Naemo moves from Sawtelle-area to Koreatown
By Kerry Slater
Two prominent New York City chefs running a Korean fine-dining pop-up in Los Angeles have moved their operation further east after launching on the Westside
The restaurant named Naemo is the collaboration of two well-respected New York chefs sidelined for much of the year due to the coronavirus, Chef Ki Kim (Blanca, Jungsik, Matsuhisa) and Maitre D’ Arnold Byun (Atomix, Bouley, Eleven Madison Park) are reimagining Korean cuisine with California produce.
“Naemo is a pop-up from a pair of twentysomething Korean Americans with Michelin stars and stripes.,” the restaurant says. “Our menu features a seasonal farmers’ rice and soup along with 8 complementary banchan (Korean side dishes). The offering rotates and changes, adapting to what is available fresh at the local farmer’s market. We want to approach flavor profiles that are familiar to us — that remind us of our childhood; yet apply techniques and methodologies we’ve adopted in New York City.”
Naemo began by operating out of a private Sawtelle space to much acclaim in national and local press. Now the team has moved further east and for the month of February the restaurant is teaming up with Hanchic in Koreatown.
“In New York there are so many Korean chefs that are so ambitious and just trying to make it,” Kim told TimeOut, “and in L.A. and New York I think there’s a good demand for it. Now people are more ready for it than ever.”
Naemo is now available through online ordering, priced at $95 per meal for two. Pickups are available Wednesdays to Saturdays.
