NARO

Some of the best service and ambiance I have ever experienced in my entire life.The food was also delicious.HOWEVER, the portions for the prix fix menu are MICROSCOPIC. We left there HUNGRY lol!!!And also there is a TON of hype. They had some fancy name and description for the potatoe appetizer. It was a friggin HASH BROWN LOLOL!!!A delicious hash brown. And delicious food. Just soooooo little of it!!!But honestly this place is great for drinks and apps. Their entire menu is basically just all apps (based on the sizes of the portions). The atmosphere and service make this place special.

I'll start off with saying the service was spectacular. The staff was very kind and quick to act on any requests we had. The interior was clean and thoughtfully designed for the area it's in. As much as I really wanted to like this place, I can't say it was quite worth it for the food. We went for the restaurant week dinner menu in the dining room. We got the yellowtail, wagyu beef tartare, mackerel, tteok galbi, both dessert options, and a supplementary scallop dish. On top of the portions being very small (which is typical for restaurant week menus), we were disappointed in the flavor of the dishes. Besides the tteok galbi and desserts, everything felt kind of too mellow and didn't bring new flavors that I was expecting from a fine dining experience. I would understand if it's to bring a more "approachable" spin on Korean food, but I do prefer the bolder flavors in the original foods. The presentation of each dish was very nice, though. Also, we were celebrating a birthday and the staff knew about it since I made a note of it and they greeted us with a warm "happy birthday." I was a little disappointed that the table next to us (that was also celebrating a birthday) received a candle and scoop of ice cream with their dessert, but we didn't. I know it's not mandatory or should be expected, but it did feel bad when another party received it and we didn't.

Top-end service, top-end execution, very small portions, and bad locationA long time fan of the atoboy/atomix group, I was excited to try NARO, but dissuaded by the price of the tasting. The prix fixe (which I believe is new) changed my mind.The prix fixe is still a fixed format menu, and what this means is that the kitchen needs to calibrate the dishes to fill up the median diner. This was not the case.Typically, a restaurant is able to offer a prix fixe by doubling portions on a subset of their cheaper tasting menu dishes and reducing the courses. Because food cost is a fraction of the menu cost, the unit economics should work out.I'm sure the ownership at NARO know more than I do and so something else must be going on, but the outcome is the same. We were barely satiated and we certainly did not have the desire to add on courses after dessert and given the ultimate price of dinner with two drinks ($125pp).Fortunately, we didn't really focus on this during the meal. The food was incredible. Tasteful, creative, delicious, and really meticulous. A pavlova dessert in a tear-drop shape left me wondering how they even constructed it. The pedigree of the team should leave nobody surprised.Also, the location is abysmal. Frankly, I doubt any tourists are coming here (that's a good thing), and so I cannot understand why they put it in a location which requires you to battle through hundreds of tourists, let alone to come to midtown at all. There's also no sense that this place is "tucked into" rockefeller center. Half the dining room is literally in the walkway adjacent to the skating rink. My opinion of the meal would have been very different if we would have been seated there. NARO has been around for more than a year, and still the dining room was half-empty when we came. I have to imagine the location plays a role in this.Is it a tasting menu spot or is it not? Is it catering to tourists or is it not? I hope they make changes to the menu format, because it's not clear to me NARO knows what they want to be.

3.5 stars Naro, located in the basement of Rockefeller Center, has potential as a fine dining spot, but its touristy location takes away from the experience. We stopped by for drinks and a light bite, and while it was decent, it didn't quite meet fine dining expectations.The outdoor area connected to the station is nice, but it feels more casual than upscale. Our drinks were a mixed bag. The first round was strong and not very decorative, but the bartender made us another round that was less potent and beautifully presented, which was a nice touch.We tried the beef tartare. It tasted more like a raw beef salad than the traditional dish I expected--not bad, but not impressive either. The steamed egg with black garlic, however, was a highlight. It was unique and flavorful, and I'd recommend it.Overall, Naro has some interesting dishes and a pleasant atmosphere, but it feels like it's still figuring out its identity as a fine dining restaurant. If you're in the area and want a casual bite and drink, it's worth a visit, but don't expect a top-tier culinary experience.

