Atomix is truly a marvelous culinary experience. It is clear that JP and Ellia, the duo at the helm, care deeply about Korean culinary tradition. Their attention to every detail is literally palpable–you can choose the pair chopsticks that you eat with from a beautiful, curated collection. The layout of the restaurant, the aesthetics, the information card that comes with every dish, the uniforms, and every other little thing all bring the dining experience closer to their goal of a “new tomorrow.”

Prior to being seated, you are brought to a dimly lit lounge that might as well be from the movie set of the next big budget sci-fi movie. A few snacks are served and then diners are brought to the intimate bar. The waitstaff are dressed in flowing understated t-shirts that make stiff suits feel outdated. The stage is set and it is all very exciting to take in.

Of course, the food is the most important thing, and they have overwhelmingly succeeded in that regard. A $175 entry fee gets you 10 courses. Given the limited seating and generous portions of uni, caviar, wagyu, and such, the price feels more than fair. Other ingredients include soy sauces sourced from Korea and house milled rice.

These ingredients are cleverly assembled with sound technique. A stand out dish presented eel with eggplant bound together by an intensely savory cream sauce. The flavor is heavy, and the soft eggplant almost seems to become the eel–it tastes amazing. It is a complex dish with lots of prep that I would have not known about if not for the information card that accompanies each dish.

The information cards might seem as overly didactic and perhaps some diners feel that food should speak for itself, but I wholeheartedly appreciated knowing the background of each dish and the full list of ingredients. The waitstaff is knowledgeable and eager to explain any of the more obscure ingredients or techniques. I hope that this becomes more common amongst fine dining establishments. As fine dining is privy to hard to source ingredients and inaccessible techniques, it is important to be transparent about how such things affect a dish. The rarity of an ingredient and the difficulty of a preparation are not themselves praiseworthy. They are laudable only if they benefit the dish in a sensible way.

Returning to the food, there was a dish or two that contained ingredient combinations that I felt were confusing, such as the bingsu that contained creme fraiche, coriander seed, pepper, and strawberries, but the majority of dishes are superlative, not to mention the banchan and rice pairings.

I left Atomix in awe and inspired to cook with intention and meticulousness. At least for me, they have achieved their goal of a “new tomorrow.” The highest praise I can give to a restaurant is that they are pushing the boundaries of what food and dining can be, and Atomix certainly does that.