Nuri Steakhouse — Restaurant in Dallas

I could not have imagined a more delectable palette of flavors brought together under one roof. My husband and I are food enthusiasts who love discovering new places that excel in gastronomy and atmosphere. My husband read about this new restaurant opening in Dallas with a culinary journey that spans from South Korea to New Orleans and finishes in Texas. We secured the reservation, and to be honest, I felt like a schoolgirl with giggles and a butterflies in my stomach. Growing up in New Orleans, the nostalgic flavors of my childhood and our love for Korean barbecue had me excited beyond measure!

We arrived on time at 5:30 p.m. and were warmly greeted by the valet, doorman, and host stand, all dressed in sleek black attire. We marveled at the restaurant’s stunning design and attention to detail in the custom lighting and flooring. After being seated, we were welcomed by our wonderful waitress Vee and Jamie, the General Manager. They informed us with excitement that we happened to be the restaurant’s first official customers! We were thrilled to learn that Owner Wan Kim was also present to celebrate the opening. As fellow business owners, we were inspired by Wan’s journey of vision, passion, and sacrifice from South Korea to New Orleans and on to Texas. Wan greeted us with genteel kindness, and we expressed our appreciation for the culinary experience he has brought to Dallas. He recommended we try both versions of gumbo—one traditional and one with a Korean twist—as well as the oysters Rockefeller, which he had brought to our table with his compliments. We ordered cocktails and excitedly chatted with Vee about the long-awaited restaurant opening after the fire. She had trained at Smoothie King HQ and learned sales, which was quite impressive!

Our designer friend Brian spoke with the sommelier about a wine he had tried from Italy, which the sommelier managed to perfectly match!

When the cocktails arrived, we were delighted by the mixologists' creations blending New Orleans and Korean flavors. I had the “Smoke on the Water,” a Korean rye whiskey and orange cocktail served in a traditional Korean cast iron teapot designed as a dragon, with smoke coming from the spout. It was as delicious as it was spectacular in presentation—smooth with a strong undertone. Brian enjoyed the “Zen Garden,” a cocktail made with Chinese Celery Gin, Creole Orgeat, Thai basil, and other ingredients, which he declared the best he had ever tried—a high praise given his frequent dining experiences in Miami. He ended up ordering two more, and we had the pleasure of meeting the mixologist, who explained the flavor development process. My husband’s cocktail, “The Smoking Dragon,” featured Japanese whiskey, cognac, sherry, and spiced cacao. The flavors were reminiscent of our visit to a Korean spa and Korean tea, making it my personal favorite due to its unique Korean tea sensation on the palate.

As we enjoyed our cocktails, the oysters Rockefeller arrived on a bed of Himalayan salts with kale. The kale was a perfect twist on the original recipe, adding wonderful flavor to this New Orleans staple. The oysters were cooked to perfection—tender with a charred outer crust. We sampled both versions of gumbo: the traditional, which hit all the nostalgic notes, and the Korean-inspired version with kimchi and smoked A5 Korean sausage, which was truly breathtaking. I was so impressed that I looked at Brian with wide eyes, and he agreed it was exceptional, reminiscent of gumbo perfection. The kimchi and smoky sausage flavors were unparalleled, and I told Jamie that I wished I could take home a big pot to refill every week!

For the main course, I had the 44 Farms ribeye, my husband enjoyed the Nuri Tasting Board, and Brian had the Wagyu tasting with Korean side sauces. We also ordered K-Mac, Brussels sprouts, and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes with shallots.

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Gorgeous establishment, service by Daryl was absolutely A1 you can tell he's been a veteran in the fine dining department, courteous, knowledgeable, menu education, professional, all Top Tier, you can tell he loves his job. Now for the food now I am a Korean-America parents moved from Seoul to the US in 1983 and my mother is a damn good cook. T he Wagyu Dumplings, was very lackluster, there was flavor but if they're promoting Korean/New Orleans Steakhouse as their flavor profile I expect more intense flavor, also the shell of the dumplings was a little undercooked. The octopus was actually phenomenal, was worried about a fried octopus being dry and rubbery but it was cooked perfectly.

Now the "Korean Gumbo" it's basically a Buddae Jjigae if you're not too familiar with Korean cuisine it's known as Army Stew, now although it was pretty good and matched the flavor profile of a Buddae Jjigae, I think promoting it as a "Gumbo" in a fine dining restaurant is a little disrespectful to the Korean culture, Buddae Jjigae is a product post Korean War aftermath, Korean soldiers after the war had a scarcity of food, so what they did was all the soldiers would gather whatever food they had in their stash and basically threw it in a pot and create a stew to feed everyone. And I say its disrespectful because if you want to add a Korean dish that has history of a struggle and to name it something else to not be recognized for its history, it's almost a slap to the face to every Korean Soldier and the country.

