SSAL

"Wife-and-husband team Hyunyoung and Junsoo Bae both worked at the French Laundry before striking out on their own to open Ssal, an elegant modern Korean restaurant in an unassuming storefront on Polk Street. Four years and one pandemic later, Ssal holds a single Michelin star and might be the best embodiment of California-Korean cooking in the Bay Area. In an austere space, the team fuses premium local ingredients including Wolfe Ranch Quail and Jimmy Nardello peppers into dishes that also leverage familiar Korean flavors such as injeolmi, earthy hand-pressed sesame oil, and red bean. Ssal also marks a fresh start for Junsoo, who left the French Laundry following an incident of alleged harassment that occurred when he worked at Gramercy Tavern in New York." - Lena Park

"San Francisco’s Korean dining scene shouldn’t be slept on and there’s perhaps no restaurant that better embodies the city’s unique perspective on the cuisine than one-Michelin-starred Ssal. Here, chef Junsoon Bae pulls inspiration from his childhood in Korea but swaps in distinctly Northern California ingredients such as Wolfe Ranch quail and Jimmy Nardello peppers. The result is a tasting menu that’s both inherently Korean and undeniably rooted in the Bay Area." - Flora Tsapovsky, Eater Staff

"Wife-and-husband team Hyunyoung and Junsoo Bae both worked at the French Laundry before striking out on their own to open Ssal, an elegant modern Korean restaurant in an unassuming storefront on Polk Street. Four years and one pandemic later, Ssal holds a single Michelin star and might be the best embodiment of California-Korean cooking in the Bay Area. In an austere space, the team fuses premium local ingredients including Wolfe Ranch Quail and Jimmy Nardello peppers into dishes that also leverage familiar Korean flavors such as injeolmi, earthy hand-pressed sesame oil, and red bean. Ssal also marks a fresh start for Junsoo, who left the French Laundry following an incident of alleged harassment that occurred when he worked at Gramercy Tavern in New York." - Lena Park, Eater Staff

"There aren’t many places in the Bay Area doing fine Korean dining at the same level Ssal. Here, chef Junsoo Bae deftly marries seasonal and local ingredients like Wolfe Ranch quail and summer corn with Korean cooking techniques. The result is flavors and dishes that feel both unexpected and slightly nostalgia-inducing. The spartan space makes a pristine backdrop for the dozen or so courses that comprise the tasting menu." - Lauren Saria, Eater Staff

"If you’d rather have smoked duck than turkey, order from Ssal. Their Thanksgiving dinner also comes with black truffle rice porridge, duck liver mousse, roasted squash salad, and injeolmi cream puffs. The dinner is $150 for two and $300 for four, and comes ready to eat, if you’re trying to avoid the oven altogether. Order here for pick-up between 4-6pm on Thanksgiving Day." - julia chen 1