Review: Atomix Turns Intellectual Dining Into a Playful Art | Eater NY

"Seated around a marble chef’s counter in a Midtown East townhouse, I experienced Atomix as a modern Korean tasting-menu temple run by Ellia Park and chef Junghyun Park; guests descend to a lower floor, pay the full price online ($175, or about $225 after tax and service), and spend two or more hours eating, drinking, chatting — and reading. Each of the roughly 10 courses is accompanied by a 240-word menu card (I initially ignored mine), and those cards ultimately add real context: they explain elements like a five‑year–aged soy called jinjang behind an intensely savory quenelle, or the use of traditional dried anchovy and modernist thickeners such as xanthan gum and agar agar that produced an unforgettable texture. The food itself is often immediate and precise — eggplant with eel four ways that practically melts like burrata; a charcoal‑singed golden eye snapper glazed pink with an omelet pancake and a jinjang quenelle; a Tostitos‑style scoop chip made from mussel juices; halibut that conceals a foie gras terrine; banchan built from Hokkaido uni, fresh tofu, and chestnut puree; a French‑style seared duck paired with a gochujang mole whose raisins, cumin, and chocolate notes feel almost Mexican; delicate baby shrimp with cherry‑blossom–pickled radish and persimmon puree; and a dessert progression ending with hydrangea tea and a melange of corn marmalade, roasted corn, and sesame‑oil ice cream. Small details — dried sea‑cucumber innards used to season thinly sliced beef, pearls of golden osetra on a fresh‑cheese and pine‑nut parfait, and wagyu served with pear juice and a row of fermented garlic, ramps, and wasabi leaves — show how Park treats the peninsula as a point of inspiration rather than a strict bible. The servers’ loose gray tops (designed by Sungho Ahn) and a fabric case of varied chopsticks add theatricality, but the cards’ unobtrusive explanations are what make the complex, expensive craft feel accessible and memorable." - Ryan Sutton