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GuideUpdated July 15, 2026

15 Best Korean Restaurants in New York

The 15 best korean restaurants in New York, sorted by rating and curated by TastyPals editors.

The best korean restaurants in New York are KJUN, Sungold, miss KOREA BBQ, and more. Start with KJUN if you want the strongest overall first pick.

By David Park•15 ranked picks•Published July 15, 2026•Updated July 15, 2026
Methodology•Editorial team
KJUNSungoldmiss KOREA BBQ
15 Best Korean Restaurants in New York
Google

Top picks at a glance

#1KJUNKorean • Murray Hill • value#2SungoldKorean • Williamsburg • moderate#3miss KOREA BBQKorean • Koreatown • moderate

Who this guide is for

This guide covers the highest-rated korean restaurants in New York. The picks are sorted by Google rating and review volume to give you a reliable shortlist. Picks span Murray Hill, Williamsburg and Koreatown.

Quick picks

KJUN
Korean • Murray Hill
Murray Hill is nobody's idea of a dining destination, which makes KJUN feel almost like a dare.
Sungold
Korean • Williamsburg
Sungold arrives in Williamsburg at an interesting intersection: Korean technique and Japanese sensibility, both organized around live fire.
miss KOREA BBQ
Korean • Koreatown
Twenty-two years into its run on West 32nd Street, Miss Korea BBQ has become the room other Koreatown spots are quietly measured against — not because it chases trends, but because it doesn't.
Browse all New York restaurantsBack to New York hub
Editorial details
Author: David Park
Published: July 15, 2026
Last updated: July 15, 2026

On this page

  1. 1. KJUNView →
  2. 2. SungoldView →
  3. 3. miss KOREA BBQView →
  4. 4. Jeju Noodle BarView →
  5. 5. Cho Dang GolView →
  6. 6. Anytime KitchenView →
  7. 7. Thursday KitchenView →
  8. 8. Oiji MiView →
  9. 9. Tosokchon NYCView →
  10. 10. JungsikView →
  11. 11. Jongro BBQView →
  12. 12. WoorijipView →
  13. 13. Her Name is HanView →
  14. 14. Barn Joo 35View →
  15. 15. GammeeokView →

How the restaurants compare

Editorial restaurant image stand-in for KJUN
Google
KJUN
Murray Hill • Korean
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
value
Best for
dinner
Mood
Murray Hill
Sungold
Williamsburg • Korean
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
Brooklyn night out
Mood
Williamsburg
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for miss KOREA BBQ
Google
miss KOREA BBQ
Koreatown • Korean
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
moderate
Best for
Korean BBQ
Mood
Koreatown
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Jeju Noodle Bar
Google
Jeju Noodle Bar
New York • Korean
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
$$
Best for
fine dining
Mood
Easygoing

How we chose

We looked for restaurants that feel like a strong fit for the guide topic, not just the most obvious names in the city. The shortlist favors rooms with clear mood, dependable pacing, and enough distinction to help someone decide faster. Read our full methodology →

Room tone

Lighting, pace, and general energy all need to support the reason someone clicked this guide.

Food fit

We favored restaurants that feel best suited for the moment, not just restaurants with broad reputation.

Useful range

The final list tries to give readers enough variation in neighborhood, price, and style to compare real options.

