Updated October 26, 2026,first published November 11, 2024
15/20Matkim
Korean$$$
Refined, thoughtful and story-driven dishes that will make you rethink Korean cuisine.
Just eight diners get to eat at Matkim each night, each committing to a procession of 16 courses – including bite-sized snacks – served over two-and-a-half hours. There’s no menu – just drawings of ingredients that will be featured over an evening in which owner-chef Jacob Lee draws on traditional Korean dishes and adds his own twists in ways that are both surprising and delicious.
That might mean grilled Busan blue mackerel served on sourdough with chimichurri, or the much-loved street-food doughnut hotteok, flipped into a tarte tatin with preserved ginseng and whisky barrel-aged maple syrup. Clarified clam broth eats like a multi-course meal in a single bowl thanks to textural bites of precision-cooked prawn, whelk and slippery sheets of mochi-like sweet potato noodles.
Stories about each dish are interwoven throughout the evening, as Lee shares his memories of childhood as well as his country’s history and heritage.
Good to know: Break out your fanciest wine from the cellar and BYP for $50 per bottle.
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Last visited: October 2026
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- Licensed
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Source: The Age
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