Simon Kim Stages a Triple-Concept Takeover of 550 Madison
The landmark Philip Johnson tower now houses an all-in-one culinary destination including Bar Chimera, Cote 550, and Sushi Yoshitake that channels the energy of Midtown Manhattan through exacting hospitality and dramatic interiors by Rockwell Group
The 37-story building at 550 Madison has long stood among New York’s most recognizable architectural landmarks—and a flashpoint for bold ideas. Designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, the postmodern skyscraper instantly drew gasps upon its debut in the early 1980s, when its granite façade and soaring “Chippendale” pediment jolted a city still devoted to the glassy rigor of Park Avenue modernism. Over the decades, the building shifted identities from the AT&T Building to the Sony Tower as ownership changed, yet its cultural presence never dimmed. Now, following a sweeping transformation by Rockwell Group, which also conceived the tower’s amenity spaces, the lobby and lower levels house three ambitious dining concepts masterminded by Simon Kim, another figure known for challenging convention.
Kim, the Gracious Hospitality Management founder and Galerie Creative Mind entrepreneur, has built one of New York’s most influential restaurant groups by channeling Korean heritage through the exacting lens of fine dining and exuberant hospitality. Best known for Cote, the Michelin-starred Flatiron district steakhouse, Kim has steadily expanded the brand to Miami, Singapore, and Las Vegas in the decade since its debut, reshaping perceptions of Korean cuisine in the United States through his culinary finesse and a buoyant sense of occasion.
At 550 Madison, he introduces the next chapter of that evolution through three distinct concepts: Cote 550, a subterranean steakhouse wrapped in mirrored surfaces and glowing passageways; Bar Chimera, a ground-floor Midtown brasserie organized around the energy of a public plaza; and Sushi Yoshitake, an intimate omakase destination led by chef Masahiro Yoshitake opening in the fall. Each restaurant has its own identity, yet draws from the storied setting and Kim’s expansive approach to hospitality. He describes the trio as his own version of “surf and turf,” with Sushi Yoshitake serving as the surf, Cote as the turf, and Bar Chimera bridging the two.
“I’ve been in restaurants all my life, since I was 16 years old, and I’ve really been able to put together everything I’ve learnt to bring this project to life,” Kim tells Galerie. The statement carries weight. After studying hospitality management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Kim opened his first New York restaurant, Piora, in 2013 before launching Cote, which earned a Michelin star less than five months after its debut. Along the way, he cultivated a close creative partnership with architect David Rockwell on projects including Coqodaq, the buzzy fried chicken destination in Manhattan, and Cote Las Vegas, the lavish steakhouse inside the Venetian Resort that previously stood as his most ambitious endeavor. At 550 Madison, Kim channels those experiences into a far larger and more layered undertaking.
Kim envisioned the project with a keen awareness of the neighborhood. Bar Chimera occupies the ground-floor plaza and draws from Rockwell Group’s extensive research into how people gather within public spaces. Kim asked the firm to conceive the restaurant as a contemporary town square, one that welcomes Midtown executives slipping in for martinis alongside tourists meandering through canyon-like avenues. “I want it to be the default hangout place for the neighborhood,” Kim says. Guests can settle into one of three distinct bars devoted to whiskey, wine, or martinis, a sly reference to the mythical chimera’s three heads, and indulge in mini wagyu corndogs, crispy octopus, and Cote’s first-ever burger, made from chuck, short rib, and brisket with peppercorn mustard.
At the center of the soaring room, a fountain and circular seating arrangement surround a 23-foot-tall Norfolk pine tree that stretches toward the 60-foot-high ceiling and faceted globe pendants suspended between monumental arches clad in hammered plaster and distressed leather. “We wanted to amplify some of the building’s iconic elements while bringing it into the moment and creating a more human scale,” Rockwell tells Galerie. The architect still recalls visiting the address during the 1980s, when legendary restaurant The Quilted Giraffe occupied the building. “That was such a snapshot of a particular moment,” he says. “It was a place of indulgence and New York society at a very free and expressive time. If there’s a throughline from that restaurant to the new dining experiences at 550 Madison, it’s that they represent this moment in New York just as well as their predecessor did back then.”
Along the north wall, a glowing yellow neon installation by Turner Prize–winning artist Martin Creed flashes a reassuring message: “DON’T WORRY.” The directive carries downstairs as guests descend a dark, translucent resin staircase into the subterranean world of Cote 550. Rockwell conceived the progression through the building cinematically, envisioning a vertical narrative that moves from the ground floor’s civic feeling to the nocturnal decadence of Cote before ascending to the more intimate atmosphere of Sushi Yoshitake, which envelops diners in cedar and suspends retrofitted Isamu Noguchi lanterns above two chef’s counters.
Downstairs, another Creed neon work, this one pulsing in electric blue and pink with the phrase “COMING CGOOMIINNGG GOING,” hovers beside the steakhouse’s signature lozenge-shaped bar clad in red marble, while the dry-aging room casts a sultry crimson glow. Beyond, a green portal ushers guests into the main dining room, which draws inspiration from El Dorado, the mythical South American city said to shimmer with gold. Rockwell translated that lore into a lush garden refuge centered around a turquoise water feature and tables fitted with integrated grills. Verdant walls lined with inflected mirrors multiply reflections across the room, while a gold mesh sculpture by Catellani & Smith filters shifting patterns of light overhead. Even the restrooms carry a distinctive point of view through custom wall coverings developed with Korean artist Teo Yang that reference the country’s traditional architecture beneath moonlike ceiling fixtures.
“Building a destination like this was a really creative exercise,” Kim says—and he approached even the smallest details with exacting care. At Cote, the japchae is composed of nine different ingredients and is prepared tableside, while the signature Butcher’s Feast opens with a lavish bite of o-toro, which Kim describes as “the A5 Wagyu equivalent from the sea.” Beverage director Victoria James subjected Bar Chimera’s martini program to similarly exhaustive consideration, testing water for ideal pH levels and minerality while sourcing olives with near-obsessive scrutiny.
“Even if Bar Chimera is essentially a watering hole, we want to convey that feeling of excellence through each of these designated bars that reflects the essence of Midtown,” says Kim, who speaks proudly about serving the neighborhood. “We take what we do extremely seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s important that customers have fun when they dine with us.” And diners will soon have even more reason to return once Sushi Yoshitake debuts this fall and Bar Chimera expands into lunch service with an evolving daytime menu.