Su-Ra

I welcomed the addition of a Korean restaurant to wicker park, which has been feeling a bit boring recently. After living here for a few years the choices narrow to a slim few for good neighborhood food. but i think su-​ra will be on the list from now on…
we went here once with our family — and it was good but a bit over our price range ($ 20+ for meat entrees). but as were walking by this time we saw a bit of hope with their insanely amazing deals. it happened to be tuesday — two for one appetizers AND two for one bi bim bop — we were sold. our dinner of two we dined like kings and queens … for the price of jesters and serfs… with plenty for leftovers ($ 32 and its BYOB).
the food also happened to be delicious. we ordered the tempura seafood medley with spicy chili aioli, which was great. the side salad was pretty but the dressing needed some work. we both ordered the bi bim bop — amazingly colorful with fresh vegetables and rice that caramelized to the bottom of the hot clay pot. mmm. yummers. we did wait a tiny bit long for the food, but were very happy in the end.
— we tried to tablescore the delicious meat entrees but our neighboring patrons decided that it was so good it had to come home with them.
def come here — and if its not a tuesday, the other specials are just as good. were thinking thursday: two for one entrees. you might want to go before the economy goes back up otherwise you may miss out on the great deals. take your money out of stocks and tbills and invest in some bi bim bop.

I was really surprised by the negative reviews of Su-​Ra, I had a great time here! The food was delicious, the service was friendly and of course, it’s BYOB, which is a huge plus to any establishment.
Also the portions were huge! I felt bad that I didn’t take my leftovers with me.
It’s an interesting atmosphere, at first the fanciness of the white table cloths caught me off guard, it’s not something I expect to see at BYOB restaurant. We pretty much had the whole place to ourselves on a Friday night, too, which was nice.
I will definitely be back !

It seems many have taken issue with the «Korean-​ness» of the menu, in addition to noting sub-​par quality and taste of the food. This is too bad. While I cannot speak on the authenticity of the dishes, I found the appetizer and entrée to be quite delicious.
The food was different then anything I’ve ever had before.
The service was great.
The complimentary barley tea was sooooo delicious.
And it was BYOB.
Its alittle pricey for me but I have recommended this place to friends and will continue to do so because it is different and my experience there (with Natalie G.) was anything but disappointing.

I agree with Kathy P. The fact that the restaurant classifies itself as Korean is a bit bewildering. Nothing about my meal had any sort of Korean familiarity to it. And the food was very bland, bland, bland… a complete contradiction to Korean cuisine, which is supposed to be in your face (garlicky, raunchy, pickled, etc).

disappointing.
i found out this place was in the hood recently. i wanted to check it out, just because of how close it was. i knew it wasn’t going to be tabletop cooking, but i was hoping for something decent.
the scallion/​kimchi pancake was okay. it was nice and crispy, but not like a traditional pancake. unfortunately, this was the best part of our meal.
i got the dol sot bibimbop with bulgogi and my boyfriend got the kalbi.
worst.kabli.ever.
worst.bibimbop.ever.
the kalbi was $ 25. $ 25! wtf! we could have gone up to lawrence and gotten tabletop kalbi for 19 a person. and it would have been delicious. and we would have had a ridiculous amount of panchan. we got 4 small servings of panchan with no offers for refills.
my bibimbop was not good either. the bulgogi had a weird taste, and there was very little rice in my dish.
i will not be coming back here again. if they tried to do it old school style, i’d be down. too bad, cause it’s a nice location and the waitress was really nice.

Sorry people, this is not authentic Korean food and they jack up the prices to make it seem more upscale. And if the food was still good, I wouldn’t mind because I enjoy all foods, Americanized or not but the food here wasn’t even tasty. The seafood pancake was the worst I’ve ever ate in my life and I’ve had my fair share of Korean pancakes. The pancake wasn’t even cooked all the way and was doughy in the middle.
Plus, they give you a tiny amount of rice with your entre. This may not seem like a big deal but Koreans love their rice. The literal translation when Koreans say «Have you eaten?» is «Did you eat rice?» so to come to a «Korean» restaurant and be given that little is kind of a downer.

