Suragan

Felix Park _{on Google}

Jun 29th, 2023

Suragan puts in a lot of effort, but they just dont deliver. I wasnt impressed. I think 3 stars would be more fair, but they recently increased their prices by 20+% ($135 -> 165), for a total of $213/person.
I really wanted to like this place. I love Korean Fine Dining, the concept was interesting, and Chef Choi was so sweet/accommodating over email but Ive honestly never been so disappointed for a restaurant at this price point. It wasnt horrible, but $213 is absurd when there are real michelin stars in the Bay that are much better for half the price. Personally, I would spend a little more and go to Ssal or Maum (assuming youre looking for Korean Fine Dining).
To begin, some minor observations (which are important details for a $213 tasting!):
- very minor, but they didnt start on time. They promised doors would open at 5pm to give us time to settle in and the tasting would start at 5:30pm sharp. Everything was delayed by 20 minutes- which isnt the best experience considering youre waiting outside in the streets of the Tenderloin.
- Their menus are cheap laminated shared menus across 4 people. Fairly inconvenient.
Egg Soup: good, but nothing too impressive. The soup was honestly more like a french onion soup and was too heavy.
Eggplant Nurumi: very interesting actually and a good blend of textures. Ingredients were a little cheap so far, but this was only the second dish.
Babycorn Kimchi: honestly, pretty impressed by this. Creative and delicious.
Scallop: fairly solid with an interesting presentation, but the edible shell ruined the dish- too fruity with no balance and made the dish feel cheap.
Yukhwe: this is just korean beef tartare. It was good and I loved it, but it didnt offer anything new but thats okay because there were more dishes left!
Buckwheat Noodle: this was the biggest miss of the night. There was no omija flavor at all, no balance of flavors, extremely bitter, and felt like a pile of expensive ingredients like uni and caviar.
Mul Mandu: a creative take on Korean dumplings, but felt so average. The mushrooms were way too overpowering and there was nothing unique about the mushroom flavors. Didnt feel korean at all and the ingredients just felt cheap.
Fish Mandu: this was new. Youll see all the other creative dishes above in other Korean Fine Dining spots, but this was new for me. Fish was a little dry, but the dishes wasnt too bad other than the fact that it also felt cheap.
Roast Chicken: one of the better dishes of the night, but nothing too impressive. The presentation of the chicken was beautiful. I didnt dislike the texture, but it was new to me since water-based marination isnt too popular nowadays. The side dishes were pretty offensive though- three thumb sized pieces of potato and carrots. I wouldve expected a little more variety and effort in the side dishes for a Korean Fine Dining restaurant.
Desserts: all were average, but I enjoyed the cherry-honey gelato.
The service was very average too. Nothing more than announcing the dishes before serving them. No sense of connection or personal treatment you get in strong michelin starred establishments. What drew the last straw was when they provided one paper menu to take home for our table of 8. When I asked for an extra, they refused because they made just enough for the night. A little ridiculous to not anticipate a problem when I invite 7 other guests and we only get 1 menu. Youre actually better off not printing the menu to avoid any sense of awkwardness with your guests.
Overall, I felt that the creativity, quality of ingredients, and service were all lacking. I heard good things about this place and I love chasing restaurants before they receive michelin stars but I would not return to Suragan. For half the price, go to Marlena or San Ho Won (not fine dining). If you want Korean Fine Dining, pay a little more and go to Ssal for a guaranteed wonderful experience.

Matt Lingner _{on Google}

Jun 19th, 2023

Absolutely amazing meal. Both the food and service were incredible. I was especially impressed by the way the chef executed the concept without compromising on flavor at all. Every dish was creative and delicious. Perfectly cooked and authentic.
Korean fine dining is becoming more popular these days, but this place is special. I recommend getting a reservation before it becomes impossible.
Edit: Hi I went two more times, and both were just amazing. Best restaurant in SF.
Parking: We took a ride share but someone in a party near us was super late because parking was tough.

David Goldstein _{on Google}

May 27th, 2023

Headline: If you have any sort of life threatening allergies (mine is nuts) just skip this place. They wont even do the bare minimum to accommodate you even if you notify the restaurant weeks in advance. If you want high end Korean youre better off going to SSAL or San Ho Wan, which were both much more accommodating, in addition to being more creative and tasty.
Was very disappointed and I had very high expectations for this place because the concept seemed so fascinating and unique. Unfortunately, I was not able to eat at least four courses, including both the supplement I paid extra for and none of the desserts, because the courses had nuts (which I have a life threatening allergy of) and the restaurant was totally unable to accommodate.
Everything I was able to eat was well executed and tasty, but when spending $205 per person (including supplement, tax, and a 20% service fee) you expect a certain level of service and accommodation. At the bare minimum it wouldve been a nice gesture to refund the $70 supplement that I was unable to eat, but they couldnt even do that. Still even putting the allergy stuff aside (for now) it just didnt really blow my mind in terms of quality or creativity. The amuse bouches were quite underwhelming, save for the tartare, and werent even based off the 17th century recipes. The yellowtail wasnt particularly unique either. The buckwheat mandu and fish jeon were much stronger, and I was a big fan of the latters preparation. The main entreea pork bellywas cooked perfectly with the fat well-rendered, but given that it was sous-vide that wasnt especially impressive in this day and age. I cant comment on the supplement or desserts as they all had nuts.
Back to the allergy point Ive been to over 50 Michelin restaurants around the world in my life, including all 6 three star restaurants in the Bay Area, and never once have I been to a place that put so little effort into accommodating a nut allergy. Most restaurants of this caliber would have either prepared a nut-free dish, provide extra servings of other nut-free courses, or at a minimum, comp some portion of the meal. Especially when its the restaurants fault for not following up on a diner notifying them well in advance of said allergy, as I did when making my reservation. Our server even conceded that they had forgot to notify the kitchen in advance. That probably explains why nobody ever contacted me prior to my reservation to ask about my allergy.
I really wanted to like this place and I feel bad as the chef was quite nice, if somewhat unsympathetic. Sadly, I likely wont ever be returning as long as theyre unable to accommodate very common allergies. I understand the need to stick to a concept, but I just got the sense none of the staff cared to make things right (other than offering me a free $7 tea); it very much felt like tough luck but you already gave us your money. I was expecting a lot more in terms of food and service from a $200+ meal.