Upscale Korean Restaurant Opening on 59th Street

The East Side is getting a new, unique Korean restaurant focused on the spicy staple kimchi and a 10-course chef’s tasting menu.

Raon (pronounced “rah-own”), a new venture helmed by the husband and wife team behind French Korean restaurant Soogil, is set to open on Tuesday, March 4 at 207 East 59th Street (between Second and Third avenues). Online reservation app Resy started taking reservations on Tuesday.

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“Raon offers a 10-course chef’s tasting menu that reimagines the cultural legacy of kimchi through a refined and forward-thinking approach,” the restaurant posted on its Instagram page last week. “Each course is thoughtfully paired with different styles of kimchi, offering a deep exploration of Korean culinary heritage.”

According to a February 10 Grub Street article, owners Soogil Lim and Sasook Youn said that the tasting menu’s approach mirrors the same method that other restaurants use to pair wines with certain dishes. Youn told the website that as kimchi ages, its flavor profile changes, thus changing what it should be paired with–much like certain wines. For instance, kimchi aged between two weeks and one month tastes saltier and goes better with pork belly and soup; more aged varieties can develop enhanced sweetness or more umami-like flavors, and may call for being paired with Korean barbecue or noodles.

Raon will offer familiar favorites like baechu (napa cabbage kimchi), as well as lesser-known varieties such as bo kimchi (wrapped kimchi). Other offerings include tuna and caviar with baek kimchi—an homage to Gyeongsang Province in southeastern Korea, as Lim told Grub Street—uni gimbap, and jang kimchi, which is spicier and thicker than regular kimchi. Also available are foie-gras mandu with mukeunji, described by Lim as ‘the oldest, strongest kimchi,’ and more.

For Koreans, there is an inherent “pairing formula” when it comes to kimchi. For example, kkakdugi with seolleongtang, pa-kimchi with jajangmyeon (instant black bean noodles), or bossam (braised pork belly) with fresh kimchi—these combinations have naturally evolved over time,” Lim told East Side Feed in an email on Wednesday. “Just as broad concepts exist, like pairing white wine with seafood or red wine with meat, kimchi also presents a remarkable range of pairing possibilities.

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The 14-seat counter restaurant is decidedly high-end; the tasting menu will run diners $255 for ten courses. The space at 207 East 59th Street was previously home to Asian 59, which was decidedly not high-end.

Roan will also offer beverage pairings available for $195, according to Eater, which include soju as well cocktails, wines and beers (with plans to include sakes and whiskeys at a later point in time).

“For Koreans, kimchi is 101,” Lim told Eater. “It is the foundation of our cuisine and culture.”

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