The reader called on Sunday to place an order and was told that the restaurant serving both traditional and modern fusion Korean food was permanently shuttered.
While there isn't any official notice, K'ook is no longer on any of the delivery platforms... and someone removed all the signage from the space's exterior.
"I'm devastated by the loss of traditional Korean cuisine in this neighborhood," the reader told us.
Chef-partner Felicia Park who worked at Hanjoo on St. Mark's Place (her parents ran Hanjoo in Flushing) opened here in the spring of 2015.
K'ook took over the address from the short-lived Jewel of India, another loss of the rapidly dwindling Little India at the time.
The owners of Jewel of India were also behind Raj Mahal next door... and we can't recall the last time we saw that place open...
Malai Marke is now the last Indian restaurant on this block of Sixth Street.
I remember when this block was full of indian restaurants and the staff from each place would come outside and try to convince you to try their particular place. They still do that in Little Italy downtown.
ReplyDeleteI moved to this block 25 years ago and it was all Indian restaurants anchored by Banjara on the east corner and Brick Lane closer to 2nd Ave. You could get a full dinner for 2 for about $10 at any of the places along this stretch. I'm really sad to see them all go so quickly. What a loss.
ReplyDeleteMalai Marke has excellent food, so I recommend people try it. There are no festive Christmas lights, unfortunately.
Agreed—Malai Marke is delicious. Comfortable and affordable with friendly service.
DeleteThis is so sad. Kook was a fantastic restaurant, it will be sorely missed. It always had a full dining room, I wonder if they were priced out of the spot.
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad. I only ordered from them occasionally, but it was good.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that a lot of the Korean wings places have added a "Cajun" element to their menus...is there not a demand for Korean food downtown? Surprising.
That's unfortunate. I wish there were more classic Korean restaurants in the EV, instead of just fusion/ novelty or modern. Back in the days there was Gama on St. Marks which was more of a classic Korean joint.
ReplyDeleteNOOO
ReplyDeleteSo sad for this one! Their flavored soju was so good!
ReplyDeleteIs Raj closed? That would be the real end of the era. They occasionally had a lone sitar player in the window.
ReplyDeleteCurry canyon was an interesting scene musically. Not my cuisine and I heard the quality of the various restaurants described everywhere from "fantastic", "hey it's six dollars" to "I only drink the beer." A lot of memories of tabla players and barkers and passing crowds.
Is Raj closed? That's my go-to place.
DeleteWill miss Kook, was my Korean fix in EV.
ReplyDeletewhat a shame. that once colorful low rent stretch was the perfect place for us broke touristas and part timers back in the 80s. the joke back then was they all had the same kitchen.
ReplyDelete