At 1st glance, Korean and Italian cuisines have certainly practically nothing to do with each individual other. That may well quite effectively be the scenario upon even more inspection as well—but 45-12 months-previous culinary pro Tony Park has located a pretty artistic way to incorporate the two gastronomic models at his a short while ago-rebranded restaurant Antoya, on 32nd Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, correct in Koreatown.
“I always desired to open an reliable Korean cafe in midtown but I also desired to incorporate a New York taste to it, to Americanize it a little bit,” Park, who was born to Korean mothers and fathers in Italy and moved to New York immediately after college or university, recollects. “Due to the fact I am an Italian chef, I resolved to infuse Italian culinary solutions into the menu.”
What that appears to be like like in follow is a tomato kimchi, for case in point, a Gangnam-style sausage that is passed via an Italian meat grinder and is served as an Italian sausage usually is (“It seems to be Italian but tastes Korean!”) and a rosemary- and mint-herbed lamb dish.
Park initially operated a franchise keep of well-known Korean brand Samwon Back garden in the place at this time occupied by Antoya. Once COVID-19 hit, the original franchise shuttered and Park was still left with a retail store that he now had permission to morph into anything unrestricted by franchise rules—hence his need to simultaneously honor his Asian and European roots.
The chef and operator is no stranger to New York’s eating scene: he is the powerhouse powering the numerous Angelina Bakery places all over town, Asian-motivated Italian bakeries that provide sweet and savory treats.
His bakeries are actually the reason why he landed on the title Antoya for his just lately rebranded area in midtown. “Angelina Bakery is named just after my daughter and my son Antonio was always unfortunate that we didn’t have a cafe named just after him,” explains Tony. “In Korean, when you phone your kid, you incorporate ‘ya’ at the end as [a form of] endearment. We shorten his identify to Anto and contact him ‘Antoya’—hence the restaurant’s identify.”
Look at out some pics of the area and foods below:






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