Gaonnuri
“Great date spot (make sure you request a window seat), meal with the fam or a snazzy dinner with friends.”
“They changed the grills between the pork belly and the galbi to capture the flavors and the way they cooked different meat,
They also had a squash pudding that was out of this world.”
“Gaonurri is an upscale version of a midtown Korean restaurant without too much of an increase in price.”
Gaonnuri
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Came here for a graduation dinner. It was fancier than I thought, and there's some dress code sign when you get off the elevator, which I didn't quite pay attention to. We ordered tofu salad, mandoo, and japchae as appetizers to share, and galbi jiim and galbi tang for entrees. Everything was VERY average and not worth writing about. You can go downstairs and walk into any Korean restaurant on 32nd street, they probably will have better versions of everything compared to here. With that said, their Snickers bar dessert is amazing, they probably have a great pastry chef.
The verdict – this place is selling the view, not the food. And in my opinion, the premium charged on their food is too high to justify given very mediocre quality. I will not be back and waste my money.
Came to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday, which conveniently falls during Restaurant Week!
We've been wanting to come to this place for the views and of course some yummy Korean BBQ. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our experience. I was a bit hesitant that this was going to be a tourist trap given the location and views (I'm hesitant of almost all restaurants with amazing city views in the city). However, the portions were generous and the food was yummy.
Restaurant Week consisted of a 3 course meal for $42. I ordered the Beef Japache as my appetizer, and my boyfriend ordered the baby octopus salad. For our main, we ordered the Bulgogi and Chicken and shared so we could get a taste of each. We BBQd the food at our table, and it was accompanied by an array of side items. For dessert, we had something called PLCP which was described as: Lemongrass Coconut Panna Cotta, Rum-Lime Poached Pineapple, Coconut Meringue Disc, Passionfruit Kaffir Lime Sorbet. Very tasty.
We also ordered some cocktails – the Ginger Poire and Pear Margarita, both of which were enjoyable. As far as Restaurant Week goes, I think this is one of the better ones meaning the experience is similar to that of non-Restaurant week, generous portions, good service, etc. Definitely an upscale setting that is enforced, so leave the hawaiian t-shirt, shorts and flip flops at home.
Pro Tip: Request a window seat!
Had a good experience here! They definitely killed it with the ambience and it was perfect for a nice night out or for group celebrations. The Korean food was pretty standard but they dressed it up nicely. My boyfriend thought the rice was on point. We got the combo 1 bbq which came with four different cuts of meat of beef and pork. They were also marinated pretty nicely and wasn't too tough if you get them into smaller pieces first. It was juicy and tender! We also did the seafood pancake as an appetizer, which was super yummy. The only downside was not being able to get a seat near the windows, but it was raining and dark that day anyways so the view wasn't that great. Still, would definitely come back.
Decent upscale Korean bbq with a great view and banquet rooms for parties. The galbi was decent but not super flavorful although the black cod gui was amazing! This was probably my favorite dish. The Mandoo was pretty standard as was the bossam. It's fancy and the ambiance is nice but the food was just okay. The dessert was plated beautifully and the house made ice cream was fantastic. Very creamy and not overly sweet.
This place just screams chain restaurant. There are a few reasons why I say that. I'll break them down into sections to organize my thoughts on why this two star restaurant should be your last option of places to eat.
Service
THEE most important aspect of a restaurant that exceeds moderately priced. Once you venture off into super pricey territory, you're required to have well-trained staff who are highly experienced in customer service. Welp, this place clearly didn't get the memo. Our "waiter/server" was everything but his title. He never introduced himself or even took a half of a minute to discuss the menu with us. Actually his first words were, "did you decide on a drink?" Talk about rude. Also, he never checked in on the table, took away dishes from the table without asking if we were done first…I mean really I was flabbergasted by the whole ordeal. Service here stinks.
Food
Sigh. Womp. Tears. I had high hopes for this place, but unfortunately I was completely underwhelmed. Truly (Joanne Prada voice). I will say that the most hysterical and pretty saddening part about the food is that our waiter did get around to actually asking us ONE question about what we wanted/needed and that was whether we wanted white or multigrain rice. We chose white, and yet somehow our waiter felt it was appropriate to bring us COLD multigrain rice simply stating, "we ran out out of white." Straight faced, no empathy, no concern, just it is what it is. I mean seriously, come on. We should have been asked if there was anything else we would like or offered something complimentary at the very least. The only thing good here was the japchae- very smoky flavor and the perfect texture. Japchae held it down for 1 star.
Ambiance
So here it is guys: You're paying lots of cash for the view and that's my final answer. Because the decor is not flattering, the food is lack luster, and the service nonexistent.
This place gets two stars one for japchae and one for the view that I requested a table of, but failed to receive that as well.
I will say that the ambiance and views are on point. Who wouldn't want to have dinner while watching the sun set on the NYC skyline?
However, the dishes were overpriced and nothing really to write home about. The ginger chicken salad hardly tasted of ginger. My favorite dish was the braised black cod, but it quickly became too salty to eat.
Honestly, I didn't mind the food much. Our dinner was as normal as an overpriced dinner could be. It was only when our waiter, while cleaning up the table, spilled a dish full of oil on my boyfriend and failed to apologize. He looked over and said "Oh", and continued to clear the table. There was no sincere apology or asking if he was alright. Just …whatever.
An expensive restaurant that has a suggested dress code should employ waiters who are professional and courteous, NOT young kids who don't give a damn. We were really surprised at his reaction (or lack thereof). We enjoyed the nice place, but left pretty annoyed.
Upscale and overpriced Korean food with a 39th floor view. Korean food is one of my favorites and I'd wanted to visit here for a while. Unfortunately, it underwhelmed and overcharged for what you could get on West 32nd Street in Koreatown for equal or better quality. You are paying for the real estate here and if you are lucky enough to get a window seat – we weren't – the 39th floor view is, I'm sure, nice. If you just have a regular table, the food is average, the service competent but stiff, and the overall experience is meh with a hefty price tag. We grilled at the table. The pork belly was tough and not fatty or tasty. The kalbi was fine and the bulgogi was the tastiest option. The bibimbop with mountain vegetables and a bit of seafood on the top, was decent but unworthy of $22. Overall, I recommend skipping this place and getting better and cheaper food elsewhere on the block at street level.
Great view if you can get a window seat; you can catch the sunset around dinner time. Very attentive and friendly staff. Very nice dining space with spacious layout and high ceiling. It is inside an office building, so see hostess on the left most entrance and she will tap you into the elevators.
I came here for restaurant week, most of the more 'premium' meats had a $6 supplement charge but totally worth it. The galbi and the duck breast were so tender and tasted amazing and all they did was cook it over the little grill in front of you. The galbi was marinated but they flip it and know exactly when it is ready to eat. The scallion pancakes, japchae were all so so delicious. The pork belly was a tad dry but wasn't horrible to eat.
Drinks were also done very well, overall; smaller portions and a little pricey but you are also paying for the location and the atmosphere.