Asian fusion brunch restaurant from former Sweet Maple chef debuts

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Mango pancakes at Whisper, a new Asian fusion brunch restaurant in downtown San Mateo ($19). Photo by Adrienne Mitchel.

Nick Yoon is no stranger to Asian fusion brunch. For a decade he was the executive chef of Sweet Maple, crafting sweet and savory Millionaire’s Bacon and chewy matcha mochi waffles. Now, the Korean-born chef is debuting his own Asian fusion brunch spot in San Mateo.

Whisper, which soft opened Jan. 22, features classic American dishes with Asian spins, such as eggs Benedict with galbi-style ground beef on a croissant base and cioppino with gochujang, gochugaru and roasted bone marrow. Located in the former space of Wursthall, the restaurant seats about 140 and features an open kitchen, seven-seat bar and ample natural lighting.

Yoon was formerly the head chef at luxury hospitality brands such as W Hotel, JW Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton before serving as executive chef for serial restaurateur Steven Choi’s various projects, including Kitchen Sunnyside, Berkeley Social Club and Surisan. In 2013, he opened Izakaya Kou in San Francisco with Jeremy Wang (it closed in 2021), continuing the partnership with the opening of Ushiya in Milpitas last year. Whisper is the pair’s newest endeavour.

Whisper, located in the former space of Wursthall in downtown San Mateo, seats about 140. Courtesy Whisper.
The bar at Whisper in San Mateo. Beverage menus are still being finalized. Courtesy Whisper.

The menu offers appetizers such as oyster mushrooms baked in a cheesy truffle cream served with toasted Dutch ciabatta, and scallop ceviche with sweet mango and crispy puffed rice paper ($8-$17). Five eggs Benedict options are available, utilizing croissants instead of English muffins and featuring a variety of flavored Hollandiase sauces ($21-$24), as well as a selection of omelets ($19-$23) and sandwiches ($18-$20).

Burgers options include a wagyu burger set on top of bubbling cheese sauce in a cast-iron skillet and layered with bacon jam ($18-$26). Also find Korean-inspired mains such as dakjuk (Korean congee), kimchi fried rice, seafood bibimbap and seafood jjambbong pasta ($20-$39).

The interior of Wunderbar, the cocktail bar in the basement below Whisper. Courtesy Wunderbar.

Wunderbar, a speakeasy in the building’s basement since 2021, reopened in December with a new menu after temporarily closing in September due to Wursthall’s closure. Instead of riffs on classic cocktails such as a Manhattan, martini, French 75 or Sidewinder’s Fang (a tropical tiki cocktail), the new menu offers spins on the negroni, penicillin, lemon drop and painkiller ($17). It also offers a more extensive selection of nonalcoholic cocktails designed for zero-proof spirits ($16-$17).

“It’s basically a new lease on life for us, because we thought we were gonna be completely out of the building,” said Xian Choi, general manager of Wunderbar. “It’s essentially the same team, new menu, same service.”

Cast-iron stone axe with finger meat, mushroom, rice, sunny-side-up egg and crispy potato medley ($36) at Whisper. Courtesy Whisper.
Seafood jjambbong pasta with shrimp, squid, black mussels, scallop, spinach, onion, mushroom, green onion and Grana Padano at Whisper ($29). Courtesy Whisper.

Whisper is still finalizing its coffee and alcohol programs during its soft opening phase and will eventually add outdoor seating. During soft opening, Whisper is offering 10% off Monday through Friday.

Yoon hopes to expand Whisper’s hours to include dinner service in about two months. While the dinner menu is still under development, he said it will also be Asian fusion. If Whisper performs well, he’d like to expand the concept to other cities, he said.

Whisper, 310 Baldwin Ave., San Mateo; 650-727-3799, Instagram: @whisper.sanmateo. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Wunderbar, 310 Baldwin Ave., San Mateo; Instagram: @wunderbarsm. Open Wednesday and Thursday from 4:30 to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4:30 to 11:30 p.m.

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