Cote NYC was followed by a second outpost in Miami’s Design District in 2021, then another in Singapore in 2024. A fourth Cote restaurant is scheduled to open in Las Vegas in 2025.
The name ‘Cote’—a Korean word meaning flower or bloom, as well as a play on French meat and wine terms such as côte de beouf or Côtes du Rhône—is just the first indication of the playful but classy style that pervades every aspect of the restaurant, from the décor to the service to the food itself.
The ambiance at Cote NYC is funkily different from that found in most steakhouses. One of the first things diners notice on entering is the lively music and sense of energy, inspired by the Korean culture of sharing meals in a festive atmosphere. Then there’s the décor: dark, moody greys and greens are offset by brass features, bright red butcher cases, and dramatic red lighting emanating from the dry aging room. Against this background, the vibrant tones of the food stand out even more strikingly. If this indoor space feels a bit too intense, diners can instead choose to eat in one of the heated outdoor cabanas for a more relaxed mood.
Another distinctive feature of the Cote dining experience is the way guests watch the entire cooking process play out before them as the meat is cooked on tabletop grills, Korean style, a new experience for many Western diners and a magical opportunity for staff to engage with guests.
What’s more, Cote’s desire to communicate Korean culture to its patrons goes beyond the décor and the food. For example, staff undergo cultural education sessions where they learn the meaning of Korean culinary terms, the composition of banchan (Korean vegetable side dishes), and how to sear meat to perfection the Korean way.
Chef David Shim traded his early dreams of soccer stardom for the hard work of the kitchen and a determination to succeed in this equally competitive industry. His culinary career began in the same NYC neighborhood where he would eventually find fame at Cote, namely the Flatiron District, where he worked as a line chef at the Gramercy Tavern. This was followed by stints at Veritas, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the Four Seasons Hotel, Kristabelli, and the M. Wells Steakhouse in Long Island. It was here in 2017 that Shim met Simon Kim, who asked him to come and run the kitchen in his new Korean Steakhouse, Cote.
Cote NYC earned its first Michelin star within a year and was the only Korean-style steakhouse in the US to have received this honor until it was joined by Cote Miami in 2022.
In 2023, South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs designated Cote as a 'Best Overseas Korean Restaurant.'
It has received numerous other awards and accolades, featuring, for example, in GQ’s Best New Restaurants in America and Thrillist’s Best Steakhouses in America. It was a James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2018 and won an Outstanding Wine Program award in 2019 and 2020. The New York Times and New York Magazine have both awarded it two stars.