Atomix

Atomix is a Korean tasting-menu restaurant on East 30th Street in the NoMad area of Manhattan. Chef Junghyun Park runs it with his wife Ellia Park.

Park learned European technique at The Ledbury in London and at Cutler & Co. in Melbourne, then became chef de cuisine at Jungsik in Seoul, which was still new at the time. Jungsik brought him to New York to cook at its Tribeca branch, and he and Ellia later opened their own Korean restaurant, Atoboy, in NoMad. Atomix followed in 2018 and received a Michelin star in its first year. A second star came in 2021, and the couple's group has since added Naro and Seoul Salon to its restaurants.

The restaurant is set on two floors. Downstairs, guests sit at a chef's counter in a calm room of dark finishes and earth tones, while the bar upstairs serves its own set menu. Both are booked in advance and both serve fixed menus, so the evening unfolds as a sequence chosen by the kitchen rather than a list to order from. Michelin describes the cooking as Korean and contemporary, and a broad wine list and a sake program run alongside it. That pairing of Korean flavors with the habits of a European tasting menu traces back directly to Park's years in London and Melbourne.

Michelin sees the Parks as global ambassadors for modern Korean cooking. Park won the James Beard Award as the best chef in New York State, and the restaurant has received James Beard awards for its design and its hospitality. Atomix topped the list of North America's 50 Best Restaurants, and Pete Wells of The New York Times placed it near the top of his ranking of the city's restaurants.