The scene at Ariari, one of 21 restaurants in New York owned or co-owned by Hand Hospitality. The company has helped turn the city into a hub for innovative Korean dining. Credit...Janice Chung for The New York Times

       The Elusive Restaurant Group Redefining Korean Dining in New York

       Hand Hospitality has become a major player by channeling the creative energy of Seoul. But don’t expect its soft-spoken owners to crow about that.

       The scene at Ariari, one of 21 restaurants in New York owned or co-owned by Hand Hospitality. The company has helped turn the city into a hub for innovative Korean dining. Credit...Janice Chung for The New York Times

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       By Priya Krishna

       Priya Krishna visited 15 of Hand’s restaurants while reporting this story.

       Feb. 5, 2024

       Even on a chilly Monday evening, the wait at Cho Dang Gol was more than an hour.

       Crowds of 20-somethings spilled out of the homey restaurant in Manhattan’s Koreatown, where steam billowed from stone bowls of soondubu jigae in a dining room ornamented with paper lanterns and musical instruments. Some hopeful customers peeked inside, anxious to see if a table had opened up.

       A few blocks away, diners at Hojokban — a sleeker, more modern restaurant that opened last fall — eagerly snapped photographs of a plate of fried-rice wearing an empty Shin Ramyun noodle cup like a hat. The dish had already gone viral on TikTok.

       A little to the south, Atomix, a Korean fine-dining restaurant with two Michelin stars, was booked solid through the next month. And the sought-after corn cake at nearby Lysée, a Korean-French pastry shop? It had been sold out since lunchtime.

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       Korean dining in New York has never been more interesting, dynamic or diverse. And a single company, which owns or co-owns all four of these restaurants and 17 more, is generating much of that innovation: Hand Hospitality.

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       At one of Hand’s most popular restaurants, Cho Dang Gol, wait times can stretch to three hours. Credit...Janice Chung for The New York Times

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       Hand’s dishes, like a fried rice flavored by Shin Ramyun, are engineered for a Korean and Korean American audience. Credit...Janice Chung for The New York Times

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       Hand has successfully brought restaurants directly from Seoul, like Okdongsik, which specializes in a Korean dish called gomtang. Credit...Janice Chung for The New York Times

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       Priya Krishna is a Times Food staff reporter. She is the author of multiple cookbooks, including the best-selling "Indian-ish." More about Priya Krishna

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