Went for an exclusive event and got to try both Korea and NYC recipes! Such a unique twist on Korean food to break into the fine dining era. Extremely impressed with the wine selection they picked with P2 Dom ranging to Opus and fine dessert wines.
Really enjoyed the banchan, garden, and meats. The garden ending was so unique that you didn’t know what you would eat. One threw me off since it was an actual carrot.
Luxury dining was here and great service by the staff. Thanks to Christian.
Note that the windows area is extremely cold so try to avoid that given no insulation.
I can say with some confidence that I have yet to have a worse customer experience than in trying to dine at Jungsik. I am confounded by the sheer lack of attention, effort and assistance I received.
For context, I have some friends visiting NYC the week between Christmas and New Years this year. One of our big outings was to be Jungsik, as we were excited about a Korean 3- star Michelin restaurant. Since we were to be a party of 7, I had to go through email to reserve (too big for their Tock site). So on November 1st, I emailed inquiring about a reservation the Weekend of December 27th. A few days go by, and I receive an email response from the Jungsik team thanking me for my interest, but explaining they have yet to open their reservations for that time and asking me to follow-up in mid-November - which is fine.
Mid-November rolls around and I send a follow-up email inquiring about the date, to which they respond saying they still haven’t worked out the reservations for late-December, but that they have my info and get back to me towards the end of the month. At this point, I have missed out on most other reservations for the December weekend since most places have better planning around these dates. Regardless, I wait.
Late-November rolls around and I finally get a response saying - quite curtly - that they cannot take my reservation. I receive no follow-ups of any kind as to other time slots that may be open that weekend or week, and no explanation. The email really felt like a brush-off. After a month of waiting/emailing/planning, I somehow didn’t make the cut for that day. Again, thats mostly fine! They hadn’t promised me anything yet and I didn’t explicitly mention other times/dates I can do. And perhaps other large parties were ahead in the queue somehow (however unlikely)?
Only minutes after their email response, I respond asking for other dates they have that weekend/week. I then don’t hear back from them for about a day… When I finally do, they let me know they can do Sunday, the 28th and they ask for my full name and phone number so they can send the reservation link. Again, I respond timely and await the link.
Once again, it takes til the next day for the response that, “psych!” they had given the time they mentioned away on their Tock site because that Sunday was now available for the public. The same Sunday that was NOT available to the public the day prior when they decided to not respond to me. They then offer me a random Tuesday reservation, which is the day my friends leave the city.
Look - I understand they don’t owe me anything here. I know they’re doing well and I understand the place isn’t very big, and my party of 7 no-doubt creating some logistical issues. However, this is a supposed 3-Michelin star restaurant. I have reserved/dined at Eleven Madison and Le Bernardin and received the red carpet treatment at both. To be honest, I’ve had much more helpful, warm and responsive email exchanges with reserving private rooms at my local bars than I did with Jungsik. It was simply an incredibly rude, cold and overall terrible series of interactions that left a bad taste in my mouth throughout.
There are so many amazing restaurants in NY (the aforementioned Eleven Madison and Le Bernardin, for starters) that will make you feel like you matter! And that the hard-earned money you’re spending is well-spent. I would implore everyone to choose one of those options - or really, anywhere else - over Jungsik and their can’t-be-bothered team.
Visited Oct 2023 and at the bar because it had an a la carte menu (my wife and aren't usually able to eat the full courses! 😅). The food was great and I remember thinking "wow, this place is great, it deserves 3 stars!" I think the following year, it got its 3rd star, which is super well deserved!
One of the best experiences we’ve ever had for a dinner. Oscar in particular was amazing, and the rest of the staff was amazing I just don’t remember their names.
Everything about this experience was amazing-the service, the staff, the pacing of the meal, the flavors, presentation, atmosphere, and even the bathroom. They printed our menu with everything we had and included wishing us a happy anniversary with our names on it as well as an outline of VA with a heart. Oscar had amazing recommendations for drinks to go along with our courses and based it on preference. We savored every dish and couldn’t believe how delicious everything was. The soap in the bathroom also smelled so good I immediately looked up where I could buy it. I liked that it was a Korean-American brand based in NYC.
This would be one of the few Michelin restaurants I would actually want to come back to.
Having dined at The inn at Little Washington in DC, Epicure in Paris and Saga in NYC, I had high hopes for Jungsik but the overall experience was underwhelming. The ambience is okay and feels like any New York restaurant and not some Michelin starred establishment with single long sofa style seat for all guests and not individual tables and chairs for every party which just did not feel right. The staff looked inexperienced and unattentive. I ordered some red wine and was given the last pour with the entire wine sediment poured in my glass. That is not a practice even small restaurant, let alone prestigious one should do. At a high-end place, either the wine should be decanted or they should open a new bottle. The food was good and a nice mix between French and Korean but the overall experience is a collection of minute details that make or break a great restaurant in my opinion. In my particular case, the experience was also soured by a group of loud 20 somethings in hoodies and beanies but I understand that the restaurant does not have control over that.
For 3 star Michelin, I had high hope.
1) The ambience is ok. Comparing to Saga (2star) in NYC, it’s a pale comparison.
2) Food is infused of french and korean. Some offer really interesting flavor. But the most stand out probably the korean bbq wagyu and the ice cream dessert.
3) Service is good. Not much of interaction/experience. The whole meal finished in 2.5hrs.
I had a great meal at Jungsik. Service is literally spotless. The food is delicious and has some fusion elements. The best parts to me are the dishes that are more authentically Korean. The Korean bbq beef, the kimbab, and the strawberry dessert were my favorites. The wine list is pretty good. The space is beautiful.
exemplary cooking, but imo falls just a bit short of outstanding or interesting/innovative on half of the dishes. doesn't feel very korean in its essence/impression either. i.e. it has deviated from "koreanness" but not in a particularly innovative way, just more of a sidegrade which retains quality but diminishes identity. nonetheless everything tastes good and is priced pretty fairly. would come back for a la carte at the bar
I had high expectations for Jungsik, but by the end of the meal, I was left wondering how it still holds three Michelin stars.
The service felt disorganized and lacked any real sense of leadership, something you shouldn’t notice at a restaurant of this level. The food looked beautiful, but the execution fell short. The octopus which they call it their signature was overly soft, and the galbi arrived lukewarm and honestly tasted better at a few Korean BBQ spots I’ve been to. Even the bathroom was a letdown. Even the toilet was not flushed which I understand it could happen, but I completely lost my appetite. It felt like a restaurant resting a little too comfortably on its stars.
The food was good but The food was good, but they definitely lack the authentic Korean touch.
Not all of the staff seemed professional — there was a noticeable difference in attitude and service between them, which affected the overall experience.
Also, the restroom wasn’t well maintained; there were napkins scattered on the floor, which should really be taken care of.
Verified Company
