Lovely and charming place, friendly staff, not too noisy. The staff was really helpful, the service was good and fast. The place isn't too crowded, that we were even able to talk. The wine and cocktails have been tasty and the food was really yummy. We had the Spanish Mackerel, the soft tofu, the pork belly and the jinga tower. I loved all of it, just the desert was a bit to sweet for me. read more

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We made a reservation for a party of 3 at the DINING ROOM. But when we got to the restaurant, they were going to seat us by the bar. They said the reservation was based on first come first serve, so there was no more dining room seating for us when they got to our reservation. Yet, they didn't make any effort to call us to ask if it were ok for us to be seated at the bar. The server said if we only wanted the dining room, we must specify it in our reservation, or else, the restaurant can seat us wherever we want. Isn't the point of the Resy app specifying "Bar Dining" or "Dining Room" mean something specific? Look at my attached pic of the Resy app. read more

Soogil - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

Came here for Restaurant Week and we were pleasantly surprised! Jap Chae (4): yum! I know this is one of their more famous dishes, and we thought it was made really well. mung bean pancake (3.5): it was delicious, however it was a bit flaky / dry for us. Good as a shared appetizer but because it was my own appetizer, I had to eat some of my husband's jap chae to break up the taste. Braised short ribs (4): the short ribs is sooooo tender that it just comes off the bone with a soft poke. Loved the cook on the braised short ribs and the only thing I wished was that there was more sauce on it. Duck breast (3.5): Their relatively new dish. My husband ordered this and the flavors and the sauce and the mushroom was the dish was perfect. However, I thought the duck was just slightly overcooked where some pieces were slightly harder to chew. I'd definitely recommend this place for restaurant week or a casual dinner with friends! Good pricing and good meal. read more

We came here for my sister's bday party and having dined all over the city, I can say this is one of the best deals in NYC in terms of food quality and price point. Highlights: uni appetizer, short rib that comes with a BOWL of rice, and the sizzling foie gras over rice dish (just do it). Also, 40 dollar full size bottle of soju on the menu at a white table cloth spot = shook. 5 stars. read more

Simply one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Tasting menu was delight after delight. Pricey, but that's to be expected for the area and quality. read more

I like their sea food as French Korean. The food was authentic Korean with nice french style. And the fish was great with modern style presentation. Also I try the cute soft drink with lite inside the glass ( it was so unique!) in the dimly interior was so fantastic!!! read more

Soogil - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

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Wow. This place was awesome. I love the small plates - Asian fusion style places, so I wasn't hard to convince when my boyfriend suggested Soogil for date night. We each ordered the chef's tasting menu. 8 courses plus dessert for $68 (amazing price tbh). My first cocktail was the Korean Kiss (hibiscus soju, lime & ginger syrup). After my first sip I told my boyfriend, "Ok, I'll be drinking this all night!" First course was a tofu salad with soybean & sesame. Really delicious, light, and didn't remind me of tofu at all. Second was yellowtail sashimi with caviar and a wasabi vinaigrette salad -- WOW! favorite course of the night. The fish was fantastic and the caviar bursts were almost sweet? Wasabi salad was super refreshing and a perfect addition. Third was uni over spinach flan with cauliflower. I loved every bit of it. I could eat a whole bowl of that cauliflower. Fourth was sweet potato beignet and a chilled sour soup with pickled vegetables. It was gingery and like nothing I've ever had before. Fifth was glass noodles, mushrooms, and bulgogi. I LOVED every bit of the bulgogi. Crispy yet tender. And so flavorful. The sixth, seventh, and eighth (mackerel, foie gras, and short rib wagyu) were equally well done, if not a bit too heavy on sweet sauces. The dessert brought it all home - we both chose the honey chestnut ice cream and churro sticks. I wish that this flavor was served in regular soft serve shops because it was silky, nutty, balanced and perfectly sweet. All in all, we THOROUGHLY enjoyed our meal. My only qualms were dishes being made a bit too sweet and our red wines continually being served cold. Maybe that's too nit picky, I don't know! But we would totally go back! read more