Nuri Tasting Board, variety of different cuts of steak, lettuce/perilla leaves for wraps, with dipping sauces and pickled veggies. Ordered medium for temperature, there was an inconsistency of temperature, some were two of the meats came out Rare another Med-Rare and one Medium. The "marinated" steak really didn't have any flavor the Saamjang (dipping sauce) was very salty.

Crab Cake, was cooked very nicely coulda used a little more salt, but the crispy crust was nice however there needs to be some type of Sauce that goes over it, because again the flavors was very lack luster, I had to use the truffle sauce from the dumplings to have it some flavor.

Baked Potato with Caviar was probably the worst item I ordered. Presentation was blah, basically half of a very large potato like probably 6 inches or more in length , that was undercooked, with a "crema" (sour cream), and caviar. For a fine dining restaurant this potato jus looked like something I could order from a Texas Roadhouse if they served caviar.

Now like I said the server Daryl was phenomenal and the only reason I didn't complain or return a lot of the items was because he did his job so well I would have felt bad. This restaurant for me is one of those "Yea it's a nice place but its a one and done spot for me and not come back willingly" And as for the chef who is Korean and is a Michellin recognized chef as the server mentioned, I could not see how they could be even mentioned from Michellin , because as a Korean chef you missed the flavor profile and also disrespected a Korean dish that has history, two if you're also going to promote New Orleans flavors, there's gotta be more intense flavors, there was no salt, no spice, no nothing to say "Hey I can definitely taste the New Orleans flavors mixed in"

Food wise I really would give it a 2 star experience. But I'm giving it a 3 over all because not only did the server do a great job, he offered us a tour of the restaurant which showed more of the beautiful aesthetics and private rooms that I would have never guessed...

Update 04/20/25:

We decided to try the inaugural brunch at Nuri for Easter. It was a 5-course menu priced at a great value. For starters, we tried the deviled eggs, yellowtail crudo, wagyu dumplings, and bacon with grits. All four dishes were presented beautifully and tasted delicious and unique in their respective ways. The Korean gumbo was as delicious as the first time we tried it. The lobster frittatas were surprisingly light with healthy portions of lobster. We finished the meal with a lemon tart and a variety of sorbets. Both were a great finish to a wonderful meal.

Previous Review:

Nuri Steakhouse far exceeded our expectations. I was anticipating that we would experience another hyped up overpriced Dallas restaurant where the food would be forgettable and I’d only remember the feeling of being disappointed.

I’ll cut to the chase. Dumplings and fried spring rolls-great way start. The dumpling sauce was deliciously unique and balanced well with the crispiness and flavors of the spring rolls. 2nd course: Korean lobster tail and Korean gumbo. This combination was so good that I’m slightly concerned that I’ll be disappointed when I eat traditionally prepared lobster tail and regular gumbo. Entrees: bone in prime ribeye, scallops, Chinese broccolini and corn. The steak was cooked to medium perfection the way I like it and each carefully sliced piece I bit into satisfied the carnivore in me. The sides were surprisingly tasty. The bacon and delicately sliced peppers in the corn dish added depth to what is usually a very pedestrian side item. The only hiccup of the evening came in the form of the scallops. They tasted like overly salty blobs of goo and we couldn’t eat it. We let our server know and he acknowledged they would look into the preparation and promptly let us know they would remove it from our check. In this day where accountability and making things right feels in short supply, massive kudos to the owner and team for empowering the staff to do the right thing without making the customer jump over walls of resistance.

We finished the evening with the panna cotta and an off-menu pear crumble. Both were sublime and we may have embarrassed ourselves with our expressions of happiness as we enjoyed and savored each bite. It was our anniversary so the chef prepared the crumble for us as a surprise and it was on the house!

In terms of the atmosphere and service, both were excellent. Our server was a professional. He was attentive to our needs and made us feel welcomed. When my wife stepped away and he was folding her napkin he dropped it on the floor. He immediately picked it up and discreetly put it away and returned with a freshly folded napkin carefully placed on the table. These are the types of actions that show me as a customer that Nuri pays attention to the details to ensure that people have an outstanding experience. The last thing I’ll mention is the dining room manager Kevin. He did a great job making sure everything was proceeding smoothly throughout the evening. He shared with us the story of how his grandfather gave him the watch he was wearing. We really appreciated his genuineness and sense of gratitude.

We went to Nuri expecting great food. We left feeling very satiated on that front. But more importantly, we felt restored and hopeful with the knowledge that there are still businesses that deliver their product with a sense of purpose and humanity instead of callousness and...