Zhette 02

a month ago

"The food was good. The prices were reasonable for nyc. The food was nothing flashy but fairly authentic. The gouchuji was a strange touch but I didnt hate it. The mandu tastes like the mandu I get from the stand by my house in korea but its 5x the price,, classic nyc. It's strange and difficult to make a reservation. I got misinformation over the phone. In the end they told me to book two separate reservations for a party of three. This was very unprofessional and a strange policy. The servers were very good in the actual restaurant though. Everyone seemed to be putting actual effort into their job which is rare to see in food in nyc. I hope they are paid accordingly because they honestly did a lovely job. Because the place is so small it's never too too loud. And even though the dining room is all bar seating and the whole restaurant is the size of a large closet they made the space work surprisingly well. It's not as chaotic as most bar seating feels. For what it is, the atmosphere is very impressive."

Julia H

2 months ago

"It was a little bit overrated if considering the price. Everything was fine but nothing stood out. The signature soup rice was mild. For me it was a little bit watery, like the meat/ bone was not cooked into the soup. Kimchi dumplings were delicious. The skin was pliable even it was thin. Kimchi has a nice flavor too."

Robbin

2 months ago

"I'm usually a big fan of Korean food but I have to confess that this type of food is not up my alley. The pork broth though is clear loses a lot of the rich and complicated flavors I usually like about pork broth. My pork broth just ended up tasting pretty bland (just for reference: at times I feel like "is the broth diluted with water" kinda bland). Mandu was a disappointment as well. The filling was pretty mushy and I just don't like the texture. I feel my H Mart frozen Mandus had better texture and flavor. I don't think the food is worth the price so probably won't return."

Gabbie Kim

3 months ago

"Totally hit the mark and didn’t disappoint. I don’t know how they manage to make the soup so clear - not greasy, yet still rich in flavor. Every element felt minimal, but so thoroughly thought through. I tried cold jokbal for the first time as a Korean, and I really enjoyed it - not only was the pork flavorful without that unpleasant pork smell, but the sweet side topping you layer on the pork was just incredible. Of course, the main dish was excellent too. The only thing I didn’t love was the plum drink - it didn’t have much flavor beyond the soda water. The setting itself was lovely. Even the lighting at the bar felt intentional, and it added to the atmosphere I really liked. Overall, such a great experience."

Matthew Ho

3 months ago

"Okdongsik was a huge hit when it first opened -- definitely one of my favourite restaurants in NYC at the time -- and while I still enjoy my meals here, I fear it has somewhat lost some its allure. The menu is simple and limited -- other than drinks, you can order the dweji-gomtang (pork broth with pork shoulder and rice) and kimchi mandu (dumplings). The dwegi-gomtang is consistently delicious. You can already smell how fragrant the broth is throughout the small restaurant, and each sip is filled with the light-yet-savoury flavour of the pork, gently cooked inside for hours. Each slice of pork is so thinly cut -- soft, tender, and practically melts in your month. The rice is a lovely textural contrast -- perfectly cooked to a light fluffiness and pairing so well with the savoury flavours of the broth. Such a lovely dish that brings out all the natural flavours with simplicity. The mandu, I fear, has slightly tempered my overall feelings about Okdongsik. Whereas I felt they used to be an amazing complement to the pork broth, on recent visits they have been much more ... normal? Certainly nothing grossly problematic, but it feels like the quality of the skin (thicker and heavier than before) and the filling (smaller in size and increasingly less flavourful) has been trending in a disappointing direction. To a certain extent, I think they may have set the bar too high for themselves haha -- expectations were Very High after how impressed I was on my first few visits. I am still eager to come when the chance arrives, but perhaps just with slightly less enthusiasm as a few years ago. The intimate environment has kept its charm -- seeing your soup ladled over your rice right in front of you while seated at a small countertop with ~10-12 other seats is a lovely experience. Some of the small touches, though, seem to be less consistent -- on my latest visits, we were offered a plate of spicy pickled radishes. While I do like radishes, their kimchi was one of the most delicious I've ever had, and I was sad to see that it wasn't necessarily a given here anymore. Reservations are of course highly recommended -- although surprisingly for a restaurant of this renown, they are not too hard to come by with a little bit of foresight."