This is an over-​priced, under-​whelming place. Given the neighborhood, it is well decorated and trendy, but the food itself is way below average. I’ve been to most of the authentic places on the north side, and this place doesn’t come close.
First off, the menu is very small. Even for a Korean place. If it’s small, you have to have the staples, which they do except for one glaring omission, which is the chi-​gae, or spicy tofu/​bean curd soup. I’ve never been to a Korean restaurant in the entire country that didn’t serve any version of this staple, until now. Secondly, chap jae is not an entrée, only an appetizer. You pretty much have to order 2 portions to get a proper serving of this tasty staple, and at $ 9 a pop, it ain’t cheap. And it was below average as well.
So maybe they make up for it with the entrees? Not quite because they have 6 bi bim bop dishes to choose from. How on earth does that make sense? The only difference between any of them is the type of meat in the dish. They could have 1 dish with your choice of meat, but in their minds, you must refer to each dish as its own entity. Yeah, I like going to a mexican place and seeing not just «Taco Dinner w/​your choice of…», but rather «Taco Dinner w/​chicken. Taco dinner w/​beef. Taco Dinner w/​pork.» Makes sense to Su-​Ra, but not to me.
As for the entrees, the bulgogi dish is very fatty and the meat is overcooked. For some reason, the chef also decided to throw lots of veggies on top, which don’t belong on bulgogi. The kalbi dish was also very fatty, and 75% of the ribs were all bone.
The only thing that made up for the whole dinner was a pork shoulder, which was excellent, but it cost $ 50 (though it does feed 4 – 5 easily in their defense).
The biggest disappointment for me was the lack of side dishes (banchan) and the overall quality of the few they served. The kimchee was very sour and much too vinegary, as were the bean sprouts. I’ve been eating these side dishes for 27 years, and these were the worst I’ve ever had. The total number of side dishes was about 6, which is less than half of the true Korean places.
The prices are on average, 30−40% higher than any other korean place, and the portions are 30−40% less. I could maybe forgive this if the quality was above and beyond, but Su-​Ra is nowhere close. The wait staff is nice, but that’s all I can say about this place.

I appreciate a place like this. As I get more and more into Korean, and realize that there aren’t that many Korean restaurants in the city, this place, I think is a hidden surprise.
Me and my friend, on our way to Thai Lagoon and passed this place. Thought we’d take a look at the menu and see what was up.
Looked empty on the inside, but it was late on a Wednesday. I was totally into the mood and ambiance of the place. Actually the color coordinated awning on the corner is what caught my attention in the first place.
Even sweeter, they had Motown playing inside. I dug it. Waitress was pretty detailed about explaining the specials. I actually think it was pretty cool that they have a window into the kitchen. They know better than to expose the restaurant to those potent Asian cooking smells.
We had the Kimchee pancake and seafood fried misto or something or other. My partner wasn’t down on the fried pancake. I was. I mashed it, as I would anything fried and served with sauce in small dishes.
The fried seafood misto was fantastic. Kimchee aoli — are you serious? Badass. Very tasty. And then a small garnish of spinach salad with a kimchee vinaigrette? Even better of a surprise.
We both shared the vegetable Bi Bim Bop. Came out steaming and still sizzling. Was very good and a hearty size for the both of us.
So why 4 and not 5? I guess I’ll reserve the 5^th for food that really wows me, and although this was close and quite good for the price, I’m still like… ehhhhh-​okay it was good and I’ll come back (say that really fast and ‘blended-​like’ to get my vibe). I wasn’t like, «Damn! Be back yesterday for some BeeBeeBop in a minute!»
Yeah, I can actually get excited about a place like that.
All in all, like it. The vibe gets me. Friendly, well priced and yeah, good Korean food for such a small menu.
Thanks Su-​ra.