Came in at 2:30pm for a restaurant week lunch reservation and I knew that the place closed between lunch and dinner but they did allow the 2:30pm reservation. The snow crab dish was amazing, especially in the pine nut sauce. The sticky toffee dessert was ok but looked beautiful, not much in terms of flavor or texture. It was served with our lunch because of the timing. My mocktail was delicious. The salmon rice was a hit at our table with the crunchy quinoa and the kimchi rice was also nice. The green tea ice cream with the rice puffs was also amazing and delicious. Earthy and sweet and crunchy. The staff was very kind but we had 3-4 different people switching in to take our order and finalize payment. Restaurant week is always tough. Would love to come back for the tasting menu.

Checked this place out for restaurant week with a friend and it did not disappoint! It is located below the Rockefeller ice rink level and the interior of the restaurant is gorgeous. All the food was prepared with perfection, especially the dessert, which was almost too pretty to eat. Service was great and our server was very knowledgeable of the food and cocktail (offering good recommendation). Definitely recommend and will most likely come back for date night :)

Came here for prefix 3 course, it was okay experience. We got snow crab, pork jowl, red snapper for main dishes and watermelon and corn icecream Food has different interesting flavor, however not the best, but the presentation is good.Vibe is modern, minimalistic, with black and white color. Was not pleasant of the service on that day:- When I dropped a chopstick, someone came picked it up and mentioned will bring another pair of chopsticks. 10-15 mins later, nobody came by, we had to ask the server to give us a new chopsticks and due to that, food were getting cold.- For some reason, servers were not attentive (we came at 9PM- 10:30PM), which was not happy about the experience

The food was really good and I especially enjoyed the desserts menu I tried the $45 NY restaurant week prefix menu along with the pork belly!

Service, ambiance and food were all ABOVE AND BEYOND. 6/5Every. Single. Item on the tasting menu was absolutely delicious. Below were the most memorable from the experience.Sweet Corn Bugak & Yellowtail - such a strong start to the meal. Flavorful and familiar yet elevated. This wow'd our table.Red Snapper - the crispy scales and the umami sauce made this an unbelievable dish. I was speechless!Cordiale - most unique and complex cocktail I've had. Delicious and would highly recommend.Special shoutout to Farrah, Jordan and Heather who made this experience go from great to phenomenal. Not only did they take their time explaining the dishes, but after asking, I learned so much about their passion for the art of Korean cuisine.Naro has been added to one of our top favorite restaurants in the world. My expectations have been raised. Thank you to the staff and kisses to the chef!

Great Korean food! I came with my sister for dinner for the 3-course prix-fixe. I ordered the Mung Bean Muk, Black Bass, and Persimmon Pavlova. We also added both of the supplemental courses-- the Scallops and the Octopus Kimchi Juk. My favorite dish was the Octopus Kimchi Juk followed closely by the Mung Bean Muk (which I wasn't expecting to like as much as I did). The octopus has a deep smoky flavor and the rice has a nice punch of acidity from the kimchi. The chewiness from the octopus, with the creamy juk, and the crisp brussels created the perfect amalgamation of textures. It's like a party in your mouth. I usually find that tofu (despite many restaurants' best efforts) is bland. However, the tofu in the Mung Bean Muk was anything but. The vegetables with the sauce were incredible. I don't think I've had a dish quite like it before. The bass was also tasty though I feel like frying the mu wasn't necessary. The beer battered parts quickly became mushy. The stuffing in the fish also felt off and I would've preferred the fish without it. I find most rice too plain, but their side bowls of rice were very flavorful and paired well with the mains. The pavlova was excellent though. Such an interesting combination of flavors. The persimmon and ginger help cut through the sweetness of the meringue. I tried some of my sister's dishes (Potato Jeon, Scallop addition, Dry Aged Duck, and Parsnip Crème Brûlée). They were all very good. I felt like the persimmons and the sauce overpowered the scallops. The duck was cooked well. Potato Jeon lacked the extra oomph I would expect from a restaurant like Naro. I love the presentation of the creme brulee and the textures of all the little side additions. The Earl Gray Cha Cha was good, though the lemon over powered any and all earl gray flavor. You can tell that they tried really hard with service. Everyone was very kind, welcoming, and helpful. They brush the crumbs away, refold your napkins, and guide you to the restrooms. However, I expected more from Naro. Perhaps I am being too picky, but they mixed up our dishes multiple times and stumbled in their descriptions. It doesn't actually bother me, but given it is NARO, everything should be top notch. I feel like the dish mix up shouldn't be happening at any prix-fixe dinner (especially when there are only 2 people at the table). I think I prefer Atoboy (their sister restaurant) slightly better. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and would still highly recommend Naro! I will definitely be returning to try new menu items.