Rating: 17/20
Where: New York, NY
When: Dinner for 2 on 17 December 2024
Cost per Person: Tasting menu $295, Wine pairing $200-$500
Accolades: 3 Michelin Stars
Why: Elegant fine-dining cuisine with Korean influences and a few excellent dishes

The first time I went to Jungsik, a restaurant in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, was in late 2014. Then decorated with two Michelin stars, it was something tantalizingly unique: a modern Korean fine-dining restaurant, and not in Seoul, but in New York City. (To be fair, there was no Michelin Guide for South Korea at the time.) We thoroughly enjoyed our meal back then, but couldn't have foreseen what happened next. New York became a veritable hot spot of Korean fine-dining restaurants. At the end of 2024, there were a full dozen of Michelin-starred Korean restaurants in the city - about half the number in all of South Korea. Sounds crazy? Somewhat. But, even without second-guessing Michelin's decisions, the high-end Korean restaurant scene in New York is on fire, and much of that is thanks to Jungsik. The restaurant has directly or indirectly influenced many of the chefs that now have their own starred restaurants in the city. But when Jungsik finally received its third Michelin star in December 2024, it still came as a bit of a surprise. The wisdom of the crowds would have bet on a third star for a hotter upstart instead, but Michelin is nothing if not unpredictable. A great excuse for a revisit, then.

Jungsik's location, on an otherwise nondescript street corner in Tribeca, hadn’t changed. Neither had its beige-colored dining room - it looked just like it did ten years ago. This time, however, we were seated in a darker annex behind the main dining room. Its walls and floors were all in black, and the lighting was much dimmer as well. Possibly a more intimate setting for a romantic date, but unfortunately not very conducive to good food photography, so be forewarned - the dishes look better in person than in the pictures below. Not only was the restaurant packed on a Tuesday night in mid-December, it was also fully reserved for the following three weeks - no doubt a consequence of the recently awarded third star.

Jungsik served a single tasting menu, with three possible supplements, all of which we skipped. Luckily, it turned out that the regular menu already contained plenty of food. Two wine pairings (and a non-alcoholic pairing) were offered, priced at $200 and $500 (and $115 for the non-alcoholic one), with the main difference being the “fanciness” level of the wines. I went for the less expensive pairing, and the wines all went well with the food. A few of them were also pretty good on their own. Not a slam-dunk recommendation, but at least worth considering. If two or more people were drinking, ordering a bottle might be a better option. Also note that the wine pairing started only with the main courses, so an aperitif might be needed to accompany the initial round of snacks.

Korean food is known for being served with an endless multitude of side dishes, such as pickles, vegetables and other condiments that are meant to be eaten together with the main dish. These are collectively known as “banchan”, and Jungsik served its own version thereof at the beginning of our meal. At least that was how our server put it. In reality, we got a few small bites that could also have been called “amuse bouches” or “appetizers”. They were meant to stand on their own, and not as side dishes for later courses.

Our first appetizer was a wagyu tartare served with truffles and Parmesan cheese over a toasted brioche. The beef was lovely, its heaviness balanced by a bit of acidity. The buttery, lightly crunchy brioche was very good as well. A straightforward bite with clean flavors 18. Next, we tried a small nori cup filled with an amberjack tartare and smoked trout roe. The fish was of good quality with a distinctive taste and texture. There was also a hint of Korean spices and the nori was nicely crunchy 17. An egg custard was topped with a seaweed foam and served in an egg shell - the only dish among the appetizers that required a utensil. A very nice savory custard with a light seaweed flavor - quite elegant in its silkiness 18. A squid-ink-colored rice ball was filled with squid and shrimp. There was a little bit of spice to this one, and my dining companion described its texture as a “chunky crab cake”. Quite nice as well 18. The final amuse bouche was a little feuille de brick tartlet filled with foie gras and Asian pear and topped with a “cinnamon punch” jelly. Compared to the previous appetizers, this one was much sweeter, but not quite at a dessert level. A foamy, fruity bite 17.

