One of Hell’s Kitchen’s brightest young chefs has just secured the lease for a brand new steakhouse concept.
Chef Sung Shim is currently making a name for himself as one of Hell’s Kitchen’s most recognizable culinary masters. Awarded StarChef’s NYC “Rising Stars Award” in 2020, Chef Shim has quickly earned a place among the greats of the neighborhood. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 2005, he soon found himself serving as chef de partie at Gordon Ramsay in The London Hotel. In 2009, he began working at the three-Michelin-starred icon Per Se before becoming the executive chef of Neta, where his 19-course Japanese tasting menu earned him two stars from the New York Times.
In 2019, Chef Shim was finally able to develop his own concept when he launched Kochi, offering a seven-course tasting menu inspired by the Korean royal court. Shortly after opening, Kochi earned the highly coveted Michelin star, proudly launching Chef Shim’s first restaurant to global popularity. In 2021, Chef Shim scored another home run when he launched Mari, which was also awarded with a Michelin star. Offering an imaginative tasting menu inspired by Korean handrolls, Mari’s success proved to the city that Chef Shim was bound for a long and very successful career.
Now, the talented chef has just secured the lease for his latest concept, GUI. According to a recent post on Instagram, he has just acquired the lease for the space at 776 Eighth Avenue, which previously housed a Staples that closed during the pandemic. W42ST also reports that Chef Shim will be developing the concept with the same partners that were behind Kochi, chef Byeongseok Lee, manager Jooyoung Yang, and sommelier Robert Longo.
GUI, which is named after the Korean word for “Grill”, is expected to operate as a steakhouse with a “Korean menu format”. Shim is currently hoping to have the restaurant operational some time in late Fall 2023 or early 2024. While you wait, you can check out his two other restaurants to see what all the buzz has been about, and you can also follow Chef Shim on Instagram for regular updates on all of his latest projects.
