Came here with some girlfriends during their happy hour, which offered some discounted drinks and apps from their cocktail menu. The place is much bigger than expected. After you walk downstairs, you're greeted with a long bar that runs the length of a whole city block. The place is dim and minimally decorated, a perfect spot for a date night. We tried a variety of their cocktails, raw oysters and sashimi, and dessert. I honestly loved all the cocktails and especially the dessert. The shaved snow melted in my mouth as soon as I took a bite and it was not too sweet! I'd definitely come back but probably only during happy hour because the drinks were quite pricey. Unfortunately, none of their clarified cocktails are on the happy hour menu. Our 1st round of drinks: - Yuza & Seaweed (gin, Korean pear, lychee, milk) 9/10 - Tomato & White Kimchi (gin, fino sherry, caper, celery) 8/10 - Nok-Cha & Black Sesame (whiskey, chocolate, vanilla) 9/10 Our 2nd round of drinks: - Mango & Nurungji (gin, rum, coconut, lime) 10/10 - Korean Pear & Gochujang (tequila, Grand Marnier, bergamot, guava) 10/10 - Espresso & Pineapple (mezcal, averna, coconut) 10/10 Food: - Oyster (local half dozen oyster, hongcho mignonette) 9/10 - Jeju Fluke Hwe (fresh chef's selected cut of Jeju fluke) 9/10 Dessert: - Black Sesame Snowflake Bingsu 10/10 read more

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4.7/5 Mango Nurungi 4/5 Whisky Peach 4/5 Tomato Kimchi 5/5 Oysters Interior of this basement bar is very nice and feels upscale. Love their take on clarified cocktails, definitely worth a visit, especially during happy hour oysters! read more

Musaek - Mango Nurungi - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

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This Korean cocktail bar underneath Dubu Haus is a nice spot to take a date or close friends! The interior is dark and intimate (but there's lots of seating) and service is stellar. I got their strawberry hallabong and thought that it was just okay. We ended up trying a couple of their drinks, such as their Cantalope & Boricha as well as their Espresso & Pineapple. Everything was very strong. Overall, I thought the ambiance was nice (and their food looked great--although I didn't try), but their drinks were a bit lackluster. read more

Musaek - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

Came here for a New Year's Eve celebration and was genuinely pleasantly surprised--great service, great vibe, and a thoughtfully curated menu. The food menu is limited but strong, with a clear focus on fish and seafood. The drink menu, though, really shines: a mix of well-executed classics (Old Fashioneds, Negronis) and house creations, each with detailed flavor descriptions that actually match what's in the glass. What we ordered: Food * Fish & Chips: I have a... complicated relationship with fish, and this one leaned a bit too "fishy" for me. That said, my partner loved it--perfectly fried, juicy inside, and clearly well done. Comes with a dip I didn't care for and potato wedges that could've used a little more salt (or maybe that's just me). * Ocean & Land Prime and Teriyaki: Absolutely superb. This is my kind of dish. Prime cuts, beautifully fresh, and yes, pricey--but completely worth it. A truly delightful plate. Cocktails * Korean Pear & Gochujang: A standout. Beautifully balanced, subtle, and elegant. It looks clarified and isn't loud or aggressive--honestly, this describes most of their cocktails. * Nok Cha & Black Sesame: Not my favorite--too matcha-forward for my taste. Once the nok cha fully mixes in, it gets even stronger. Still, very unique and thoughtfully composed. * Tomato & White Kimchi: Strong, bold, and served with a baby tomato garnish. Not my personal style, but undeniably balanced with a really interesting flavor profile. * Ginseng & Korean Pear: The perfect way to end the night. Absolutely loved this one. They also offered complimentary bubbly with a generous pour, which was a lovely touch. Service was fantastic, and the ambiance was excellent. I'm almost certain this place will go viral soon--some influencer will lose their mind over it and I'll never get a table again. Until that happens, I'll be back many times. read more

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Great spot for drinks with a sleek vibe. Located downstairs, the ambiance is nice and dark - perfect for a date or with a group of people since they have both seating options available in addition to a large wrap around bar. The drinks here are unique and made with clarified ingredients. I've come here twice now and the menu always changes. I had an incredible mocktail the first time and a similarly delicious one this time around. We've walked in without a reservation twice now and were easily accommodated but they do have reservations. read more

