SEOUL, May 13 (AJP) - Seven Korean restaurants were included in The New York Times’ latest list of “The 100 Best Restaurants in New York City in 2026,” underscoring the growing influence of K-food and cuisine across New York’s cosmopolitan dining scene.
The highest-ranked Korean restaurant was Meju, which placed fourth on the list. The restaurant, led by chef Hooni Kim, was praised for its fermentation-focused tasting menu hidden behind a banchan shop in Long Island City.
The newspaper described fermentation as Kim’s central theme, calling it “the manipulations of time and how a dance with decay can change our understanding of what food can be.” It added that the chef “build[s] an arc with genuine suspense, which he does with a true believer’s fervor.”
Coming in seventh was Atomix, the two-Michelin-star Korean fine dining restaurant run by chef Junghyun Park.
The NYT described the restaurant’s tasting menu as “a series of meditations,” noting that each course is accompanied by an illustrated card explaining the chef’s thinking behind the dish.
At No. 30 was Sunn’s, a restaurant known for elevating Korean banchan into the centerpiece of the dining experience. The paper noted that chef Sunny Lee’s small plates remain “stubbornly original,” blending Korean traditions with occasional French and Italian influences.
Jungsik ranked 41st. The restaurant is widely credited with pioneering “New Korean” fine dining in New York and last year became the first Korean restaurant in the city to earn three Michelin stars. The NYT said the restaurant helped introduce New Yorkers to “a rarefied modern elaboration” of Korean cuisine.
Korean barbecue restaurant Yoon Haeundae Galbi placed 46th, while tofu specialty restaurant Cho Dang Gol ranked 51st.
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