Midtown spot wins brunch fans with unagi omurice, lemon ricotta pancakes

Brunch classics meet Korean and Japanese flavors at Sunny Side Breakfast, offering maple syrup with gochujang, hollandaise with yuzu and most importantly, rice.

“We love rice, we don’t care if it’s for breakfast or dinner,” Angela Kanjanasiri, co-owner of Sunny Side Breakfast said. “We eat rice all the time, so that’s why it’s on our breakfast menu.”

The family-run, breakfast and Asian fusion restaurant soft opened last October, replacing Devine Gelateria & Cafe at 1221 19th St. in midtown.

Kanjanasiri, who has lived in Sacramento for eight years, opened the business with her family after years of working in restaurants. Though her family is Thai, the menu at Sunny Side reflects an appreciation for Korean and Japanese cuisine.

Her brother, Sakrapee Meeisara, who previously worked at a Korean restaurant, helped develop much of the menu. He is responsible for the restaurant’s most popular dish, the Unagi Tornado Omurice ($24).

A thick slab of grilled eel dripping with sauce sits over a large mound of ginger fried rice enveloped in a soft “tornado” omelet, referring to a technique where the scrambled egg is twisted in the pan using chopsticks. The dish is finished with tobiko and unagi sauce, made from soy sauce, mirin, sugar and sake. As someone who enjoys a little extra unagi sauce on my rice bowls at home, I appreciated the pooling overflow of sauce in this dish.

While the unagi omurice continues to be the most ordered item on the menu, Kanjanasiri’s favorite is the Hilo Moco ($23) for its medley of vegetables and mushrooms, smothered in brown gravy. The crunchy cabbage and carrot offer a nice contrast in texture to the soft Wagyu beef patty and rice. Though Sunny Side’s addition of vegetables and cheddar cheese sets itself apart from a traditional loco moco, it’s named after Hilo, Hawaii, where the dish originates from.

Additional breakfast offerings include the Sunrise Poutine ($13), an indulgent appetizer of tater tots, smoked bacon, gravy and Parmesan cheese. Though the poutine leaned slightly salty, it came steaming hot topped with a lacy, golden fried egg with a perfectly jammy yolk.

If you’re hankering for something sweeter, the Lemon Ricotta Pancake ($15) is fluffy on the inside and crispy on the bottom, which I believe is how all pancakes should be made, and with a gentle citrus note that doesn’t overwhelm.

To drink, customers can choose from brunch cocktails, soju, wine, beer, hard kombucha or bottomless mimosas ($23). Flavors include orange, peach, grapefruit, passion fruit and raspberry lemonade. Nonalcoholic options include a variety of coffee, tea, sodas and juices. I tried the coconut latte ($7) which came warm and sweet with crispy coconut shavings on top.

Sunny Side’s industrial interior of exposed brick and cement flooring actually had a cozy feel thanks to the natural sunlight streaming through the large front windows. At 1:30 p.m. on a weekday, the noise level was moderate, but you might have a louder experience during peak hours, with a full house and pop music playing overhead.

“There’s a lot of diversity and people in midtown. There’s so much attention there,” Kanjanasiri said.

It took the family nearly two years to open the restaurant, and since launching, the community response has exceeded their expectations.

“It’s been exciting to see people come in and try something new,” she said. “We did not expect people to show up this much, we’re very busy on the weekends.” On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, customers can expect wait times ranging from 30 minutes to over an hour.

Sunny Side Breakfast is open 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.