Musaek - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

While the name may mean "colorless" in Korean according to its website, Musaek is far from bland. When you enter at street level, head downstairs to access this seafood and cocktail bar. Musaek possesses stylish contemporary vibes without pretentiousness. Everyone working was very polite and attentive, and patrons were dressed in everything from hoodies to sparkly tops. Coat check is available.  You can partake in the happy hour (5-7 PM) even on a Saturday which is terrific; Musaek offers signature cocktails, wine, and spirits. I sampled the following, with happy hour prices in parentheses: * Oysters ($12): "Local half dozen oyster, hongcho mignonette." Googling reveals to me that hongcho is a fruity vinegar concentrate for drinking. These oysters were fresh and delicious, and I regret not downing the rest of the mignonette, kidding.  * Fish & Chip ($12): "Shishamo, potato wedge, white kimchi mayo." Shishamo is a smelt from Japan. Some folks found the individually-fried fish to be too intense, but I thought they were appealing. * Mussel ($10): "Steamed B.I. mussel, pickled shallot, yuza-seaweed sauce." There's not too much to say about these mussels but they were good and went down easy. I believe there were five mussels total atop a mattress of salt. read more

A work friend treated me to this place and it was such a hidden gem. It is tucked underneath Howoo on one street and another restaurant on the other street, so there's actually two ways to enter this place. Gives very modern, spacious speakeasy vibes. Most customers were asian given the koreatown location. Drinks were all very good and love how their menu has a slider scale of how sweet vs. bitter vs. strong each drink is! read more

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First off, happy hour from 5-7p is a great deal. The cocktails were pretty intricate and overall good. My favorite, although not on the happy hour menu, was the Nok Cha and Black Sesame. The Jeju Fluke Hwe was fresh and the pairing sauces were phenomenal. Definitely a great throwback to a Korean classic. The oysters and fish and chips were also good, but the Jeju Fluke Hwe stole the show. Service was pretty attentive, with water consistently filled and appropriately timed queries as to whether we needed anything else. This would be an awesome upscale casual place to grab drinks with friends, for a date, etc. It also wasn't too empty or too busy on a Wednesday night after work. I'd definitely love to visit again and try some more menu items! read more

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Relatively new bar with Korean food and drinks. Located right next to Howoo. Really cool design with very spacious booths for intimate conversation. Overall design was classy with wood tones with granite-like floors. The drinks were Korean inspired such as: * Nok-cha & black sesame * Ginseng & Korean pear * yuzu & seaweed read more

Musaek - Korean Near Me - New York, New York

Pretty fun vibes in the basement of the building. All the drinks were quite unique and I loved the spacious interior. read more

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I'm honestly so shocked by the glowing reviews for Musaek and can't understand how my experience was so different. My husband and I had been looking forward to checking it out, specifically because we have been to most of the regions in Korea that they import their seafood from (Yeosu, Jeju, Wando, etc.) and have sampled this seafood extensively in recent years. That's why we found the food so disappointing. Although the dishes were aesthetically pleasing and beautifully plated, many of the dishes did not taste fresh, or the way they were prepared just wasn't flavorful. Honestly, the best thing I tasted were the shrimp heads that came in the basket of grilled shrimp. (The body of the shrimp tasted pre-frozen and old, and they were very overcooked.) The $16 single abalone piece was fine, but I am skeptical that it was actually Wando abalone, as it seemed somewhat small. The fluke hwe was fine, but nothing exceptional, and I didn't fully understand why it was paired with sesame oil. The uni bibimbap was tiny and flavorless, although I appreciated the textural component of the quinoa. The ocean and prime temaki was very off putting. The wagyu was chewy and the amber jack was basically purred and mixed with something extremely gummy. I literally wanted to wipe down the inside of my mouth with a napkin. The scallop appetizer was okay, but overall the food was really disappointing. The cocktails were unique and interesting, so if I ever returned it would only be to drink. I would say the only other positives were our server, who was really great (Louis) and the ambiance. I think this place wants to cater to the young, IG influencer contingent, so for that reason they will probably be successful, but I don't see myself or my husband returning to this place, ever. read more

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Note: Closer to a 4 outside of Happy Hour. I was at this dimly lit cocktail bar/seafood spot with a group a couple days ago. They are the much more low-key spot compared to the crowded good Dubu House upstairs and it feels like it would be a nice date spot or a place to cap off a night. We were originally going to each get the $45 Hwe Platter but unfortunately, the menu had changed around a week prior so we got other things instead with the menu looking different online again so you might not be able to get what we got and the prices might be different outside of the drinks it seems. They appear to concentrate pretty heavily on their cocktails and they have a nice happy hour/HH selection with reasonable prices. I went with the Cantaloupe & Boricha for $12 with tequila, Korean barley tea, pandan, lime, soy milk, and yakju which was tasty. It had a nice light sweetness from the tea, a tiny bit of citrus, and a good hint of the nutty tea at the end. The drink was small but it's hard to complain about as it was only $12 as even for happy hour, this is quite cheap. Two other people from the same menu enjoyed the Korean Pear & Gochujang with tequila, Grand Marnier, bergamot, and guava. Both are normally $19 on the main menu and if it's the same size, I wouldn't recommend it as much. To start out with, someone else got the Hwe Muchim for $14 with squid, Jeju fluke, granny smith apple, perilla, sesame, gochujang vinaigrette, and jalapeno-cucumber granita. The portion was good with three oversized pieces topped with large pieces of squid and fluke which she said was pretty tender even for squid with only a bit of chew. They enjoyed it a lot and recommend it though they found it difficult to pick up and it was easier to eat partially with chopsticks at least to begin with before eating the rest. As extra, I got the Mussels from the HH menu for $13 or $14 with steamed B.I. mussel, pickled shallots, and yuzu-seaweed sauce. This came with five high quality mussels where the shells were all on salt which was an interesting but not so good idea as it made picking them up a little bit messy. The mussels were high quality and meaty with a bit of sourness and sweetness from the shallots and sauce. These were good. The rest of us outside of the person ordering the muchim started with the Jeju Fluke Hwe simply listed as the fresh chef's selection of fluke. There are two versions of this dish with one being on the HH menu for I believe $10 less or so with the waiter saying that it was a bit smaller by comparison which makes sense and we got the HH version which I think was in the mid or low $20s while the full size version was I think in the mid $30s or so. The hwe was presented very nicely in a few different styles with two being in a ssam topped with a some spicy crunchy vegetable (I am pretty positive it was finely chopped radish kimchi,) two being wrapped around some crunchy leafy micro greens, and three pieces each of two types of slices with one being slightly thicker with there being 10 pieces overall. The dish also came with two dips including some soy sauce with some peppers in it as well as a perilla oil sauce with some yuzu kosho which was a fun spin. As a texture person, my favorite version by a little bit was the mini ssam as the crunch went nicely with the bit of spice along with the micro green variant. The slices were excellent quality as well though and went nicely with the perilla in particular. This was excellent and I would recommend it heavily. There was also the "Masan" Monkfish Soup for around $20 with 48-hour fortified monkfish bone broth, radish, and red pepper which was light but hearty. The broth was simply flavored with many pieces of thick monkfish. They gave a dipping sauce which had some mustard in it to put the fish in to add some extra flavor which was nice. I think the dish should also come with some rice or something to eat with said soup and wouldn't mind paying a few bucks more if it came with multigrain rice or something similar. It's also perhaps a little bit too plain so maybe kimchi on the side or some other type of banchan would help otherwise. Outside of the more plain flavor, it was good and will be nice when it gets cold in winter. We had a good time here. The food was good quality and reasonable enough for the price point especially for the happy hour stuff. They might concentrate on cocktails but I would stop here again and get some more hwe and possibly try some other dishes. Mid 4 for the spot during HH while a low 4 read more

