Atoboy

Atoboy does not (!!) live up to the hype. Have to say that I was quite disappointed with the overall experience. To begin with, the prices were quite high, and for the quality of food, I was expecting much more.

I did have a good first impression with the uni dish. I love uni and this was a well-prepared and tasty dish. However, my satisfaction with the first dish was short-lived, as the other dishes that followed were a letdown.

The duck and other meat dishes were difficult to chew and not at all enjoyable. The meat was so tough that I found it difficult to even take a bite. It was as if the dishes were overcooked or not prepared with proper care.

Adding to my disappointment, the dishes were not original. I was hoping to try something new and unique, but instead, the menu featured dishes that are quite common in Korean cuisine. There was nothing that stood out or made me feel like I was experiencing something special.

Lastly, I felt that the price I paid was not justified by the quality of the food. In fact, I could have gotten much better Korean food at a fraction of the cost at other restaurants in the city.

We love Atoboy!! The best pre fixe at the best price in the city they know how to combine the freshest ingredients to create a flavor party in your mouth

If you have any reservations on checking it out I promise you will have no regrets in dining here. Friendly and attentive service and even better food. What more can you ask for

I had fun! I came with two friends and we ordered one of everything on the menu, including the fried chicken. The standouts for me were the fried chicken, the squash, beef tartare with anchovies, and the yellowtail, which was like a ceviche with delightful hints of peppercorn.

One of my friends really loved the short rib. We all thought the included rice was really good.

I thought everything was tasty overall, but not memorable, and I definitely was still a little hungry at the end. I would have loved a larger assortment of banchan, given the price point of the meal.

I think the prior $36 three course was much more attractive, if it was offered as a separate experience I would definitely be a return patron.

came here to catch up with some friends i hadn't seen in a while, and what a beautiful meal to share! since we were a group of 4, we were able to order one of every dish and double up on one for the pre fixe.
table favorites included: gochujang squash dish, potato jeon, poached cod in curry, and you must get the fried chicken add on! it's well worth it.
the staff were attentive and very knowledgeable about the dishes being served.
i'd love to come back and see how their menu evolves. highly recommend for a special occasion :)

A prix-fixe menu restaurant. The menu serves 4 dishes. The food, in my opinion, is passable and ok! Nothing really stands out, it was a decent meal. My favorite are the urchin steamed eggs and the candied squash. The pork jowl was a bit underwhelming, it tasted just like normal pork belly. I didn't have the stomach space to try the fried chicken :( but I've heard rave reviews about it.

The waiters are super attentive! They're also super patient on explaining each dish and giving recommendations!

Overall the food is a 3/5 and service is 5/5 imo!

We had a great time celebrating a birthday at Atoboy! The food felt unique and fun. The service was great too - very kind and attentive staff. The restaurant itself feels unassuming - very casual looking despite the elevated dishes! We added the fried chicken - we were super full by the end with this. We might've been ok without it in terms of hunger levels but it was a fun addition to our meal

Atoboy only does a 4-course prix-fixe for $75. Portions are just right and it comes with a bowl of rice and side dishes.

My favorites were the Sea Urchin, Potato Jeon and Pork Jowl.

The desserts (not part of the prix-fixe) are all very good too so make sure you try them!

Tasty food, but portions were small. I was not expecting the restaurant to be so long, narrow, and minimal. It was interesting! All the dishes that we tried were good, the flavors were robust, but I just wished that there was more. If there hadn't been a bowl of rice with the main dish, I would not have been full.

Everyone gets the sea urchin egg - there was a bit too much of the seaweed which took away from the sweet uni flavor. For appetizers, both the beef tartare and the stripe bass were good. There are crunchy anchovies in the beef tartare that add a nice texture. The stripe bass is more refreshing and light with the limequats. For third course, the potato jeon is crispy and paired well with the oyster cream.

For entrees, I recommend the cod over the pork jowl. The cod had a rich curry that complements the rice perfectly and the cod was cooked perfectly. It was flakey and tender. The pork jowl was rich and fatty, but it was a bit too fatty and the kale was an interesting pairing.

It can be hard to get reservations - set a notify on resy to snag last minute reservations!

Came here for dinner and generally speaking had an overall good experience. Food was good with friendly service. I liked the more relaxed energy here too. I found the cocktails were a bit light but all in all enjoyed the meal and recommend if you're in the area.

