I got to visit one of my favorite cities this year, and while I spent a good amount of it trying to organize meet-ups with friends I hadn’t seen in awhile, I did want to have a few nights alone so we could try out some amazing restaurants. Nearly all of my choices seemed to fall into the Asian category, and while we enjoyed quite a bit of Asian food (at least four meals!), I felt like I couldn’t make the whole trip located on one continent. Of those Asian restaurants, Kochi really stood out to me because I have been getting really into Korean food recently, plus they serve a lot of stuff on skewers. It seemed like a no-brainer: Korean Michelin Star dining on skewers? Sign me up!
When I looked into reservations, I decided to sit at the bar which actually is in front of the kitchen so you get to see all the exciting things going on. It’s always one of my favorite places to sit, as I’m a huge fan of peering at what gets done in a professional kitchen. And even though this kitchen was tiny, it was still a lot of fun to see dishes getting plated right in front of me.
It’s a tasting menu, so for $135, we got a nine-course meal, and with an additional $95, a beverage pairing consisting of wine, beer and soju to expertly selected to go with the courses. There were also optional things on the menu, including an option abalone course ($24) and upgrades on two of the courses with uni added to the bibimbap ($14) and truffle ($24) and/or a wagyu steak upgrade for the steak course. We decided to split an abalone dish and get some uni, but no supplements for the steak course. The first course of sunchoke soup was a warm and earthy way to start the meal, and yes, even the soup had something with a skewer attached.
Honestly, most of the savory courses were stellar. It would be wordy to explain how nuanced the flavors were in most of them, but a few of the courses really stuck out in my head. There was a raw hamachi course that had a great depth of flavor, and a halibut course with a bright, acidic sauce. The best course, for me, was a shrimp dish with a Korean remoulade that looked a lot like a shrimp corn dog. It was fun to eat, and very delicious, with perfectly cooked shrimp inside and a light, crispy breading. The additional abalone course was also a really fantastic presentation, as the abalone was not overcooked and all the flavors really balanced well.
Not everything was a huge winner for me, the one course that was a slight letdown was the beef course, as it seemed like it could use a real boost of Korean flavor. Perhaps it was the lack of supplements, but I really just felt like it was a dish I could have gotten from any sort of restaurant, not one that had been packing each dish with wonderful Asian flavors. The king salmon bibimbap was also really good, and I always love uni, but there was a slight disconnect from the uni fitting with the dish.
Desserts were both amazing, with a really tasty frozen yogurt with dates and cranberry to add some nice fruity acidic notes, and a ice cream sandwich (on a skewer) to end the meal on a rich, chocolatey note. And I love black sesame ice cream, so it was a winner all around for me.
The service was also really wonderful, as they seemed to pace tables well according to how you were eating, as some tables were getting dishes slower if they were taking their time. Several people there seemed to be celebrating special events, and they really took that into consideration. It’s nice that you won’t feel rushed through your meal, and they were always willing to answer any weird food questions that I had for them. The pairing were phenomenal and we definitely got to try some new an unusual beverages. Kochi definitely deserves its Michelin star with the quality of food and service, and really you can’t go wrong if you feel the need for some Korean fine dining.
Score: 4.5/5
Recommendation: I say add on a few supplements, and if you want some unusual beverage pairings, definitely get that as well!
Kochi
652 10th Ave
New York, NY 10036
