Mastery ingredient combinations are evident at this incredibly impressive Korean restaurant. Take a description of a squash dish with gochujang (fermented chilli paste), sage, and fontina cheese. Sounds like something you’d try? 

I wouldn’t normally have squash, but tonight I have the privilege of dining with friends who are locals and first toured me around New York in 2004. Wyatt has been to Atoboy a couple of times already, and knows to trust the flavour combinations. Together with his long time partner Caroline, we order each dish off the prix fixe, as there’s three options for each course. 

We sit back, relax and get ready to enjoy a show of diverse tastes and flavour combinations, that often have us in awe. The “naegroni” aperitif illustrates the impact of the kitchen’s experimentation is not lost in the drinks side of things.

The incredibly impressive squash comes draped in a blanket of fontina cheese. There is no telling what an incredible flavour profile will greet your taste buds as you take your first bite. It has very good company though. Alongside, bite sized squid snacks are bursting with flavour too. Insanely, the delicious prawns with kimchi, seem to have less impact, yet are superb in themselves.

Earlier we’ve begun with sea urchin atop black quinoa, which feels like a special treat given how normalised starting with other luxuries like oysters has become. Bluefin tuna is served generously in cubes with carrot, smoked trout roe and nuruk (traditional Korean fermentation starter). That first few polite chopsticks to taste has us all going back for more, no less politely, but with a certain extra vigour.

The fluke with chojang (sweet and spicy dipping sauce), cucumber, and perilla, demonstrates both the subtlety of the highlighted protein, and its wonderful accentuation in combination. Jimmy Nardello peppers, a sweet Italian variety, which are not hot, served with smoked soy, horseradish, and radicchio, looked to be the weaker dish, but like the squash, this was not the case.

In the mains (US – “entrees”) there was a clear winner for me with the oxtail, which had enough difference to be interesting, but the familiar gaminess that I personally love. Thinly sliced pork with a sea of yellow sauce, potatoes, sunchoke, and plenty of herbs easily eclipses the Spanish mackerel dish which was perfectly cooked, but the weakest dish I tried.

The controversial aspect of the evening was the fried chicken. The story goes that many come for the prix fixe to simply add the chicken (though I’d imagine they come away as gushing about the whole meal as I did!) Wyatt initially looked to our waitperson on whether to order two and was suggested to start with one. The upsell is not a thing here it appears. Immediately upon touching down on the table, we requested the second, knowing that this perfectly treated piece of fried chicken must be tried several times to confirm it is in fact perfect! And yes it was.

Caroline and I had enjoyed a glass of the Ernest Vineyards Chardonnay from Sonoma, and it was time to have a light red with some of the mains, which was a wine made by Arianna Occhipinti from Sicily using a grape variety I cannot remember trying called Frappato. It was a nice light versatile match to the mains, including the mackerel. Earlier, Wyatt had ordered a traditional Korean rice wine called White Lotus Makegeolli, made by Shinpyeong Brewery, and he loved it.

For dessert we stayed true to the course we had set, and ordered both available. The SuJeongGwa (traditional Korean punch) granita was by a small margin my favourite, with the curious combination of burrata cheese, lychee yoghurt and walnuts working together to provide that sweet and savoury balance to Asian dessert. The goguma (sweet potato) ice cream with chestnut, black tea, and date, was really not far behind, and had a sweeter profile but still with restraint. I really liked the biscuit to add texture, and the walnuts for the same reason in the former dessert. Across all of these dishes for the evening it left a sense of awe as to how they were created in the first place.

As we caught up it was easy to miss some of the intricate details, and service was one where I didn’t feel there was any obvious improvements that might be made (even the upselling!) 

Here at this minimalist styled restaurant the interest points and colour to the meal is all on the table, and in my case, with the company surrounding those dishes. Atoboy is a brilliant restaurant in a sea of them here in New York City. 

Atoboy
https://www.atoboynyc.com
43 East 28th Street, New York
Dinner 7 nights
+1 646 746 7217
info@atoboynyc.com