I was visiting and came here with friends. We went on a Friday evening at about 7ish. There was a…read moreline. There's a process to coming here. The hostess controlled the line so we wouldn't be blocking the entrance to the other restaurants. As you get closer to the front, you'll get a menu. The hostess will take your order. Once you place the order, you are NOT allowed to make any changes and cannot add on. Once it's your turn to go sit down, the hostess will confirm your order, the seat you. Your food comes out pretty fast I ordered the Bulgogi rice dish with a salad on the side. It was SO good! My friends split a seafood dish. Everything was delicious. It was a lot. I ended up having leftovers for lunch the next day. They have a good system in place in getting getting ppl in and out of there. The service was great and the atmosphere was lively. I would definitely come back.

I've clearly been sleeping on this place. Finally went with some friends visiting from out of town,…read moreand Hangari Kalguksu did not disappoint -- I see why it's a Ktown staple. The space itself is cute, trendy, and modern, but according to my Korean friends, the food stays true to tradition -- which is exactly what you want from a place like this. There was a line when we got there, but it moved quickly -- and they came around to take our order while we were still waiting, so food came out fast once we sat down. I've had bossam before and always got cold, sliced meat -- not my thing. Here, it comes out hot, and the pork jowl was incredible. I genuinely could not stop eating it, so tender with that perfect grilled edge. They also start you off with a little bowl of barley rice (bori bap) as part of the banchan -- first time trying it and it was such a nice, unexpected touch. We also shared the chicken sujebi and it was pure comfort in a bowl. The hand-torn noodles were perfectly chewy and the broth was seasoned just right -- not too salty, just deeply savory. Heads up on parking: it's tough. I got lucky with street parking but it's only 1-hour limit, so keep an eye on the clock. The lot is valet only and looked chaotic when we pulled up, so budget extra time (and maybe cash) if you go that route. Honestly one of my favorite meals I've had in Koreatown, and a great spot to bring visitors -- my friends loved it too. Already planning my next visit to work through the rest of the menu. Highly recommend, especially if you love Korean comfort food done right.

We tried this place based on the reviews. Plus, Korean food is usually a highlight for us…read more We walked in and it's literally a house and the front waiting room was really cute! Bathrooms were nice and clean. We got seated outside but it was humid so it was quite warm at 530 pm. I wish they had some portable fans or air conditioning to make the experience more comfortable. Regardless, we Uber'd here so we stayed. We ordered combo B - Grilled Galbi beef, crack corn, salad, blooming onion and Cass beer. The combo comes with Soju or beer! When I tell you that the beef was delicious, I mean it! Tender with great flavor! The crack corn is truly like crack! I couldn't get enough! The salad with sesame dressing was so refreshing with the food. The blooming onion was also very crispy! I'm glad we decided to stay and eat because the food was truly delicious! It was worth sitting outside with no air.

The place was pretty busy on a Friday night around 9:30pm, but we got seated right away for 4…read morepeople. We had: 1) fried chicken w/green onions - 4/5. Solid. 2) watermelon soju - 4/5. Came in a mini-watermelon with watermelon slices. Also good. 3) fried gizzards - 4/5. I've had better, but it was also good. Service was a little slow, but would return for the food.

Delayed review...so it is unfortunate it shows permanently closed :/…read more Sun Nong Dan was on my to-try list for awhile! Came by around 6PM on a Sunday. Surprisingly, no wait, though parking was getting filled up. Valet for $5, or street parking if able. Two of us ordered: #3, ox bone soup with assorted meats $20.99 #7, galbi tang $22.99 Their brown rice is actually purple rice. I personally ate most of the #3. I thought the flavors were nice and the amount of meat was more than expected, which was nice. Would definitely be back! I'm sure it could be rough in the area if you had to wait more than 20-30 minutes.

We came here after hitting a local dive bar in DTLA and I was pretty faded from drinking strong…read moredrinks at the bar. I was happy to see this is a 24 hours location and I wanted warm soup for comfort food to sober me up. The restaurant is in a small strip mall that offers valet service but we were able to find free street parking. I got the oxtail beef bone broth soup and it definitely hit the spot for comfort. I'm so sorry in my drunk state I ended up spilling my broth all over the table and floor. The staff were so sweet and understanding, I kept apologizing to them.