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This review is for the tasting menu. I read an article about Soogil on timeout magazine earlier, and was very interested to see how the chef combined the Korean food with French cooking. Well, I don't see any French here at all. It's like the 20 dollar K-town food, but scooped nicely in a fancy plate. Don't get me wrong, it's still pretty tasty, just for the $ I paid, it doesn't worth it at all. We started with the 1)tofu salad. It tastes exactly like the free KTown appetizer. Tofu and veggie with a lot of sesame oil. 2) yellow tail is pretty standard. 3)uni with spinach purée and fried cauliflower. This dish is the only one I felt there's some thought in it. Even though cauliflower was really salty and the rest was very plain. 4) fried sweet potato dough. It does have a fancy French name, but I can't see that much connection between beignet and it. Oh, it comes with Korean pickle water. 5) I'm usually a big fan of glass noodle and bulgogi beef, but the dish was way too sweet. 6) the mackerel is really lack of flavor, but bottom spinach with rice was pretty tasty tho. 7) foie gras with rice. They are very generous with the foie gras portion, but the dish is again really sweet. 8) short ribs is very over cooked. It is very dry and taste exactly the same as foie gras/ bulgogi glass noodle 9) passion fruit tarte. This is the first time I see restaurant serves half of the tarte. Very funny. My friend had the jenga tower, that was my favorite dish of the night. I had a high expedition for Soogil, and really wanted to like it! Had such a great experience at some of the Korean fusion restaurant in NYC. ( would recommend Atoboy and Jungsik)But Soogil is not the one.. it's a good Korean restaurant, priced doubled as regular ones. read more

We did the chef's tasting menu when we went and even did some addons. Our bill came to $500 for two after all was said and done tip included and one drink a head. I know this sounds high, but the exquisite dining experience you have here is so much fun. Basically from dish to dish our waiter kindly explained every single part of it and was very funny/friendly. Service was super speedy and the food always came out on various types of bowls/plates with decoratice elements (one dish was on rocks!) I don't want to rant and spoil it here, but it is by far one of the coolest, fanciest and unique experiences I've ever had. If you have the means, I highly recommend dining here at least once. As a Korean-American who has a father from France, this felt like home. Thank you Soogil for a once in a lifetime dinner with my girlfriend. We were floored and had a perfect night! read more

My friend and I came to Soogil on a Wednesday night, and were able to get reservations pretty easily. We basically ordered the entire land menu except the foie gras terrine, as they were unfortunately out of it that night. The mung bean pancakes came out super crispy, but a little too oily for my taste. They were good, but I'm probably biased as it's one of my favorite foods. The kimchi added another layer of flavor that was pretty enlightening, so I'll be asking my mom to do that whenever she whips that up at home. On the flip side, the spicy chicken was a little bland, and I'd easily skip it should I go again. The sauce that came with it was weird and didn't really complement the chicken at all, and it was a confused heap of stuff on a plate that should otherwise have left me nostalgic and wanting more. As for the short rib and nurungji gras, the general sentiment was that they were good, but I wish there were more. Being the two most expensive items on the entire menu, I would've expected more, but all in all, I'd say that just means the chef did their job well. The Jenga Tower was good, but I had anticipated a different texture when biting into the tower pieces. Still, that's not to take away from anything, as it was a satisfying end to an overall comforting meal. read more

Soogil was very accommodating and honestly the best place to have my birthday dinner with 10 of my friends. We all ordered the 3-course Prix fixe and tried the uni with cauliflower, beef tartare with pear, japchae - all of which were very unique and balanced. As Korean Americans, our group tends to be skeptical of Korean fusion restaurants but Soogil is authentic in its pursuit of modernizing Korean flavors (e.g. pickled veggies to balance savory/heavier ingredients, huge plus!) Shout out to the all-female waitresses who were super accommodating and friendly, even though we were a bit chatty and needy (bringing balloons etc). Definitely looking forward to being back to try more dishes! Ps, we were able to meet the chef in person, and he seemed very hospitable and humble. read more

