As somebody who grew up on Korean food, I think contemporary or fusion or modern Korean restaurants are all fun and exciting. But at the end of the day, I always crave authentic Korean food.
Thanks to a couple of family friends, I was lucky enough to be able to go to a preview night for the new restaurant San Ho Wan before the official opening.
As you can see, we ordered quite a bit. Everything was fantastic, but in my humble opinion, the highlights were the soondae pancake (순대전), potstickers (군만두), and the galbi (갈비). But every dish was prepared with care on beautiful plates and stoneware, so I guarantee it’ll be a really nice dining experience regardless.
San Ho Wan reminds me of those nice, elevated contemporary Asian restaurants in New York that are harder to find in the Bay Area, so our evening felt extra special. The interior is beautiful designed to reflect both Korean tradition and refinement. I feel like a lot of these contemporary restaurants focus too much on making things trendy and pretty without a focus on the actual food, but San Ho Wan manages to balance everything beautifully and serve truly delicious, creative yet authentic, Korean food.
If you can get a reservation, I definitely recommend going! But as far as I know, it’s still pretty hard to get a res, so just put yourself on the waitlist via Tock, and things tend to pop up. Good luck and good eating!