Standout Korean, from creative fermentation and wood-fired tasting menus in New York to old-school eateries perfecting a single dish in LA.
According to Corey Lee, we're experiencing the most exciting time for Korean food in the US right now. Executive chef of Benu and winner of the Estrella Damm Chefs' Choice Award 2026, as part of North America's 50 Best Restaurants, Lee worked under legendary chef Thomas Keller at The French Laundry before opening his San Francisco restaurant in 2010 and becoming the first Korean-American chef to win three Michelin stars in 2014.
"Now is a time where traditional [Korean] food is being appreciated. There's also space for chefs to explore and put it into a fine-dining format and try different things – there's an audience for that," says Lee.
With Korean entertainment and globalisation piquing Western curiosity in the country's food culture, Lee's scope of the Korean dining boom includes both time-honoured restaurants serving painstakingly simmered soups and diligently prepared banchan, as well as ventures from a new wave of Korean chefs redefining comfort food.
"How far [Korean dining in North America] will go, we don't really know. But it's always more exciting to be on the journey than it is reaching the peak or being on the plateau," says Lee.
For Lee, Korean food is defined more by how a chef approaches the seasoning and architecture of a meal than using specific Korean ingredients. The key is authenticity.
"Whether it's a very simple one-dish restaurant or fine dining, whether they're serving nostalgic dishes or new creative dishes, people want authenticity. They want to know that whoever is cooking the food, it's true to them. They're not just doing a copy of something. I think that's the key to any good restaurant," he says.
Here, Lee reveals his guide to the finest Korean restaurants across the country.
Jeju Noodle Bar, New York 
"It's a creative approach to Korean food and flavours, but the vibe and format is quite casual. It's not a high-concept intellectualised menu. Everything sounds delicious in a refreshing way. The combinations are unexpected. It's a very stripped-down, delicious eating experience."
Han Bat Sul Lung Tang, Los Angeles
"They specialise in just beef soup, and it's all about the broth. It's rare to find ethnic restaurants in the US that only serve a single dish. [Restaurants like this] are dying because they want to be able to offer something that appeals to an American audience, and what happens is you end up with huge menus. This restaurant is not like that at all – it's tiny, and they've been serving one dish for decades. They've stayed true to how they started."
Jua, New York
"I know the chef and he's someone who you know takes his profession very seriously. He's always in the kitchen, always working. I'm curious to see the product."
Ssal, San Francisco 
"I think he's one of these newer generation, young Korean chefs who are pushing what people's expectation of Korean food is, especially in the fine-dining space. I've been to his restaurant a couple of times now and I think that he should be a part of that conversation."
Meju, New York 
"The name Meju refers to the soybean blocks used for making soy sauce. The cuisine is based on traditional fermentation, then taking that foundation and building a creative menu around it. They're focused on three fermentations that are the foundation of Korean seasoning: red bean paste, chilli gochujang and fermented bean paste with chilli. [At Benu] we use the same soybeans from Korea for our soy making, so I've always been curious to see what it's like when a chef is using the same starting point on the other side of the country and how that can translate to a different style of cooking."
Okdongsik, New York 
"This is also a one-dish restaurant. All they do is a ku-bap, a pork rice soup. It's a very soothing, very comforting, tiny restaurant."
Park's BBQ, Los Angeles
"[Having my photo on the wall is] not something I brag about; it just happens to be there. I love this restaurant. The gochujang jiggae is something I go back for – all the banchan are great. My order is chador (thinly sliced brisket), flour-marinated galbi (beef ribs), then I finish with gochujang jiggae and nunji. The owner Jenny takes pride in the banchan she makes. I also think her regular kimchi is delicious. She ferments everything in-house."
Discover the full list of North America's 50 Best Restaurants 2026 and special award winners.
