Newly opened Atti in Downtown Brooklyn is upping the borough’s Korean BBQ game with a focus on high quality beef aged in house, stylish design and an elevated wine, cocktail and spirits program.
Wife and husband team of designers and restaurateurs, Ju Young Oh and Min Sung Kang of studiOH, own neighborhood Brooklyn spots like Kuun and MS. OHHO (in Greenpoint) that specialize in home Korean cooking, but for the new project the couple wanted to create a more refined destination for elevated Korean BBQ. The focus of the menu is the Atti Han Sang feast (han means big, sang is table) which includes four select cuts of beef from Pat LaFrieda, DeBragga and Snake River Farms including prime ribeye that is dry-aged in house for 45 – 60 days, and more than a dozen side dishes. Served Bansang-style (traditional Korean royal table setting), the feast includes a variety of side dishes to share, rice, soup and condiments accompanying the meat – the cuts change but can feature prime hanger, dry-aged ribeye, wagyu, kalbi (short rib) and more. Pillowy egg souffle, doenjang (fermented soybean) stew, housemade kimchi, scallion salad, mushrooms, rice cakes, seasonal ssam with ssamjang sauce, rice and more fill the table before the meats arrive. The staff cooks the meat on the table’s built-in grill in front of guests, recommending sides and condiments that complement each cut best. Snowflake Bingsoo, Korean shaved ice, caps the meal.
The a la carte menu offers additional cuts of beef including American wagyu, each served with several sides. To start guests can enjoy fresh East Coast and West Coast Oysters and Shrimp cocktail; Steak Tartare; Shrimp or Pork Mandu dumplings, Spicy Pork Belly BBQ and more. Popular stews and rice dishes include Naeng Myun (cold noodles); Seafood Soondubu Stew with tofu; and Pork Belly Kimchi Stew.
The beverage program has been curated with as much care as the meat sourcing, offering a selection of craft cocktails such as Atti Old Fashioned with bourbon, ginger and orange bitters, and a Plum Mojito; Korean spirits like craft soju distilled from rice, pine, barley or plums, artisanal rice-based makgeolli, plus sake, beer, and wine. More than a dozen premium sakes are available as well as clear savory rice wine chungju and milky Red Monkey makgeolli which gets its hue from the red yeast used in the fermentation process. The concise wine list focuses on France, Italy and the U.S.
Atti is the latest project for studiOH, a Brooklyn interior design studio owned by Ju Young Oh and Min Sung Kang (specializing in residential conversions, retail and commercial design) and a burgeoning Brooklyn restaurant group. The couple expanded into the restaurant business when they could not find authentic Korean food in Brooklyn. They started with a small café near Ju Young Oh’s alma mater Pratt Institute in 2010, then opened MS. OHHO cafe and takeout/delivery in Greenpoint in 2019, and in 2020 Kuun in Downtown Brooklyn. All the spaces are designed by Ju Young Oh. At Atti, they wanted to elevate the BBQ and meat to be the focus – as guests enter the space they pass by a glass case where the meat ages below a neon sign that reads “Meet the meat @ Atti.”
Atti is located at 294 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, NY. Hours are Monday – Friday 5pm – 11pm, Saturday & Sunday 11am – 11pm.