Wow, I’m so shocked with the reviews for this place. I’ve had my good share of Korean food over the last 12 yrs, especially Korean BBQ; here in Chicago and NYC.
Yeah Su-​Ra wasn’t exactly what I was expecting either, based on my prior experiences, but it def. was a hit with me and my son’s. I was especially surprised that my son’s enjoyed it as much as they did.
They’ve been exposed to a lot of veggies, grains etc over the years but the seasoning is always what I don’t know if they will like or not and they DID!
We ordered the «duo of Mandoo» which they both enjoyed a lot. We also ordered the «Gu Jul Pan» which is cold spring rolls made out of radish sheets. Very tasty and extremely healthy. Surprisingly the older one loved it more then the youngest one which happens to be the one who loves sushi, so when he did not like it I was surprised and also shocked when the older one who is extremely picky at times loved it!
As our main dish we had the «Bul Go Gi Bi BIm Bop» and that they both absolutely loved! I was so happy with my choice and thrilled that they officially like Korean food, because now I can indulge in it more often!
The one thing I did not like was the Barley tea.
I def. will be back and sooner then later!

Went here to try the Time Out Best 100 Things We Ate in 2007 (the Korean pancake with sesame-​soy dipping sauce). Underwhelming, which surprised us. Time Out is usually very accurate.
Food is ok, not great, and expensive for what it is. Be aware that portions run large and you should be ok sharing an appetizer and entrée between two people, especially if you get a pancake as the starter (it’s fried and pretty filling).
Ambiance is weird. It’s a Korean restaurant, but colonized by white hipsters.

I’m honestly pretty surprised this place has gotten as many good reviews as it has. I was highly disappointed w/​the food. The menu is pretty small, w/​various appetizers, a bunch of bibimbap and other entrees. I had the dol sot bibimbap which was bland as hell and pretty tasteless, not to mention quite a bit more expensive than at most Korean restaurants i’ve been to. The seafood scallion pancake was pretty unappetizing as well, which I would think is pretty hard to mess up.
About the only thing I liked here was the outdoor seating and byob. We happened to be lucky enough to get a table outside, and it was very tranquil and quiet since there was only one other table on the lawn.
The tranquility soon went away when we got our bill though. One of my Korean friends realized they charged her $ 1 more for her dish so she asked them to correct it (she btw hated the food and made sure we all knew how bad it was during the meal hahah). After coming back, our server informed us that they had inadvertently undercharged a couple of us and that our bill was actually $ 1 more than originally listed. My friend totally blew up at the guy after she heard him tell us. The rest of us didn’t really give a shit about the dollar cuz we honestly really just wanted to get the hell out of there, but after 20 minutes of arguing w/​the manager she managed to get a small portion knocked off the final bill.
Needless to say, I won’t be coming back so don’t buy all the trendy hype! There are a dozen better restaurants. Stick to somewhere else like San Soo Gap San or Cho Sun Ok.

Like many other Unilocalers, I wish you could give ½ stars. I initially wanted to give 2 stars but I did have a good experience just not 3 star worthy.
I visited Su Ra because I have been trying to broaden my horizons and get out of the Gold Coast/​River North/​River West/​Streeterville restaurant areas. I read the article 100 Best Things We Ate in 2007 in Time Out and because I love Korean food, I wanted to try Su Ra.
I have only eaten Korean food in my friend’s parent’s homes OR with their families in mom/​pop Korean restaurants so I am not used to the Americanized versions of Korean food which I think you can classify Su Ra under — Americanized versions of Korean food. And, I only eat what is put in front of me by friends without asking for names or descriptions, therefore, I am not educated on Korean food either. Just know what tastes good.
Good:
— Nicely decorated, friendly and clean neighborhood restaurant
— Friendly staff who knew the menu but probably not a career server (not that I would expect that)
— Décor was nice
— Food was good, not spectacular but good. I like the special they had that night, the Kimchee version of the pancake-​like appetizer on the menu
Bad:
— Sauces were overwhelming as you ate them.
— Portion sizes were very large for appetizers, seems like a silly thing to complain about, but appetizers should have a lot of flavor, which their appetizers did, but that flavor becomes overwhelming with such large portions
— small menu, not enough choices
I think for the price and the locations it is a pretty good restaurant. I don’t think I would make another trip particularly for Su Ra but I would likely stop back in if I were in the ‘hood.

