Momofuku Ssam Bar

Sat outside and had a perfect view of the water.

From the start the guest service here was impeccable. Super friendly host sat us and the manager came and checked in on us to make sure everything was OK.

The food here was impeccable. I usually hate corn ribs but these were just amazing. I think the thing that really took the cake though was the rice cakes with lobster. That was so flavorful and the rice cakes were like little pillows. The spicy rice cakes definitely had a kick for me (though I don't have a high spice tolerance) but they were still very flavorful.

Overall a great experience and would highly recommend!

As longtime followers of David Chang and his Momofuku brand, when my wife and I traveled from California to NYC, I made a reservation to surprise her. Upon arriving, we received a warm friendly greeting and were whisked away to a waiting elevator to our table. Once seated, the staff were very attentive and friendly. Checking the menu we decided on the fixed menu. $110pp with the additional Super Saam option along with the wine paring option. Starting with bubbles was great and we enjoyed the well dressed salad and flat bread with the strongly spiced compound butter, which set our expectations for the flavors to come. The oysters were tender and the accompanying sauce worked well, even if lacking balance. The rabini (broccoli rabe?) was good and the chili sauce was a great pairing however, the grilled asparagus, which was part of the upgrade, outshined it. The one thing on the asparagus: it came with what was advertised as bernaise sauce however either the tarragon was missing so so subtle it was undetectable. Better described as hollandaise sauce but still very tasty. Our left handed waiter/chef/sommelier using right handed scissors struggled due to the scissors however was able to do what she needed to throughout the meal. She was super friendly and knowledgeable about each wine she poured us as well as attentive to our water glasses. We left the first course and moved on to the prawns..the sauce was spicy and flavorful but the head on shrimp were slightly overcooked detracting from the texture. Now the to proteins...the short rib glazed with a simple honey soy glaze was perfection and paired wonderfully with the wine selection. The flatiron steak, while cooked to a perfect medium rare lacked flavor, even salt and pepper, which made it very disappointing. It was tender and the wine paired well with it however the lack of flavor made this something I could do much better at home. The pork shoulder appeared to be seasoned nicely before cooking so we were excited to have this but were again disappointed by the lack of flavor, if by design or not. The pork, while cooked perfectly did not have wow factor we were expecting. The garlic soy rice appeared along with the cucumber salad. Cucumber salad was as advertised as a cucumber salad, nothing special. The garlic soy rice, upon appearance looked very flavorful but upon taste, it was underwhelming and bland. The strawberry sorbet with lime zest paired well with the dessert wine and was refreshing and tart. Expecting to be wowed by this experience, we were not. That being said the simple sorbet served for dessert as a nod to the old Ssäm bar "mochi from the Trader Joe's around the corner" made me laugh and I actually appreciated that. Or perhaps it was nod to Tossi's strawberry shortcake?

Overall, we had a great time but the wine and service were far better than the food.

Notes for improvement:

Left handed staff should be provided the tools they need (lefty kitchen shears exist we can sent you some! We have a lefty in the family)

Wine pairings are a glass of wine in California not a tasting. Apologies if that is different in New York and we are misunderstanding. But the sommelier referred to it as a tasting while the menu said it was a pairing. These are two different things. $55 pp for a pairing is incredibly reasonable but for a tasting not so much.

More flavor on the proteins. This was our biggest stumbling block for a higher review.

We came here for date night last night and ate in the dining room - absolutely loved it and cannot wait to return! We sat in the dining room and enjoyed a nice view of the city. The interior is polished but not stuffy, staff were super friendly and welcoming. The food was amazing. We got the set menu which turned out to be a very good decision! Every dish was so delicious - from the salad to the meats (seriously wow flavors!!). Hard to even say what was my favorite as everything was so good.

The sauce for the prawns was one of the best tasting sauces I've ever had. The staff are clearly very skilled as they are the ones cooking in front of you (which I thought was such a cool clever rendition of traditional Korean bbq). Everything was charred perfectly and just the right amount of crispy and juicy at the same time.

The broccoli rabe was a standout for me - i easily could have had it all to myself and not shared any with my husband. The short rib was my favorite of the 3 red meats but they were all good - I mean close your eyes mmmmm good.

It was the perfect amount of food and I'd say for the quality and amount, $110 pp is a steal! I would add this place to my list of favorites in NYC!

The Seaport location is really beautiful and has a great view of the water and boats! Came here with some coworkers for a drinks and appetizers after work so this review is primarily for those and not the mains. The drink was very refreshing and I would definitely recommend getting cocktails or wine but avoid the larger shareable cocktails. They're overpriced and undersized, particularly the watermelon and soju one. The crispy potatoes were really great and the corn ribs are addictive. The bing was not bad, but super average for the price. It's a little on the expensive side but the food is definitely really good.

