Acclaimed Hell's Kitchen Chef Opens New Eatery In Neighborhood

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — Already riding a wave of acclaim for his first Hell's Kitchen restaurant, the chef Sungchul Shim is making further inroads into the neighborhood with a second eatery that opened its doors last week.

The new restaurant, Mari, opened Friday on Ninth Avenue between West 46th and 47th streets. It's just a block east from Kochi, the skewer-focused, tasting-menu-based restaurant that Shim opened on 10th Avenue in 2019.

Mari, too, will have a focus on Korean cuisine. Meaning "roll," it centers on a $125 tasting menu of hand rolls inspired by Korean street food. Offerings include "Hansang," a set of small plates, followed by items like soy-marinated salmon topped with caviar and crispy potatoes; shrimp topped with leeks and egg yolk sauce; slow-roasted pork belly; and wagyu beef marinated in house bulgogi sauce.

The rolls are complemented by a long wine list and Korean spirits like makgeolli and soju. The interior was designed by the same firm as Kochi — described as "bright" and "intimate," it features an open kitchen surrounded by a 16-seat white marble counter. Another 15 seats are in the dining oom.

Kochi has been Hell's Kitchen's hottest eatery in recent months — last week, it was named New York's best restaurant of 2021 by TimeOut, and won its first Michelin star over the summer.

Shim is a veteran of fine-dining institutions like Per Se, Le Bernardin and Neta. He was born and raised in Jeollanam-do, a province at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, where he cooked in his family's kitchen during large gatherings and parties.

Mari is open Tuesday-Sunday for dinner service from 5-10 p.m. at 679 Ninth Ave.