NYCReview
photo credit: Kate Previte
Ariari
Included In
A meal at Ariari is like that one birthday when you got every present you wanted—including things you didn’t know you needed. Just when you think the next dish can't get any better than the last, you’re proven wrong. That sense of discovery never stops as you make your way through the menu.
This East Village spot serves food inspired by Busan, a city on the southern coast of South Korea. Unsurprisingly, seafood is the focus, but every dish is worth checking out. You’ll wonder if you’ve ever seen ingredients together like this before. The answer is probably no.
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
The only part that sucks about this retro-looking restaurant from the team behind Atoboy and LittleMad is having to decide what seafood to try. As soon as you settle into your chair that looks like it's covered in brown vinyl from a 1972 Buick, your dilemma begins. Should you order the raw hamachi and rockfish lettuce wraps or the DIY handrolls with fresh sweet scallops? Perfectly-poached octopus with white kimchi or deep-fried soft-shell crab? Sweet and sticky sea eel or hot stone bibimbap with rich uni cream? These are all trick questions. You’ll keep coming back to this place until you try everything, so it doesn’t matter what you order.
If you have an aversion to seafood, no problem. Their meat dishes are just as special. Our favorite double feature starts with the juicy ground lamb stuffed in a fried Korean hot pepper followed by the hap-cheon soup. This mini cauldron of porky clear broth with various pig parts is placed on a flame so it’s kept simmering at your table. Wash it all down with a few of their creative house cocktails like the vermouth-based bori-cha with soothing notes of barley. A couple of those and you’ll bop your head a little harder to the bubblegum K-pop on the speakers and start greeting everyone who walks in along with the staff. (That’s a thing they do.)
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
photo credit: Kate Previte
We don’t mean to be pushy, but find the next available table here right away and snag it—even if that slot is close to your bedtime. They technically take a few walk-ins, but unless you’re one of those annoyingly lucky people who actually comes out ahead after a weekend in Vegas, don’t show up without a reservation. When you do score a table and start making your way through all the fantastic dishes, you’ll realize that you can still find things to eat in New York that you’ve never had before. So go ahead and book your next few meals at Ariari because one visit won't be enough.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Kate Previte
Scallop DIY Gimbap
photo credit: Kate Previte
Octopus Sook-hwe
photo credit: Kate Previte
Lamb Stuffed Fried Pepper
photo credit: Kate Previte
Fried Soft-Shell Crab
photo credit: Kate Previte
Glazed Jang-eo
photo credit: Kate Previte
Dolsot Al-bap
photo credit: Kate Previte
Hap-cheon Pork Soup
photo credit: Kate Previte