from “le détroit” · the strait
Chicago restaurateur Billy Dec opened Sunda New Asian on Columbia Street on March 10, his pan-Asian brand's fifth location and a new anchor for the District Detroit's pedestrian block.
Sunda New Asian opened March 10 at 33 W. Columbia Street, bringing a 200-plus-seat pan-Asian restaurant to the pedestrian block that runs between the Fox Theatre and Little Caesars headquarters, across Woodward from Comerica Park.
The Detroit room is the fifth Sunda for founder Billy Dec, the Chicago restaurateur whose company opened the original Sunda in 2009. The brand now runs two Chicago locations plus Nashville, Tampa and Detroit. Dec tied the expansion to demand he says he has watched build for years.
"For years, we've felt so much love from Michigan guests at our Chicago locations that we are excited to serve them in their own hometown," Dec said in the company's opening announcement.
The space runs about 6,000 square feet and seats more than 200 indoors, with a 1,400-square-foot patio that opens for warmer months, according to Sunda's announcement and details published by dBusiness. Chicago design firm Studio K handled the interior, with McIntosh Poris Associates and Sachse Construction on execution. Oversized capiz shell lighting hangs above the sushi bar, and cherry blossom installations sit over the island bar.
Culinary director Mike Morales and head sushi chef Ise Matsunobu lead the kitchen. The menu spans sushi, dim sum, steamed buns and larger plates, with signatures the company lists including spicy tuna crispy rice, steamed buns, and an ube-driven dessert the brand calls the Sunda sundae. The bar pours cocktails such as the lychee simoy alongside a non-alcoholic option named the Emerald.
The opening lands inside the District Detroit, the entertainment zone built around Little Caesars Arena, Comerica Park, Ford Field and the Fox. Olympia Development of Michigan, the Ilitch company developing the district, framed Sunda as a fit for a dining scene it says has grown quickly.
"The restaurant scene in Detroit has experienced exponential growth over the last few years," said Keith Bradford, president of Olympia Development of Michigan and the District Detroit, in the developer's announcement. "Having visited Sunda in other markets, we are confident this will be a culinary experience Detroiters will embrace."
Sunda New Asian is at 33 W. Columbia St. and serves dinner nightly.
One dispatch a week. No tracking, no filler. Free, always.