ADDRESS:   Level 2, Commercial Bay, 1 Queen St, Auckland CBD
CHECK WEBSITE FOR OPENING HOURS
MAINS:   $16- $36
WEBSITE:    gochugotyou.co.nz
CONTACT:   0210 905 2396
SCORE:   16.5 / 20

Expect the unexpected when you seat yourself within the slick Commercial Bay food court, with fabulous wraparound views of the ferry building and waterfront, and settle in for a kaleidoscopic taste adventure. Gochu delivers way beyond Korean classics. Try, for example, the potato and cheese corndog with Marmite mayo. Or how about some of the charred dishes kissed with all the savoury, sweet and spicy goodness that gochujang (fermented Korean chilli paste) can bring? This stuff hits all the pleasure centres. Interesting wine options and unusual beers give an extra smoochy edge to the experience. Big thanks to the quartet of co-owners: David Lee and Oliver Simon, plus chefs Jason Kim and Nathan Lord, for taking us way beyond the standard in both a dining and venue sense.

IN BRIEF: Clever, casual, Korean-inspired food