15 ranked picks

KJUN — Murray Hill is nobody's idea of a dining destination, which makes KJUN feel almost like a dare. Chef Jae Jung — a Top Chef alum with time logged at New Orleans institutions Herbsaint and Dooky Chase's — opened this Korean-Cajun hybrid on Lexington Avenue and, by most accounts, made it stick. The two-story space at 334 Lex is reportedly draped in Mardi Gras beads and vintage Jazz Fest posters, with gas-style lanterns setting a moody tone. Downstairs runs like a New Orleans bar — loud, unapologetic — while upstairs is reservations-only and operates at a quieter register. The price point, for a concept this specific, is the kind of cheap that usually signals a catch. The catch, from everything I've been able to gather, doesn't seem to exist. The Japchae Boudin Balls are what KJUN is consistently known for, and the logic behind them is worth understanding: boudin is already a high-efficiency sausage, and threading Korean glass noodles through it reportedly gives the filling a springy interior beneath a crisp fried shell. The Seafood Jjajangmyun centers on the combination of squid ink and jjajang sauce — a pairing diners describe as simultaneously oceanic and deeply savory, the fermented backbone of the jjajang anchoring the brine of the seafood. The Fried Chicken, marinated in gochujang and buttermilk and reportedly fried twice, arrives alongside cast-iron cornbread and a honey-based sauce that regulars describe as the kind of finish that makes the whole menu feel intentional rather than gimmicky. Practical note: book upstairs if the goal is actual conversation; walk in downstairs if you want the bar experience and don't mind waiting. The boudin balls and jjajangmyun are the opening moves — let the fried chicken close it out. At this price level, ordering for the table costs less than a single cocktail at most bars within walking distance, so there's no reason to edit yourself. View restaurant →
Sungold — Sungold arrives in Williamsburg at an interesting intersection: Korean technique and Japanese sensibility, both organized around live fire. The menu is built on the grill as a philosophy rather than a gimmick, drawing from both culinary traditions without forcing them into a branded fusion concept. What the restaurant is known for, based on its consistent framing and reception, is letting the char and the seasoning do the connecting — a point of view that shows up in nearly every account of what the kitchen is trying to accomplish. For a neighborhood that has seen plenty of concept-first openings, Sungold appears to operate with genuine restraint. The grilled meat skewers and seasonal vegetable skewers form the core of what diners come for, and the menu is designed around that shared, grazing format. The vegetable skewers rotate with the season, which gives the kitchen a reason to keep the sourcing honest and gives regulars a reason to return. Banchan-style small plates reportedly set the table before the fire arrives — a nod to Korean dining structure that grounds the meal before the grill takes over. The daily grill special is worth tracking; it functions as the kitchen's clearest statement on what's good right now, and diners consistently cite it as the order to trust. Sungold reads as a practical pick for two situations: a date-night room that's current without being loud about it, and a group dinner where the shareable, skewer-forward format suits a crowd that wants to graze rather than deliberate over individual plates. The Williamsburg location and open room contribute to an evening that moves at a comfortable pace. Reservations are advisable for weekend dinners. The move is to order broadly across the skewers and let the table find its own rhythm. View restaurant →
miss KOREA BBQ — Twenty-two years into its run on West 32nd Street, Miss Korea BBQ has become the room other Koreatown spots are quietly measured against — not because it chases trends, but because it doesn't. The formula is deliberate: three floors, 24-hour service, and an interior philosophy that treats the grill at the center of your table as the only decoration that matters. The kitchen operates under the direction of a renowned Korean food consultant, and the marination program is where the reputation actually lives. The signature Hang-Ari Galbi short rib reportedly spends 48 hours in traditional clay pots before it reaches the table — a commitment that regulars cite as the reason this particular cut stands apart from what you'll find elsewhere on the block. The Hang-Ari Galbi is consistently named the anchor of any visit, with diners pointing to the depth the clay-pot marination produces — layered and not sweet-forward in the way shorter preparations tend to be. For groups working through a fuller spread, the Royal Cuisine Selection and the BBQ Specialty Platter are the formats to know: both are built around the Grilled Korean Meats and structured to give the table a rhythm, moving from cut to cut in a way that frames the Korean BBQ Experience as a considered meal rather than a transaction. The banchan and supporting dishes are reported to hold their own alongside the main event. Practically, this is one of the few rooms in the neighborhood where a large group doesn't require apology — the second floor seats up to 72, the third up to 76, and both are available for reservation. For pairs or fours, the first floor carries the walk-in pace of a 24-hour city block. The move, according to people who come back regularly: build the table around the Hang-Ari Galbi and let everything else follow from there. View restaurant →

