Somssi opened this summer on West 8th Street, just off Sixth Avenue. The restaurant comes from the team behind Atomix and Atoboy, but the approach here is less formal. On a recent Monday night, tables filled steadily with small groups and solo diners. The room is bright and unadorned, with an open kitchen visible from nearly every seat.
The menu skips across regions. Dishes include a Korean fried chicken sandwich, a plate of ceviche, and a bowl of hand-pulled noodles with a peppery broth. Prices hover around $16 to $25 for most plates. Service is quick and informal. There is little ceremony: food arrives as ready, and staff wear street clothes, not uniforms.
Chef Junghyun Park, best known for his meticulous fine dining at Atomix, is not in the kitchen nightly. Instead, Somssi is led by a younger team. Regulars from nearby NYU and longtime Village residents have begun to mix at the bar, which pours Soju cocktails and natural wine by the glass.
The restaurant does not take reservations for parties under four. By 7 p.m. on weekdays, a wait for tables can stretch to 30 minutes. The pace is brisk, and most diners finish within an hour. The kitchen is open until 10 p.m., later than many nearby spots on weeknights.
Somssi’s opening reflects a shift this season in Greenwich Village. More chefs are moving away from polished tasting menus toward looser, globally-inspired cooking. The focus here is on variety and accessibility, rather than strict adherence to one cuisine.