Atomix () – New York, NY

After seeing multiple rave reviews from this community, Atomix has been on the top of my list of restaurants to try. When work took me to NYC earlier this month, I knew I'd have to do everything I can to grab a reservation. We were able to score an 8.45 pm seating at the chef's table. Fast forward to the day, my partner and I arrived 10 minutes prior to our seating time to a group of people waiting in front of the restaurant. After all, the restaurant did warn us that the service will begin promptly at the reservation time. Around 5 minutes before, we were let in to the restaurant. We were greeted warmly by the host. The first group of people were let downstair to the main dining room. We were told to wait by the bar. This was a bit strange to be honest. We stood around for 10 minutes or so watching the team prepping ingredients behind the bar. The hosts were busy organizing themselves, so we were just kind of there. The next set of diners arrived and were checked in. We were then brought downstair to an area with today's ingredients. The chef also gave us an introduction about two types of soy sauces they use for the meal and gave us samples to try. After we were seated at the U-shaped chef's table.

Our servers came by to introduce themselves and brought the drink menu. They were quite excited for us to try the brand new menu. Chef JP was in the kitchen tonight since it's only the second day for the new menu. For drinks, we decided to skip the pairings and went with the cocktails to start.

Fluke, Turnip, Tomato, Sea Squirt – Beginning started off shaky. We were actually served the second amuse bouche first. I think they confused us with someone else. The Fluke tart was good. Nothing memorable.

Deodeok, White asparagus, Dried Squid- This was pretty good. Nice charred flavor.

Cherry blossom trout, Korean mustard, Rhubarb root – Very refreshing dish. I haven't seen cherry blossom flavor used in a lot of fine dining restaurants. Korean mustard gave a nice kick.

Chungju mieum, firefly squid, Sea urchin, Almond – This is where Atomix took it to a whole other level. Might be my favorite for the night. The rice porridge was served with warm firefly squid and sweet Hokkaido uni. Not just this was delicious, you could really feel the heart they put in (especially with the description provided on the card).

Nettle egg jjim, Sugar snap pea, Freshwater eel, Nuruk – Grilled eel served with egg custard. A very close second favorite of the night. Warm, soothing, amazing.

Shrimp gulim mandu, Clam jeotguk, Aehobak, Basil – shrimp dumpling served with a thin sheet of basil, clam broth. The broth was peppery and offered a nice contrast to the sweet shrimp mandu.

Ganjang gejang. Gim rice, Flying fish roe – Presentation of Korean raw crab dish. Another home run for the night.

Mumallaengi, Red Pepper, Scallion

Rosy seabass, Cheongyukjang, Abalone, Tendon. Bamboo shoot – a bit like surf and turf. Seabass was well-cooked. Tendon offered nice textural contrast to the firm abalone. Very good.

Lamb saddle, Gosari, Perilla seed, Chopi – After a series of one delicious dish after another, this was a miss. Lamb was quite fatty. They gave us regular knife, which couldn't cut through the meat. It wasn't a bad dish but felt like something that needs a bit more work. I'm sure they'll tweak and improve.

Dureup rice, Razor Clam, Jidan – Served with the lamb was the rice dish with razor clam and asparagus. Good dish.

Tangerines, Marshmallow, Dashima – Refreshing dessert.

Black chestnut, Doraji chocolate – A nice end to the meal. This one reminds me of Korean Choco Pie. Chocolate, chestnut. Delicious.

Drinks – We went with cocktails and a few glasses of wine, recommended by our waiter. The cocktails were delicious and inventive. The Beso De Nopal was recommended for us to pair with the dessert. This was so original, inventive, and delicious. The drink incorporates cactus and cilantro, which reminded me a bit like an Amaro. The cocktail program here is probably the best I've had anywhere.

Service – Overall, great service. Two hiccups in beginning. Not 100% polished service. However, we would feel the warmth from the Atomix team and the care they put in to the service.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed by Atomix. This is probably in my top 2 best restaurants in the US. I'm already planning a return.