Sunn’s
Restaurant · Chinatown ·
Seasonal Korean banchan & creative wine pairings; must-try mochi cake
Seasonal Korean banchan & creative wine pairings; must-try mochi cake
"Simplicity makes this wine bar sing: pair a short, thoughtful Korean menu with a sharp wine list and enjoy it all in a warm, slim room, complete with repurposed Jinro Soju water bottles adorned with toad labels. Chef‑owner Sunny Lee’s must‑order banchan flexes textures, ferments, and flavor—think creamy tahini‑smothered mushrooms, smoky eggplant, tangy kimchi—and chalkboard specials like crunchy, sweet gochujang‑candied squid; the oft‑changing salad is bountiful and meant to be eaten with your hands using Napa cabbage leaves, lotus root slices, and persimmon segments. The rave tteokbokki arrives like baked ziti in a glass Pyrex dish, its tomato‑gochujang brown‑butter sauce topped with stracciatella and mozzarella, while the wine list leans natural and organic with a discoveries section that also explores Korean spirits like sool and soju; nothing’s uber‑fancy, just thoughtful bites with good wines." - Melissa McCart
"Chinatown’s Korean wine bar and restaurant now offers takeout and delivery via DoorDash, including flavor-packed banchan rice bowls, gooey tteokbokki, and mochi cakes." - Nadia Chaudhury
"From behind a tiny bar in her own brick-and-mortar after a popular popup, Chef Sunny Lee turns out pitch-perfect seasonal banchan, a brightly colored salad with seasonal radishes and persimmons (which is where I first fell for her cooking), stracciatella-adorned tteokbokki, and chewy parcels of sesame mochi cake; it's lovingly cozy, intimate, and ideal for a friend or a date." - Irene Yoo
"A tiny Chinatown wine bar where chef Sunny Lee continues her banchan artistry from pop-ups — playing with fermentation, textures, and pickledness — this intimate spot pairs impeccable yet simple food with elegant, restrained dishes, and since opening in late 2024 there are still waits; hands down, it’s one of the most pleasurable dining experiences I’ve had in a while. Start with the banchan (six dishes for $25); on my visit the standouts were creamy, tahini-covered pickled mushrooms and sharp Napa cabbage kimchi. Lee’s produce-packed salad ($22) rotates — a recent plate mixed giardiniera-ed cauliflower, Asian pears, and lotus roots — and the comfy tteokbokki ($26), Sunn’s take on baked ziti, now swaps stracciatella and mozzarella for gouda chunks melted into globs that meld well with the tomato-gochujang sauce. Thanks to Lee’s partnership with Grant Reynold of top NYC wine bar Parcelle, the list is impeccable; explore natural wines like the minerally and unfiltered Riva Arsiglia 2019 white wine by Italian winery Menti, and if you check in with your OpenTable account you’ll get a follow-up email detailing what you drank with links to purchase bottles. Don’t miss the nutty sesame mochi cake ($12) to end the flavor-bomb meal, and insider tip: the space is tiny and tight, so show up 20 minutes before doors open for seats at the bar to watch Lee and the staff prep everything." - Nadia Chaudhury
"I had Sunn’s salad at a tiny Korean wine bar in Chinatown, where chef-owner Sunny Lee changes it seasonally but always has you eat it with your hands — pick up lotus root and seasonal vegetables and scoop them into whipped silken tofu; it’s bright, crunchy, and an absolute joy to eat." - Lucy Simon, Amelia Schwartz, Raphael Brion