With a resume that includes stints at Benu in San Francisco and Atomix in New York, Kiyong "Ki" Kim set his sights on opening his own Korean fine dining restaurant. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison calls Kim "one of the freshest culinary voices in Los Angeles." His 20-seat restaurant, Kinn, takes creative risks, grafting a personal narrative onto traditional dishes in an environment without fancy trappings.
The early à la carte menu didn't resonate with diners so Kim made changes. He pulled back from a Korean-style hot dog made with prosciutto and Dungeness crab, and switched to a succinct tasting menu that takes the guesswork out of ordering.
Raised in Korea, Kim connected to the farmers market in Los Angeles, where he refined the flavors he knew and reconciled them with the abundance of ingredients around him. On the seasonal menu, the crispy octopus with gochujang aioli stands out as a signature dish and Addison says Kinn hearkens back to the early days of Baroo or Jon Yao's Kato.