Momofuku Ko
“Lychee and pine nuts and jelly worked soooo well to balance the richness of foie gras.”
“Just close your eyes, open up your appetite, and wait for David Chang's genius to send your mouth and belly to a happy place.”
“That was the highlight of my NY trip :oP
My favorite:
Lobster paloise – looks simply and plain, but a mouthful of lobster and creamy flavor.”
Momofuku Ko
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$$ Price range Above $61
8 reviews
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This is a hard review to write, I have to admit.
Having participated in a magical evening at Ko a lifetime ago (2009), we decided that we needed to return now that Ko had moved to swankier digs. That meal loomed high in the lore of our lifetime best meals catalogue of stories: moments of real whimsy, fantastical preparations, daring combinations and most of all, giggle inducing fun on a plate. It was sensational.
Alas, the thrill is gone. Sure, the food still uses some amazing top quality ingredients and technique: there are dishes that surprise, there are dishes that sing. But it is all very, very safe. Maybe it is just that other restaurants have now hitched their stars to that same wagon of creativity, a little on the side of mischief just enough to thrill the diner, but if I'm going to spend hard earned food dollars and and an ever rarer night out without my kids, I want magic. It was in short supply at Ko this time around.
The wines by the glass and the cocktails, both is meager supply, were very good, I just wish they offered more choices (the 75+ page wine list was ostentatious in comparison). The pours were also incredibly ungenerous, and at $17-$35 a glass, diners deserved more than a 3/4 glass pour. I also scoffed at the ridiculous price for the wine pairings…no one when we were there, it seemed, went that route. I hope the management will take notice and pull it back from the stratospheric range.
Sadly, Ko no longer looms as large for us as it did before. I used to recommend Ko as that rare experience where you can't imagine the sleight of hand required to pull together an enticing combination of flavors, but there was little here to wonder at any longer. The cat is out of the bag and they just aren't trying hard enough to get it back. Judging by recent reviews of other Chang restaurants, perhaps that magic can only be spread so thin before it disappears altogether.
Came here for a private dinner party and had a lovely time. I knew that I enjoy David Chang's style and had the great opportunity to join in a group event at Ko so we sat in the private back room with a party of 12 (plus an adorable baby!) and the seating was very comfortable, the ambiance super trendy. The noise level in the room was louder than we expected which made casual conversation across the length of the table near impossible. Otherwise, very comfortable, plenty of space, and very private. I particularly want to compliment the cutlery and dinner ware,
Juan and K.C. did an amazing job making our party comfortable and the evening totally lovely. With almost magical grace the plates were swept into the room, the table set, and drinks refreshed.
I started out with the Sour followed by the Old Fashioned and both were drinks I'd easily spend an evening with. The Sour was tart, refreshing, served in a tumbler with a GIANT ice cube maintaining the temperature at a perfect chill without diluting the delicious concoction.
I am traditionally an Old Fashioned drinker and find that I really enjoy smooth, round flavors that aren't syrupy sweet and definitely not a maraschino cherry type of person. Unfortunately this Old Fashioned has introduced me to a whole new level for my favorite drink, seamlessly blended in notes of warm fresh coffee with luscious bourbon and bitters. I am sure it will take a very long time before I can master this flavor profile on my own or find another that can make it- completely awesome.
For the rest of the meal, Juan generously paired our dishes with appropriate wines, all of which were delicious, unusual, and complimentary.
The front end of the tasting experience were definitely the more mind blowing combinations. Each dish maintained a simple overall structure and the flavor of each individual ingredient was preserved but in a tantalizing combination that danced with your taste buds bringing out hints of pepper or unexpected floral notes. I ventured for a dairy free pescatarian menu and was extremely happy I did! Every dish was equally as impressive if not more so than the normal counterpart and I left with a happy tummy!
For beginning bites we enjoyed scallops marinated in buttermilk (almond milk for me!) with floating flowers, sprinkles of of poppy to make for a very vibrant yet gentle introduction to the evening's adventure. This ranks high as one of my favorite dishes as the first bite was quite revolutionary.
The next dish was a tuna tartare jelly compote that had interesting textures and good freshness, great to prepare the palette for the next savory bite.
This was followed by the uni and chickpea mousse. This is difficult for me because uni is one of my most favorite flavors and textures in the world while chickpeas fall in my least favorite category. The juxtaposition of the smooth mousse with the soft yet slightly grainy uni was awesome and while I ventured to pair the two for a few bites, in the end I gave my heart to the uni and the chickpea to my date. I cannot emphasize how much I enjoyed every bite of the uni and appreciate it's fresh preparation.
This was followed by a small razor clam dish with sprouted basil seeds and oil. Another example of a lighter palette cleansing bite, this time with interesting contrast of chewy razor clam paired with slippery seeds.
Small bites were followed by a delightful stretchy bread paired with cheese cave aged butter. I'm not normally a fan of butter but this was awesome and I encourage enjoying your breads with this course!
Transitioning to more savory was one of the most artistic arrangements of the evening, a soft egg pouring delicate caviar into a pool of beet juice on top of a root puree with chips. I found this dish a lot of fun to eat, trying different combinations of all of the components and finally realizing at the end it's best to have a little of everything.
