The story
At a small address on East 22nd Street in New York’s Flatiron district, Jua is a Korean wood-fired restaurant that feels personal from the moment you arrive. Chef Hoyoung Kim named it for his firstborn daughter—Jua, a name that echoes “joie” in French—and the warmth of that gesture carries through every detail of the room and the cooking.
Chef Kim spent eight years at the two-Michelin-starred Jungsik in Tribeca, rising from line cook to executive chef. Before that, he trained at École Ferrandi in Paris and worked alongside chef Pascal Barbot at the three-star L’Astrance. Those classical French foundations meet a deep Korean sensibility at Jua, where the central technique is wood-fire cooking.
The restaurant offers a single seven-course tasting menu that changes with the seasons. A recent menu included Caviar Kim, a cold Mulhoe (Korean-style raw fish soup), Jook (rice porridge), wood-grilled Branzino, and Wagyu with Chan. The meal closes with a Strawberry course and Goguma Juak, a sweet potato fritter. An optional Uni Kim supplement adds another layer, and the wine pairings—available in full and French-focused selections—are complemented by a non-alcoholic pairing.
The dining room is compact, with two seatings nightly at 6:00pm and 8:30pm, Tuesday through Sunday. The atmosphere is polished but unhurried, with a smart-casual dress code and a two-hour time limit that allows the kitchen to pace the meal properly. Jua earned a Michelin star for its high-quality cooking, a recognition that aligns with the precision and restraint Chef Kim brings to each course.
This is not a restaurant that tries to do everything. It does one thing—a focused, wood-fired tasting menu rooted in Korean contemporary cuisine—and does it with the quiet confidence of a chef cooking for his own table.
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