Sydney’s ‘It’ cuisine of 2024? Korean is coming in hot (and here’s where to go)

Sydney’s surge of new Korean restaurants in the CBD shows no signs of dissipating. Upmarket Soul Dining opened near Wynyard Station earlier this week, and two high-end Korean restaurants, Matkim and Allta, are coming soon to Circular Quay.

They join Soot, Funda and Hansang, all of which have opened in the city in the past seven months.

It’s a significant market shift for Korean restaurants, which have traditionally opened in the suburbs – places like Strathfield and Eastwood. A new generation of Korean restaurateurs is also keen to show Sydneysiders different layers of their cuisine.

“In Sydney, that first generation [of Korean] food was more home-style cooking,” says Illa Kim, co-owner at Soul Dining, which was awarded a Good Food Guide hat at its former location in Surry Hills.

Kim’s partner at Soul Dining, chef Daero Lee, won a scholarship to Italy early in his training and returned to South Korea more open to exploring new ideas and techniques. This means his prawn tteokbokki rice cake dish includes the spicy Italian salami spread ’nduja, for instance, while Chinese pork buns inspired Soul Dining’s ox-tongue doughnut.

When Lee arrived in Sydney, Korean restaurants all had similar menus: barbecue and fried chicken, he says. “I wanted to show something different, a little more refined.”

A spokesperson for the eight-seat Matkim, which starts trials this month, says the restaurant aims to be “Firedoor for Korean”, referencing Surry Hills’ acclaimed wood-fuelled fine-diner. Helmed by chef Jacob Lee, the “Korean barbecue omakase” will open to the public on January 3.

Towards the end of January, 12-seat Korean omakase Allta will open on the corner of Bridge and Pitt streets. Jung-su Chang, a former executive chef at two-Michelin-starred restaurant Jungsik in Seoul, will head the kitchen. Allta will be attached to Funda, which launched in September with disco lights, DJs, and scallop mousse-stuffed fried seaweed rolls.

Shona Yang is the founder of Kozzicom (a mash-up of Korean and Aussie), an online platform that celebrates the Korean-Australian community. She says the rising popularity of Korean food in Sydney isn’t limited to the CBD.

“Korean restaurants have been around for yonks in Strathfield, Eastwood, Campsie and Canterbury – anywhere where there are lots of Korean immigrants,” she says. “But in recent years we’ve seen trendier Korean restaurants opening in the suburbs, too, and a lot of non-Koreans are seeking them out.”

Yang says there are many reasons for Sydney’s new interest in Korean dining.

“The easy answer is to say it’s linked to the global rise in popularity of Korean culture through [pop] music and Netflix shows such as The Glory and Squid Game. However, I think it’s more multifaceted than that.

“The communal nature of dining is something Korea is really good at – gathering together, sharing banchan [small side dishes] together, even grilling meat together. I think there’s an element of people craving communal-style dining post-lockdowns.”

A big part of Korean culture is also the nightlife, says Yang, and late-night Korean bars such as 2135 Vibe in Strathfield, with their neon lights, beer and boozy soju shots, are appealing to Generation Z.

The interactive nature of many Korean dishes is also prime content for social media. “You certainly can’t overlook the rise of Instagram and TikTok as a research tool for where to eat,” says Yang.

“I recently saw a non-Korean food influencer post a video about Dae Jang Kum, an Eastwood barbecue restaurant that my parents love. The post blew up online with hundreds of views, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is such an easy way to spread knowledge of local pockets of Korean restaurants to a wider audience’.

“It’s been awesome to see Korean food become cool because it really wasn’t when I was in school. Other students would be like, ‘Why are you eating [rice bowl] bibimbap for lunch?’ Now it seems everyone wants bibimbap!”

Korean 101

Banchan
A selection of tiny side dishes – often fermented, and very seasonal – served with meals.

Bibimbap
Rice bowl with toppings, mixed by the diner.

Doenjang
The Korean version of miso, this fermented soybean paste is a byproduct of making soy sauce.

Gochugaru
Korean chilli flakes, which are warm and rounded in flavour, rather than especially spicy.

Gochujang
A spicy fermented soybean paste.

Kimchi
Classically made with cabbage, kimchi is a fermented vegetable condiment that is in every Korean pantry and on every dining table.

Dani Valent