While Tokyo is officially the city with the most Michelin-starred restaurants, travelers from around the world also come to New York for its robust fine dining scene.
And as of this week, the number of the elusive three-star establishments in the city has grown from four to five.
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First Korean restaurant with three Michelin stars in the U.S.
At its annual award ceremony for New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. on Dec. 9, the restaurant rating agency awarded a three-star ranking to New York Korean restaurant Jungsik.
Chef and owner Jungsik Yim first opened his namesake restaurant in Seoul in 2009 and added a second location in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood in 2011. Jungsik was given its first Michelin star rating within a year of opening while the second was awarded two years later in 2013.
The third, which makes Jungsik the only three-star Korean restaurant in the United States, is also the first time a restaurant in New York has gained a three-star rating since Daniel Humm's Eleven Madison Park earned its third star in 2012. The South Korean capital of Seoul has one three-star restaurant: Chef Sung Anh's MOSU.
While Jungsik’s innovative twists on Korean classics have long made it a top destination for food and fine dining connoisseurs, the new rating is sure to boost its popularity and make a reservation even more difficult to obtain (as is typical for restaurants whenever a new star is awarded.)
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Restaurants to be awarded two stars include seafood restaurant César and Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare and Sushi Sho in New York. In Chicago, Mexican restaurant Cariño was recognized with its first star while vegetarian Latin American restaurant Mita and Omakase at Barrack’s Row earned it in Washington, D.C.
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New York restaurants to earn their first star include French fine dining establishments Café Boulud and La Bastide, Mexican restaurant Corima, and Korean restaurants Joo Ok and Noksu.
“Our anonymous Inspectors uncovered several extraordinary culinary gems, further solidifying these restaurant communities as some of the most inspiring and talented destinations in the world,” Michelin Guides International Director Gwendal Poullennec said in a statement.
The Michelin Green Star, which is awarded each year to a restaurant with leading sustainability initiatives in its respective city, was awarded to Hudson Valley farm-to-table restaurant One White Street for New York and contemporary vegetarian restaurant Oyster, Oyster in Washington, D.C.
The annual awards also recognize restaurants that maintain their ratings in a given year as verified by Michelin’s inspectors. In New York, the three-star rating was held by Per Se, Le Bernardin, Eleven Madison Park, and Masa; Smyth and Alinea in Chicago and The Inn at Little Washington in D.C. Awards also recognized restaurants doing innovative things with cocktails, wine, and service as well as one award for standout young chefs under the age of 36.
This year’s award recognized Chef Joseph Rhee of Jean-Georges in New York, Josh Mummert of Kumiko in Chicago, and Carlos Delgada of Causa in Washington, D.C.
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