November 13, 2018
Atomix in NoMad Earns Three Stars from the NYT
Since Korean fine dining establishment Atomix made its debut in NoMad last summer, it has rapidly grown in both popularity and acclaim, even landing on Eater’s list of Top Ten Hottest Restaurants in Manhattan last month. Its most recent nod comes from Pete Wells, noted food critic for The New York Times, who handed Atomix an “NYT Critic’s Pick” and a coveted three-star rating.
“Nothing at Atomix tastes confused or overburdened,” Wells writes in his review. “The dishes are even more elaborate than those at Jungsik, the rarefied Korean-inspired restaurant downtown where Mr. Park was the chef de cuisine before he and his wife struck out on their own.”
Uniquely designed to be both an educational and culinary experience, Atomix doesn’t offer a pick-and-choose menu. Instead, guests make reservations to sit around the 16-seat table on the lower level, where they partake of an original tasting menu prepared in front of them by head chef and restaurant co-owner Junghyun Park. His wife, Ellia, personally invites the evening’s dinner guests to select from her personal collection of Korean chopsticks to partake of the meal. At the presentation of each course of the menu (which changes regularly), guests are presented with a flashcard naming the dish and listing its ingredients—which Wells says amounts to about 20 ingredients per course on average.
“One after another, each of the 10 courses in the $175 meal opens up new ideas about Korean cuisine and culture,” writes Wells. “Tasting menus can be arid and sterile when a chef doesn’t have much to say. The format comes to life when a restaurant is overflowing with ideas, like Atomix.”
Located on East 30th Street in NoMad, Atomix currently serves dinner nightly from Tuesday through Saturday, with two seatings per evening (at 6pm and 9pm). As kudos and reviews like the one from Peter Wells continue to pile up for this fine restaurant, our best advice is to get your reservations made as soon as possible. The wait only looks to get longer as the weeks go by.
Atomix
104 East 30th Street
New York, NY 10016
(646) 476-7217
Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday: 5:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.
Sunday and Monday: Closed