Raon

TLDR: really loved our experience at Raon. In a city filled with Korean fine dining, Raon stands apart with its focus and passion for educating people on traditional Korean food, cooking and most importantly kimchi! SETTING: we made a res for 8pm on a Saturday night. The restaurant is beautiful, minimal, with a nice long counter that can fit about 12 seats per tasting. It was our anniversary and they left very sweet little "Happy Anniversary" cards for us!! Great for a nice quiet date night or dinner with friends for a special occasion! FOOD: attaching a pic of the menu here. My favorite part about this tasting menu is that it just got better and better with every single course (and started off already amazing so that's a pretty high bar to reach)! I loved the different types of kimchi they pare with every course and the passion with which you can tell the chef creates his food. Being korean myself I learned a lot with the explanations of the different types of kimchi, and the food evoked some deep memories and fondness of my childhood and grandmother's cooking. The standouts for me were the dishes with broth - the depth of flavor achieved in each one had me actually licking the bowl (of course when no one was looking :)). I also have to give a special shoutout to their gin tomato basil oil cocktail which was amazing. SERVICE: They run a lean team here and it works very well. The servers you can tell know a lot about the menu, the cooking technique, etc and everyone was just fantastic / very kind. I especially appreciated when the executive chef himself came out to serve and explain a few of the courses. Again, his knowledge and passion for Korean fine dining and cooking really stood out to me. What I loved about Raon is that I had some dishes / types of Korean food that I have never had before or that I hadn't had in 20+ years. For example the naengmyun broth the Bo Kimbap was in, was unlike any dish I've ever had at any Korean fine dining place. I loved the uniqueness of the courses. VERDICT: Though I do think the price is steep, in NYC and in this economy, you're not going to get much better attention, knowledge, and Korean fine dining food than at Raon. I would highly recommend to anyone looking to celebrate a special day with some delicious Korean food!!

The tasting menu was thoughtful, and the chef’s background and personal touch really came through. Love that they had a kimchi pairing with each dish. The experience felt intimate in contrast to some of tasting experiences I’ve had which were more generic and bland. Also, great selection of interesting non-alcoholic drinks.

Raon NYC offers one of the most thoughtful Korean tasting experiences in the city. Kimchi is the heart of the menu, not the soloist but a quiet star that adds depth, balance, and beautiful acidity to each course. The aged soy and doenjang from Jeong Kwan bring a deep, earthy flavor that makes every bite memorable. My favorite dishes were the foie gras mandu with duck broth and the uni and caviar with tofu and winter gamtae. Raon feels like a calm, confident celebration of Korean flavors and tradition.

One line review: Warm Korean “Jeong” (정) presented with French mastery. Food: Each dish was cooked and presented with meticulous culinary skills rooted in French fine dining, but when I took a bite, I was thrown back to the familiar taste, smell and texture of Korea. We don’t usually like Korean fine dining restaurants that have diverted too far away from the Korean taste palate or tastes too exotic for the Western audience. Each dish at Raon achieved the perfect balance. Kimchi pairing was unique (and would be very easy for any non-Koreans not used to kimchi). Service: Everyone (including the Chef himself) was incredibly warm, attentive and professional. I was pleasantly surprised by the near-perfect Korean pronunciation of the (non-Korean) servers. Also credit to great photos we got from the staff members. Atmosphere: Quiet, calm and welcoming. The interior is tastefully decorated with various artwork by Korean artists.