Next was a lobster with white asparagus covered in a delightful rich sauce that I soaked in with the rest of the stretchy bread.
My final savory dish was a seared eggplant with mixed greens topped with roasted nuts. The eggplant was almost caramelized, the flavor was deep, and overall quite lovely.
The mid-meal dishes presented the palate with more rich flavors and fewer subtle surprises, really hitting the savory notes. We were slightly surprised by the brevity of the transition from the meat/eggplant dishes to the desserts and felt that one more savory carb would have done the trick.
Transitioning to dessert was a light lychee treat with shaved foie for the meat folks at the table. Finishing our meal, we all had a cherry blossom sorbet, mine was paired with a delightful coconut milk.
I left Ko wanting to experience again, I appreciate the generous creativity, flavor and charm. Well done 🙂
Overall, an excellent dining experience!
The lady and I came here about a month ago to celebrate her birthday. Truly, she's wonderful so it was only appropriate to check out Momofuku Group's higher-end restaurant. I've heard great things, and I'm happy to say our experience exceeded my expectations.
The restaurant accepts reservation through its own website. Create a username and password to secure a spot at any of the group's establishments. Specifically, reservations are accepted for Ko from Tuesday to Saturday – 15 days in advance at a counter and 30 days in advance at a table (this includes the current day). Party sizes less than 4 can only sit at the counter, while parties greater than 4 can sit at a table or counter. Personally, I prefer sitting at the counter, where you get to watch servers prepare your meal and have an opportunity to interact with them throughout.
The restaurant itself has a cool vibe. Head down the alley known as Extra Place (off East 1st Street), find the door with the restaurant group's symbol, and walk into the chic dining area. The room has dim lighting, few tables, large countertop surrounding the food prep station, nice artwork on the walls, and a meat freezer towards the back. The atmosphere was refreshingly casual, and the servers were friendly.
The food was great. Our meal included several amuse-bouches and twelve courses (inclusive of three dessert courses). Everything was tasty, but I really enjoyed the lobster paloise, chicken oyster, sweet potato with caviar and crème fraiche, razor clam with pineapple and basil, sirloin with potato churro, shaved foie gras with lychee and pine nut, and cherry blossom ice cream. Bonus points for the awesome bread and chocolate birthday surprise for my better half.
I definitely recommend checking it out and look forward to coming back again soon!
Really high quality food and service and a great service overall.
I stopped by on a Friday evening with a friend, and we enjoyed a long, delicious meal with great service. There were too many dishes to recount, but in particular, we enjoyed the beef, their take on the lobster roll, the fried chicken oyster, the chickpea and uni, the razor clam soup, and the chicken pot pie were all delicious. The server was very helpful explaining all the dishes, as well as going through all of the drinks we had (we split a wine pairing between the two of us, and it was plenty to drink). It's a pricey meal, but the ambiance is intimate and the food delicious, and I would definitely come back for special occasions.
I'm a huge fan of David Chang and look forward to continuing my repeat visits to Ssam Bar and trying his other restaurants. I don't see myself coming back to Ko unless it's on someone else's dime. It's simple, I loved the small bites: Lobster Paloise, Chicken Oyster and the Kimchi. But after those courses, at no point did I think to myself, "this is incredible." When the Razor Clams came out, I was psyched…until I tried them. Same thing with the Chicken Pie, Rhubarb, the Sirloin, the Foie Gras, the Baked Egg and so on. Nothing was bad, but not enough of the courses were incredible when it came down to taste (presentation was flawless). Every time I've had a meal in this price range: Le Bernardin, Per Se, O Ya, Daniel, or even Aureole back in the day, I've never come away with anything near the opinion I had of my meal at Momofuku Ko.
I have to hand it to Chang. The restaurant is beautiful. He did a great job giving each party their own space so that you can have a private dinner even though most of the restaurant is sitting around the open kitchen. I wanted to love this meal, but it was a miss.
Having eaten at some of the other Momofuku outposts (Ssam, Noodle), I tagged along with a co-worker who snagged a reservation, not realizing what the deal was.
Turns out the deal is: $195, 13-course tasting menu. Cheapest drink was a $7 German pilsner in the bottle.
I pretty much liked everything – as others have pointed out, the cultured butter stood out. But so did the chicken oysters, and the shaved foie gras.
Service was gracious and knowledgeable.
Sooooooo….I think it's a tad over rated. Great night, great service, great beverage pairing but at some point, it just didn't wow me. There was not one dish that made say "Holy shit…I never!". Yes, the frozen shaved foie gras was delish but still felt gimmicky. It just all felt a little perfunctory.
What a phenomenal experience. We loved the ambiance of this place, which is both romantic and trendy, vibrant yet conducive to conversation, epicurean yet accessible.
Not every course was a hit, but there were certainly plenty of home runs. But the friendliness of the wait staff, the chefs, and especially the sommelier, Chase, Sinzer, are what really made this a remarkable evening.
I suspect most people her opt for the wine pairings, which we often do, too, but if so they are missing a terrific wine list, with exclusively great producers, and some very reasonable prices.
Truly a special dining experience, and one I look forward to repeating.