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Momofuku Ssäm Bar

Critics' Pick

207 Second Ave., New York, NY 10003 40.731571 -73.985539
at 13th St. See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
work212-254-3500 Send to Phone

Cuisine: Eclectic/Global, Korean, Southern/Soul
Price Range:
$$
Key to Prices and ratings
Upscale

Almost Perfect

Exceptional

Generally Excellent

Very Good

Good

Cheap Eats

Best in Category

Excellent

Delicious

Very Good

Noteworthy
Very Expensive

Expensive

Moderate

Cheap
Critics' Rating:
***
Key to Prices and ratings
Upscale

Almost Perfect

Exceptional

Generally Excellent

Very Good

Good

Cheap Eats

Best in Category

Excellent

Delicious

Very Good

Noteworthy
Very Expensive

Expensive

Moderate

Cheap
Reader Rating:
6.1 out of 10
|
19 Reviews | Write a Review

Photo by Jeremy Liebman

Map Rate & Review

Official Website

momofuku.com

Hours

Sun-Wed, 11:30am-3:30pm and 5pm-midnight; Fri-Sat, 11:30am-3:30pm and 5pm-2am

Nearby Subway Stops

L at Third Ave.; L at First Ave.

Prices

$8-$15

Payment Methods

American Express, MasterCard, Visa

Special Features

Dine at the Bar
Hot Spot
Late-Night Dining
Lunch
Notable Chef
Take-Out

Alcohol

Beer and Wine Only
Sake and Sojou

Reservations

Not Accepted

Profile

Like Mario Batali and the great British chef Fergus Henderson, David Chang is a card-carrying member of the “Refined Meathead” school of cooking. Meathead chefs have a fondness for pork products and for offal (“We do not serve vegetarian-friendly items,” says the menu at Momofuku Ssäm Bar), and the best of them, including Chang, have a knack for creating big, addictive flavor combinations that get under your skin. Like Batali, Chang—a Korean-American, raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.—mines his own ethnic background for inspiration. The past couple of years, he has been demonstrating his talents on a more modest scale at his madly popular original restaurant. But the newest Momofuku (the word means “lucky peach” in Japanese) is larger and more ambitious than the original, and after a period of bumbling experimentation (at first Chang insisted on selling only a form of Asian burrito called a ssäm), it has grown into a showplace for the chef’s unique brand of earthy, Asian-accented Meathead cuisine. — Adam Platt

Ssäm Bar's Bar

Despite the presence of Don Lee, the bar is not a cocktail lounge: it’s a curated selection of 40 brown spirits, ranging from $9 to $50 a pop, and served neat, on the rocks, in a Manhattan, or in an old-fashioned. The focus is on the food, not the booze; the only way you’re getting a drink is if you’re there to eat.

Ideal Meal

Fried Brussels sprouts, three-terrine sandwich, spicy tripe, warm veal-head terrine, Momofuku Ssäm

Adam Platt's Where to Eat 2010 (1/4/10)
Eat Cheap 2009: Tasty Sandwich Creations (7/20/09)
Adam Platt's Where to Eat 2009 (1/5/09)
Where to Eat 2008 (1/7/08)
Keeping Up With the Momofukus (9/3/07)
New York's Best Cheap Eats 2007 (7/30/07)
Grade AA: Ten Egg Dishes to Cluck Over (4/9/07)
Radical Chef David Chang and the Plight of the Asian Burrito (1/22/07)
Holiday Parties by the Experts: Fête's Jung Lee, Momofuku's David Chang, and Other Music's Duane Harriott (11/13/06)
Restaurant Openings: Momofuku Ssäm Bar (8/28/06)

Recipes at Momofuku Ssäm Bar

BLT With Spicy Mayo (2008)
Bo Ssäm (2006)

6.1

"Mixed Reviews"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10

57%	Would you go back?
63%	Would you take a date?
5%	Would you take kids?
31%	Would you go on business?
26%	Would you go on a special occasion?

Food:	7.4
Service:	5.5
Décor:	6.5
Value:	5.2

Momofuku Ssäm Bar

Never mind the haters ...

JoJoJo from 10011 | Posted on 1/31/10

Overall Rating: 109 (Highly Recommended)


Food:	9
Service:	9

Décor:	7

Value:	7

Cons: can get loud; there's only back-less seating that some people might find uncomfortable; no reservations and sometimes long waits, particularly for groups ... Pros: consistently delicious, inventive food served by a polished + knowledgable staff, pristine raw bar, great cocktails, well-chosen wine and beer list, never had anything like a bad meal here no matter what I've ordered and some dishes are among the best I've ever eaten: pork sausage and rice cakes - mushroom salad - brussel sprouts - duck - skate - crab claws - hamachi collar ...

Momofuku Ssäm Bar

Ssam old Korean, Bo-low Average Experience

VictualVoyeur from 10021 | Posted on 11/21/09

Overall Rating: 104 (Not Recommended)


Food:	7
Service:	1

Décor:	5

Value:	3

The Bo was unimpressive given the hype, but good compared to standard Korean. At Korean spots, the table is peppered with side dishes- here, there are only four "toppings," two are kimchi, lettuce, and 12 oysters. The only delight came with the dessert, which was creative and delicious. With 7 people, we left wishing we ordered more food. Unfortunately, we weren't given the opportunity to as the service was miserable and insulting. Servers quickly came and left our table barely uttering a word. When we needed something, we had difficulty identifying the inattentive staff who blended in dress with the diners. Questions were met with smugness and unhelpful terse answers. We felt we were an unwanted burden, the food was not incredible; we're not going back.

Read All 19 Reviews >>