Atomix – The Best Restaurant in North America was Disappointing

For about 5 years now, I have been trying to book a spot at Atomix in NYC. Every time I visit the city, its one of the first things I do; see if they have availability. On a recent trip to NYC, I finally got a reservation. There are a couple of things that had me wanting to go. #1 – I love Korean food. This love for Korean food was confirmed on a recent trip to Seoul – I love everything about it – from the plethora of fermented dishes, to the flavors; to me, its one of the world’s great cuisines along with Italian food. #2 – Atomix is currently the highest ranked North American restaurant on the World’s 50 Best list, coming in at #6, and lastly, it has 2 Michelin stars. Upon arrival, you go down a set of stairs and are greeted with a tray showcasing the ingredients for the evening’s meal:

As a side note, the reason that its so hard to book the restaurant is they only have about 14 seats available at each service. The meal started well with an amuse of baby sea bream:

This may be the only dish of the evening I thought was outstanding. Next, deodeok, white asparagus, dried squid:

Next was a dish that I was surprised they served at a restaurant of this level. To me, it lacked creativity and bold flavors that I enjoy in Korean cuisine. This was bluefin tuna, Korean mustard and rhubarb:

Next “Flavors of the Korean Sea” – surf clam, caviar:

Next was a play on a Korean porridge with shrimp, uni and almond:

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Next, freshwater eel, peas:

We were then presented with the crab for the next dish:

Seabass:

…and the final savory dish was lamb (which I don’t believe is common in Korean cuisine, in fact, I have been to Korea numerous times and don’t think I have ever had or seen it on a menu) with some fried rice. The fried rice was one of the more savory dishes of the night.

The desserts to follow were quite weak. Starting with a palate cleanser:

…and then two bites which were more like petit fours than a proper dessert:

Overall, I don’t get why this is so highly rated especially relative to other Korean restaurants both traditional and fine dining. No dish really blew me away, and while the technique, presentation and service were good, none of the dishes were particularly memorable. I would not return nor recommend.