Coming from Southern California, where I am spoiled for astoundingly good Korean food, I was a little skeptical of Su-​Ra, especially given the slightly upscale focus of it, and having been a bit disappointed by a similar type of food at Chicago’s other Americanized Korean place, Jin Ju. I’m still very much learning about Korean food, but I can pretty much safely say that I would rather eat at an average soon dubu place than at Su-​Ra. Granted, this is comparing apples and oranges, as Su-​Ra has a different focus, but if we are to make «Korean» into a broad category, I’ll choose someplace that actually gives you banchan, thanks.
My table got one of the scallion pancakes, which I thought was too bread-​y and not egg-​y/​chewy enough. It seems more like the consistency of a pizza crust, strangely. The bulgogi bi bim bap was fairly tasty – I can’t say it was bad – but the choice of ingredients was slightly unconventional, yet kinda bland. The red pepper paste also could have been spicier. i’d probably get it without the bulgogi, which didn’t really add much to the dish. As noted previously, portions are huge, which does make the prices more reasonable.
Service was a bit off – the waiter kept trying to get us to agree that the food was «Tasty, right?»

Well, I guess I fall on the side of the reviewers who think that this place is pretty darn good.
I’m just in town for a week or so, and I’ve only recently been learning about Korean food, but I know good pork when I see it…
We were a group of 5, so we decided to share a bunch of things.
Small dishes, we had the seafood pancake, which was beautiful to look at, delicious, and had great sauce. The Gu Jul Pan, described by our server as a deconstructed spring roll, was cool to put together; the wrapper was thinly sliced daikon radish, with shrimp, enoki mushrooms, and veggies as filling, with a sweet/​hot thick suace.
Also, a frito misto appetizer special was delish; delicate tempura style scallops, calamari, and shrimp with a salad.
But…for our entrée, we got the Bo Ssam, a special they were working on in anticipation of New Years. If you’ve never had this, you should get it wherever you can get it.
Berkshire pork, slowed cooked, served with a dozen oysters, and all the ban chan sides, was pretty much transcendent. I love good pork, and I love hot food, and while this is not a spicy dish, we paired it with the Dak Kalbi, a hot chicken dish that was a great balance to the more hedonistic pork.
I like finding good food in Chicago. Plus, compared to what we would have spent in NYC, this was a bargain.

Um… how about a huge letdown. The place was packed and it seemed like people were genuinely enjoying themselves. So, my friend and I thought the restaurant would live up to the hype surrounding it.
I was sorely disappointed. The trademark is the bibimbap, so I ordered the dolsot bibimbap with spicy pork. Okay, for $ 11, it better be the best damn bibimbap I’ve ever had. It wasn’t. In fact, the best one I’ve ever had barely coasted above $ 5! The thing about Su-​Ra is that the rice is completely drowned in broth and sauces, making it hard to taste the subtleties of the banchan and vegetables! I felt like I was eating soup and rice more than anything else. The accompanying miso was way~ too salty.
Disappointed. And I am definitely not returning. If I want bibimbap, I’ll make it on my own damn it. Cheaper and tastier to boot.

I went within the first month of it opening.
Everything was delicious. We tried several apps, the potato pancake thing with shrimp was delicious, as was the special, a plate full of heirloom tomatoes and seasoning.
We all ordered bimbibop, served in the hot clay pots. None of the 6 of us could finish it, and all agreed our varying ingredient choices were delicious.
I can see how there could be problems with wait times and seating, and perhaps even service delays, all of which would turn me off. But from a food standpoint, it was very well done, the menu was simple, and all of us were pleased.

