Review: Sunda
By Anthony Todd in Food on May 1, 2009 4:20PM
Our initial feeling upon walking into Sunda was excitement. Tony Chi’s dramatic décor, which includes eye-catching sculptures all over the ceiling, creates a sense of drama even when first glimpsed from the door. The menu, too, is an exercise in foodie “wow” moments, filled with unique twists on Asian fusion. Roasted duck hash salad! Truffled tataki salmon sashimi! Unfortunately, as soon as we got past the main entrance, our excitement turned to irritation.
Sunda has done a fair amount of self-promotion and advertising, and it showed: the place was completely packed. While the designers included a lot of interesting touches, including gorgeous rough-wood communal dining tables, they didn’t think to actually accommodate any crowds. The lounge and bar area could comfortably deal with 20 people, at best, and there is no divider between the bar and the rest of the dining area. When the restaurant becomes crowded, bar patrons waiting for tables are practically sitting in diners’ laps. There are also no paths reserved for servers, which led to some unfortunate accidents - we got pushed, shoved, complained at and generally made to feel in-the-way which, of course… we were. The last straw came when a busboy with a handful of glasses was pushing his way through and broke one on our feet.
Sunda isn’t only physically unable to deal with crowding - its reservation system can’t handle them either. We had to wait more then 45 minutes for our reserved table. Once finally seated, we did finally get to sample some of Rodelio Aglibot's innovative cuisine, and we were (at that point grudgingly) impressed. Oxtail dumplings were rich and savory, eel-topped watermelon slices were a unique combination of fruity and salty and we wanted to eat the rock shrimp tempura like candy. But… it took us 3 orders and almost an hour to get a cocktail. And the gorgeous décor was tainted by the enormous picture window at the back of the restaurant looking at… an alley and another building’s ventilation system.
The pricing at Sunda seems a bit off - not always too high, but often not commensurate with what was on the plate. Appetizers and dumplings hover around $13, which isn’t too bad for the portions and quality. Their entrees are a genuine deal, with generous portions of braised pork belly or black cod running around $20. Their sushi menu, however, is overpriced - 5 sashimi “bundles,” each a small bite, costs $15, and their nigiri is $6-8 for 2 small pieces.
Sunda has the potential to be a great addition to the Chicago dining scene. It needs a minor redesign, better service and new prices - but keep the food quality exactly the same! We honestly can’t recommend going there until the place quiets down - if you happen to be in the neighborhood on a Tuesday night and you have some money to spare, give it a shot.
Sunda is located at 110 West Illinois.