This week’s dinner was at Suragan. As described from their website “SuraGan was the name of the kitchen for the king of Joseon Dynasty in Korea. ‘Sura’ means the king’s meal and ‘Gan’ means a specific space”. This restaurant was recently added to the Michelin guide although they haven’t yet announced which of those receive Bib Gourmand or star ratings.

The concept for this restaurant was intriguing – also per their web site “The chef’s tasting menu at SuraGan is based on the recipes in the history of Joseon Dynasty and Korea in chronological order.” The recipes are re-interpreted with a more modern take. And several times a year, the chef adjusts the menu to a different era. Such an interesting concept.

Because they are doing period based recipes, they say no accommodations on dietary restrictions or preferences, but they still asked at the restaurant. The text I received this afternoon a few hours before our reservations was very terse – “On another note, for your reservation at 5:30pm, our food (tasting menu) service will begin altogether and be served simultaneously with all groups at 5:30pm sharp. Parties arriving after 5:45pm will not be accepted and will forfeit their reservation.”

Accordingly, we made sure to take a Lyft so we would not arrive late (arrived before 5:25pm) (also to note, this restaurant is located in the Tenderloin, a not so nice neighborhood and it was a bit rough outside) and we were the first and of course only ones there. At 5:30, food wasn’t yet served. We were waiting and I asked the host how many other tables were coming and he said two. It’s a bit sad that it would only be 3 tables for the first seating even if it was a Thursday. The two other tables arrived before 5:45. Their reason for being so strict about this is that all tables were served each course at the same time.

The menu consisted of 12 courses and we added the supplemental 48-hour braised galbi as well as pairings. Menu started with 5 dishes for starters, a cold app, a hot app, a fish, a meat (chicken, with the smallest banchan (2 dishes) I’ve ever seen) and the supplemental galbi, a pre-dessert, a dessert, and petit fours.

Despite the slow start to the meal, it felt very rushed. Our fellow diners, esp. the young korean couple sitting next to us ate very rapidly and I definitely felt rushed and was often the last one to finish the meal. Part of the reason it felt rushed was that they cleared a dish shortly after someone finished it. So both tables were cleared and we were still eating. Also, because we had beverage pairings, those came very rapidly and I just can’t drink that much that fast. Our entire meal from first course to last was less than 90 minutes (again 12 courses plus supplement). Perhaps if the restaurant had been fully booked, the pacing would have been more reasonable.

I know Andrea liked the scallop starter. I liked the seasoning with the chicken and rice and the galbi was also very tender. In general, I wish the dishes were a bit more flavorful (sauces more developed, etc.).

The beverage pairings, esp. the non-wine pairings were very interesting and unique. Check out the red rice dessert wine – we’ve never seen or had anything like that. It looked like a raspberry smoothie!

It was also a nice touch for the chef to come by and visit each table at the end of the meal. All in all, I loved the concept, but the execution, although showing technique, was not as flavorful as I would have hoped. I’m glad they have some recognition from the Michelin guide, but a mention (i.e. no bib gourmand or star rating) is personally all I’d give them.