Moving on to the main courses, we started out with Japanese striped jack. It was served with fermented tomatoes, caviar and a fish bone broth containing chive oil. The fish was of great quality, and had a nicely smoky taste. The broth was very flavorful with a lightly fermented taste, balancing the smokiness of the fish. Excellent 19.

A tentacle of Spanish octopus had been braised in a dashi before being fried, and then served with a gochujang (think: red chili paste) aioli. This dish was a bit disappointing: the octopus was notably chewy under its lightly fried coating, and the sauce was barely spicy and thus a bit nondescript: for the most part it was just creamy. Not that special, but unfortunately size-wise one of the largest dishes of the night 15.

A scallop from Massachusetts was topped with a citrus emulsion and sat on top of squid ink colored rice that had been prepared nurungji-style, giving it a texture similar to the scorched rice at the bottom of a hot bowl. The scallop was nicely cooked: smoky and juicy, it went excellently with the lightly citrusy emulsion. The rice was a bit spicy, a bit crunchy and apparently contained little vegetable cubes. This dish was served in an extremely hot cast iron bowl, one of the few instances where one could literally burn oneself in a three-star restaurant (in case you're looking for a unique experience). A nice dish, but just like the octopus, it felt a bit more rustic than what had come before 17.

Icelandic arctic char was marinated with ginger and herbs, dry aged and then cooked on a binchotan grill. It was served over a kimchi curry and a coconut foam. The fish was cooked perfectly, with a crispy skin, a silky texture and an almost raw-looking interior. The sauce here was by far the spiciest on the menu - maybe a tad too spicy, somewhat overpowering the taste of the fish. There was a nice coconut taste to the dish, but it didn’t help with the spiciness either 17.

The next dish came on two plates. On one plate were four slices of yellowtail, topped with shiso and green pepper powder. The other plate contained a crispy seaweed roll filled with truffle-flavored rice. Our mission, should we choose to accept it, was to put one slice of yellowtail on top of the handroll at a time (using tweezers), and then eat the fish and the rice together in a single bite. Not one to follow even the most straightforward instructions, I first tried the fish by itself, and was a bit disappointed: it had only a very light flavor - as sashimi, this would have been a failure. Together with the warm truffley rice, though, the dish sang. Maybe it was the warmth of the rice, or maybe the truffles, but the combination tasted more of fish than the fish had by itself. Together with the truffles, we had a lovely medley of flavors accompanied by a nice crunch from the seaweed. Delicious 19.

The final savory source was American wagyu beef, cooked to medium-rare over a binchotan grill. It was served over gondre rice, with a mixture of beef jus and bone broth, beech mushrooms, some green lettuce and white kimchi. The kimchi was meant as a palate cleanser between bites, and wasn't spicy. The beef was fine, but sadly not noticeably marbled 17.

On to the official palate cleanser, a lucy glo apple sorbet served over an apple salad and a yuzu marmalade. The apples were somewhat tart, which is fitting for a palate cleanser. Altogether not a bad dish, but a bit plain 15.

The main dessert had an amazing presentation. Meant to resemble Korean islands made of volcanic rock, it had many different components. A black bean mousse, puffed rice, a toasted rice ice cream, sesame and more. For me, this dessert was more about texture rather than taste. Light crunch, harder crunch, creaminess, all with a hint of bitterness - there was a lot going on here. Judged on creativity and presentation alone, this might be a 19, but factoring in its less distinctive taste, more a 17.

A small walnut cake was filled with a red bean pastry cream. Doughy and not that sweet, this was also merely ok 15.

Three petit fours concluded our meal. A “candied kumquat” was pretty much the candied skin of the fruit - tart and citrusy 16. A Mugwort tea macaroon was very sweet with a light tea flavor 15. Finally, a sesame honey confection was crumbly and sweet 14.

Overall: A delightful fine-dining version of Korean cuisine. Dishes were elegant and well-prepared, offering hints of Korean spices and preparation methods without leaning too strongly into any of them. Maybe not pushing the boundaries as much as Atomix, and less product-driven than Mosu, but on the other hand very consistent in creating a cohesive experience. There were a couple of standout dishes at a strong three-star level, but also some unfortunate misses. Enjoyable and interesting for sure 17.