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Docklands at 789 Franklin (near St. Johns) to become Bun Smith

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Comments

  • mike dunlap
    mike dunlap
    Does this place have a website or Facebook page?  I can't find one.  Would like to check out the menu.
  • Brooklyneya
    Brooklyneya
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited June 2015
    Photos of interior from Kristin Moon, relative of the restaurant's owner, David Moon:

    (click arrows for more photos)

    She also confirms it is now fully open.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited June 2015
    She has now posted the menu on their facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bunsmith/850066425078414?fref=photo


    imageimage



  • goldemi1
    goldemi1
    Is that price PER bun? 
  • Brooklyneya
    Brooklyneya
    Happy hour?
  • laura palmer
    laura palmer
    I agree that $5/7 a bun seems high. I assume that they'll be like these korean buns below (photo from internet, NOT from bun smith) and that one will never be enough:


    Char-Sui-Pork-Belly

  • Brooklyneya
    Brooklyneya
    Yelp already has a few reviews of the place, with photos of the buns and all. Several people complained of the price of the buns, but said they were good.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    edited June 2015
    This was reportedly $25. He had another drink and it was $30.


    CIOJgh5VAAAKgmG.jpg_large



  • Vanderbilly
    Vanderbilly
    If we can just slow down our drinking while we consume our bun with small thoughtful bites, we'll come closer to breaking even by the end of the night!
  • nateasensky
    nateasensky
    Wow, talk about too expensive. This is sad, I would love to eat there, but at that price in this neighborhood it just isn't going to happen.
  • crownheightster
    crownheightster
    Maybe, like many of the other neighborhood places, they will start with high prices and then adjust them after a few months. Like Chika Mexicana on Nostrand, perhaps they will begin offering a combo deal "2 buns for $9" or a sweet happy hour deal.
  • ehgee
    ehgee
    Looks tasty. Won't eat there at that price.

    It's more expensive than a similar Manhattan restaurant run by a celebrity chef who has a sitcom based on his life:
    http://www.baohausnyc.com/menu/
  • goldemi1
    goldemi1
    $25 for that!?  Since this isnt going to be a 'destination' restaurant or tourist draw, neighborhood joints rely on trial & repeat I'd assume.  Trial is half the battle, and at these prices they may be limiting even that.


  • Brooklyneya
    Brooklyneya
    Based on the menu, what he ordered is for $20, so $25 must be the total with tax and tip. Still a lot, but just clarifying. $4 a bun would be more sensible.



  • rogers_sterling
    rogers_sterling
    That's nuts. Chuko buns are top notch and they charge $5 for 2. Also, $5 for a Narragansett is enough to make Quint jump off the Orca.
  • stmarksian
    stmarksian
    Man, I was supposed to go there for dinner tonight, but may reconsider at those prices. Even the buns at Ippudo are $9/2, and they do turn-away business in Manhattan and could probably charge whatever they wanted. I'm lucky enough to not normally need to be super price-conscious when I eat out, but those numbers just seem absurd for a neighborhood joint on Franklin.
  • whatchuwant
    whatchuwant
    Yes, pricey, but damn if the tofu with shitake shrooms wasn't the bomb.....and I'm not a tofu kinda gal.
  • stmarksian
    stmarksian
    Ended up going anyway and the food was pretty good. I tried the pork belly, bulgogi and korean fried chicken (spicy) buns, and the fried chicken was EASILY the best one. I would gladly house a couple of those any day. The bulgogi was also good, but the pork belly was not worth it at all. Even after I knocked most of the kimchi off, you could barely taste the belly.

    A weird thing that I didn't like was how they brought out the buns. Even if everyone in your party orders separately, the buns come out grouped by type, not by individual order. A friend and I both ordered a KFC and a pork belly, and they came out on two trays, each with two of the same bun, plus a third tray for my bulgogi. If they had just grouped them by order, they could have saved a tray and prevented us from having to pass them around at the table. Seems inefficient, if not outright annoying to guests.

    I'll gladly go back for the fried chicken buns, but I hope they work those kinks out. Was glad to see that the place was pretty busy, though--definitely busier than I ever saw Docklands.
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    Yelp commenters seem to conclude it is yummy, but a little pricey:

    http://www.yelp.com/biz/bunsmith-brooklyn

  • crownheightster
    crownheightster
    Mr. and Toddler Crownheightster and I went for dinner a week ago. We go the bulgogi and KFS buns and the french fries in rice wine syrup. Delicious. A little pricey. However, we made up for the priciness of the buns by taking advantage of the happy hour shojo, which was $4 for a HUGE pour. 
  • Brooklyneya
    Brooklyneya
    They must have been reading this. All buns are now $4. Someone posted an updated menu from a week ago on their Facebook page with the new prices and expanded menu (bowls are now being served).
  • whynot_31
    whynot_31
    Ms. Whynot and I have now been twice. The food is yummy, and the prices have indeed been dropped a bit.

    The place appears to be doing well.