Sura Restaurant Bushwick Brings Modern Korean Tapas to Brooklyn

Sura Restaurant Bushwick begins with a table set for sharing. Plates of different shapes crowd the honey colored wood. Magenta napkins sit folded beside the forks. A pair of grilled sliders shines under the warm light, and a skillet of bubbling cheese and corn waits at the edge of the frame.

Nothing on the table is meant for one person alone. That idea shapes the whole restaurant at 31 Wyckoff Ave. The kitchen serves modern Korean and Korean American dishes designed to pass from hand to hand.

The man behind the menu is Eddie Hong, the owner and head chef. He spent 15 years as a chef before opening here, and one of his partners worked as his sous chef for six of those years. Together they arrived in Brooklyn with a clear culinary voice. What they lacked, at first, was a clear read of the neighborhood.

How Sura Restaurant Bushwick Learned Its Neighborhood

Hong told amNewYork that he had to understand what the market wanted before he settled the menu. Bushwick, he found, leans toward a party scene. It is not a place of Michelin stars and high end plates. So he pivoted, making the food a little more familiar to the people who live and dine nearby.

The choice reflects a wider habit among neighborhood restaurants. Hong studied his street before he cooked for it. The result is a menu that keeps its Korean roots and stays easy to approach.

His view of the calendar is just as practical. Bushwick, he explained, moves to a different rhythm than the rest of the city, and summer brings the crowds. Sura opened both of its concepts in June for that reason. "We're learning every day," Hong said, an admission that carries the humility of a first year.

Inside the Sura Restaurant Bushwick Menu

The room feels like a speakeasy. Wood fixtures and low lighting wrap around 55 seats, and Hong said the small footprint pushed the team to fit in as many guests as possible. The bar runs along one side and gives the space its glow.

The menu moves between hot and cold plates. There is the Yook Hwe Bibimbap and the Sura Japchae, along with Korean Yang Nyum Wings and a Braised Pork Belly Bao. Familiar comfort dishes also appear with a twist, including the Not Your Ordinary Caesar, Sura Disco Potatoes and Dry Aged Beef Sliders.

Together they make a strong case for Korean tapas in Bushwick. Small plates invite guests to order widely and taste often. The table becomes a shared conversation of textures, heat and sauce.

The Sura cocktails Bushwick guests order follow the same spirit. Manager Elise built the bar program around drinks that stay simple while using Asian ingredients in refined pairings. The list includes a Lychee Martini with gin and lychee puree, and See You Tomato with tequila blanco, tomato water and basil. The Sesame Conspiracy blends brown butter bourbon with peanut, sesame orgeat and gochugaru. Cool as a Cucumber mixes soju, cucumber and rice vinegar syrup.

A Grocery Counter Built for the Morning

The front half of the building holds a boutique grocery store, open daily. It sells juices, salads, wraps and Korean fried chicken, all made for grab and go. The store echoes the flavors of the kitchen behind it.

Hong said the idea came from watching the street. Bushwick comes alive at night, but he saw little happening in the morning, with few people walking past. He decided to use the real estate more fully and aimed the store at commuters heading for the train.

The move shows how a small restaurant can widen its hours without changing its identity. A single address now serves the commuter at breakfast and the diner at night. It also spreads risk across the day, a useful cushion for any independent operator.

What Neighborhood Dining Says About Restaurant Spending

Independent rooms like this sit inside a larger national story. Diners across the country are treating local restaurants as places to gather, a trend explored in this look at restaurant spending in the US. OpenTable's 2026 Dining Trends Report found that 36 percent of Americans prefer neighborhood gems over the newest openings.

There are limits to the picture. Hong says the response to Sura has been very positive, though that view comes from the owner and the restaurant is still young. A seasonal market means winter will test the model. A 55 seat room also caps how many guests can pass through on a busy night.

The team is moving ahead all the same. Sura plans to join the next round of NYC Restaurant Week and has launched a prix fixe menu called Don't Make Me Choose. The name is playful, and it speaks to a kitchen that wants guests to taste widely. Visitors can learn more on the Sura official website.

A Table Still Being Set

Return to the wooden table and its mismatched plates. The napkins wait, the forks are laid, and the food is meant for hands reaching across. It is an image of a restaurant that has decided who it wants to serve.

For Sura Bushwick, the first summer has been a season of listening. The street answered with its nights and its quiet mornings, and the menu bent to meet both. Somewhere on Wyckoff Ave., a chef is still learning, and the table is still being set.