dining experience, great enough to command tasting menu prices.
They start with an amuse bouche, Korean style of course, which means multiple small bites to start your palette, seven different bites in our case. I can’t even describe each of the seven different bites except to say that it was like a full tasting menu before you even start.
You then start a wonderful tasting menu that features different ingredients and flavors — egg, scallop, fried oyster, octopus, crispy red snapper, songee, early grey, and green tea cremeux.
You finish with yummy desserts, petit fours, and chocolates.
The restaurant is elegant, classy and modern, with super service and top notch food and flavors.