ATOMIX
NEW YORK CITY
‘ATO’ STEMS FROM THE ANCIENT KOREAN WORD FOR GIFT, AND ATOMIX PROVED TO BE JUST THAT: A GIFT FROM JUNGHYUN AND ELLIA PARK TO THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
ATOMIX
MICHELIN GUIDE: 2 STARS | THE NEW YORK TIMES: 3 STARS | THE WORLD’S BEST 50 RESTAURANTS: #6
MICHELIN GUIDE: 2 STARS
THE NEW YORK TIMES: 3 STARS
THE WORLD’S BEST 50 RESTAURANTS: #6
INTRO
Beyond the doors atop the unassuming stoop on Park and 30th lies a dining experience rare and refined – one that only a precious few can rival.
We descended the subtly lit staircase into the foyer, where we were introduced to the evening’s ingredients resting on a bed of ice. An assortment of fish – trout, beakfish, monkfish, tilefish, langoustine, and mussels – a display of the experience to come.
As we eased into our seats, we devised our game plan for the evening’s drinks as we took in the space around us—sleek, open, and welcoming, with a quiet sense of occasion.
ONE
We kicked things off with three one-biters: a mussel with tuna and fermented soybeans, a lobster bite with red pepper and crispy seaweed, and a freshwater eel tartlet with yellowtail and sugar snap pea. All three were extremely delicious—but also familiar. A beautiful start that left a desire for something more adventurous.
TWO
Imagine taking a bite and then needing a moment to reboot your mental software. That was this dish: striped beakfish with gochugaru hot sauce, minari ice, and miyeok salad. It was cold, spicy, acidic, and savory all at once — like four personalities in one spoonful.
THREE
This dish, black banana with monkfish liver and perilla leaves, was the quintessential example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. This was a dish that proved some culinary alchemy is happening back there in the kitchen — the kind that makes you go back for one more bite just to believe it really worked.
FOUR
Sundubu, sweet shrimp, and chili & nuruk. Never had I eaten tofu quite like this. Highlights of the dish were the beautifully dry chili oil and rich tofu and soybean foam.
FIVE
When the server told me that about one in fifteen langoustines simply melt when they are cooked due to protein denaturation, I was blown away. Very similar to how I felt when I tasted it alongside black truffle gel, honeynut squash foam, and white dashima.
SIX
“Melt-in-your-mouth” is one of those phrases that gets tossed around a good bit. But this trout earned it. Cooked sous vide and briefly steamed, it had the texture of silk and was wonderfully complemented by trout roe, makgeolli, and anchovy.
SEVEN
I had never eaten tilefish, gim, or nettle, so this was a fun one. It was served with a small dish of cold, black truffle noodles and avocado, and although I found it quite delicious, it wasn’t the dish that stole the show.
EIGHT
Listen — it was delicious. But it felt like the culinary equivalent of a classic rock band doing their greatest hits. Nothing risky, nothing weird. Just a beautifully cooked piece of meat doing its thing. Respect.
NINE
Some scents, some flavors, and even some sounds or songs can help surface deep and vivid memories. This dish, with its many floral and garden elements atop an earthy rhubarb sorbet, was basically edible memory therapy. It brought me right back to childhood summers at my grandparents’ house — dirt between my toes and sunflowers taller than me. This may not be most people’s number one, but it hit me where it counts.
TEN
A sweet and rich ending to the evening. As a kid, they called me the vacuum — I’d inhale anything sugary in reach. Some things never change. This dish was the most beautiful, grown-up version of everything I ate to earn me that nickname.
2025
