Atomix

Twelve Seats, One Long Conversation

4 of 5

Atomix seats twelve people at a chef's counter overlooking an open kitchen, and the first thing you notice is how quiet it is. Junghyun Park cooks modern Korean here, the room holds two Michelin stars, and dinner is a multi-course tasting menu where each course arrives with a card explaining its inspiration and the ceramic it is served on.

That card is not decoration. It tells you the dish has a reason to exist. Park and his wife Ellia also run Atoboy, Naro and Seoul Salon, so the couple has been building Korean cooking in this city across price points for years, and Atomix is the point where they stop holding back. The New York Times gave it three stars. The World's 50 Best ranked it sixth in 2024, the highest of any American restaurant that year.

The room is small, so reservations are the real obstacle. Dinner runs from 5:30 to 11, and you should plan the booking like a flight. If you have only one Korean fine dining night in this city, take it here, and let the cooks explain the food as it comes. They are better company than most people at most tables. Come hungry, come curious, and leave the phone in your pocket, because the cards and the ceramics reward people who look up.

Order this: The tasting menu, every course, The menu cards, read slowly, A pairing, if you want the full story
The damage: $$$$
Go: Early evening, from 5:30, at the chef's counter
Find it: 104 East 30th Street, New York, NY 10016