For Los Angeles’ Kinn, Korean Classics Are Reimagined With Modern Finesse
In Los Angeles’ Koreatown, it’s not often you find a restaurant with a fine dining menu that has a grasp on classic Korean flavors yet reconfigures the cuisine’s matrix to the point where it’s all at once the same, but different. Enter Kinn, a new restaurant from Chef Ki Kim and Dustin Donghyuk Lee of In Hospitality group that sees Korean food through the lens of Kim’s fine dining sensibilities and nuance.
Hailing from such prestigious kitchens the likes of Matsuhisa in Aspen, Benu in San Francisco, and Michelin-starred Jungsik in New York City, Chef Kim now takes the helm at Kinn to extend and apply his acquired techniques and present Korean food with his unique, modern flair and charisma.
The dining experience you’re met with at Kinn is a calculated and deliberate menu that incorporates lush ingredients like hen of the wood mushrooms, black truffle, and sea urchin.
Chef Kim’s meticulous and thoughtful palate results in astounding dishes like perfectly supple Norwegian mackerel with fermented cucumbers, turnips with dongchimi (a radish-forward style of kimchi) and an addictive gaejang dressing made from fermented crab, tender octopus with gochujang aioli, and an opulent black truffle bibimbap that commands an air of sophistication while still serving comfort and familiarity.
Kinn is without a doubt a welcome addition to Los Angeles’ thriving Koreatown food scene, providing diners with a carefully crafted meal that aims to infuse a modern energy to Korean flavors.
Was I astonished? Easily. The food at Kinn is just as much a revelation as it is a revival.
