Mari

The food was delicious, however, I wouldve expected more flavor variety or contrast for a highly rated restaurant. I grew up eating Korean food and none of the food wow-ed my taste buds but everything was cooked excellently and creatively!! Ill be back to try the next seasons menu.
Oct 26th, 2023

Second time doing the tasting menu within three months. Flavors are good and well-balanced. Great service last time. Very weak wine list. Not innovative at all but solid. Lastly they served us caviar add-on which we did NOT order at all, and charged us $200 for it. Many of them apparently do not speak English too well. So be sure to double confirm the order.
Oct 22nd, 2023

Update: Went back for the seasonal menu, the experience was largely a downgrade. I thought every dish that changed was a downgrade over the prior menu. There was also too much food wish we couldve had a few less courses for better tasting food. Small gripe, but the prior menu ($50 cheaper) had caviar included on a course for no extra charge. Pre-seasonal menu: (5/5) Ridiculously good every course is top-notch. Had the $135 tasting menu.
Oct 14th, 2023

Excellent Korean restaurant. Everything was very good that evening. We had the 'Mari Tasting Menu' with Sool accompaniment. The food was of very good quality (tuna, A5 and scallop were outstanding), the corresponding drinks were wonderful and the service was polite and courteous. We had a very nice evening.
Sep 30th, 2023

I was kind of on the fence about booking Mari. I had an unfortunate experience with Kochi (same chef/owner) where I discovered single diners cannot reserve at the counter. I meanthis is NYC. Come on! But I LOVE Omakase and Korean and I follow Mari on IG and I live in Vermont and, if Im lucky, I get to NYC for two meals a monthI had to book and I was able to book at the counter. So fine. The recent IG posts from Mari have been FANTASTIC and I was pretty excited. I like to dine early and Maris first seating is 5pm. Awkwardly I was the first person to arrive, but everyone at Mari was friendly and welcoming. Yall Hells Kitchen is The Place right now. I know there is a WHOLE lot of you who dont remember Manhattan from back in The Actual Day. But, Hells Kitchen is just perfection right now: Theatre District/Midtown/Upper West Side adjacent. Presumably with slightly less idiotic rents and some restaurants are figuring that out. Most notably Kochi and Mari. But also there is an entire WEALTH of spots to eat down there along 9th Ave. Mari is right there, in the heart of it. I saw the matinee of Kimberly Akimbo at The Boothe Theatre on W 45th (between 8th and 9th) and then just walked to the corner and turned right on 9th and walked 1.5 blocks. This is a GENIUS LOCATION. GENIUS. There are two tasting menus at Mari. Im just going to call them smaller ($145 handroll tasting) and larger ($185 Mari tasting). Obviously, I went larger. I dont remember how many courses, but plenty. They did caution me to block out two hours for my meal. That is PRECISELY what I want to hear! 2 hours is my minimum restaurant visit. When I show up I am going to throw down! But also? If Im showing up for a $185 tasting situation? Thats going to be my only meal of the day because I want to ENJOY every moment of a spectacular meal. And I want every meal I eat out to be spectacular. Mari is just gorgeous inside: huge rectangular bar with 7 cooks/prep people behind it. The bar alone must seat about 40 people when full. Beautiful white marble (my absolutely favorite stone/surface). There is also a small dining area in the back with maybe 10 tables. Mari is slightly unusual for the kind of spots I love: Chef Songchul Sim (hes got 1 Michelin Star at Kochi and 1 Michelin Star here at Mari so SNAPS to this man!!) is the owner and was actually in the house last might while I was at Mari. So, YES, Chef-owned. ALWAYS ALWAYS throw your hard earned $$$ at the Chef Owned spots. Please. I dont eat beef, pork or poultry. Mari had no problem substituting for me. Service is excellent. The most extraordinary thing was that I told my chef (one of the chefs presents each course to you and describes it to you) that Im a little hard of hearing and he ACTUALLY increased his speaking volume so I heard every word he said. People! Youre thinking this isnt that impressive. This s VERY impressive. This almost never happens to me and then I just PRETEND I can hear what theyre saying. LOL When eating an Omakase meal, knowing what youre being served is a huge part of the experiences. Being able to HEAR everything clearly is an important aspect. Including myself there were 3 people eating alone at the counter. The woman directly across the bar from me was celebrating her birthday. Great, fun, NYC vibe. You need your full 2 hrs because at the end of the Omakase, but before the dessert course you get the opportunity to repeat any course youve been served. Which I did, but I had to think on the fly! Next time I will pay closer to my menu because I like to have a whole PLAN when I eat. Omakase is my absolute favorite because someone else creates the plan for me! I want to eat all the delicious things. Im here to eat all the delicious things that masterful, gifted people have planned and prepared. Mari is definitely on my list to visit as regular as I can manage!
Sep 28th, 2023