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I've visited this place last year and earlier this month. It must have slipped my mind to leave a yelp review but after my second visit, I had to. Pros: 1) Food I love Korean food and soogil's french influence is just right. Their sauce never overpowers and not bland either. I see some reviews here criticizing it's not strong enough, they are probably written by people who lined up for popeye's spicy chicken sandwich. 2) Great service Servers were very attentive and informative. I've been to many places but the servers in this place were very professional... at least the one who served us. Thank you, short hair waitress. 3) Price Though it looked bit pricey at first, it was a bargain for the great menu and drinks. 4) Place The vibe of the place was perfect for a date night. Cons: 1) Slow When the place gets busy, food comes out slow. I'll understand if the wait is 15-20 minute but whooping 40 minutes between plates? Food may be good but waiting this long for a plate just feels too much 2) Inconsistency My date and I noticed that big group around us who came later than we did were getting their dishes first...why? Portions are different at times too. At our first visit, the plating of their dish was downright beautiful but second time, it just wasn't impressive as if they changed something to the staff or plating ways. Services are questionable because during my first visit, the server i mentioned above was great but the waiter really didn't tell us much and he was all over the place. I would give 5 stars for food and service but those two have its inconsistencies and It makes me wonder which experience I will have next time I visit this place. read more

This place is small and cozy. But the food is out of the world. Specially the beef tartare is one of the best I ever have. We went there for restaurant week and we was not disappointed. But if u go make reservations in advance. read more

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Soogil's $55 tasting menu was enjoyable. The various dishes prepared were quite interesting. Some were traditional Korean dishes with a little twist, while others were more French with an Asian flare. Still there were a few that you can tell was more of an experiment. The cocktails are great, service was amazing, and the overall Soogil was a good experience. read more

Soogil is really, really good. We love Korean food and particularly like the upscale small plates places that have been cropping up in the past few years. Soogil is one of the best. Seating is a little cramped but we managed to snag the one two top in the back where you aren't elbow to elbow with folks. They should really find a way to take coats for folks because it's going to be a long cramped winter when the restaurant fills with everyone's heavy, fur-trimmed parkas. Cocktail hour is until 7, and every cocktail (all soju based as of January 2019) was a mere $8. Bargain. Liked the wasabi margarita, the korean kiss. White wine by the glass was also quite good. Tasting menu looked nice but it seemed like every version of every dish on there had a better alternative on the a la carte, so we went for that. Favorite dishes were the glass noodles (perfectly cooked bulgogi, intensely flavored and comforting dish), monkfish (silky, on a bed of delicious sprouts and a lovely sauce), seared foie gras (not the terrine - this comes as a sort of sizzling dish. OMG. This alone is why you shouldn't get the tasting for 2. I think it's available on the larger tasting), and the bone marrow (ok, wait, THIS is why you shouldn't get the tasting menu. The wagyu beef rib on this was unimaginably good, and the rice mixed with the marrow underneath is the rice I want to eat for the rest of my life). Eel was the only meh-sh sort of dish. It was a bit dry and needed a glaze. I think we had eel on our mind since they are right next door to the best eel restaurant in the city (Benemon) so go there if you want eel on your next visit. Husband wants me to share - if you order tap water, it comes out as warm lemon water. Honestly, this was gross. Please keep your water colder. It's really the opposite of refreshing to sip. Also, there were odd lulls in the meal where a dish wouldn't come for a long time, but then two would come within minutes of one another. Initial drinks took a long time to come out as well. It didn't really bother us because we were quite content in our little cave in the back, but had we been cramped up with tables surrounding us, we might have wanted to make a quicker escape, so they should keep an eye on how they are pacing the meals here. Other than the warm lemon water and the eel, this was a splendid meal. The server was so lovely. The atmosphere was just right. And the food was heavenly. read more