I’m going to end up sounding like a jerk about this restaurant but, as a Korean person dining here, I was shocked at more than a few things. There are plenty of reviews on here for Korean BBQ’s and other restaurants highlighting the delights of pan-​chan and the little accompaniments for your rice. Have you seen the accompaniment portion? I mean a couple of strands of spinach? two potato chunks? I mean squirrels can get more outside somewhere. Although I do appreciate the specificity of the bi bim bap and their dedication to it but for 11 dollars, (compared to other Korean restaurants where the portions are far larger and tastier) it’s just nuts. It’s like they forgot that Korean food like this cannot and should not be «glamorized» because the food is all meant to be easy and quick. I mean bi bim bap is usually rice, left over pan chan, chili paste, and an egg traditionally. Not to mention that our mandoo was tiny… FREAKING TINY! I thought the mandoo was garnish and that they forgot the mandoo.
Our waiter needs to get some balls too. Dude was practically shaking when he was taking our order and telling us about specials and stuff. Made us feel kind of uncomfortable and something about a guy with a European accent trying so hard to pronounce Korean dishes didn’t settle with me too well. I don’t know, I like the fact that a Korean restaurant opened up around there but, I can do without the pretentiousness and overpricing that standard Korean food has become.
Take me to Lawrence any day.

I’m glad to see that restaurants are finally making a stronger showing on North Ave. near cross streets Western and Oakley. This past year there have been a few places that opened up but I believe that this is the first Korean restaurant in the area, but I might be wrong.
We went on Saturday at around 8am and luckily there was no wait. I’m sure that it helped that there was a Cubs game going on in Wrigley. My first impression of the décor of Su-​Ra was that it was tastefully decorated in tune with the theme of the restaurant without going over the top. The interior was minimalistic with soft Asian accents as to not overpower the small dining room.
The menu was laid out into four different section: appetizers, Bim Bops (Korean noodle meal), entrees, and desert. We decided to go with the fried calamari (on special according to our waiter Noël), and for the entrees we went with the marinated pork and the three way seafood special. Did it mention that this place was BYOB? I love BYOB restaurants…
Needless to say we were excited when the food came out because there was high expectations for this place and we were not disappointed. Our appetizer was cooked to perfection. The calamari was fried just right without excessive batter and in the middle of the dish was a small salad in vinaigrette that complemented the dish and helped clean the palette.
Our entrees were also on par with the appetizer. The seafood three ways that my girlfriend picked was absolutely amazing! The dish was on the large side but who’s complaining? The fish was of top quality and served just right, even the ahi tuna was perfect. Some places have a tendency to overcook this type of fish, believe me its easy to do. My marinated pork was also very good but I wish they wouldn’t use so much sauce but it was broken up well with a side of rice. One weakness I do see in their menu is the lack of variety in deserts. When I went there was only a fruit based desert.
In essence, this place is a must eat if you want to try something that is a little different. The service was excellent, food was good, price is reasonable, and its BYOB!

It was delicious. the pancake was great and large, and the bugogi bibimbap was enough for 3 helpings. prices are a little steep, but you can keep it cheap by eating the bibimbop, and it is byo.

Actually 2.5 stars. Rounded up because it’s new.
I was excited to see a Korean restaurant open up in this area, so my friend and I bolted inside at the first chance we had. The atmosphere was simple but elegant. The service was attentive and professional.
Looking at the menu, I was disapointed that neither beef kalbi nor Korean soup/​noodle soups were offered. We ordered the Sura Pajun (scallion pancake) for an appetizer. I had the Dol Sot Bulgogi Bi Bim Bop and she had the Bulgogi entrée. The pancake was good. Our entrees were «eh»; satisfying, but nothing special (note: default is brown rice). They also served us 4 bowls of ban chan (little bites like kim chi) with dinner but I noticed some other patrons didn’t get them. Not sure what that was all about.
We spent $ 22 EACH not including tip! Expensive, considering the «eh» and the fact that only one (1) soda was ordered.
Unless I see raving reviews indicating improvements, I won’t be coming here again.