A New York subway station is the newest Korean food destination – at fine-dining Nōksu in 34th Street-Herald Square expect edible flowers and minimalist decor

Nōksu, a Korean-influenced fine-dining restaurant about to open in New York, is on the mezzanine level of the 34th Street-Herald Square subway station

A monochrome minimalist interior will greet diners sitting down for Dae Kim’s 15-course menu that’s big on edible flowers and whimsical presentation

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The black granite counter at Nōksu, a Korean-influenced fine-dining restaurant that opens in September 23 in a New York subway station. Photo: Nōksu

Published: 5:15pm, 28 Aug 2023

If you are standing on the corner of 32nd Street and Broadway in Manhattan, New York, there are several directions you can go to quickly find something good to eat.

Walk east, and take your pick of innumerable Korean dining options, from dumplings to barbecue to bubble tea. Go a few streets downtown and you will have Mediterranean mezze at chef Jose Andrés’ newest New York restaurant, Zaytinya. A few blocks uptown is one of the city’s seminal dining rooms for meat eaters, Keens Steakhouse.

Soon, diners will be able to follow an unexpected path to one of the city’s best new big-deal meals: they can walk down the subway stairs and into Nōksu, a new, Korean-influenced fine-dining spot.

New Yorkers and tourists will be familiar with this well-trafficked entrance to the 34th Street-Herald Square station – before the pandemic, the station ranked as the third busiest on the city’s subway network with more than 39 million passengers per year.

Nōksu, which is slated to open on 21 September, 2023, is on what counts as the mezzanine level of the station.

The black granite counter at Nōksu. Photo: Nōksu

The space has been transformed into a bright dining room with a minimalist kitchen that could double as a lab, and walls decorated in black, white and grey. Claire Kim Soojin’s design of the space was inspired by Korean monochrome ink-and-wash paintings.