We were curious about Soogil due to the chef's training at Daniel. I mean, who wouldn't want to see those techniques put to work in a contemporary Korean spin? Sadly, we won't be back; and highly recommend Atoboy or Oiji if you're looking to jump on our city's modern Korean bandwagon. Food - the only dish I'd recommend is the glass noodles with bulgogi. Our server raved about the monkfish and short rib, but we found both overpoweringly sweet and one-note. Honestly, the short rib tasted like it belonged in a grimy English pub (no offense to the UK) and its accompanying veggies were a mushy hot mess. Some of the other Garden offerings were fine. Drinks - the Korean Kiss cocktail was an undrinkable slushy. My husband's wine was not much better. Service - this is where things went from meh to worse. Our waitress seemed like she'd rather be anywhere but there, and our drinks came after our starters (a big peeve of mine). Ambiance - perhaps the only thing working in Soogil's favor. The dimly lit space is intimate without feeling crammed, making for a nice atmosphere for date night. read more

Really enjoyed all the food and the service from Soogil. Ordered one small plate & three large between two people and it was a good amount of food. Wish I could order a side of rice. Would've enjoyed the short ribs a lot more. Make sure you have a reservation. Love: Beer Tartare, Nurungji Gras, Pork Belly Like: Braised Short Ribs read more

Soogil - Beef Tartare - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

Possibly the best dining experience for the price in NYC. I've been meaning to come to SOOGIL for so long, and from the decor to the service, everything was perfect. We had chef's tasting menu, especially sea scallop is great, Nurungigras is perfect!! Everything was exceptional!! Can't wait to be back! Sweet potato with black truffle, brie cheese - its so adorable!! Hiramasa - fresh, unique sauce. NO need soy sauce Scallop - Perfect sun chokes puree and gochujang crust. LOVE it! Foie gras - it's the highlight. great pairing with wine. Short-Rib - excellent! Jenga Tower - black sesame ice cream!! read more

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Very elegant and tasty and a relaxed vibe, especially nice on a warm evening when the front is all open. The braised short rib was awesome, deep umami. The squid sausage didn't really work--a friend wondered "a new turducken"?... Pork belly was great with amazingly crisp skin -- I suppose from a blow torch treatment. Soju cocktails I find underwhelming so we switched to beers with the food, which worked well. read more

Husband took me here for Valentine's Day. Great customer service, cute and casual ambience. Good food. Some stood out more than others of course like the short ribs were so tender, I can have it everyday. The Korean churros were addicting! Couldn't get enough. The sweet potato beignets were great as well. The cod was better than the mackerel. The foie gras and tuna tartare was good but the taste didn't pop too much for us. Overall a great experience!!! Would recommend and hope they do well!! read more

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Soogil is a lovely restaurant. My husband made a reservation at the restaurant to surprise me for my birthday. He had first heard of the restaurant by reading the review in the New York Times, which was full of praise. The menu at Soogil is unique in that it's primary source is Korean cuisine, but it definitely incorporates other influences. As a Korean person, I was impressed by how smoothly the types of food were blended together. Everything we had was flavorful, yet it was clear that it was not just another Korean restaurant like those clustered on and around 32nd Street. In addition to the delicious food, the service and atmosphere were terrific. It's decor was clean without feeling stuffy, and the low-level lighting and chilled out atmosphere was really inviting and comfortable. The staff was also superb, and they made sure to follow my husband's request to bring a particular dessert after our meal. They tailored the dessert to note it was for my birthday, which was nice, and the dessert itself (the jenga tower) was delicious. As if that wasn't charming enough, as we were leaving we met the owner and chef, and he wished me a happy birthday. I told him that our dinner was the best Korean-fusion cuisine I had ever had, and we thanked him for a lovely evening. After the dinner I read some reviews on yelp in which people complained that the portions were too small. We didn't find that. After our meal, which along with dessert included two appetizers and two main courses for two of us, we were satisfied. Also, it's important to have reasonable expectations. This is a high-end restaurant, not a diner, so it's not fair to expect the types of large portions one would expect at the latter. Also, given the quality of the food, the menu was very reasonably priced. We definitely hope to return in the future, and would recommend Soogil to anyone who likes flavorful food served in a charming atmosphere. read more

Really enjoyed our visit to Soogil. Very reasonably priced tasting. Modern creative Korean. In a casual setting.

