"Sono is Italian for "I am." Chef Sechul Yang talks about how the restaurant is a reflection of himself and his culinary background, 70 percent Korean and 30 percent Italian, as a Korean who has often cooked in Italian restaurants (including Maialino, which closed but is coming back in 2027). "I'm not trying to mimic Italian culture, I'm not trying to follow Korean culture," he says. "This is about myself.""
"Sono's menu features Italian dishes with Korean ingredients and techniques. Yang finds the overlapping sectors of Italian and Korean cuisines, pointing to similar styles (family-style sharing), vegetables (potatoes), and lots of handmade noodles, from both peninsula-based countries. But he took caution to not just slap flavors and ingredients together for the hell of it. "It comes in a more natural way of ideas," he says, "like, how these things can be together and coexist and still taste good, but be different.""
"Take the bottarga pasta, a classic Italian dish with salted-cured fish roe sacs. Yang realized it's similar to two Korean dishes, a side dish of sauteed"
Sono opens in the East Village on May 16 at 176 First Avenue. The restaurant is shaped by Chef Sechul Yang’s identity as a Korean with Italian influence, reflecting a 70 percent Korean and 30 percent Italian background. The menu pairs Italian dishes with Korean ingredients and techniques, drawing on shared elements between the two cuisines such as family-style sharing, vegetables like potatoes, and handmade noodles. The approach avoids forcing mismatched flavors and instead focuses on ideas that can coexist while tasting good yet remain distinct. The bottarga pasta example connects salted-cured fish roe from Italy with Korean dishes that use similar flavors and preparations.
Read at Eater NY
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