Recommend a try, but food comes with a lot of inconsistencies. Slightly hipster ambiance with rustic, naked walls. Service was 3 stars, but I will likely never return.

Sea urchin starter was great, but the amount of sea urchin offered per bowl is somewhat variable and inconsistent. I can only assume daily uni quality is different. Can easily spot if you scroll thru photos. Flavor was good, not overpowering for a starter, but sets the tone for korean fusion.

Stripe bass was my favorite of the night. An elevated ceviche if you will. The citrus and slight spice was perfect for the slightly cooked, raw fish. Refreshing.

Beef tartare was average. The tiny anchovies were good but the entire dish really needed a carb. A bit of sushi rice or a piece of grilled bruschetta toast would've been perfect. As it was, it was slightly salty and the anchovies didn't offer enough of a texture contrast.

Potatoe jeon was an amazing ...latke. Eat the friend potatoe with the sauce, piece of egg, and marinated cilantro in a single bite. The acidic cilantro really balances the fried food and the egg gives it a creamy flavor. This was my second favorite of the night.

We had the juk also which was immensely disappointing. No umami, not real flavor, other than overpowering ginger. Asians know how to make great congee and this was not it.

Cod was cooked very well, but I didn't care for the gochujang curry. Tasted like an Indian curry and I really couldn't taste any gochujang. The fish itself should have been the star but the strong curry destroyed it. A milder miso may have been better.

Lamb was great with very flavorful jus. But the meat came with a giant piece of fat on eat slice, which I really wish they had cut off. No knife is given so we had to spit out the fat. Kind of unappealing.

Rice that comes with the main entree was great. Wish I had had some of it to go with my tartare. The banchan are almost an afterthought. No kimchi tonight, which really...come on, korean restaurant - just give the kimchi. I neeeed it. The cucumber and apple kimchi were both bland. And these two I could compare to authentic traditional Korean banchan and the ones here were again, a total afterthought. If not elevated, then maybe don't offer it here. K-town is a few blocks away and I could get better for way less.

Dessert is a pass. We got the lychee granita and it was a tiny bowl of cinnamon ice with cheesy yogurt. There was zero lychee flavor. Zero. Really left me disappointed for the night. The cinnamon flavor for the ice was also not something I enjoyed at all. I wish they had put cinnamon on the menu because I would've know not to order this. For those who have gone to korean restaurants that give a sweet cinnamon dessert drink at the end of the meal - that is what this dessert tasted like. So if you like that drink, you may like this. And a last gripe, when a server came to take the dessert and asked how it was. I made it clear I didn't enjoy it at all. This would have been a good time for them to offer a different dessert, but he just said oh and took the bowl.

Service otherwise was excellent. We liked our main server very much and when my hubs dropped his napkin a new one was brought to him on a plate very stealthily - almost a michelin level move :)

All in all, worth a try but a far cry from sister Atomix. Far. And sadly when we walked past ktown afterwards, we both regretted the dinner choice and wished we had just gone to an authentic Korea place or even a food court.

My star rating legend:
5: A+ Worth a special journey (ie. I would go out of my way, maybe even take a flight somewhere just for this; exceptionally amazing)
4: A excellent, a must try, solid place
3: B good; nothing extraordinary, but would definitely go again
2: C personally would never go again (unless invited by someone and I didn't get to pick the place), but I can see how others might find something appealing
1: Fail.  I would never return and recommend no on else goes either.

Atoboy is the sister restaurant of Atomix, and is the more affordable counterpart in the fine dining space. This was a place we had seen recommended online, and so we booked a reservation in the evening to check it out. The interior is quite modern and minimalistic, and the servers were very welcoming and friendly. The menu here is $75 for prix-fixe, although there are different add-ons you can get for it.

For the menu there are around 4 courses per person with multiple options in the last three to choose from, although if you are going with someone else I'd recommend getting different items to potentially share. The sea urchin that we started off with was quite flavorful and it came with egg jjim as well as quinoa. We also tried the beef tartare which I was a big fan of, since although the portions were small the seasoning they added gave it a nice texture. For our other courses we got the scallop and pork belly, and although they were good dishes I don't think either of them really blew me away. However, for the dessert definitely try out the Sujeonggwa Granita as that was really unique and is worth the experience.

Overall, the dishes here were good although for the price I wish we got larger portion sizes as we were still a bit hungry afterwards. I think it's still worth checking out, as they do have some cool dishes that are pretty interesting.