I read Peter Wells review and decided to try this interesting sounding restaurant. Our experience was not quite as memorable as Mr Wells. The mung bean pancakes were over cooked, dark brown in color and without flavor. The kimchi on top was nicely shredded and tasty. Next we had the glass noodle with beef on top. The best dish of the evening, although skimpy on the amount of noodles. Next cane the spicy tofu with seafood. No flan on bottom. Only cubes of tofu. Sauce was spicier that he waiter indicated. Seafood was good however. Finally the pork belly with kimchi remoulade. Kimchi interestingly done, pork all fat. Needed to be cooked more. Not enough sauce to notice. The dessert was the Jenga tower. Chestnut honey ice cream with cigarettes of fried dough. Was supposed to have matcha on top none tasted and although ice cream was good, no chestnut taste. Would had had a better experience if our name was Wells. Bright spot of the evening. Gentlemen at the next table gave us their last sip of Sauterne. read more

Soogil - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

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Overall, a let down and I do not recommend. The dishes were plated well. The modern twist and description sounded great on the menu but fell flat on flavor and texture. Brussels sprouts: tofu was pan fried well. Brussels sprouts felt like their were steamed and mush. The other ingredients did not add anything. Do not get Mung bean pancake: dense, flavorless, dry. Do not get. Monkfish: basically 4 medallions of monkfish on top of gochujang. Do not get Pork belly: cooked well, crispy but lacked flavor With just a sprinkle of salt. The Kimchi roll is basically just that. Nothing special. Do not get. Short rib: highlight of the dinner. Great portion size, tender, flavor is on the sweet side but works well with the rice. It's the only dish i would recommend. read more

A bit disappointing as my expectation was high prior to the visit (11/11/2018, 3.5 star). We ordered Apple Salad (fresh, and well-balanced taste), Monk Fish, Spicy Chicken and Pork Belly in addition to some drink. Nothing was bad, everything was almost like comfort food. It all has a softened taste in general, which you can also claim "lack of punch". I'd give 3.5 stars this time and so I can come back to explore their other items. read more

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The ambiance here (Benemon's neighbor and similar vibe) is really what takes this from 3 to 4 stars for me. I was a bit unimpressed with the food; the foie gras was particularly overwhelming and improperly portioned (fat to starch ratio-wise). Drinks were good but not overwhelmingly interesting. Overall a nice vibe for anyone that wants a non-crowded but near escape in East Village. read more

My first time in Soogil was pretty amazing. Cozy atmosphere, friendly staffs, and beautiful dishes with great tastes. Korean traditional dishes in French style... quiet impressive. I will definitely come back bringing more friends read more

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Meh. Decent food but no worth the price. I'm sure they had a better selection in previous seasons, however, we weren't granted that much of a choice given the fixed price menu and the food was not the best we've had in the city either. Would go to ktown over this. read more

I'm writing this while still on a high from the delicious meal I had here tonight. Every dish we had was head-nodding-while-you-chew good. My favorites: The foie was velvety pure decadence. The seafood soondubu pretty much ruined all other soondubu for me -- a deep seafood broth that's spicy and full of plump succulent seafood and delicate silken tofu. I somehow had the willpower to not pick up the bowl and drink the remaining broth. They comped us the rice stick dessert because there was a mixup with our order and it was the best mistake I couldve asked for! The small churro sticks were pillowy and chewy and I wanted to eat a pile of them. If youre sensing a theme, it's that the dishes are so good that you have to restrain yourself from over-eating in all hedonistic glory read more

Fantastic place for upscale Korean. Very creative plates. Nothing we tried was disappointing. Would recommend the beef tartare and uni for small plates and the monkfish (similar texture to lobster) and pork belly for entrees. We found that one small and one large plate per person was adequate. If you have a large appetite, I would try the chef sampler! read more

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This place is awesome!!! The service is exceptional. Very attentive and friendly. The space is cozy and intimate. Not a lot of seating so would recommend making a reservation, which you can do through email. The food was delicious. The porky belly was so soft and perfectly cooked. The sweet potato beignets were a good combination of sweet and salty. The glass noodles were amazing - similar to jap chae. The Brussels sprouts were well seasoned. All of the food was great, nothing negative to say at all. A fun twist on traditional Korean food. They suggest 2.5 plates per person. You have to order rice and kimchi separately. It seemed like you could byob. They are currently only open for dinner, no lunch. read more