Danbi is one of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles, and we were very excited to try their Dine…read moreLA menu. Danbi is located in Los Angeles's Koreatown and specializes in modern Korean cuisine. For Dine LA, they offered a $45 tasting menu. We started with their signature honey butter chips. I used to not understand what all the hoopla was about these chips! But today, they were really good... and I think it's the honey butter sauce. The first time I ever had these chips, in 2024, there was no sauce on them. I just thought they were regular chips. And I probably never would have gotten them again if they weren't on a prix fixe menu. These chips were divine! Thinly sliced potatoes fried in house and topped with a decadent honey butter sauce and fresh chives. The sauce really made this appetizer. Thick and creamy, almost like condensed milk. And the touch of freshness from the chives really brought everything together. Although simple, I felt like this dish was very well crafted. Next, we had the corn cheese rolls - sweet corn and mozzarella cheese wrapped in an eggroll-like pastry and served with a sweet, tangy gochujang sauce on the side. These came piping hot and were so fun to eat. The cheese was so stretchy and the sauce really elevated this dish, cutting through that rich cheese and adding a savory, almost smoky element. Then our drinks arrived. I got the hwachae milk punch with milk clarified soju, strawberry, lychee, and lime. This drink was sweet and fruity and tasted just like one of those lychee jellies you would buy at the Asian grocery store. My friends had the kimchi mule, house white kimchi infused soju with ginger and pear - essentially a Moscow mule with fermented notes and a savory umami from the kimchi. Nice and refreshing. Then we had a watermelon kimchi salad. This wasn't my favorite. Compared to everything else we had tonight, this was a bit boring. It was light and refreshing, but I wanted more fermented flavor. But it was still good, and the Hami melon was nice and crisp. You can never really go wrong with watermelon. Then we had the spicy sashimi noodles with sea bream, soba, dropwort, and perilla. This dish was interesting, summery, and cool. Cold soba with a spicy kick. Flavor wise, the ssamjang and perilla stood out to me. And the soba and sashimi added some nice textural contrast. Our last savory course was their grilled pork jowl topped with their house chili crisp and served with a side of garlic rice along with some ssamjang and peppers. The pork jowl was, of course, delicious. The cut is naturally bouncy due to being jam packed with collagen. The grill imparted a nice, smoky charcoal flavor to the meat, which was also infused with that delicious chili oil. Their garlic rice is so good! It's packed with garlic flavor and perfectly fluffy. For dessert, we had a goguma parfait - sweet potato custard with a strawberry and blueberry compote. This dessert was.. interesting. The texture was smooth and creamy, but you could definitely tell that there was a sweet potato in there. I think this dessert could use a little more textural contrast. I definitely would have appreciated a cake layer in the parfait or a more prominent crunchy element rather than just the two pieces of tuile garnish on top. That being said, it was still good. Danbi is one of my favorite restaurants in LA if not my number one favorite. Their menu feels modern, interesting, and creative, innovating on traditional Korean classics while remaining authentic and delicious. I especially liked their Dine LA menu for this season as it felt very fun and summery. I can't wait to come back and see what else they have to offer!

The scallop pancakes were definitely the standout for me. Crispy on the outside with a nice texture…read morefrom the scallops, and really flavorful without being too heavy. The pork jowl was also really good. The slices were thin and tender, with a lot of flavor and a nice balance of fat without feeling overly rich. The uni bibimbap was probably my least favorite of the three. The uni itself was good, but I felt like the overall dish needed more seasoning and flavor to really stand out. It was a little underwhelming compared to the other dishes. Overall, the food was solid, but I'd especially recommend the scallop pancakes and pork jowl.

Respected reputation & long lasting & since the 80s. Kobawoo serves traditional Korean dishes that…read morestay true to the old country. Claim to fame ~ signature succulent pork Bossam, clean & tender. Banchan assortment simple yet fresh & tasty. A satisfying meal in Ktown.

Food 99point out of 100 Service 99 out of 100…read moreAmbiance 95 of 100 Must Go Place in Los Angeles Korea town We Love this Restaurant

I absolutely love coming here. The portions are huge, the food is fresh and delicious, and it…read morefeels like so much thought and care went into each dish. This is the kind of comfort food I grew up with so I always look forward to coming here. The servers are nice, parking in the back is easy, and set meal price is decent. I highly recommend Boris Gogae if you want traditional Korean food!

