With stints at some of the world’s best restaurants and an appearance on Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars under his belt, chef Hasung Lee is going it alone with the opening of Oyatte in Murray Hill, New York.
Lee was born in South Korea but underwent much of his professional training in the US – namely Gramercy Tavern, The French Laundry, and Atomix – as well as Copenhagen’s scene-defining Geranium. Despite the international pedigree of his resume, Lee is intent on forging his own place in the NYC restaurant scene.
With Oyatte, he was inspired by the earthy, rustic feel of a farmhouse, and has imagined an experience similar to dining at a chef’s home. A majority of ingredients will be sourced from a single vegetable farm (the two-acre Crown Daisy Farm in upstate New York, led by The French Laundry’s former head farmer, Brett Ellis), adding to Lee’s rural vision.
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The eight-course tasting menu experience unfolds over two floors, and deftly blends Asian-inspired flavors with European technique and sensibility. First, a series of vegetable-forward canapes on the ground floor, including walnut oil-infused vegetable broth; caraway shortbread with caramelized onions; and fermented carrot tartare. This more casual space is being billed as an ‘atelier’ and will feature mid-Century lounge seating amid salvaged natural materials (including wood sourced directly from Crown Daisy Farm).
For the second half of the menu, guests move upstairs into two more formal dining rooms. Inspired by Lee’s time working in Europe, these spaces are light and minimal. Connecting the lower and upper floors is a 13-ft quartz installation by Korean artist Bahk Seon Ghi.
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In this more elevated setting, Lee is hoping to up the ante with the food. Here, the menu shifts to meat and fish-forward dishes, prioritizing whole-ingredient cooking. Mirin-marinated scallops are served with smoked ham hock; poached halibut and mussels are wrapped up in a vermouth sauce; and lamb saddle is wrapped up in house-cured bacon. In a nod toward his time on Culinary Class Wars, Lee is offering a brown rice porridge with herb sauce and soy-preserved truffle, in a reference to his a particularly judge-impressing dish.
While Lee’s opening menu leans toward the more rustic end of fine dining, small elements of luxury work to position it firmly in the premium market, such the supplementary smoked eel course, which is laden with Kaviari Kristal caviar.
The drinks list is another place where Oyatte is hoping to flex the standard of its offering. Built by general manager Cécile Chastanet, previously of Per Se, the wine pairing is set to be tailored to guests as opposed to broadly matched to flavors of each dish, with focus on European varieties and grower champagnes.
