SUNGHO
Korean restaurant · Tenderloin ·
Korean comfort food: pork soups, seafood pancakes, bossam
Korean comfort food: pork soups, seafood pancakes, bossam
"Sungho has become one of our favorite fancier Korean spots in town, and where to go for a blissful couple of hours with bossam, glossy 24-hour pork bone soup, and crispy kimchi pancakes the size of a home plate. The Tenderloin spot focuses on comfort staples and should be your next pick when you want to spend serious quality time with fork-tender pork and a spread of banchan." - julia chen 1, patrick wong, lani conway
"There are only 11 items on the menu at Sungho, proving that sometimes less really is more. The tranquil Korean restaurant in the Tenderloin focuses on comfort staples, from spicy marinated crab to gravy-like kalguksu. But where this place shines is the pork dishes, in all their braised, slow-boiled, and deep-fried brilliance. The short list of consistently fantastic dishes translates into a calm, low-effort affair—you don’t need to think or try too hard to have a great meal here. Sungho works nicely for relaxed double dates or catch-ups over crispy pancakes the size of a home plate, but you can also snag a seat at the bar for some quiet solo quality time with a bowl of 24-hour pork bone soup. Food Rundown Bossam The neatly arranged slices of pork surrender their structural integrity with the poke of a chopstick. Order this. PlayMute video credit: Julia Chen Seafood Pancake With Green Onion We like this version more than its pork and kimchi counterpart—an exception to the rule that you should wear your pork blinders when coming here—it’s got the same crispy edges, but is more well-balanced. photo credit: Julia Chen Spicy Marinated Crab This is a harder-to-find dish in SF, and they do a solid job with it here. The crab is generously coated in a sweet and spicy sauce and hits all the marks. photo credit: Julia Chen Pork Bone Soup 24 hours of simmering pays off—this broth is creamy, glossy, and flat-out excellent. Spicy Jokbal Fried Rice This packs a decent kick, and we’re big fans of the pork trotters, which are braised and chopped into bite-sized pieces. PlayMute video credit: Julia Chen Breaded Pork Cutlet Good, but one of the least memorable entrees of the bunch." - Julia Chen
"Devotees of Korean cuisine will be gratified to find this refuge within the Tenderloin, which highlights a number of homey dishes seldom found in Bay Area. The chef drew inspiration from the memory of his grandmother’s kitchen for a collection of hearty slow-simmered meat stews, including a gukbap that boasts fall-off-the-bone pork and tender rice. Similarly comforting is the kalguksu, a mild soup featuring hand-cut noodles made with rich galbitang beef broth. The generous portions are meant for sharing, including in the case of the jeon, crisp savory pancakes studded with seafood or kimchi, or yangnyeom-gejang, a spicy dish of raw marinated crab for bolder tastes. Excellent house-made kimchi, friendly service, and a lively K-pop playlist seal the deal." - Michelin Inspector
"For Korean comfort food in a tranquil, minimalist space, get to Sungho. The Tenderloin restaurant nails meat-centric dishes like a neatly stacked pile of bossam, 24-hour pork bone broth, and hand-cut noodles with fork-tender hunks of beef. The large tables make this a destination for double dates or weeknight catch-ups, but solo diners can also walk in for a seat at the bar and enjoy some quality time with a kimchi pancake." - julia chen 1, lani conway, ricky rodriguez, patrick wong
"Despite a curious review from San Francisco Chronicle food critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan in November 2024—who inexplicably (and quite accidentally) visited the restaurant on its opening day after a sudden change in chef—the guide praised the restaurant’s meat stews, such as gukbap and kalguksu, and its raw marinated crab dish yangnyeom-gejang." - Dianne de Guzman
