After avidly following Corey Lee of Benu’s latest project on Instagram for months (and he shared the idea for it years ago), I was so happy to see the email announcement when reservations were finally open for SAN HO WON (if you follow @tablehopper’s Instagram Stories, you would have gotten the jump on the news—all the reservations are waitlist-only for now, with some seats at the counter available for walk-ins, good luck! I’ll be dining there in a few weeks and can’t wait to post about it.).
This new, minimalist, Korean charcoal barbecue restaurant is in the former Blowfish in the Mission, offering a casual and convivial dining experience, with a menu that “is rooted in home cooking and traditional flavors but embraces local ingredients and modern techniques.” Lee is collaborating with Jeong-In Hwang on the project, who has been working with him since 2016 and is leading the menu development. Throughout the pandemic, they were testing dishes and offering a variety of monthly menus for takeout, pretty much one of the few bright spots during those dark days. And now, guests will be able to enjoy grilled meats fresh off their central BBQ stove—like center cut prime beef tongue, house double-cut galbi (short rib), and chunjang-glazed pork ribs—grilled over solid lychee wood charcoal produced specifically for the restaurant.
You can make your way through a variety of appetizers, specialty banchan, soups and stews (it’s not all traditional—I can’t wait to try the kimchi jjigae pozole with pork belly, hominy, avocado, radish, and cilantro), gamasot rice dishes (cooked in the traditional Korean cast-iron pot), large-format dishes, and there’s also a tasting menu for $88 if you just want to be in their hands. Check out the menu here. Eater took some images of the space here. I’d sign up for San Ho Won’s mailing list for reservation updates and expanded hours (starting November 17th, they’ll be open for dinner Wed-Sun 5pm-9pm and until 10pm Fri-Sat). 2170 Bryant St. at 20th St.
Chunjang-glazed pork ribs. Yelp photo by Cathy L..
