For as long as I can remember, I've been team udon over ramen. And in my opinion, this place puts…read morethat debate to rest. The classics like Niki Udon, Kitsune Udon, and Curry Udon are incredible staples that stand the test of time and simply hold their own. But if there's any restaurant to enjoy the classics and dip into a little fusion cuisine, THIS is a place you should add to your bucket list. Their creamy mushroom udon is phenomenal. Mushrooms are delicately seasoned and cooked correctly, the texture of the noodles have a perfect bounce/chew to them, and that cream sauce? Addicting. This place has this distinct homey comfort type of vibe to it. The restaurant's decorations aren't too over the top. Most importantly, it's such a clean establishment. In my experience, the servers here are a bit soft-spoken. But they're polite and very knowledgeable about the menu. I look forward to trying more dishes off the menu!

One star off for horrible parking and no designated validated structure…read more Otherwise the food is delicious though can be pricey compared to other soup cuisine like Thai or Vietnamese. My sea urchin udon has an adequate amount of sea urchin. The duck udon has a few slices of duck unlike dishes like Bun Mang Vit or Mi Vit Tiem where there is a whole thigh and other meat portions. At least the meat here is deboned so non-Asians can eat Service is fast and food comes out immediately. I was in and out within 40 minute. I will come back eventually for something else but not in a while.

I can't believe I haven't tried Hangari Kalguksu until now, but I'm glad I finally did! The star of…read morethe show is their Kalguksu (Korean Knife Cut Noodle Soup), but the Bossam was also a highlight. They're located in a very busy area of Koreatown, so street parking is very difficult to find. If you aren't finding any spot after circling around endlessly, just do valet parking, which was cheap and easy. The Spicy Seafood and Chicken Kalguksu were so good and comforting! Both soups were tasty and I was very satisfied with all the ingredients included in the Kalguksu. As a noodle lover, the noodles also hit the spot definitely hit the spot. The Spicy Seafood Kalguksu also wasn't terribly spicy, so I would definitely recommend it if you can indulge in some spice. We also ordered the Medium Bossam and that really completed the meal. The pork belly was very tender and delicious and is so good wrapped with the napa cabbage, radish kimchi, and garlic. There is also some dipping sauces for it. I definitely recommend also ordering the Bossam! Overall, I enjoyed everything we had here! The portions were perfect for our party of four and we were fully satisfied after our meal.

Hangari Kalguksu was #1 on my list to eat at while I visited Koreatown…read more It's a shame that they don't have many options besides the sujebi for solo diners. I love noodles, so I knew I wanted to get their kalguksu or sujebi which is basically hand-torn kalguksu in ripped piece form. Everything is HUGE portions, and plus the banchan (four offerings), it's a LOT for one person to eat. I was SO full I felt so wasteful unable to finish anything. I love that the sujebi came with kabocha, potato, and some green veg. You literally don't have to order anything else besides the dish. The kalguksu looks like it's shared and recommended with 2+ parties. This place was filled with families, duos, and larger groups, so I think it must be more of a place to share. I came for a later lunch on a Friday, and just like the yelp revs said it was full and busy but not completely packed. I didn't have to wait for a single small table for one. The service is fast and the staff are so friendly and attentive. I'm glad I finally dined here, but would def only come back with a larger group.

I love yuzu shoyu ramen. It's hard to find a place that serves yuzu flavored ramen, so I was…read moreexcited to see that Afuri is known for it. I had it in Japan before and it was delicious! They offer Yuzu Shio (salt broth) and Yuzu Shoyu (soy sauce broth) Ramen. I went with Yuzu Shio ($19.50). The yuzu gives it a refreshing/bright taste that really cuts through the fatty broth and pork. Yuzu Limeade ($7) and although I liked the drink because it had a strong yuzu and lime taste, I wouldn't recommend getting it with a yuzu flavored ramen because it takes away the yuzu flavor in the ramen. Service was friendly and attentive. The space is open and bright. We paid for parking just to the side of the restaurant so that we didn't have to deal with street parking.

This is from an older visit. Have tried Afuri in Japan and it's pretty good there so wanted to try…read morehere as well. 1. Yuzu ship ramen: nice light flavor. Like the chasu but wish there were more pieces. Menma kinda bland though. The noodles could be more Q. 2. Kakuni Buta man: is okay 3. Spicy crispy pork gyoza: good crisp 4. Kaarage: interesting sauce 5. Yuzu limeade: no need to get it again. Glad to here there is another location closer to me. would come back again.

