Kochi

Kochi has been on my list for a while now. I’ve been to several of the Chef’s other restaurants, and they’re all delightful. This is his first solo project, after working in kitchens like Le Bernardin, Per Se, and Morimoto. What’s also great about this restaurant is that it’s very easy to get a reservation if you just book a few days out. We were able to get one at 5:30 PM on a Friday without any issues.

Ambiance & Service

Even though this is a Michelin Star restaurant, the ambiance is pretty casual. On the outside, they have tables set up so you can enjoy the weather. On the inside, they have a counter top looking over the cooks, and individual dining tables around. The place is small, so it’s easy to bump into people. The two-seater tables are pretty small, but they make it work with the tasting.

The service was very friendly and approachable. Do note that the food comes pretty quickly, so they don’t wait to really get started.

Food

The tasting menu was $145 per person, and the alcohol pairing was $110. They said that this would also include 2 Korean spirits. I asked if they can substitute wines for the Korean spirits, and they said it wasn’t an issue.

The first wine pairing was the Vinha Pan “Espumante” from Luis Pato, Bairrada, Portugal 2022. This was a white sparkling wine made from Baga, a red grape associated with central Portugal’s Bairrada region. It was sparkling, crisp, with floral undertones and notable minerality.

The Passionfruit Basil Martini ($19) came with Reyka vodka, lemon juice, passionfruit juice, and basil syrup. My partner enjoyed this, especially since the passionfruit juice was very forward.

The Corn Soup came with corn fritter, charred pickled baby corn, and yuba chip. If you love corn flavors, then you will also really enjoy this dish because it’s full of corn flavors all around. Paired with the sparkling wine, it was very delicious.

The second pairing was the Sauvignon Blanc, from te Pa, Marlborough, New Zealand 2024. This wine caught me completely off-guard because it was phenomenal. With very prominent white peach and guava smells, the actual flavors of this were zesty with summer stone fruit flavors. It was acidic with a mineral saline finish. I’ll keep this in mind if I ever wanted to bring a nice white wine to a dinner party.

The Hwe came with Hokkaido scallop, chojang granita, and white kimchi. The chojang granita was surprisingly very good with very familiar Korean flavors. Chojang has a sweet, tangy, and spicy flavor, which is very similar to gochujang. The scallop was super fresh and sweet. Combined with the wine pairing, this was delectable.

The third pairing was the “Anna Blume” from Winzerin Birgit Wiederstein, Austria. This uses the Harslevelu grape, and is considered biodynamic. It has aromas of almond and lime blossom. It was quite aromatic with a slight nuttiness to it.

The Abalone (+$24) came with braised abalone, pea leaves, shrimp jeon, and yuja soy. The abalone was perfectly cooked, and the shrimp pancake gave it a nice complimentary flavor.

The fourth pairing was the “Uni” from Stolpman Vineyards, Ballard Canyon, US 2023. This was 60% chardonnay and 40% roussanne with 24 hours of skin contact. This had a slight creaminess to it with light citrus and floral notes.

The Halibut came with jiri consomme, bean sprout and mustard green namul, and crispy tofu. The halibut was very delicate, and all the condiments were very good.

The fifth pairing was the “Tribute to Grace” grenache rose from Santa Barbara Highlands, California, 2024. They also practice biodynamic. This was surprisingly one of the better tasting roses I have had, and I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up a bottle.

The Octopus Twigim came with celtuce, curry aioli, and crispy potato. The octopus was very tender and was delicious with the curry aioli. The flavors were all very bold in this course, so the rose helped level this out.

The sixth pairing was the Barolo Castellero from Brezza, Italy, 2019. This uses the nebbiolo grape variety, so you can expect a juicy, spicy, full body red wine. This had very notable tannins, leather tastes, with some tobacco and dark fruit forward flavors.

The American wagyu came with acorn jelly, squash jeon, fried eggplant, and cucumber kimchi. Everything in this course was delicious, and it was a perfect complement with the Barolo.

The seventh pairing was the “Ravines” sparkling riesling from Finger Lakes, NY, 2019. You could almost use this as an entry pairing because it was subtly sweet with a lot of little bubbles in it. Like many rieslings from upstate New York, this has very prominent flavors of apple and citrus with plenty of salinity.

The Tuna Bibimbap came with blue fin tuna, kimchi marmalade, and seaweed rice. We added Hokkaido uni (+$16 per bowl). This was all very decadent as you can imagine. With loads of sea butter flavors, kimchi, and umami, this was a bowl that was sublime. The sparkling riesling helps cut through some of the fattiness and cream textures of the fish.

The Hwache came with watermelon mint sorbet, watermelon and honey dew chunks, and citrus granita. This was probably similar to a palette cleanser. Everything was very fresh and crisp.

The dessert and final pairing was the “Castelnau de Suduiraut” from Sauternes, France, 2022. This was 93% semillon and 7% sauvignon blanc. Like most other sweet wines done well, this was pretty good. You can tell there were some apricot and spice notes to it.

The Banana Milk came with banana parfait, soy caramel, banana compote, and dried garnishes. If you’re a fan of banana, you will probably enjoy this as well. With plenty of banana flavors to go around, it was very good.

Overall Impression

We were pleasantly surprised by how consistent and delicious Kochi was. It’s arguably better than even some Asian Michelin 2 star restaurants that we’ve been to. We have been to many of Chef Sungchul Shim’s restaurants already (Mari and Gui), and they are all delicious. As a night out for some very good modern take on Korean food, check out Kochi when you get the chance.

Yelp Jabs

Korean fusion restaurant. Omakaze is not too expensive, and the dishes are creative and delicious. The portion is not enough and everyone was still hungry after the dinner

The portions are not overly abundant, but decent, especially if you order drinks along the dinner. If you’re someone desiring to be very full, this restaurant won’t satisfy that. However if you want some good Korean food that will last into the next morning, this is a good for that.

The food is worth 4 or 5 stars but we had a difficult experience last night, seated outside. There were many mosquitoes and we had a lot of bites. Toward the end of the meal we realized there was a fan behind us but it was off. When turned on, that helped a bit. The waiter should have turned it on at the beginning.

The issue with this Yelper was that they sat outside in a stenchy Hell’s Kitchen area. I rarely find sitting outside worthwhile, and this affirms that. If you are annoyed by mosquitos or bugs as much as I am, avoid sitting outside in NYC when eating unless you know for certain you or they have mosquito repellent even if the weather is nice.

Revisions

1. Aug 22, 2025 - Initial revision.