New York’s restaurants and chefs took home several of the night’s biggest honors at the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards, held June 16, 2025 in Chicago. Leading the city’s haul: chef Jungsik Yim of Jungsik in Tribeca, named Outstanding Chef — the foundation’s headline individual award.

Jungsik, Yim’s namesake restaurant, became the first Korean restaurant in the United States to earn three Michelin stars in 2024. The James Beard win added the industry’s top national chef recognition to that ascent, capping a run that has put Korean fine dining at the center of New York’s culinary establishment.

A strong New York night

The city’s winners spanned several marquee categories:

  • Outstanding Chef: Jungsik Yim, Jungsik (Tribeca)
  • Outstanding Restaurateur: Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr — the partners behind Frenchette, Le Veau d’Or and Le Rock
  • Outstanding Hospitality: Atomix, the modern Korean tasting-menu restaurant
  • Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service: Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez, Superbueno

The slate underscored a theme that has defined recent New York dining: the breadth of Korean talent and the staying power of the Hanson-Nasr French portfolio, which has anchored downtown bistro culture for years and added the revived Le Veau d’Or to its roster.

The state award

In the broader regional categories, Vijay Kumar of Semma, the South Indian restaurant in Greenwich Village, won Best Chef: New York State. Semma, part of the Unapologetic Foods group, has been among the most celebrated New York openings of the decade, and the award recognized Kumar’s regional Tamil cooking.

A Korean throughline

The night’s New York results carried an unmistakable throughline. Yim’s Jungsik and the Outstanding Hospitality winner, Atomix, are both modern Korean tasting-menu restaurants, and both have become reference points for the cuisine’s rise from neighborhood staple to the apex of American fine dining. That ascent has played out in parallel at the Michelin Guide, where Korean rooms have repeatedly drawn promotions, and at the James Beard Awards, where Korean chefs and restaurateurs have moved from rising-star recognition to the foundation’s top national categories.

Atomix, run by chef Junghyun Park and Ellia Park, has been among the most decorated restaurants in the city for several years, and its Outstanding Hospitality win recognized the service and guest experience around its single counter as much as the food.

Why it matters

The James Beard Awards function as the closest thing American restaurants have to an industry-wide referendum, and the categories that New York swept — chef, restaurateur, hospitality, cocktails — track the parts of the business that drive reputation and reservations. Wins translate into bookings, hiring leverage and, often, expansion. For an independent restaurant, a Beard medal can reset its trajectory overnight.

The 2025 ceremony took place at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where the foundation has staged the awards in recent years. The full list of winners across all categories is published by the James Beard Foundation.

Verification

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Outstanding Chef at the 2025 James Beard Awards?
Jungsik Yim, chef of Jungsik in Tribeca, which in 2024 became the first Korean restaurant in the United States to earn three Michelin stars.
When and where were the 2025 James Beard Awards held?
The Restaurant and Chef Awards were held Monday, June 16, 2025, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Which New York restaurant won Outstanding Hospitality?
Atomix, the modern Korean tasting-menu restaurant in Manhattan's Murray Hill area, won Outstanding Hospitality.
Did any New York bartender win in 2025?
Yes. Ignacio 'Nacho' Jimenez of Superbueno won Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.