Simon Kim Is Bringing a Three-Michelin-Star Tokyo Sushi Chef to Midtown
Observer ·
The Cote founder talks about putting Korean food at the center, what Nas brings to the table and selling 1,500 gimbap a day at the U.S. Open.
In April, Simon Kim opened 550 Madison, a 15,000-square-foot, multilevel dining destination in Philip Johnson ’s former Sony building in Midtown. It brings together Cote 550, his second Cote in New York, and Bar Chimera, a new concept with three separate bars for wine, whiskey and martinis. Nas is a partner in the project. Later this year, Kim opens Sushi Yoshitake on the building’s mezzanine. It’s the first New York restaurant from three-Michelin-starred Tokyo chef Masahiro Yoshitake , and the first time his omakase has come to North America.
Kim’s Cote Korean Steakhouse, which blends Korean barbecue with an American steakhouse, earned a Michelin star at its Flatiron flagship within its first year. Since opening in 2017, the flagship has been the foundation for the brand’s expansion to Miami in 2021, Singapore in 2024 and Las Vegas, where Kim opened at the Venetian in October 2025. Reservations at Cote open 30 days in advance at 10 a.m. Kim also runs Coqodaq, an upscale fried-chicken restaurant, gluten-free and fried without seed oils, where the chicken comes with Champagne and caviar. Coqodaq and its casual offshoot, CQDQ, returned to the U.S. Open for a third consecutive year. Kim’s food also appeared at Formula 1 in Miami and Las Vegas, and in a Coqodaq collaboration with Lucky Cat in London.
Kim, a 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honoree, talked to Observer about building Cote around the food he grew up with, partnering with Nas and the ice behind Bar Chimera’s martinis.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
My first restaurant, Piora, was Italian, but for my second, Cote, I knew I wanted to create something that better reflected who I am. It wasn’t about whether Korean food was in fashion; in fact, it hadn’t yet reached the moment it’s having today. It was about staying true to myself and my story. Having worked with incredible chefs like Jean-Georges and Thomas Keller , I learned a great deal, but I also realized that my greatest strength would be leaning into Korean cuisine. It was the food I grew up with, and it gave me a personal, authentic story to tell. I didn’t want to recreate a traditional Korean dining experience. Instead, I wanted to bring my own perspective to it. A Korean steakhouse felt like the perfect intersection of my background and my experience.
I grew up listening to his music. I connected with his lyrics; they spoke to me and gave me strength. When we first opened Cote, Nas came in and loved the restaurant, just as I had loved his music. One thing led to another, and we became partners across the company and in everything we do moving forward. What I love about Nas is that he keeps it real. He’s still releasing albums today, and he’s maintained his friendships with the people he grew up with. He’s never lost touch with who he is. As a restaurateur, that reminds me that as your business grows and things change, you have to stay true to yourself.
A dear friend introduced us. His dream was to come to New York, and my dream was to bring the greatest sushi chef to New York. It just worked out, and we were off to the races.
I think the martini bar is my favorite. At Bar Chimera, we’re really focused on the details. Most people think a martini is all about the gin or vodka and forget about everything else. We focus on the water , the ice, the dilution, the glassware and the temperature. Nothing is left to chance. We spent a year researching and developing the perfect martini, tasting hundreds of waters and working with chemists and a local ice maker to get the mineral content and pH exactly right. We actually have someone in Queens making custom ice to our precise specifications. They purify the water , add back the exact minerals and electrolytes we want and deliver the ice to us every day. That attention to detail is everything.
I believe in the power of “and.” Taste and health can coexist, and you shouldn’t have to sacrifice one for the other. At Coqodaq, we wanted to offer our customers a healthier option by avoiding seed oils without compromising on flavor. The challenge was finding an oil that allowed us to do both. Of course, the oil we use costs a little more, but through conversations with our customers, we’ve found that the difference isn’t prohibitively expensive. And most importantly, the food is just as delicious.
Honestly, I was nervous. The U.S. Open is arguably one of the world’s premier sporting events, and bringing something as personal and culturally specific as gimbap to that global stage was a big deal. But I’m very happy to report that it was extremely well received. We sold over 1,500 gimbap a day.
See all of Observer’s 2026 Nightlife & Dining Power List honorees.