They're known for their knife-cut noodles, but every item on the menu is authentic and delicious…read more The real star of the show, though, is the kimchi. It has an intensely bold garlic flavor, easily the strongest garlic-forward kimchi I've ever had. As soon as you sit down, they bring out a generous dish to the table. Throughout your meal, servers come around with trays piled high with more and ask if you'd like a refill. The answer should always be yes. Honestly, it almost doesn't matter what you order, just pick something and enjoy the endless kimchi. You can't take any to go, so savor it while you're there. Pace the rest of your meal and take your time, making each bite of kimchi last.

Standard lunch spot for Korean soups & dumplings…read more Loud, crowded, busy. The hyped cold arrowroot soup was just ok and did not live up to the reviews. Famous for its garlic kimchi ~ the most garlic ever tasted in kimchi, almost too much whileeating over powering the soups. Regretful eating so much of it with garlic burps all day long! LOL Dumpling hot & fresh to taste. Overall decent spot for lunch but a couple $$ too much for what you get. Parking garage validation across the street was a headache. Instructions do download the garage app in the restaurant was in Korean so needed a translation. When trying to exit the gate, the app would not detect the rental and we had call the support number and wait for a live person to assist over the phone :/

Tasty ramen and tsukemen! I was in the area looking for something hearty and this hit just the…read morespot. We ordered a tonkatsu ramen and a tsukemen which had a choice of cold or hot noodles We did a hot noodle and both dishes were tasty! The tonkatau wasn't overly heavy but just enough to not be bland either which was perfect for my taste Interior was clean and service was awesome. We came on a Sunday early afternoon so we didn't have to wait. Parking is unfortunately just street parking but there's also a lot nearby if you're willing to pay. This place was also dog friendly and my small Maltese was allowed to sit with us even though there was no outdoor dining

PREMISE: I went to this location on a Wednesday evening at approximately 5PM for a party of two…read more WAIT TIME: We got seated right away! There was not anyone at the restaurant at the time, but people did start trickling in as more time elapsed. We got our food relatively quickly as well. FOOD: I ordered the spicy pork tsukemen ($23.45), which is their dipping noodle. The noodles are thicker than standard ramen, but in a good way! It comes with thick chashu (thick, fatty pork) slices and soft boiled eggs. If you haven't had tsukemen before, you essentially dip your noodles into the broth and then eat it that way. The broth is extremely flavorful and there are also pieces of chashu in it as well. The only critique that I have regarding this is the broth was lukewarm which made the dish taste slightly off. I've tried this dish at another branch and the broth was also lukewarm there, so I'm not sure if this is a location issue or a standard amongst all branches. Also, this dish does not really have any vegetables in this, but I also don't know if traditional tsukemen has veggies included. SERVICE: Service was quick and everyone was nice and doing their job. Didn't seem like the staff was slacking or messing around while there weren't many customers. They were very attentive to us, refilling our water immediately once they saw it was getting low, and being very attentive towards if we had any other concerns or if we needed anything else. PARKING: There technically is street parking but since it's in Little Tokyo, it's going to be very difficult to find it. There's $4-6 valet parking available nearby the location. There are a lot of people walking around though so just be safe. INTERIOR: It's not too big of a place but it's also not too small as well. It looks very well kept and clean. BATHROOM: Two gender neutral bathroom stalls that are both very clean and accessible. No issues here with them. TLDR: Overall, I thought the place was pretty good to eat at! I would definitely come back for the tsukemen (as long as the broth is warmed up until it's hot). A very good dish combined with great music (they have some great Japanese music variety) is definitely a spot worth coming to with friends !! :))

I'm really torn because the food was really good, but the service was seriously lacking. There were…read moresix of us, and all of us felt how rude they were. We ended up being sat next to the grill, I have a shellfish allergy so we asked to sit in their outdoor seating area (which had plenty of tables open) instead just so my allergies don't get triggered by all the vapors. As we walked to our outdoor table, my husband and friend heard three workers talking crap about me and complaining that I shouldn't even be eating there because everything had shellfish. Let's be honest it's not that hard to accommodate, plus we're giving you our business so what's the problem? Rude all the way through table service, then when we were all finished, we had barely just paid and we were finishing our drinks when the same three workers rushed into our table to clear everything out and pushed us out of our table. We're all a pretty chill group of people but every single one of us left saying what the actual f*ck was their problem?

My buddies and I were craving ramen and came across this spot after seeing all the great reviews…read more We decided to give it a try, and it definitely lived up to the hype. The place was packed and had a lively atmosphere. There was a lot of energy, but it was still comfortable enough to have a conversation and enjoy the meal. I ordered the ramen along with the fried rice, and both were excellent. The ramen was rich, flavorful, and easily one of the best bowls I've had in the LA area. The fried rice was also a standout and paired perfectly with the meal. Service was great from start to finish. The staff was attentive, friendly, and kept everything moving despite how busy it was. Overall, it was a fantastic experience. I'll definitely be back to try more of the menu. If you're in LA and in the mood for ramen, this is a spot you should absolutely check out.