A fun dining experience, the Ssam Bar features the grill in the center of the table where the waiter grills up the main meats and fishes and accompanying vegetables. The raw appetizers and side dishes complimented the meal for which, we ordered the Hamachi with kosho vinaigrette, peach, and olive and the Market Cucumber Salad. Both were fine, although not outstanding. Our favorite starter dish was the complimentary bread that was cooked on the grill and served with a spicy butter. From the grill, we ordered the Sizzling Flatiron Steak and the Mushroom with kombu dashi and tamari. The steak alone was a bit plain, but complimented by the chimichurri sauce was tasty. The mushrooms were the standout of the meal as the dashi and tamari created a sweet profile.

I was under the impression that this is the same quality as the regular momofuku just don't serve the noodles. While I've never had momofuku, I have heard it is overrated... and I guess my experience has confirmed that. The food was mediocre at best. Here are the items we ordered

1. Skirt steak- tasted over cooked? Dry, and not tender at all.... Feel like I can make a better steak than this...

2. Branzino- I liked this the most out of the few items we got... cuz you really can't go wrong with fish...it was lacking in the flavor department tho, and the salad had WAYYY too much dressing.... It's almost as if they put all the dressing for the fish onto the salad.... The fish in comparison didn't have much flavors

3. Brussel sprouts- mediocre... the flavor is not there. I've tasted way better brussel sprouts at every other restaurant I've had.

4. Roasted oysters (one of their most popular dish)- not good... couldn't really taste the oysters since it was overpowered by the crunch.

Ambiance: very small indoor section, that only had bar seats and high bar tops. Most of the seats were outdoors.... And not ideal when the weather is chilly

Overall verdict- save your money... you are paying for very subpar food that's overpriced... the food items were not cheap! Actually on the expensive side.

Came here for a date night and got seated at the bar counter a bit earlier than my reservation time.

The staff here was very friendly. We were curious about the drinks and they offered us samples to ensure we'd like it before ordering. They also took their time to explain the menu to us as well as any questions we had.

We ordered the whole wheat bing, coulotte steak, hamachi, and crispy potatoes. We also got the chai apple cider to warm up a bit (it's served hot).

The drink came first and it was surprisingly refreshing. It was hot so it was comforting but it had just the right amount of sweetness that made it enjoyable without being overbearing.

The whole wheat bing was quite good. Bing itself was soft and paired well with their whipped ricotta/black truffle/chili crunch sauce.

The hamachi wasn't bad but the apple slices with the vinegar made it quite tarty. Just a forewarning if you're not fond of sourness.

The steak was extremely tasty. Perfectly cooked medium well and flavored nicely, it made for great ssam. We added crispy potatoes last second and glad we did. It lived up to the name of being extremely crispy, and the sauce it came with was fantastic! Provided a little kick in the aftertaste.

We reserved the upstairs private room at Momofuku for a work dinner for about 15 people. The menu was pre-set and I had no idea what I was in for.

Let me tell you about the bo ssam because it's all that matters. Its basically slow roasted pork shoulder but cooked by God. The pork shoulder is dry rubbed with generous amounts of salt and sugar then cured overnight. Then it is slow roasted in the oven for several hours. And then, it is finished off with another layer of dark brown sugar to caramelize the outer layer of the pork, giving it a nicely burnt sugar aroma and crunchy texture. We were told it takes 15 hours to make this dish.

Unreal.

I can't tell you what other things we tried. All the small appetizers that came before were completely forgettable. I sent one of my cocktails back because it was essentially watered down Japanese whiskey. I ended up with the korchata cocktail and it was okay. Ricotta dessert was fine.

The only thing I will remember from that night is the pork shoulder lettuce wraps. My review makes no sense. I'm claiming everything was blah except for the bo ssam. It is entirely possible that the pork shoulder is so unbelievably delicious that everything else pales in comparison.

We wanted to try this place because it had good reviews and really cool dining vibes. We were a little surprised about the prices but went with 3 meat platters and 3 sides of garlic rice.

The short rib and pork belly were very very good, melt in your mouth and perfectly seasoned. The right one (angus coulotte) was probably the worst piece of meat I've ever eaten. It was so chewy and tough, and I even asked the waiter if this was normal - to which he said yes, it's known to be chewy. For 40$, we could have gotten something so much better!!

The garlic rice was extremely good and worth its portion, but it's 17$

On our quest to try all of David Chang's restaurants, this was our most recent visit on a trip to NYC.

We wanted to do the Ssäm Set menu which limited our seating to the dining room where the menus have grills built in.

This menu is pre-selected. A few of our favorite dishes were the Striped Bass and all 3 of the cooked meats: Pork Belly, Pork Shoulder, and Short Rib.

We loved all of it. It was a fantastic meal and it was so much food. We only eat once a day, so we usually eat more than most people. We could barely finish everything and we left stuffed.

I'd highly recommend the experience!