The house ssäm (Korean for “wrap”), the jumping-off point of this venture, just might be the finest burrito in New York. Chang stuffs rice, Berkshire pork, onions, shiitakes, edamame and kimchi puree into a flour pancake and binds it in aluminum foil. At $10, the brick-size monster is a meal, and a steal.

Although the chef built his reputation on swine, he also shows remarkable versatility with non-meat dishes. Several of them—crisp little Brussels sprouts doused in fish sauce with shredded mint and garlic, a tangle of baby squid tossed with crunchy chickpea-flour pellets, custardy sweet uni coupled with whipped tofu and chewy tapioca pellets—threatened to outshine Chang’s beloved pork.

But once Ssäm veers from its original mission—smart, punchy not-so-small plates—the results become mixed. Chang flirts with watch-your-wallet territory, a misstep that may alienate some of his boho clientele, and raised my eyebrows. A $29 shellfish clay pot had great ingredients—firm prawns, Bouchot mussels, Manila clams, chunks of lobster meat and scallops—but aside from a mild chili finish, it reminded me of the cioppino you might get at a decent Italian restaurant.

Other dishes felt less whimsical than forced: An apple salad in which smoky bacon and fragrant lychee clashed hopelessly; pan-roasted skate in brown butter overwhelmed by preserved lemon. Some plates just seemed ridiculous: $115 for a 32-ounce pan-roasted rib eye; $180 for a shareable hog butt (albeit feeding six to eight), served with a dozen oysters. And the dissonance of a $100 bottle of boutique champagne next to the $1.50 Dr. Pepper was borderline obnoxious (but if you don’t mind dropping $9 on beer, order the delicious strawberry-hued Hitachino red ale). Even a plate of mochi ice cream pods, the sole dessert, costs $10.

The first Momofuku was a revelation in part because of its concentration on one area (noodles). Auxiliary elements do help Momofuku Ssäm hang on to its hard-earned cred; the staff, hustling to the restaurant’s noisy rock soundtrack, brims with attitude. But that’s not enough to bring Ssäm Bar into focus. David Chang’s latest feels like two restaurants fused into one—a Korean Chipotle, and a self-aware joint that serves designer ham and $180 platters. Chang’s talent, which is abundant and raw, isn’t in question here. It’s the concept that needs help.