Chef Hoyoung Kim spent years as executive chef of the two-Michelin-starred Jungsik in Tribeca — an education in precision and restraint that is clearly visible at Jua. But at 36 E 22nd Street in the Flatiron District, Kim is doing something that feels less like graduate work and more like a personal statement. Jua is Hoyoung Kim's restaurant; the wood-fired technique, the specific use of season and fermentation, the balance of fire and delicacy — these are choices made by a chef who has found his own voice.
The seven-course tasting menu at $140 is among the best value propositions at the Michelin level in New York. The dining room is intimate and atmospheric — exposed brick walls, distressed wooden ceiling beams, soft mood lighting, and an open kitchen that allows you to see the fire that characterises Kim's approach. Two seatings per evening; the team is warm and outgoing without being inattentive to privacy.
The wood-fired element is not ornamental. It defines the flavour vocabulary of the menu — char, depth, smoke, and then the precision of Korean technique applied on top. The fermentation elements, the seasonal vegetables prepared with care that makes you reconsider what you thought a vegetable could be, and the protein courses that arrive as the centrepiece of the evening all bear the hallmark of a chef who is in complete command of his kitchen.
Jua ranked 6th in the Beli App's top-rated NYC restaurants from over 60 million ratings, ahead of restaurants with more stars and exponentially higher prices. That ranking is not a statistical anomaly. It is a reflection of genuine excellence accessible to a slightly wider audience than the three-star tier.
