Forbes Best US Restaurant-59-Momofuku Ssam Bar
Forbes Best US Restaurant-59-Momofuku Ss
Direction
207 second avenue
at 13th street
new york, ny 10003
+1 212-254-3500
About momofuku ssäm bar
momofuku ssäm bar opened august 2006
momofuku ssäm bar serves an inventive menu that is always evolving.
country hams, raw bar items and off cuts are staples at dinner. lunch at ssäm bar features rotisserie duck. booker and dax, is open late serving drinks made with new techniques and technologies.
reservations are only accepted for the bo ssäm pork shoulder (serves 6-10 people) and the whole-rotisserie duck ssäm (serves 3-6 people). reservations must be made online. otherwise, ssäm bar is a walk-in only restaurant.
small dishes $8-13
large dishes $12-26
cocktails are about $14
corkage $30 per 750ml
lunch
every day /
11:30 am – 3:30 pm
dinner
sun – thurs / 5 pm – midnight
fri + sat / 5 pm – 1 am
OUTSIDE VIEW
INSIDE VIEW
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
Note
Reservations are only taken for large-format meals.
Best Meal Under $10
The BBQ pork buns are the trendy new East Village version of the Wimpy burger. They’re pocket-size, portable, and good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Eat five in one sitting, or maybe ten.
Ideal Meal
Fried Brussels sprouts, three-terrine sandwich, spicy tripe, warm veal-head terrine, Momofuku Ssäm
Reviews
Went with some local friends and order the pork belly buns, BBQ pork buns, spicy sausage and rice cake dish, the quail dish and maybe a salad? I don’t remember the salad all that well, but the rest of it was delicious! Everything on the menu looked good but I didn’t have enough room in my stomach or in my wallet.
This place isn’t cheap like most places in NYC, but if you like Korean (fusion) food and don’t mind the cramped seating, it’s a fun place to grab some good bites. I don’t know if they take reservations but if they do you should definitely take advantage of that! I waited in the bar next door, Booker and Dax, and they have some tasty drinks to keep you occupied while waiting for some seats! Next time I’m coming back for the whole roast duck, that looked and smelled amazing!!!
Stellar service. Great wine list. Menu is constantly changing but they keep the good stuff on there. If you’ve never been, you obviously need to get pork buns and the rice cakes and Chinese sausage…but you can’t go wrong with the more overtly French-influenced dishes or a big piece of meat. (I’m looking at you, ribeye for three.)