This place was the perfect place for date night with my boyfriend. The food was amazing, especially short rib and tofu salad were amazing. Rib was so soft and easy to eat the sauce on the top was delicious. DEFINITELY want to come back, like the cozy, quite, elegant atmosphere in east village! I can say this is my fav Korean fushion restaurant in nyc! read more

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Came here on a special date night and I'm so pleased we did! The regular menu is great, but the Chefs Tasting Menu with 11 courses at a very reasonable price was what made the night. The service was great and each dish was so unique, beautifully presented and with a taste that combined French and Korean cuisine in what I can only imagine is the best way. My favs were the Hiramasa sashimi, Cod (so juicy), Short Rib (so tender it fell apart with chopsticks) presented by the Chef himself, and the best passion fruit dessert I've had in my life. I almost want to keep this place a secret but you should go here, too! read more

We ate here last night. I am really surprised by all the great reviews. The food was average and lack luster. No liquor license yet and no byob which was fine because we were excited to eat some great food based on everyone's yelp reviews. Seriously misleading. The only ones that were really true to our experience was the ones with the bad ratings. Presentation of the food was nice but all the dishes lacked flavor and pretty bland. Nothing really exciting. We started with the sweet potato which was the best thing on the whole menu. Then we had the pancake, mackerel, pork belly and foie gras all lacking any excitement in flavor. The meats were well prepared and tender but it was just so bland that it left you disappointed. The chef cooks with the traditional Korean flavors in mind but there is definitely something missing in his execution. I would not come here again. read more

The dishes were disappointing -- the pork belly was severely overcooked. We didn't eat much of it, and our waiter never asked us if there was an issue. The restaurant itself was stifling hot and uncomfortable. The glass noodles were the highlight, but the sweet potato appetizer was a disappointment. With this chef's name, and the hefty price tag, we expected a lot more. read more

Can't say enough good things about this place. I hosted a joint bday dinner here with a group of 14 people back in early April. Both the chef and staff were incredibly accommodating and set expectations very high in the very beginning and made sure to meet them during the actual dinner. We were provided a set menu that ran $50 per person (without tax or tip) that consisted of 11 courses, shared family-style. The apps consisted of brussel sprouts, sweet potatose, mung bean pancakes, glass noodles, garnished and prepared in traditional yet innovative ways. The first set of entrees consisted of mackerel and cod. The second set consisted of pork belly, short ribs, chicken and scallops. All were amazingly prepared. We finished off with the desserts, which consisted of two desserts that paired especially well. All in all, I'd highly recommend you give Soogil a try. read more

Best meal i've ever had in a while. As a korean, this was a very authentic yet creative meal. We went in a group of four and basically ordered every single thing on the menu. Everything was amazing but our favorites were mung bean pancakes, glass noodle w bulgogi, mackerel, foie gras rice, pork belly, short ribs, and the jenga dessert (INCREDIBLE). Their watermelon soju cocktail, special for the summer, was so great we ordered 8 of them as a party of four. Our waitress was so sweet and accommodating. Checked on us often but not overwhelmingly. Soogil the chef himself was so kind as well. Cute and airy space that feels like a classic EV restaurant but home-y. I would recommend this place to any-everyone. Such an amazing meal without breaking your bank. read more

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All I can say.. is that it was absolutely delicious. We ordered the sweet potato dish, glass noodles (japchae), mackerel and the short rib dish. Absolutely get the short rib dish - it tastes very authentic and rich. One thing to note is that the restaurant does not have an alcohol license so they cannot serve any libations. The food was absolutely delicious. Every single thing we ordered. I will say that I did think the dishes were more korean influenced than french influenced. I would definitely recommend this place to everyone and anyone! We heard from the staff that it gets pretty packed Thurs-Sat. We went on Sunday night and it was not crowded. read more

Amazing food and service. You cannot go wrong with this restaurant. Chef Lim is a master!

This place was beyond! We had the most amazing birthday dinner. My mom is a super picky eater and she loved everything. If you don't know what you want I suggest the Chefs menu. Great way to taste everything. Every single dish was brilliant! 5 read more