Putting down roots

Sunn’s (Dimes Square)

RESTAURANTS • First Word

In mid-December, in Dimes Square, it happened: Sunny Lee, beloved for her pop-up Banchan by Sunny, opened her first brick-and-mortar restaurant, Sunn’s. Her famed banchan arrive in partnership with Grant Reynolds of Parcelle, who oversees the wine program. Their new space is tiny but warm, with exposed brick and only 24 seats. It’s a tight squeeze, but it hardly matters — you’re there to enjoy Lee and her modern-yet-homey cooking.

After stints at restaurants including Blue Hill and Estela and working as a private chef, Lee discovered a passion for banchan — the small side dishes often accompanying a Korean meal — and developed her pop-up, which she’s hosted in various forms since 2015. This is to say: Sunn’s has been a long time coming.

Despite the protracted build-up, Lee remains remarkably effervescent (sunny, even). Sitting at the butcher block counter across from the kitchen, I delighted in watching her work — joking with the staff, tasting the food, and periodically dropping dishes at tables and thanking guests for being there.

When she delivered our salad, the chef encouraged us to think of it as “vegetable nachos” and eat it with our hands. We did as we were told, layering silky sesame jang, pickled watermelon radish, and rich buttery dates on bitter-crisp radicchio. Asked what made the potato salad banchan so good, she smiled: “sour cream,” a humble response for what was the best potato salad of my life — creamy yet airy, with just the right amount of tang.

It’s obvious why Sunny Lee amassed her devoted following: Not only is her style distinct and food excellent, but she’s also having fun. Start your meal with the playful, ever-rotating banchan plate, and end it with the crispy, squidgy sesame mochi cake, marinated in honey, sesame oil, and salt. You’ll taste what I mean. –Phoebe Fry

→ Sunn’s (Dimes Square) • 139 Division St • Wed-Sun 5-10p • Reserve.