Rating: ★★★★✩

Price: $$

Andrea: ?

Youngseo: ?

After a long walk up a hill, we were greeted with a classic brunch restaurant. Clean white tiles with a touch of wooden items in its interior, the café was modern and biophilic, underscoring its motto, “Eat Clean, Live Clean.” Green plants decorating the interior also highlighted the restaurant’s emphasis on nature.

Brunch—a portmanteau of the words breakfast and lunch—traces its origins back to England during the 1800s. It started as a simple family meal eaten on Sundays after church. It spread and became popular in the US during the 1930s. From a meal with family, brunch has transformed into a midday breakfast with friends. Brunch now represents a casual social event involving a picturesque meal in a beautifully decorated café.

The moment you walk in, it becomes evident that Sun the Bud is a health-oriented restaurant. The employees are all in casual sportswear, and there is even a rack to place customers’ yoga mats. Customers visiting the restaurant in workout attire are offered 10 percent discounts, so there is little pressure to dress up, contrary to what you would typically expect from brunch cafés. Given that Chungdam has an established reputation of luxury and fanciness, Sun the Bud was definitely refreshing to the chronic hoodie wearers we are. This unique aspect of the restaurant allowed for a more relaxed atmosphere and provided us with a sense of comfort throughout our brunch.

To start our meal, we ordered two cups of VERY BERRY, a blend of chokeberries, blueberries, strawberries, and yogurt. A precaution to future visitors of Sun the Bud: when ordering any drinks, be aware that Sun the Bud does not add sugar or sweeteners. The VERY BERRY smoothie tasted of nature, with the unprocessed flavor of berries filling our mouths and the raw smell of leaves permeating our noses.

The two entrée dishes we chose were the avocado toast and the truffle honey roasted chicken. Sun the Bud’s avocado toast cuts down the calories to 371 kcal. We were able to eat a wholesome meal consisting of minimal calories and still found ourselves pretty full after finishing this dish.

The avocado toast comes in two types: one is topped with beetroot ketchup, while the other contains sliced mangoes. We initially had our doubts about the avocado and mango combination, which were quickly debunked with our first mouthful of the food. When we bit into the mango-avocado toast, a sensation of flavors delighted our mouths as the sweet taste of the mango and the savory flavor of the avocado delicately amalgamated with each other.

The truffle honey roasted chicken contrasted with the relatively mild avocado toast. A faint truffle smell wafted through the air as we dug into the crispy chicken. The chicken had a delightful crunch, with its skin cooked separately from the soft meat with breadcrumbs. The diverse cooked vegetables on the side included roasted tomatoes and mushrooms. Without a lot of added seasoning, the truffle honey roasted chicken had a healthy taste.

Overall, Sun the Bud’s focus on healthy gourmet food is an extraordinary success and encourages its customers to overcome the challenge of pursuing clean eating principles. With each delicious plate, the restaurant is perfect for anyone who desires to enjoy a clean yet appetizing diet.