Where to: Sanbada, an Allston restaurant specializing in Korean set meals of spicy pork, bulgogi, and fish cooked in a brick oven, with unlimited banchan and other side dishes.
Why: Unlimited banchan is reason enough. But also: delicious, homey food — and lots of it — at a reasonable price (no set costs more than $30), in a modern, white-and-pale-wood space that feels like it could be in Korea.
The backstory: Sanbada is run by the group behind new next-door Korean barbecue spot Jinjee, as well as a Sanbada-by-night concept called Bombbada. They share the space that was formerly Tavern in the Square. The restaurant translates its name as “mountains to sea,” a reference to the ingredients you’ll find on the menu and at the banchan bar.
What to eat: First, order your set: Try whole, bone-in mackerel, rich-tasting and satisfying to pick off the frame with metal chopsticks, or tender, thin-sliced, spicy pork stir-fried with onions and cabbage. Soon a staffer will wheel over a cart with plates of banchan — kimchi, jellyfish salad, crisp pickled chayote, sweet pumpkin salad, spicy radish, and shredded, soy-braised pork — as well as nourishing seaweed soup, japchae (glass noodles), rice, and tofu stewed in soy bean paste. When you want more, head to the banchan bar to help yourself. There are other options here, too, such as pickled celtuce and eggplant cooked until it’s almost candied. Don’t forget to take a free ice cream bar from the freezer before you go: The melon one is best.
What to drink: Sanbada offers soda, soju, and beer, but on a hot day we were happy with the big glass pitcher brought to every table filled with iced boricha, Korean barley tea.
The takeaway: Sanbada isn’t just a good deal. The food is really satisfying and delicious. The place fills up fast, so come early if you don’t want to stand in line. If you do have to wait, Sanbada will make it up to you with one free item for your table: a beer for a 30- to 60-minute wait, an appetizer for a 60- to 90-minute wait, and a set menu for the party that sticks around longer than that.
165 Brighton Ave., Allston, Instagram @sanbada.allston. Set menus $22-$26 at lunch, $26-$30 at dinner; children’s sets $12.
Devra First can be reached at devra.first@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram @devra_first.