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I had a wonderful time at Musaek and thoroughly enjoyed their drinks and seafood dishes. Opened by the same group behind Dubu Haus/Howoo, Musaek is a new lounge/bar that specializes in clarified cocktails and seafood. Their happy hour deals were solid so I'm glad I made it on time! Seafood: --Jeju Fluke Hwe: super fresh fluke prepared in four delicious ways with two dipping sauces. My favorite was the konbu-cured fluke which radiated umami and savory flavors, and paired SO nicely with the perilla oil that offered an additional fragrant, herbaceous flavor. The OG fluke went well with the citrus-y ssamjang and chili soy sauce - fish flavors were amplified by the sweet, sour, and spicy flavors. The wrapped fluke with aged kimchi and the wrap with fresh cabbage were both yummy with a crunchy textural component, but I just couldn't get over the fish with the dipping sauces! --Uni Bibimbap: delectable!! This bibimbap was not only packed with uni, but also green tobiko and ikura. The addition of crunchy veggies/seaweed and crispy quinoa made each bite super fun from a textural standpoint. I felt like it was well executed with its seasoning/flavors and appropriate ratio of ingredients to rice. If you're looking for a seafood-forward bibimbap, this is it! But if you want it to have other flavors or hot, then maybe Moono, and if you want it creamy/more moist, then Ari Ari. --Scallop: I was craving crudo and this really hit the spot! Scallop pieces were fresh in a tangy, citrus-y sauce with herbs. --Yeosu Shrimp: Fresh shrimp wrapped with other veggies and rice in a crispy seaweed. The jalapenos and crispy toppings added a nice crunch compared to the chewy shrimp. Ratio of protein to rice to sauce was definitely appropriate! --Fish & Chips: shishamo that were nicely fried and went well with their white kimchi mayo with a slight tanginess and creaminess that temporized the fishiness. Drinks: -Korean pear & gochujang: Yum! Loved the mildly sweet pear flavors with the prominent gochujang taste. A spice kick then hits towards the end of your sip. -Cantaloupe & boricha: reminded me of a margarita, except with a strong tea flavor that complemented the tequila. -Banana & perilla: more whiskey-forward than expected but had a banana flavoring taste and subtle perilla flavors. I appreciated how their signature items (hwe, cocktails) were actually a part of the happy hour deal! The lounge space is also beautiful. Dim lighting makes it an intimate space. The tables were big and couches comfortable. Lots of seating available! Staff were nice/friendly and food came out pretty quick! Portion sizes were expected for lounge food but definitely not enough for a full meal. I think the move is to put your name down at Dubu or Howoo, go downstairs to Musaek for a drink/seafood apps, then enjoy your dinner upstairs. read more

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A new Korean cocktail bar located under the restaurant Dubuhaus. The interior is very classy and comfortable. I have been there two times in the span of two weeks and was impressed both times. There are only 7 cocktails menu now which I tried all - they all share the same style of a clear, elegant drink with soft yet complex mix of flavors, and inspired by many Korean ingredients. Among all I love Yuza & Seaweed the best - a milk punch style drink with great lychee and pear notes and complemented with a savory, crispy nori. The happy hour deal is a steal which is about 40% off for 3 of their cocktails, with a selection of food items that are also delicious. The "fish and chips" is an especially innovative dish where the fish is actually shishamo and is deep fried like chips. Overall really happy with my experiences and will definitely recommend to every cocktail lover! read more

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Musaek is located inside the same entrance as dubuhaus (which has amazing food by the way). The bar is located downstairs, and unlike other NYC establishments, this had a beautiful dark cavernous feel. It was large, with a big bar in the middle of the room. Seating was available around the sides of the room and the bar. Looked like they also had a DJ booth but I'm not sure for what reason. Although it is a bar they do serve bites that are inspired by the sea. And they do not try to coverup the fact that you're eating seafood. The fish and chips were whole fish that were fried, so expect some small bones! We also got the hwe muchim and the monkfish soup. Everything tasted very fresh and high quality. Their drinks were small and light, but were creative in terms of ingredients. Bathrooms here were also confusing like the ones upstairs at dubuhaus. But overall pretty good experience. Can't believe this place isn't more popular! read more

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3.75-Gorgeous ambiance. Inventive cocktails but not all hits. Great quality food but it's pricey for the portions so it would be better as a secondary drink spot, post-dinner elsewhere (not dubu haus tho lol). Service depends on the server--read: hit or miss. It's inside dubu haus through the door to your left. I think it would be really a great place to rent out for a business/personal event where you keep the drinks flowing. They have a DJ booth and 2 mics. read more

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Beautiful space with Korean shareable plates, tapas style and reasonable prices for ktown. The design and space is intimate and great for a small group catch up / perfect for a date. The cocktails were inspired by Korean ingredients and they have happy hour for 5-7pm. I would definitely check this place out before it gets popular. The team and service provide was also great, very attentive, it felt like a fine dining experience but in my more casual setting. Can't wait to go back to try more of their creative cocktails! read more

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Love the ambiance! I hope people find out about this place. Great bar vibe and the happy hour menu was a great deal. Some good seafood based bites and $1 oysters. $16 cocktails happy hour and $22 regular which these days is An amazing deal and the drinks were so artfully done. Great for work events, catching up w friends or dinner date/drinks. I like that it has more of a bar vibe that blends into dining. Highly recommend. Very chic yet casual at the same time. read more