Called Dongnae, the new restaurant takes its name from the Korean word for ‘neighbourhood’ and will be situated on Chandos Road in Redland.
It will serve a menu that draws inspiration from Jeong Jeon’s upbringing in Korea and the couple's time spent living in Seoul as a family. The pair have been working on the concept and menu for over two years, with the aim of pushing the fermentation elements of their dishes and creating even more Korean staples from scratch, such as artisanal doenjang, gochujang and even makgeolli - Korean sparkling rice wine.
The restaurant will offer à la carte with traditional BBQ dishes as well as a lunch jungshik, priced at £24 for a set meal of a rice bowl, soup, side dishes and kimchi.
Also available will be a hanjungshik (omakase style) menu priced at £55 that will showcase some of the chefs’ favourite dishes, including Korean beef tartare, wild mushroom dolsotbap, whelk and perilla muchim, and grilled pork jowl with various in-house condiments including wasabi, ssamjang and fermented clam (jeotgal).
Dongnae will be supported by a network of local producers and suppliers, including Rocketman Produce, which grows traditional Korean leaves and herbs in a nearby allotment, such as organic kkaennip and mu (Korean radish).
The kitchen will be led by head chef Clarence Fung, who was most recently sous chef at Dovetale Restaurant by Tom Sellers in London. Prior to this, Fung worked with Gordon Ramsay Restaurant Group and at Popham’s Bakery in Hackney.
Running the front of house as general manager will be Rebecca Lewis, who joins from Where The Light Gets In in Stockport.
Like at its sister restaurant Bokman, which opened in Bristol in October 2019, the wine list will focus on low-intervention wines from Bristol-based importer Vine Trail.
The restaurant will be arranged across two former shop fronts, with a wooden countertop. Guests can sit at the counter overlooking the kitchen or bar, or at handmade tables in the dining room.
Neighbourhood restaurant
“Dongnae means ‘neighbourhood’ in Korean, so we feel it fits well with our great location on Chandos Road. It has a welcoming, comfortable, and accessible connotation, which is really important to us,” say Jeong Jeon and Robertson, who have had experience working at multi-Michelin-starred restaurants, such as two Michelin-starred L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, and three Michelin-starred Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée.
“With Dongnae, we want to gently challenge the idea that all Asian cuisines are grouped together, and encourage people to come and enjoy Korean food in our version of a modern neighbourhood restaurant.
“Finally, while we want the restaurant to be warm and relaxed, we intend for the quality of the food and service to make a big impact on our guests.”
Dongnae will open in early September.