PRESS
Michelin Recommended
New Wonjo offers a delightful 24-hour respite in this jam-packed quarter of K-town. The modest space is mighty popular for barbecue-seeking groups. These grills still use charcoal only, adding to the overall lure, though it's hands-on only during dinner. No matter the time, one can expect to find hordes of diners huddling around platters of marinated beef short ribs (kalbi) or thinly sliced pork belly (samgyupsal). Non-barbecue delights include mandoo, chap chae and cochu pa jeon. Be sure to keep room for soups like ban gye tang-a soothing ginseng-infused broth with sticky rice- garlic- and jujubes-stuffed chicken. Gobdol bibimbap with minced beef, a runny egg and other spicy condiments is wonderfully flavorful but only incendiary upon request.
The New York Times
For a Korean Standby, a Lively New Energy IF you judge by appearances, New Wonjo Restaurant is the same Koreatown standby it was when it was just plain Wonjo. It’s still open 24 hours a day, and the menu is still the size of a ledger. As always, runners thread through the busy upstairs dining room carrying braziers of glowing coals for the in-table grills in what must be one of the most unsafe, if exhilarating, opening acts to a meal you’ll find in Midtown. The new owners, Steve and Christina Jang, didn’t make jarring changes after taking over in March. But they renovated the kitchen, hired a new staff and installed a nearly silent venting system from South Korea (you can hold conversations when the fans over the grills are on). It’s when you start to eat that New Wonjo Restaurant lives up to its rejuvenated billing. There’s a new energy in the kitchen, and you can taste it on the plate....
ZAGAT RATED
“Korean awesomeness” 24/7 is the deal at this Koreatown vet whose “crave”-worthy specialties include tableside BBQ; you “gotta love” the charcoal grills (vs. more typical gas ones) – but “no atmosphere” and “long lines” at peak hours are also part of the package.
Travel Channel-BIZARRE FOODS
New Wonjo Restaurant is selected by Travel Channel-BIZARRE FOODS. Andrew Zimmerson the host will show off at our restaurant to experience authentic Korean foods. Come and enjoy our specially selected Korean traditional foods!
Best 24/7 Restaurants in NYC by ZAGAT
The Best Late-Night Food in the U.S.A. by Esquire
The Seafood Pajun at New Wonjo New York City Little-known secret: Korea-town is always the most fun neighborhood of any city. In restaurants, people sing, usually well. Skylines of OB beer bottles and glasses of soju (cold Korean vodka) cover the tables. And the food — like pajun, a spongy pancake studded with chunks of shrimp and squid and panfried to a golden crisp — never stops. Wonjo is all of this.
The 38 Essential New York Restaurants, Spring 2017
Besides Barbecue: NYC’s Other Smoking Traditions
Critic Robert Sietsema takes a look at the city's non-barbecue smoked dishesKorean BBQ — Korean barbecue is done over charcoal, gas, or an electric burner, with the charcoal version preferred. Though the cooking process is perfunctory, the fatty meat manages to absorb a smoky smell and remains supremely tender. The sweet and salty marinade helps the short rib, which is the best meat to order. And the side dishes called banchan make any Korean barbecue into a feast. New Wonjo
andrewzimmern.com
Koreatown Barbecue This stretch of 32nd Street in Manhattan is known for round the clock Korean-style revelry, with great and often gritty restaurants, karaoke bars, lots of flashing neon lights and 24hr spas of all types. When it comes to the Korean food in this animated neighborhood, one of my regular spots is New Wonjo. A change of owners brought new energy to this beloved barbecue spot a few years ago, and the food has never been better. The do-it-yourself barbecued meats are what draw in the large crowds, and live charcoal is used, not the less-than-satisfactory electric griddle plates used elsewhere. There’s also a lengthy menu of other Korean specialties worth trying. The spread of banchan – a selection of pickled, steamed and cured items that appear in dizzying numbers before your meal is served – includes Korean standards such as kimchi, sweet radish and fermented black beans with peanuts. The spicy kimchi pancake appetizer is the perfect way to kick off the meal. Their jap chae is superb, as is their marinated raw crabs served several ways. For the tabletop grill, I’d suggest trying the galbi (marinated beef short ribs), and the squid and sliced pork belly married in hot chile paste, but you can’t go wrong with any choices here. Korean mainstays such as bibimbap, short rib stew and spicy ox bone stew are delicious but if you like hot spicy chigae, the codfish egg version here is sublime.
https://andrewzimmern.com/2013/12/09/new-wonjo/
The Absolute Best 24-Hour Restaurants in New York
A Koreatown favorite. Come late at night for tabletop barbecue. The sticker shock on a BBQ plate like marinated galbi ($34) might initially seem a bit overwhelming, but recall the $16 cocktails you drank all night before coming here and order that restorative plate. You’ll see almost instantly it’s a good deal, because the banchan offerings are plentiful: gyeran jjim, or the customary egg custard; pungent kimchee; blanched broccoli; jalapeño slices in soy sauce. (On a recent visit, we ordered galbi and a barbecued-vegetable plate and were given 13 additional banchan plates.) Don’t forget the soju.
Hot Pot and Handmade Dumplings—A Food Crawl Through New York’s Koreatown
Koreatown seems to bustle at all hours, and this spot is appropriately open 24/7 to accommodate hungry visitors. New Wonjo specializes in Korean barbecue. Walk in at any time, and hungry locals and tourists alike are fixated on the authentic in-table grills filled with sizzling and aromatic meats and vegetables. The space is never empty and the menu is expansive. The barbecue offerings range from basics like Galbi, a marinated short rib that’s approachable for beginners, to Hyu Mit Gui (sliced ox tongue) for the more adventurous eater. Everything is made to share—and it’s grill-it-yourself style.
https://www.vogue.com/article/koreatown-new-york-food-crawl-k-town
TimeOut New York
The appeal of this huge K-town joint is simple: The food is first-class. What reads on the menu like a basic sautéed fish is actually a plateful of meaty morsels of mackerel in a peppery soy sauce. Intensely spicy yuk gae jang is laden with thin slices of tender beef, seaweed and cellophane noodles. Other standards are solid, such as pajun (savory pancakes), kalbi (braised short ribs) and mandoo (dumplings). Explore the daunting zillion-page menu and you’ll likely find more treasures.
New York Magazine
At this 24-hour barbecue joint that’s widely considered the best on the block, it’s good to snag a table near the front: Smoke from everyone else’s tabletop grill tends to get sucked towards exhaust vents in the back of the restaurant, and besides, it’s nice to look out of the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the neon-flashing view of 32nd Street’s Korean strip. Crispy scallion pancakes, surprisingly good sushi and DIY barbequed meat are the order of the day here, but just as important is what the food is washed down with: soju, and plenty of it. Among the varieties of this vodka-like spirit, you’ll find the most popular Korean brand Jinro which is as potent as it is sweet. A twelve-ounce bottle, delivered to the table accompanied by etched shot glasses, goes far in soothing the burn of kimchi. — Emily Gould