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Cho Dang Gol — Cho Dang Gol occupies a specific and deliberate position in Koreatown that is worth understanding before you book. This is a tofu house in the structural sense — the kitchen makes its own tofu in-house, and that single commitment defines the menu's logic, the broth character, and the reason the restaurant draws a regular crowd rather than a special-occasion one. In a stretch of Midtown where Korean dining has largely tilted toward galbi theatrics and table-grill spectacle, Cho Dang Gol holds a different line. The experience is not built around performance. It is built around the kind of considered, daily cooking that rewards attention. The verified dishes reflect that philosophy consistently. The CDG Soybean Buckwheat Noodle Soup is known for a broth that builds quietly rather than announcing itself, with the buckwheat noodles reportedly offering a minerality that sets them apart from commercial alternatives. The CDG Handmade Mandu carry the visible irregularity of actual hand-work — wrappers described as substantial enough to hold structure in broth. The Spicy Seafood Tofu Stew brings the house tofu into a chili-forward broth that diners consistently describe as genuinely spiced without veering harsh. The CDG Nourishing Duck Hot Pot is the dish the menu stakes its reputation on — positioned as restorative and substantial, the kind of order suited to cold weather or a long week rather than a light dinner. The Grilled Tofu Ssam Platter reframes the kitchen's central ingredient entirely, presenting tofu in a format built around accompaniment and wrap rather than broth. Practical guidance from those familiar with the room: arrive early in the evening when kitchen pacing is reportedly at its most deliberate. The CDG Nourishing Duck Hot Pot is the logical anchor for the table — order the Mandu first, let the hot pot follow while appetite is still fully intact. View restaurant →
Thursday Kitchen — Thursday Kitchen isn't angling for a reservation you plan two weeks out — it's after your impulse decision on a slow weeknight, and the East Village address is exactly right for that. The concept is drinks-first, late-night-friendly, priced at a level where ordering another round doesn't require a mental negotiation. What separates it from the hundred other small-plates-and-cocktails spots that have come and gone on these blocks is a clearer point of view: the room is reportedly built around the idea that a good Tuesday should feel like a Saturday, and the price point — solidly budget-friendly — keeps the vibe from curdling into performance. This is not a place that takes itself more seriously than its guests, and based on what diners consistently report, that's a deliberate and well-executed choice. The cocktail program carries the argument. The Soju 'Negroni' is the drink people seem to talk about most — the Korean spirit in place of gin is said to pull the whole profile somewhere brighter and less austere than a classic, and the scare quotes in the name signal that the bar knows exactly what it's doing with the substitution. The Ms. Cutetini is described as playful but purposeful, not a throwaway menu item. On the sweeter, crowd-pleasing end, the Ruby The GF and the Espresso Martini are the two that tables apparently argue over last call. The Bok Bun Ja anchors the food side of the menu and is cited often enough that it's clearly doing real work — proof that the kitchen isn't just an afterthought to the bar program. Practical intel: weeknights after 8 are when the room reportedly hits its stride, past the early-dinner rush. Bar seating is where regulars seem to land by preference. Start with the Soju 'Negroni' — it sets the register for everything else. View restaurant →
Woorijip — Woorijip doesn't ask you to sit down and be taken care of — it asks you to grab a tray, make decisions fast, and eat like you mean it. That's the point. This Korean steam-table and prepared-foods counter on West 32nd Street operates with the logic of a great Korean home kitchen scaled for Manhattan lunch crowds: volume, thrift, and a rotating banchan spread that shifts with the day and what's available. It is not date-night theater. It is, however, exactly where you want to be when you're hungry, dollar-conscious, and unwilling to compromise on flavor. The price-to-plate ratio is the kind that makes New Yorkers evangelical. The menu centers on prepared Korean dishes that diners consistently flag as the real draw. The Crabmeat Jeon — a savory Korean pancake built around crab — is reportedly one of the more delicate items in a lineup that otherwise leans hearty. The Spicy Gochujang Chicken is known for the fermented chili paste that defines so much of Korean home cooking, and the Simmered Pork Belly and Braised Beef Shank represent the kind of low-and-slow preparations that reward a steam-table format, holding well and deepening in flavor as the day moves. The Baked Mackerel with Lemon cuts through the richness with something brighter, and it points to a kitchen that understands how a full Korean spread is supposed to balance itself across a meal. Woorijip is cash-friendly, fast-moving, and not designed for lingering — the model rewards people who know what they want and move through the line with purpose. Located in the heart of Koreatown, it draws a crowd that spans office workers, tourists, and regulars who treat it like a pantry. Go before the lunch rush clears the steam trays, and plan to eat standing up or find a counter spot. View restaurant →

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