Mokyo — Restaurant in New York

NO RESERVATIONS. FIRST COME FIRST SERVED. AND NO LIGHTED ICE CUBES IN DRINKS

Interestingly enough the name itself is a playful take on the word "Thursday" in Korean. So it is fitting that this new place is considered a sister restaurant. The interior and vibe is so different. The seating consists of a main area and there is more seating as you walk further inside toward the kitchen and bathroom area. Upon entering you are greeting by a full sized bar with several seating options if you do not want to sit at a table.

The menu here is still evolving as of this review and has changed a few times since the soft open. Each dish is meticulously plated with ingredients that work very well together.

PERSIMMON- Orange Yogurt Mousse, Cauliflower and Pistachio. This is a newer dish that was recently added. It is considered a starter however it may also be ordered at the end of the meal because it is so refreshing. The fruit is very fresh and is sliced very thin.

CORN DUMPLINGS- Fennel and Truffle Salsa Verde. This is the distant relative to the wildly popular dumplings that are served at the flagship restaurant. The corn is grounded / mashed and then put into hand made dumplings which are then steamed. These are quite good and unique.

LOBSTER ROLL- Truffle Whipped Cheese, Celery Relish and Serrano. This cute menu option consists of three bite sized tasty an fresh lobster rolls. Seafood lovers will probably order two sets of these!

GUMBO- Korean Chili Pepper, Andouille Sausage, Crawfish and Plantain. This was a later addition to the original soft open menu and I was very curious as to how Chef has managed to make a fusion version of a popular southern dish. So tasty and delicious is the best way to describe it. The spice has a lingering effect. This is one dish I would recommend everyone to try.

BEEF TARTARE- Pamesan Crema, Quinoa Furikake and Macadamia. It is a rare thing for me to order something raw like this but I noticed it was a newer addition to the menu. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite as did my guest.

KOREAN STEAK- medium rare cooked with a soy marinade. Anyone who likes steak or red meat will find this dish to be quite a treat.

NOODLES- similar to Chinese style hand pulled / cut noodles, Chef Kay adds the mala oil for the extra kick. The basil leaves initially cover the dish and then you mix it all up. This is an enjoyable dish even for those who are not fans of spicy food.

DUCK FRIED RICE- I was very happy to see a rice dish on the menu! Besides duck as the main protein, Chef Kay utilizes Chinese style sausage to create a nice dish you can pair with any of the other main entrees.

Desserts...

POP ROCKS-this was a newer addition to the current menu. It consists of mascarpone flavored ice cream, topped with dehydrated berries with sauce, Ivoire crumbs and of course the pop and fizzy effect with each spoonful. I am a big fan of Chef Kay's desserts and she created something very unique here. I hope it stays on the the menu.

Beverages....I wrote up top that there are no adult Capri suns or lighted ice cubes here. That is solely for the other establishment. There are always new drinks in development. The specialty cocktails here are soju based. The other drink options include Asian spirits like sake and premium soju as well as options for red and white wine.

The service and attentiveness here is quite noteworthy. As soon as you enter there is a friendly face to greet you as there is usually someone behind the bar and there is usually one or two servers in the dining area as well.

Bernard and David are always very polite and accommodating. Their recommendations are always spot on. In addition to helping customers and managing they are behind the bar making drinks. Special mentions go out to Hannah, Sofia and Sally for excellent service.

Sean is sometimes there to greet customers but is usually very busy. And during dinner you might have a rare sighting of the special lady herself, Chef Kay. However, she is usually out of sight prepping all the beautiful and delicious food I...

Settings: Great layout with a cozy mood that was enhanced by good ambient music and lights. Excellent and thorough service, really appreciated all the timing of food and explanations for each dishes 👍

Drinks: Pineapple 🍍 flavor really come through and the cute bag was aesthetically pleasing, overall complemented the great cozy vibes this restaurant have👏 Food: Garden ceviche came with refreshing beets. Overall a good melody but not sure if corn has contributed to its flavor and texture🤔, perhaps juicier corn might brings a better pop Oxtail Spring roll: very crispy shell 😆 soft melts in your mouth short ribs with a fantastic smoky flavor and spicy undertone; the creamy sauce adds to the great flavor profile as well Cauliflower: Gochujiang gives off the right amount of heat you would expect while the cauliflower was cooked so well the textured made us felt like we were eating shrimp. It was amazing technique in retrospect 🤩mint was a good addition but cannot fully contrast the spiciness perhaps peppermint or something more sharp can really shine. Overall well seasoned and executed. Corn dumplings: Dumplings like soup dumplings with the truffle and corn/cheese flavors really makes it a rich dish. Definitely enjoyable and would recommend if you prefer heavier and more savory flavors. 👏 Gumbo: classic and well executed, definitely a forte of this restaurant 👌 Lobster rolls: truly a bite sized surprise! Fluffy and airy buns with lobster perfectly cooked while the celery really giving a crunch. While I was expecting the sauce to also be a star it rather only served as a cohesive in the dish. Overall quite a fun and lasting memory 😌

Desserts: Injeolmi Mousse: bit overly sweet but great contrast in textures from the chunky and crunchy chocolate center (like Ferrero) Apple bread pudding 🍏 (special of the day-off menu) really rich and buttery fragrant just immerse you in this soft pillowy world while textures and flavors was in amazing harmony. I would prefer more apple flavor to come through but no complains. I would DEFINITELY put this ON THE MENU, it deserves its star status 🤩

Fantastic experience and grateful for the food 😌 definitely a gem and must go in east village!

If I have to rank the food I had today: oxtail rollapple bread puddinglobster rollscauliflowercorn dumplingsgarden cevicheinjeolmi mousse

I didn’t write a review about Berkshire ribs because I think the chef needs to rethink about the flavor profile they try to deliver through this dish, so I considered it as a work in process, wish them the...

If you love tapas, you have to check this place out! When I first read that this was a sister restaurant to Thursday Kitchen, I was immediately sold. This place has relatively dim lighting and a very intimate feel, so it's great for dates, but also features bigger tables to catch up with friends or even celebrations for birthdays.

To start with the food highlights, if you were only able to order one dish, the rice with octopus is a MUST. This dish carried the score and set the tone for the rest of the dinner. As an appetizer, we started with the yellowtail crudo, which was a hit or miss since one of us enjoyed the fish and the other thought it was too fishy. The rice with octopus was a charred octopus on top of a Risotto. It was well-seasoned, so make sure to get a good rice-to-octopus ratio with every bite!

The next two dishes we ordered were the cauliflower and the wagyu steak. To say the least, they were two very different menu items with mixed reactions. The cauliflower reminded us of buffalo chicken, the way it looked, and was paired with almost a ranch-like sauce. The first bite proved to be a very flavorful take on cauliflower but be warned that this dish can pack some heat and get to be VERY spicy (pretty tasty though). Finally, the wagyu steak was not what we had seen in previous pictures, generally, a strip steak cooked with some fried onions as toppings. Instead, ours had peppercorn sauce, which was a nice alternative, although not as aesthetic.

To wrap up this review, the service was impeccable as our water was constantly refilled, the staff was always checking in on us, and our table was always kept nice and clean (perfectly ready for pictures of the next dish)!

Will come back and try the other...