Nami: Korean-style fare with a side of Ed Lee
Looks like beef. Tastes like vegetables. Nami's eggplant and king oyster mushroom dish treats these healthy veggies as if they were meat in a piquant Korean barbecue.
If you haven’t heard about Chef Edward Lee’s new Korean restaurant Nami by now, it’s probably only because you haven’t been paying attention. The news about this Korean-American top chef opening his first Korean restaurant since his 20-something youth in New York City has been all over the place.
Nami, which opened on May 2, has been jammed since the start. If you want a seat, especially on weekends, you should get a reservation will in advance or plan to arrive before 6 p.m.
Regardless, you should definitely go. Nami is sleek and stylish, with a floor-to-ceiling wall of windows framing the streetscape, a long bar, and spare decor that emits an soft Asian vibe.
Nami (나미) means “I am beautiful” in Korean, according to the restaurant’s social media, which calls the restaurant “a modern approach to Korean cuisine” that seeks “to share with you the beauty of our cuisine, our design and our hospitality.”
Much of the heavy lifting is done by Chef Breanna Baker, who quickly rose through the ranks from intern to chef de cuisine at 610 Magnolia, and Chef Yeon-Hee Chung, who achieved acclaim at the Korean restaurant Charim in St. Matthews. This deep bench allows Lee the latitude to step out into the dining room, where he makes it a point to stop briefly and welcome diners at each table.
You could call the menu “upscale Korean.” It isn’t pricey by 610 standards, but it might impart sticker shock if you’re expecting pricing akin to the city’s more traditional Asian eateries. That goes double if you decide to spring for Nami’s thick-sliced wagyu rib eye, $125 for a 9-ounce cut.
Otherwise, though, entree pricing isn’t scary ...
Read the full review on LouisvilleHotBytes,
https://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/nami-korean
You'll also find this review in LEO Weekly's Food & Drink section today:
http://www.leoweekly.com/category/food-drink/
Nami Korean Steakhouse
835 E. Main St.
690-2067
https://nami-restaurant.com
https://facebook.com/namisteakhouse
https://instagram.com/namisteakhouse
Noise Level: The restaurant is invariably crowded and noisy, with a few fabric features to soften mostly hard surfaces. An average 79dB sound level approaches the limit of easy conversation.
Accessibility: The main floor is at ground level in a new building and appears fully accessible to wheelchair users with the exception of a few booths equipped with gas-fired barbecue grills.