Gammeeok
Korean restaurant · Midtown West ·
Hearty Korean classics like ox-bone soup and kimchi
Hearty Korean classics like ox-bone soup and kimchi
"We always feel taken care of in Koreatown, thanks to all the 24-hour restaurant options. It’s a place where you can drink until you have the courage to sing Landslide at karaoke, then grab a healing soup after the sun comes up. Gammeeok specializes in a noodle soup with ox-bone broth and brisket, and we recommend getting some fried chicken and kimchi pancakes as well." - neha talreja
"I read that Gammeeok, a Koreatown restaurant, was sued this week after two customers allegedly found a rat carcass in their soup; the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene closed it following a Wednesday inspection. Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams, said no New York City restaurant is authorized to have mice or rats on the menu and that the city is investigating further. A sign on the front notifies customers it’s been closed by the Health Department, while a separate sign posted later claims it is closed due to “maintenance.”" - Luke Fortney
"My husband and I have patronized Gammeeok for almost a decade and had only said positive things about it, so on March 11 we were shocked to find what we claim was a dead rodent—what I at first thought was a vegetable until my husband noticed the tail—in our sogogi gukbap delivered via UberEats. We had already been eating when we noticed; we both vomited afterwards, went to urgent care and were prescribed doxycycline, and we disposed of the specimen. I posted photos on Instagram, filed a complaint with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on March 13, and our lawyers filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court on March 15. Gammeeok refutes the presence of vermin, saying it has been disinfected every two weeks, that staff ladled the soup four times while observed and that video exists of the transfer, and it says any issues found in a January 18, 2023 DOHMH inspection (which reported 79 points and noted the establishment “is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests,” and at one point had a C grade) have been fixed. Over March 11–12 the restaurant offered a refund and a $100 coupon (which it concedes) and, I say, offered $5,000 (which we rejected); the restaurant says it was threatened and plans to pursue legal recourse. An exterminator shown the photo thought it could be a mouse rather than a rat. Above all, I do not want this incident to be used to fuel race-based hate or prejudice—I remain a supporter of Asian cuisine and culture." - Emma Orlow
"Faced with escalating rents on the corridor, Gammeeok, a stew favorite, moved to less-desirable upstairs space to secure cheaper rent, illustrating the pressure on independent operators in K‑Town." - Caleb Pershan
"I note that Gammeeok, a seolleongtang (ox bone soup) spot from the first wave of Korean restaurants on 32nd Street, has remained open but relocated to a second-floor space to save on rent, reportedly paying $20,000 a month on a 10-year lease." - Sam Kim
