Somaek Boston: Downtown Crossing Korean Restaurant Menu, Hours and Prices

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Somaek is a Korean restaurant at 11 Temple Place in Downtown Crossing, a short walk from Boston Common. Chef and partner Jamie Bissonnette built it around the home cooking he learned from his mother-in-law, Soon Han, who is credited as the restaurant’s consulting chef. The MICHELIN Guide lists Somaek as a recommended restaurant, and the James Beard Foundation named it a 2025 semifinalist for Best New Restaurant, according to the restaurant.

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This guide is based on Somaek’s own website, its menu as posted on Oct. 19, 2026, and the MICHELIN Guide’s listing. It is not based on a visit by The Boston Report.

What Somaek Serves

The menu is written in Korean and English and focuses on traditional dishes. Meals are served family style, and every meal comes with three complimentary banchan, the small side dishes that can include napa cabbage kimchi, radish kimchi, braised burdock or sesame spinach. The restaurant notes that dishes may not all arrive at the same time.

Examples from the posted menu (prices may change):

• Appetizers: nong-eo hwe, Korean striped bass sashimi ($22); yukhoe, steak tartare with Korean pear ($19); bossam, steamed pork belly wraps ($19); haemul pajeon, a seafood and green onion pancake ($21); and fried mushroom-and-tofu or steamed beef-and-scallion mandu ($17 to $19).
• Mains: jjajangmyeon with pork and wagyu in black bean sauce ($18); japchae ($17); doenjang jjigae, soybean paste stew with pork, tofu and clams ($15); kimchi jjigae ($17); dwaeji bulgogi, pork bulgogi ($18); and galbi gui, grilled LA-cut short rib ($25).

The MICHELIN Guide singles out jogae jeon, a pan-fried clam pancake with chive salad, and the doenjang jjigae, and notes that the restaurant’s namesake drink, somaek, combines soju and beer.

Drinks

Somaek’s drinks program leans Korean, with soju, makgeolli and yakju alongside a cocktail list from partner Andy Cartin that the restaurant describes as “flavor-forward, low-ABV.” MICHELIN mentions a ginseng tonic and a vodka, citrus and coconut-orgeat cocktail called the Jeju-do.

Hours, Reservations and Parking

• Hours: Monday to Thursday 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5 to 10:30 p.m.; closed Sunday.
• Reservations: tables are held 15 minutes past the booking time, and no-shows or cancellations within 24 hours are charged $25 per person.
• Parking: the restaurant discounts parking at the Lafayette Garage, One Lafayette Place.

Who Runs It

Somaek is part of BCB3, the group behind several restaurants on the same block. Its team page lists Bissonnette as chef and partner, Tong Lee as chef de cuisine and Babak Bina and Andy Cartin as partners.

For more Korean and Asian dining, see our guides to Chinatown restaurants and the best ramen in Boston.

Sources

• Somaek: About (story, team, honors)
• Somaek: Menus
• Somaek: Hours and location
• MICHELIN Guide: Somaek