Rice Thief — Restaurant in New York

I was at this rather unique Korean restaurant a couple of months ago with a large group. They specialize in gejang/게장, or in other words, raw marinated seafood Korean style, which is marinated in either soy sauce or gochujang. The staff was pretty friendly, and the place inside was quite casual and slightly loud, but not too overbearing. To drink, I had a sikhye/식혜, which is either available in the traditional style with just fermented rice for $6, or also with pumpkin for $8. It was less sweet than the canned variety I have had before, and it was a nice touch to top it with a little piece of jujube/red date and some pine nuts. A few others ordered their cocktail pouches, with a couple of people liking the Open Sesame for $15, and another person or two also enjoying the $14 Pear with Me. They gave us some banchan consisting of broccoli with a bit of sesame as well as a slightly fermented kimchi, which was decent.

The first thing that arrived was something I can't eat, which was the Seafood Pancake/Haemul Pajeon/해물파전 for $24 listed as our classic Korean Style seafood pancake, crispy fried batter, squid, shrimp, clam & scallion and paired with our home style soy sauce dip. It was cut up into eight pieces, and it seemed like there was plenty of seafood inside. I unfortunately have a cephalopod allergy, so squid is a no-go, but the rest enjoyed it.

The next to arrive was one of their signatures, the Soy Platter for $89 with 6 soy crabs, 6 white shrimp, 4 red shrimp, and 3 abalone, with the host ordering extra of the blue crabs so everyone could have one. The platters come with rice and seaweed, but we upgraded to the Rice Thief Bowl, which is $5 with the platters or $8 normally, which has some masago, wakame, daikon, roasted seaweed & sesame seed along with the rice, which was very tasty, from the bit I could taste. The platter was as per the price point, quite massive, and I think two or three people could eat it as a main and leave comfortably full with another appetizer or something. The crabs had a good amount of roe and were soft enough in most places to bite and eat the delicious slightly sweet and salty meat inside. However, my preference was surprisingly the shrimp as I liked the texture more, and it was less of a hassle with the red shrimp being stronger flavored. The abalone had good texture as well, and overall, we all enjoyed this a lot.

As this is a raw seafood place primarily, the other two $25 dishes were fine. The better of the two was the Beef Brisket DwenJang Jigae with thinly sliced beef brisket, fermented soybean miso soup, tofu, slightly spicy anchovy broth, assorted mushrooms, jalapeno, and squash. The broth had a nice fermented flavor with some funk and plenty of pretty tender beef. The portion size was also adequate for the price point. The Spicy Pork Belly for $25 with sauteed spicy pork, Korean sweet & spicy sauce, onion, rice cake, and jalapeno was alright. It was well portioned, though I found the meat not as tender as some other spots. However, the sauce was solid, and I can imagine the spicy crabs having a good kick of flavor as well, and I wouldn't mind having that instead of the soy version next time.

I wouldn't mind going back here at all, as overall, I liked the food a lot. The platter also sounds excellent for a group, though likely, I'd try their abalone jook and/or the spicy marinated...

Rice Thief: A Heist of Flavors in NYC

Rice Thief offers a unique dining experience for lovers of raw seafood. We visited on a Sunday afternoon as walk-ins and had to wait a while due to the place being packed. My advice: make a reservation if you plan to go, especially on weekends.

Atmosphere and Service:

The vibe at Rice Thief is pretty chill. Despite the wait, the servers were nice and the place was lively. It's evident that this spot is popular, so planning ahead can save you some time.

Menu Highlights:

If you’re not a fan of raw seafood, this might not be the best choice for you. The main highlight here is raw seafood, with limited options for cooked dishes. For those who enjoy raw seafood, however, the experience can be quite rewarding.

We initially wanted to order the premium platter, but it was unavailable, so we settled for the soy platter. This included a combination of blue crab, red shrimp, white shrimp, and abalone. We also ordered the Rice Thief bowl, which came with rice topped with shredded seaweed, shredded daikon, and other ingredients I can’t quite recall.

The Food:

Our group of four had mixed experiences. Two of us, who are fans of raw seafood, enjoyed the soy platter. The blue crab was good, but the standout was the red shrimp—huge, plump, and exquisite. I'm not typically a raw seafood eater, but I thoroughly enjoyed what I had. On the other hand, the two in our group who preferred cooked food were less satisfied. They ordered the gamjatang (Korean pork stew) and abalone congee, and found the cooked food selection lacking.

Final Thoughts:

Rice Thief is on the pricier side, but it’s a unique experience for those who enjoy raw seafood. The platter we ordered came with two bowls of rice and seaweed nori wrappers. Despite the long wait and the cost, the lively atmosphere and attentive service made the visit enjoyable. If you’re willing to splurge and are a fan of raw seafood, Rice Thief is worth a try. However, if you prefer cooked dishes, you might want to explore other options or look into the menu more thoroughly...

Absolutely terrible.

They first screwed up the reservation. Family of 4 for a table. They screwed up and made it for countertop. Use your brain. Why would a group of 4 make a reservation for a tabletop for dinner?

Fine. If the reservation was messed up, then offer us the table to us first prior to that of walk-in customers. It's only right. The incompetent manager told us that we have to wait an hour. Are you stupid? You make an error and ask us to wait an hour, and with such a bold and thick face as if it's obvious?

Food is extremely overrated. I had high hopes. Gamjatang has no flavor whatsoever. It's the worst I've eaten in all my life and it's one of my favorites. Crabs are about 10 dollars each. Absolutely overpriced. Other food isn't great either. How do gamjatang and crabs not come with rice?

How does a korean restaurant have zero korean waiter/waitress?

Spent almost 300 dollars and we left with such disappointment and were still hungry. I would not recommend this place to anyone and needless to say, I am not returning.

Edit to respond:

The reservation was made through the phone call. I clearly stated for a table. Yes, I asked again "you sure?" as we did not want to waste our time. She confirmed "YES."

It's your word vs. your manager. She did not make a single attempt to priorize us for the mistake she made. Instead, she rather tried to continue to blame us for making the incorrect reservation whenever I tried to say anything about it.

I don't mind spending the money. It's nothing to me. However, the value isn't there.

When was the last time you tried your gamjatang? Are you proud of it? There is another...