Thirty years after his father introduced Sydney to Korean barbecue at his modest Hurlstone Park restaurant, David Bae has unveiled his state-of-the-art version of the genre, Soot, at Barangaroo.

Soot is the latest marker in the rise and rise of Korean food in Sydney. A posse of new venues is set to ride into the Sydney CBD in coming months, including Soot sibling Leemix, an eight-seat Korean omakase restaurant at Circular Quay.

The city’s Korean restaurant movement had humble beginnings. “It started in that Campsie-Hurlstone Park area, then moved to Strathfield and Epping and Eastwood,” Bae says.

As the cuisine gained wider appeal, Korean restaurants edged toward the city. Bae’s hospitality group, Kolture, has been at the vanguard of that push, with Tokki in Surry Hills and Kogi in Haymarket. He estimates there are now more than 40 Korean barbecue restaurants in Sydney.

Bae remembers the “electric” atmosphere of his father’s pioneering eatery, but also the heavy smoke. One of the restaurateur’s pet dislikes is having smoke extractors in the direct eye-line of diners. At Soot, he has invested in expensive imported kit where the exhaust is built into the tables.

It made for a difficult and delayed build, but he’s doubled down on the premium play, littering the menu with wagyu with a 7+ marble score, galbi made with marinated Australian Angus short-ribs using a family recipe, and even wagyu tongue with a miso amazake sauce.

Bae plans to open Leemix at Sydney Place, Circular Quay, in June. It will be joined mid-year by other Korean restaurants, including Allta and Funda. In July, Soul Dining will open at Wynyard.

Korean restaurateurs say the popularity of Squid Games and K-Pop has further fuelled interest in the culture and cuisine. “It feels like everyone watched Netflix over the lockdowns, and it put Korea on the map,” says Bae.

Did Bae Senior hand down any tips about Korean barbecue? “He always says, ‘Don’t put too much on the grill’.”

Open Tue-Sat 5.30pm-late (lunches start in June).

Shop T1.05, 100 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo