Inside Joo Ok, the Michelin-Starred Korean Restaurant That Just Moved From Seoul to New York
Often, restaurants or hospitality groups may decide to expand their empires, opening new locations in cities around the world. But it’s not every day that a highly lauded spot simply decides to up and move—let alone to do so halfway across the globe.
But that’s the case with the Michelin two-starred Joo Ok, which reopened in New York City on Tuesday, after having been located in Seoul since 2016. With the chef Shin Chang-ho at the helm, Joo Ok received many plaudits, including a No. 18 ranking on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2022. After closing its original location last year, the restaurant is now back, this time in Midtown Manhattan.
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“My team and I are grateful for the opportunity to present authentic flavors of Korea made with American-grown ingredients,” Shin said in a statement. “Joo Ok has been improving every season since its opening in 2016, and we’re focused on keeping the vision and sincerity that Joo Ok has grown upon.”
The restaurant serves a $180, 11-course tasting menu that uses seasonal ingredients and Korean flavors throughout. Upstate, Joo Ok has its own farm, where it grows many of the items found in the dishes, including the perilla oil found in its signature Perilla Seed Oil with Caviar. The opening menu starts out with small bites such as Korean beef tartare and braised chicken with taro, before progressing into seasonal dishes like king prawn prepared four different ways and lobster with Korean pear. Two larger plates of striped bass and Wagyu ribeye are rounded out with a corn ice-cream dessert and smaller traditional Korean sweets.
Joo Ok’s space similarly draws from Korean culture, with a freight elevator taking guests into a modern interpretation of a Korean hanok, or house. An industrial-leaning interior garden, or madang, features a ceiling window with views of the Empire State Building, bringing the same mix of Korean and N.Y.C. elements from the menu into the design as well. The main dining area, meanwhile, is finished in neutral tones with wood accents.
With just two seatings a night, Joo Ok is an intimate Korean experience, and the restaurant is refreshing and iterating on what it became beloved for in Seoul. New Yorkers may delight in the fact that they no longer have to hop on a long-haul flight to try Shin’s cuisine.
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