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So recently I checked out New York’s hottest new Asian restaurant, Momofuku Ssam Bar. This hip East Village establishment is the sister restaurant to the permanently-packed Momofuku Noodle Bar. Over the past three weeks I stopped by three times (twice for dinner and once for lunch) and have gotten a pretty good feel for the restaurant.

I am pretty picky about where I eat out on the weekends so going back to the restaurant twice after my original visit is pretty much the highest compliment I can give it. Ssam Bar combines great food, a cool atmosphere, and relatively reasonable prices for a very nice dining experience.

The restaurant is a small, long space, just like the original but slightly roomier. Most people sit along a bar though if you are lucky you will get one of the few tables along the side. While I have sat at both and the tables are a nice treat, the bar should be fine for anyone. It would be nice if the seat had backs and there is always the question of how a winter coat and bag can fit on that tiny hook between your knees, but it’s all part of the experience. Once your find the host chances are you will have to wait a bit because the restaurant does not take reservations. My waiting times (party of two):

1. Saturday night; expected wait: 45 min; actual: 30 min
2. Friday night; expected wait: 45 min; actual 20 min
3. Sunday late lunch; walked right in and ordered (no servers)

So what it seems to come down to is there there is only room for about 15 or so people to comfortably wait inside the restaurant so a lot of people were putting their names down and showing up when called. Hence the quoted waits were long than the actual ones, at least in my experience.

After sitting down (both dinners were at the bar) I found that I had enough elbow room to be comfortable and did not mind talking to my girlfriend who sat next to me. A party of three or more might have been awkward, but this was not an issue. After sitting down for just a few seconds I had water and shortly after that a server looking to bring me a drink. Being right at the bar and feet from the kitchen certainly lends itself to fast service.

The drink menu is not long, but has four beers and a few types of wine and sake. Two of the beers were cheaper ($5 and $6) while everyone around me seemed to be drinking of the more expensive ones ($9). The high end beers were Hitachino Nest Beer (from Kiuchi brewery) and came in either a white ale or red rice beer. I tried both and preferred the white, though I almost always like white ales The $5 beer was pretty okay, but was not as good and did not seem to match the meal as well.

As for the food… it’s pretty impressive. Personally I am a fan of David Chang so I was very happy with the menu and how almost all the pieces turned out. At dinner there are the choices of small dishes, hams, seasonal/local, fish, offal, and ssam (wrapped items) and while not everything was amazing, everything was good. Each time we started off with the pickled vegetables, which I always order when available and another light dish, first a hamachi (with tea leaves?) and the second time an apple salad with lychee and bacon. While both were interesting, the hamachi was the clear winner- very light and clean- while the apple salad ending up just being a lot of apple with a few interesting things thrown in.

As for larger dishes I was the happiest with the grilled rice cakes. These ended up being very much like a twist on a gnocchi in a meat sauce, oddly enough. Definitely a great choice… as was the hangar steak ssam which was a nicely cooked piece of steak with bibb lettuce and both a green and kimchi sauce. I did find the pieces of steak to be too big to be bite-sized so it got a bit messy, but things are casual enough that this is okay. Also, as with the Noodle Bar, the steam buns are a real crowd pleaser and they are filled with Momofuku’s signature pork belly.

What makes this restaurant really special though are the ssams. These are essentially burritos (assuming you have it wrapped in the flour pancake, as most people do) filled with the type of ingredients you commonly see in the restaurant. They are delivered wrapped in tin foil and are stuffed with a protein (pork, beef brisket, braised tofu, or chicken), a healthy amount of rice, and extras (generally beans and sauces). These items are cheap and very filling. During dinner there is the choice of two or three while at lunch you can choose between customizing your own or ordering a pre-designed one. The lunch menu also offers a rice bowl and and a bowl of glasses noodles if you are not in the mood for ssam.

As for the price, dinner for two generally ended up being about $80-90 with a good tip. This was with about two nice beers and four dishes, so not terrible, but not cheap. If you order the burrito dinner (or lunch) can be considerable cheaper because these are essentially a meal. Lunch should run you about $12 between the ssam and a drink.

All told, I have to admit I am a fan. Yes it’s packed, it’s not cheap, you can’t make reservations, and you have to sit on a stool, but if you want hip food at a hot (and small) restaurant in New York those qualities are not uncommon. My biggest complaint with the restaurant is that the service is too rushed and they just deliver the food as it is made, but little regards for how much of your appetizer is left or how many dishes are jumbled up in front of you. The same goes for when you are leaving- it is clear someone wants your seat and if you are done (and not getting more drinks) you best be on your way. The servers were nice and knowledgeable, but interesting in moving things along. The place is having some growing pains (when I ordered lunch they were out of pork for the ssam) but they generally have their act together.

207 2nd Ave at 13th, 212-254-3500
http://www.momofuku.com/

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