Moono — Restaurant in New York

We were so excited to try out this new restaurant from the mastermind that brought you Jua despite the normal apprehension that comes with a new team and space. Speaking of space, you pass by a beautiful bar before entering a beautiful space. It reminds me of a ballrooom or maybe an old church. I wonder what the previous occupants used it for. The menu is broken up into categories with three or four options each. Food was delicious but just understand these are classic / home style Korean dishes that are prepared well and with good ingredients. These are not elevated or remixed dishes with familiar Korean flavors you might find at some of the city’s other high end Korean restaurants. Take an out of town guest to Jua. Take your Korean mother to Moono. The real fault of the restaurant is the jerky service. It was mostly fine and would be passable for a K-Town spot but not at this price point. Our non alcoholic drinks were not out after we had finished two dishes. When asked it took a while longer to come. Each dish is served and presented by a server, who was not our waitress. He mostly did a pretty good job of presenting the dishes and explaining the ingredients but a few times he stumbled and forgot the script. Another strange thing, and I’m pretty sure this is by design because I have it with every single course is that they would bring up the dish and then a minute later a different person will bring the silverware and bowls or plates needed for the dish. This was super strange to me you know exactly what we ordered and what dishes are coming next, so why wouldn’t you give us the bowl or knife or fork or utensils that we need to use to eat the dish. Instead, they put on this weird show where a different person is responsible for bringing you bowls and utensils. The problem with this is there’s a lack of communication and they either forget the items briefly or a different server will try to bring the same items again. Super strange. One last thing, the desserts are super small. We got the buckwheat ice cream and the scoop must’ve been the size of a bouncy ball. I think this is a case of the kitchen being well ahead of the front of house and there’s a little bit of...

Do not come here if you have any food sensitivities!! I have eaten gf around the world for 11 years and have never encountered such blatant incompetence and direct lies from a food establishment.

Our experience was a continuous flow of seemingly not-thinking people. I have Celiac disease (no gluten), which I announced upon sitting down and I am floored at how in 2025 in New York City, a high-end restaurant could be so absolutely oblivious and harmful. They have 1 gluten free entree on the menu — branzino. That’s fine, I don’t expect much. I get it. The waitress asks gf soy sauce is okay (which indicates to me that they have gf soy sauce…). The dish arrives with a sauce. I ask, “Is this the gf version?” The person delivering the food says yes. I pour it on the fish and eat 3/4 and the waitress comes back and says, “wait, did you eat the sauce? It’s not gf.” What!? Why did the other person say it was? Why did you PUT IT ON THE TABLE AT ALL?? This was after a scare with the complementary appetizer, which they said was gf on delivery then went back on it once I already ate 1/2 of it, then said it was actually okay. Are you kidding me? Your food runner told me this was gluten free after I said I have a serious disease and you already thought you got 1 thing wrong and you’re still not taking this seriously?! This is a very nice, expensive restaurant. I verified at every step and they just blatantly lied me about a health-related issue.

In addition, the rest of the service was just unaware… like, they brought me a new fish and took my rice I wanted to eat then didn’t give me new rice until I was done with the fish. They wouldn’t come to the table to take our order until we called out and wouldn’t bring us the check. Didn’t check on the table until it was too late for me to get sick. When the manager came to the table about the gluten, he spun his words about how the fish is gf and I had to clarify, “just tell me, the sauce I just ate, which your staff member confirmed is gluten free, is actually not and going to make me sick, correct?” I mean, this whole experience was highly worrisome for people who have safety issues around food and just dissatisfying for...

Easy to miss on the outside with its big heavy wooden doors, but absolutely gorgeous interior design! This restaurant is definitely more upscale than the Korean restaurant in the area of ktown- something different if you’re willing to give it a try.

For drinks, we ordered the Jamon Breeze, Keep it Fresh, and Naju Highball. All were delicious but weren’t heavy on the alcohol.

After you order your food, they serve you a refreshing citrus cucumber appetizer. For food, we started with the Hoemuchim +kimchi, which included spicy tuna, gochujang veggies, topped with soybean powder. Once mixed, you wrap it in seaweed to eat it. This was my favorite dish right here! Delicious, savory, and fun to eat. 5/5

For appetizer, we also ordered the Fried Chicken. If you know me, if there’s chicken wings on the menu, I absolutely need to try it. Here, the wings came piping hot and crispy, lightly battered and a side of sauce. The wings were exponentially better with the sauce - definitely too plain without. 3.5/5

For mains, we got the galbi-jjim, mushroom sotbap, and the spicy mixed noodles. While the mushroom sotbap was nice and full of umami flavor, it was underwhelming. The spicy noodles added a kick of flavor and more yummy carbs for us to enjoy. Of these, the galbi-jjim shined in comparison to the sotbap and the noodles. The galbi-jjim was wonderfully braised, full of sweet but also savory flavors, and paired well with the peppers in the dish.

For dessert, we ordered the burdock root ice cream, with chocolate mousse and burdock chips. We’ve never had burdock root ice cream so we were in for a surprise. The ice cream is slightly bitter(as burdock is) but also slightly sweet. It paired well with a little bit of the thick/dense chocolate and the graham crumbs. Well thought out and a good experience.

The staff were kind and check in on you occasionally while you’re dining, to make sure everything is okay.

Overall, worth trying if you’re the in the mood for not-your-ordinary Korean restaurant. While pricier, they offer different dishes than a typical Korean restaurant would. I’d come back again if I were celebrating an occasion with...