Sunda New Asian: The Return Visit
Two weeks in, Detroit's biggest restaurant opening is finding its footing. Here's what the 200-seat pan-Asian room on Columbia Street actually delivers.
I wrote a brief when Sunda opened on March 10 and said we'd come back once the kitchen had time to settle. Two weeks and two visits later, here's where it stands.
Sunda New Asian is at 33 West Columbia Street in The District, the development zone between Comerica Park and Ford Field. The room is 6,000 square feet with seating for over 200. Restaurateur Billy Dec opened the original Sunda in Chicago's River North in 2009; Detroit is the fifth location, joining Nashville, Tampa, and others. The scale is deliberate. This is not an intimate 40-seat chef's kitchen. It is a large-format operation designed for volume, event-night crowds, and a clientele that includes Tigers fans, concert-goers, and downtown hotel guests.
The Room
Studio K out of Chicago designed the interior, and the room looks expensive without feeling cold. Capiz shells float above the sushi bar, catching the light in a way that gives the space its signature texture. Cherry blossom branches arc over the island bar. The dining room is dark enough to feel like an occasion but bright enough to read the menu without your phone flashlight.
On a Friday at 7:30 p.m., the place was close to full. The noise level was high. Service was stretched but competent. On a Tuesday at 6, the room was half-full and the experience was better in every measurable way: faster drinks, more attentive service, food arriving at proper intervals. If you can go on a weeknight, go on a weeknight.
The Food
The menu spans nine categories, from dim sum to caviar service. Culinary Director Mike Morales, who is Filipino, and Head Sushi Chef Ise Matsunobu, from Tokyo, run a kitchen that is trying to cover a lot of ground. Sometimes it covers it well.
The spicy tuna crispy rice is four one-biters that arrive looking like tiny architectural models. The rice is compressed and toasted until it shatters when you bite it. The tuna is fresh, the spice is real, and the ratio of fish to rice is generous. At the table next to me, two people ordered a second round. I understood why.
The oxtail potstickers ($23) are the best thing I ate across both visits. The filling is rich, braised, and seasoned with a depth that the rest of the dim sum section doesn't match. The wrappers are thin and properly seared on one side. Twenty-three dollars for dumplings is a number that requires justification, and these justify it.
The miso bronzed black cod ($48) is the kind of dish that works at restaurants of this scale because the preparation is straightforward and the fish quality does the talking. The miso glaze is sweet and deeply caramelized. The flesh flakes clean. It is not a creative dish. It is a well-executed one, and at Sunda's price point that distinction matters more than novelty.
I was less convinced by the bulgogi roti tacos ($29). The concept is sound, but the execution felt like two good ideas that didn't fully merge. The bulgogi was well-seasoned. The roti was fine. Together they were a taco that didn't quite decide whether it wanted to be Korean or Southeast Asian, and at $29 I wanted it to decide.
The szechuan chicken ($34) was capable but forgettable. Good heat, standard preparation. At a neighborhood Chinese restaurant this would be a reliable order. At Sunda's price point, it felt like a placeholder.
The Prices
This is the elephant in the room. Appetizers run $18 to $29. Entrees range from $34 to $56, with the 3-pound wagyu tomahawk somewhere north of that. A kamayan feast for four is the Filipino celebratory platter and the most interesting large-format option. Two people eating a reasonable dinner with one drink each will spend $120 to $160 before tip.
Detroit has restaurants at this price tier. The comparison point is not Supino or a Mexicantown taqueria. It is Wright & Company, Chartreuse, or Republic. Against that field, Sunda's prices are in range, but the kitchen needs to be consistently sharp to hold its position. On my two visits, it was sharp on some dishes and coasting on others.
What This Means for Detroit
The opening brief I wrote two weeks ago raised the question of whether a 200-seat national chain import signals something about Detroit's downtown dining market. Two weeks in, the answer is: yes, but cautiously. The room is filling. The location works for event nights. The sushi bar is drawing people who know what they're ordering.
What Sunda is not, and doesn't try to be, is the kind of chef-driven restaurant that defined Detroit's recent dining growth. Takoi, Marrow, Flowers of Vietnam — those are kitchens where a specific person is cooking a specific vision. Sunda is a concept restaurant executed at scale by a team that has done it before in other cities. Both models have a place. But they serve different purposes, and readers should know which one they're walking into.
The oxtail potstickers and the spicy tuna crispy rice are worth the trip. The miso black cod is a safe bet for anyone who wants a straightforward excellent piece of fish. Go on a Tuesday.
Sunda New Asian is at 33 W Columbia St, Detroit (The District). Tue--Sun 5--10 p.m. Reservations at sundanewasian.com.