Nubiani

Nubiani was a Korean BBQ restaurant that had been on my list for quite some time. I was only reminded of it when my partner wanted to go to it because one of their friends tried to walk-in and instead had to go to Love Korean BBQ. I was easily able to make a reservation for Friday, though they only had early PM openings at 4:30. This is located right across the street from Love, inside a building on the third floor. It’s definitely very inconspicuous, but this is a typical pattern for Koreatown restaurants.

From the site,

The term “Nubiani” refers to grilled meat on direct heat that Korean people used to enjoy in the ancient Manchuria region.

As nomadic people in ancient times, Korean people were highly skilled in cooking meat using a fire pit, the earliest form of barbecue, and in bringing out the natural flavors of the ingredients with minimal seasoning. Since then cooking meat on direct heat has developed into a culinary art form over time in Korea.

Located in the heart of Manhattan, Nubiani is open with a boat of further developing the transcendent Korean culinary culture of grilling meat and introducing the finest flavors from direct heat cooking to the world.

Ambiance & Service

When you walk into the building, you’re greeted with the elevator banks. You can optionally choose to also walk up a few flight of stairs. Had we known the elevator banks were extremely small, i.e. fitting just 2-3 people, we probably would’ve walked up. Once you exit out of the elevator banks, you’re right smack into the dining area of the restaurant. There really is no host counter. The hosts are floating around with tablets and will check you in.

To the left, you’ll find a C-shaped counter where you get a view of Manhattan, and the servers grill the food right in front of you. This was probably the more scenic seat that I’m guessing helps Nubiani be an attraction. We were seated to the right, where it’s more of a long counter with 2-seater grills. There was plenty of counter room for all our drinks, banchan, and food. In the tables where it sat large parties, space was definitely an issue, as many people’s drinks are placed at the edge of the table.

The service was pretty quick, though because my partner eats slow, we were out in about 1.5 hours. They definitely try to rush you out before then. Also, they offer an optional cash discount of 10% off the subtotal. The taxes on the bill reflect post-taxes though, so be careful when you’re calculating.

Food

The Peach Juice ($7 - left) reminded me of some sort of market bought juice.

The Quilt Threadcount ($18 - right) came from Pasa Robles 2021. This was a red blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah, and Petite Syrah. This was one of the more cheaper red wines on the menu, and it had a fuller body of dark fruits and oaky notes. I noticed that as I let it aerate longer, it was more smooth. Flavor wise though, I wasn’t impressed much. Despite it being a blend, the texture seemed a very basic bold red wine, and I wasn’t getting elaborate enough flavors to really separate it from other red wines.

We received a slew of banchan. In this picture, we have (from left to right):

1. Watercress
2. Scallions
3. Sweet potato
4. Pickled Cucumber

For dips, they gave us (from left to right):

1. Salt
2. Wasabi
3. Ssamjang

Here is the remaining banchan. In this picture we have (from left to right):

1. Bean Sprouts
2. Kimchi
3. Lettuce Wraps

And on the bottom right are onion slices with some sweetened soy mixture.

They also gave us a gigantic egg souffle. This was decent, though certainly not the best we’ve had at Korean BBQ places. Also, towards the bottom of this, there was leftover crunchy carbon, which gave a weird crunchy texture to the bottom of the egg souffle since it was cooked very thoroughly. It was not enjoyable.

The Beef Small Package ($150) came with choice of boneless short ribs or rib eye, skirt steak, rib finger, and seasoned short ribs. We chose the boneless short ribs instead of the rib eye because it was going to be more tender and less steak-like.

The servers cook in front of you, and all the meat was pretty tender. The short ribs were all pretty good as well as the skirt steak. The rib finger though had some tendons, so it was a bit more chewy. The quantity of meat they give you was just perfect, it was neither too much or too little.

The Kimchi Stew came with homemade kimchi, pork belly, scallion, and tofu. My partner liked this, but I thought they added some sweetness to this. It wasn’t spicy, and the kimchi flavors were not overly prominent from the fermentation flavors.

For dessert, they gave a soft serve with orange marmalade, and it tasted straightforward.

Overall Impression

Nubiani was definitely not my favorite Korean BBQ restaurant, but it was decent. The meat quality was good, though I don’t think this is a place I would recommend people to go unless they really want to get lucky with scenic vibes. Also, the price is a bit on the high side, and it’s debatable if that is really worth it.

Yelp Jabs

The meat quality, out of this world. The service, the best I’ve ever had for KBBQ besides while I was in Korea… Easily my favorite KBBQ post in NY!

This Elitist is actually based out of Los Angeles, so they have may not have had enough Korean BBQ in the city. There are a lot of KBBQ locations, and everyone will have their favorite. The meat quality here is pretty good, though I still prefer Yoon Haeundae Galbi.

This was my first experience going to a Korean BBQ restaurant and this was definitely fine dining at its best. The quality of meat and the authentic sides that were endless did not disappoint. Our server was very attentive and had a great personality.

This Yelper hasn’t been to Cote yet nor to legit fine dining restaurants. This place is not much different than other Korean BBQ places. The only thing that separates it from other places is that it’s on the third floor and there is a panoramic view of Midtown. Outside of that, the food is pretty typical of the medium-upper tier of Korean BBQ.

Revisions

1. May 24, 2025 - Initial revision.