On October 27, owner Matae Lee and executive chef Austin Changki Jo opened GIUK, a Korean-American bistro in Flatiron.
At the preview dinner the night before, an unassuming bowl of corn was the highlight among the several plates shared at our table. For the Korn Ribs, the ears are split lengthwise and deep-fried, leaving just enough cob to hold by the ends. They arrived warm, piled in a bowl with a generous streak of perilla mayo seasoned with citrus and wasabi. The kernels were browned at the edges but still juicy and sweet when they came away from the cob.
GIUK takes its name from 기억(pronounced “gi-eok”), the Korean word for memory. Jo grew up in his family’s Korean restaurant in Nashville, while Lee built his career in New York’s Korean hospitality scene. The two drew on their childhoods in Korea and their lives in the U.S. for a restaurant where lunch centers on bibimbap and soft tofu stew, and dinner stretches from pasta in a chili-spiked cream sauce to steak with minari chimichurri.
Photo Courtesy: Rebecca Gilbert
The bar sits just by the entrance and leads into the main dining room. Claire Soojin Kim, founder of Team Design, used light oak to warm the 1,500-square-foot space. Custom wallpaper by Aerosyn-Lex Meštrović combines sweeping strokes of deep blue with touches of metallic gold. On preview night, the tables were close enough for neighbors to exchange a hello, yet the room was quiet enough for conversation over dinner.
Beverage director Eunah “Chloe” Jeong’s Sujeonggwa arrived in a small ceramic cup on a saucer. Named after a traditional Korean spiced punch, this Old Fashioned variation combines cinnamon-infused bourbon, rye whiskey, and aromatic bitters with a syrup of dates, ginger, and cinnamon. The drink was strong and fragrant, with an herbal, almost medicinal edge. It’s a good one to linger over as the evenings turn chilly. Elsewhere on the cocktail list, the Dirty Bong Bong combines Bong Bong grape juice, coconut rum, white rum, mint, lime, and coconut jelly.
The Citrus Velvet Shrimp was another highlight. The jumbo shrimp held their crunch under a tangy lemon cream glaze similar to sweet-and-sour shrimp. Shrimp appeared a second way in the Rosé Shrimp Cream Pasta, its sauce spiced with Korean chili flakes. Alongside it, the Chilled Perilla Buckwheat Noodles came dressed in toasted perilla oil and finished with grape tomatoes.
The Garden Lotus & Peach Salad was especially welcome between bites of the heartier dishes. Grilled peach, lotus root and house-made tofu feta shared the bowl with seasonal greens, and the apple vinaigrette was light enough that the lettuce stood out as clearly as the fruit. It made a good companion for the Soy Pork Tofu Kimchi, a plate of stir-fried pork belly and onions in soy glaze over tofu cream, with kimchi coleslaw alongside.
Photo Courtesy: Rebecca Gilbert
The Seared Minari Steak was a favorite at dinner, served with a bright green stripe of minari chimichurri running across the sliced beef, with roasted potatoes and blistered tomatoes.
Photo Courtesy: Rebecca Gilbert
For the office crowd around Madison Square Park, GIUK offers an easy lunch and the front bar makes sense for a drink after work, too. At dinner, the portions are best shared by two or more. One dish to ask about early is the Slow Braised Galbijim & Burdock Risotto. The staff singled it out as a house signature, but the short ribs were sold out at the preview.