Had a long layover in LA after my flight to San Francisco got canceled, so instead of sitting at…read morethe airport for 6+ hours, I decided to finally check out Pine & Crane in DTLA. It's been sitting on my saved list for a while, and honestly, this turned out to be the perfect opportunity. The space itself is bright, clean, and welcoming with warm woody tones throughout. Casual setup where you order at the counter and they bring the food out to you. I had already looked through the menu beforehand, so the real challenge was narrowing down what to order for one person. I failed at that... and I'm very happy I did. Started with the Pig Ear Salad 滷豬耳朵. Braised thin sliced pig ears dressed with soy sauce, chili oil, sesame oil, scallion, and cilantro. OMG. So good. Tender, flavorful, perfectly braised, with that satisfying chewy texture done right. Also got the Fried Peanut Salad 五味花生 with garlic, cilantro, scallions, vinegar, and Thai chili. Super crunchy, bright, refreshing, and honestly addicting. I added a cup of the Hot & Sour Soup 酸辣湯 too. Organic tofu, beech mushroom, carrot, bamboo, woodear mushroom, and egg. Super comforting with a really balanced tang and peppery heat. Not overly thick or heavy like a lot of Americanized versions can be. Exactly the kind of soup you want during a long travel day. For noodles, I ordered the Dan Dan Noodles 擔擔麵. Sesame-peanut sauce, cucumber, cilantro, crushed peanuts. Delicious on its own already, but I ended up adding some of the fried peanuts from the salad into the noodles and it became even better. Then the Three Cup Chicken 三杯雞 with sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine, and Thai basil. I do wish it had a little more wok hei, but overall the flavor was still really comforting and savory. Extremely good with rice. Had a glass of Gewürztraminer alongside everything, which paired surprisingly well with the spice and aromatics. Their wine list leans more organic / natural wine focused, which felt very LA in a good way. Ended up sitting at a high top next to one of the managers and had a great conversation throughout the meal. She ended up hooking me up with the Traditional Shaved Ice 傳統刨冰 with grass jelly, red bean, boba, sweet potato balls, taro balls, brown sugar syrup, and condensed milk. I was already planning to order it anyway, and wow... I finished the entire thing. The brown sugar syrup was incredibly fragrant. Packed the leftovers to-go, and that ended up becoming my dinner after landing in San Francisco later that evening. Flight cancellation somehow turned into a really great food day.

Came here today and enjoyed it. We ordered the mapo tofu, Chinese broccoli, popcorn chicken, and…read moredan dan noodles. The food was good overall, although I've had better Taiwanese food elsewhere. The modern design, trees, lighting fixtures, and casual environment made it a great place to sit and enjoy a meal. The cashier and our server were both very friendly and welcoming. I'd come back for the ambiance and service alone if I'm in the area.

Cool little spot on UCLA Campus ! The service is pretty quiet, but the food and flavor is LOUDDD !!…read moreThis is some of the best chinese food I have had in LA period and they also serve thai tea which I thought was AWESOME ! Super clean and futuristic in here.

My mom and I had lunch special shrimp noodle soup and kung pao chicken. The shrimp noodle soup was…read moresuper bland, basically water. Kung pao chicken was made of chicken breast pieces sauteed with cucumber and peanuts. Weird taste and texture. The dining area seemed dirty and had no AC. Maybe the pork dishes taste better but I didn't really enjoy what I ordered.

Yummy. It is a Japanese Italian fusion place but the style of pasta dishes lean more Japanese…read more The ambiance of the place is also dark and a bit quaint, reminding me of some Japanese taverns. The pastas are spaghetti based and it comes with a side of salad and bread! I personally recommend the mentai pasta as it is flavorful and well balanced.

Loved it. Haven't been here in a while and it was just as good as always. Came in for dinner with…read morefriends. Simple interior with a decent amount of seating. Good for a couple or small group. The pastas are amazing! The uni and mentai cream are delicious. They have the perfect ratio of pasta and creamy sauce. Pour a little of the chili oil on them to spice them up. If you're looking for something a little more familiar then the Bolognese is a great choice. Service was good. Friendly staff. There's a pay lot in front. But you could also find street meter parking within a block or two.

Good food, good service, good ambiance. Very busy area, so if you want to hang, probably not a good…read moreidea, people always waiting for a table

Very unique and fun food with classic Japanese taste! The warm plates on the tables are fun…read more Service was attentive and fast.