a local landmark where the steaming bowl lands before you have finished sitting down
Must-try: Sullungtang oxbone soup, Brisket, Kkakdugi
📍 4163 W 5th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020
a dark basement bar you have seen in a dozen films without knowing it
Must-try: Korean fried chicken, Drinking food, Red leather booths
📍 3198 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90005
a spot where marinated raw crab over rice turns into a very good crab handroll
Must-try: Marinated raw crab combo, Sullungtang, Nori for wrapping
📍 1147 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006
a probiotic paradise where calming music accompanies endless layers of banchan
Must-try: Barley rice set, Creamy pumpkin soup, Acorn jelly
📍 3464 W 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90005
a big dining room where a very mixed crowd works through noodle soup combinations
Must-try: Spicy cold noodles, Kalguksu with chicken, Pork dumplings
📍 3630 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010
LA Times Restaurant of the Year — a six-course Korean fermentation tasting menu in the Arts District that's the most exciting meal in the city
Must-try: Hokkaido scallop with seaweed jelly, Soy-braised wild black cod, Brandt beef short rib
📍 905 E 2nd St, Suite 109, Los Angeles, CA 90012
an all-wood tavern and one of the best late-night rooms in the city
Must-try: Skewers, Scallion pancakes, Spicy chicken wings
📍 3317 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020
a quiet spot on the outskirts where the flavors are intense enough to need a break
Must-try: Dak galbi, Nori-topped crispy rice, Stir-fried rice noodles
📍 1008 S St Andrews Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90019
Koreatown's legendary bossam destination where pork-belly wrapped in cabbage with pickled radish is a pure, obsessive pleasure
Must-try: Bossam (boiled pork belly), Kimchi pancake, Doenjang jjigae
📍 698 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005
Korean in Koreatown — 4.7 on Resy across 1,335 diner reviews
Must-try: Beef brisket hot pot, Prime ribeye
📍 3465 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020
Silver Lake's Korean-Californian natural wine bar — the Hoover St. gem worth hunting
Must-try: Gochujang caramelized pork, Scallion pancake, Pét-nat wine selection
📍 654 N Hoover St, Los Angeles, CA 90004
Premium KBBQ with wagyu galbi and an encyclopedic banchan spread on Wilshire
Must-try: Prime Wagyu Galbi, Chadol (thin brisket), Banchan spread
📍 5115 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Korean in Koreatown — 4.6 on Resy across 1,150 diner reviews
Must-try: Spicy japchae, Uni bibimbap, Scallop pancake
📍 3465 West 6th Street, Suite 90-100, Los Angeles, CA 90020
Elevated Korean small plates and natural wine — K-Town's coolest dinner spot
Must-try: Jeon (savory pancake), Octopus, Seasonal banchan
📍 3905 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020
a strip-mall Korean restaurant whose handmade naengmyeon is the reason to go
Must-try: Chilled buckwheat naengmyeon, Mandu, Marinated beef ribs
📍 698 S Vermont Ave #106, Los Angeles, CA 90005
Homestyle Korean in K-Town — the soondubu jjigae that locals swear by
Must-try: Soondubu Jjigae, Doenjang Jjigae, Banchan spread
📍 4001 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019
Korean in Little Tokyo — 4.5 across 2,350 diner reviews
Must-try: Duck liver mousse with white peach jelly, Tuna kimbap
📍 111 S San Pedro St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
a traditional Korean room built on a clear pork-broth soup
Must-try: Pork bone broth gukbap, Char-grilled spicy pork ribs, Kimchi
📍 4253 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90020
The Koreatown KBBQ benchmark — thick-cut pork jowl, marinated short rib, and the egg soufflé moat around the grill
Must-try: Thick-cut pork jowl, Marinated short rib, Kimchi and corn cheese cooked on the grill edge
📍 3429 W 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90005
24/7 K-Town galbi jjim and army stew — the late-night Korean essential
Must-try: Galbi Jjim, Army Stew, Spicy Beef Soup
📍 3470 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020
a big, rowdy room where the domed grills sizzle under enormous piles of meat
Must-try: Pork belly, Pork cheek, Gyu combo with beef short rib
📍 3400 W 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90005
a family-run strip-mall spot serving Koreatown's finest soondae
Must-try: Korean blood sausage, Poached heart and liver, Rich beefy soup
📍 2703 W 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90005
an in-house tofu producer whose nutty black soybean upgrade is the move
Must-try: Soondubu, Black soybean tofu, Barbecue short rib combo
📍 2833 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006
Korean in Torrance — 4.3 across 793 diner reviews
Must-try: Gamjatang, Galbi with butter-loaded mashed potatoes
📍 21209 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503