Borit Gogae is a comforting homestyle Korean place to go if you want a lot of banchan. I'm rounding…read moreup to 4 stars but it's 3.5 stars for me. Service is quite slow, as a true mom and pop place. It's quite popular and we happened to get there just before the rush as there was a large group waiting when we left. I'm not sure why it takes quite so long for the boribap jungsik cold dishes since most of it is premade and just needs plating. For a long time all we got was fried kelp crackers, kinda greasy fried shrimp cracker (?) and scorched rice water that was very tough to eat. The sweet pumpkin porridge was better, but I'm not a fan of sweet porridge. The rest of the set was better, fortunately, but most of it was on par with banchan that is complimentary at other restaurants but of course more variety. The savory pancake was very crispy and stayed that way. That was probably my favorite from the set, along with the perilla seed and chicken soup. The texture was quite thick like gravy but I love congee and it had a similar feel but nuttier taste. I would love a bowl of this if I were sick. Since there were 3 of us, we thought a protein would be good so we ordered the pork ribs. They were pretty good. It reminded me of hamji park, although I prefer hamji. It ended up being more food than we could eat so we took some of the ribs home. I'm glad we ordered the set for 2 and then shared a different dish. Overall I'm glad I tried it since I've been curious. The meal was good but I probably would try another option next time.

Great service and Very delicious! Loved it here. Will definitely come back!And will recommend to my…read morefriends n family!

tl;dr the delectable pork ribs overshadow the otherwise authentic but standard lineup at this…read morenow-shuttered Korean stalwart Los Angeles Koreatown is home to restaurants that specialize in every facet of Korean cuisine. If you're searching for some of the city's best pork, then those in the know will bring up Ham Ji Park. For 2 decades, generous platters of pork ribs and pork neck stew decked every table. Now, our Korean friends lament the loss of their favorite pork joint in the city. The Koreatown proper location is located in the Royal Plaza mini-mall, just a few blocks off bustling Wilshire. Discounted parking is available in a lot across the street from the Chevron gas station. From the street, the entrance is flanked by potted plants and an enclosed street-ery. Inside, stainless steel chairs are pressed up against wooden tables, each outfitted with a metal grill. Oppressive fluorescent lighting shines down on the stone grey walls, which are left undecorated apart from a few flatscreens. Multi-lingual chatter blends with the sizzle of platters. I visited with some friends for a weeknight dinner, and about half of the tables were occupied. We shared a spread of grilled platters and sizzling soups. The meal began with a carafe of barley tea and a mostly standard spread of banchan. Across our food, the best dish was the signature Charbroiled Pork Spare Rib. The ribs were flavorful without feeling gamey, and the meat was complemented by sweet caramelized onions. The pork ribs handily outdid the good-not-great Charbroiled Beef Short Rib. Lastly, the Milt and Cod Rose with Vegetables stew was fishy and briny, appropriately flavored for the Korean palate. The service was appropriately attentive, although I would've appreciated more intentional refills of our banchan ramikens. The rib plates cost upward of $35 each, while the soup was just under $30. The portions were hearty; a single entree platter could reasonably feed 2 moderately hungry bellies. It's a shame to hear that Ham Ji Park has closed; I'm kicking myself for not trying their pork neck stew earlier.

Popped in for dinner in 420 to have a beautiful dinner to end the holiday Monday…read more When the woman that works there says it's a lot of food, believe that woman. Although, we were very happy to take some leftovers. Spicy (not spinach) Tofu and pork stew was amazing and I highly recommend sharing the short rib stew with a friend. Fire homemade kimchi

food: we got the super thick bean paste soup and seafood pancake! the soup was a bit too salty…read morehowever the flavor was very strong and savory. the pancake however had too little seafood and more vegetables instead. the pancake was too oily, but it had a nice crisp to it service: the services was really fast for a friday night and the server was really kind ambiance: warm lighting + very clean, minimalistic! it's not loud or chaotic so you can actually hold a conversations with friends or family

Hello. Why is LA Korean food so good?!…read moreAnd you can't miss this one. When you step in, it's all Korean. You know you are at the right place! And the second we saw the menu, we knew they are good: they specialize small amount of dishes and everything will be good. And it is exactly what happened! Everything is perfect. We love cold noodle and Kimchi stew ! They also have seasonal crab specials! Anyway, LA Korean food is amazing. Love love love.

my $20 lunch special turned into like 4 meals. GREAT value…read more i was craving korean home-style cooking and found this place. it's got affordable lunch specials under $20. i was really surprised at just how much food i received for just $20... giant plate of sizzinging. perfectly seasoned pork ribs & onions with a really nice char. a big cup of rice, a really great banchan spread with lots of variety, and a massive bowl of broth with such a great mild flavor to balance the spicy banchan and rich pork. it was phenomenal, cured my tummy ache, and immediately took me back to my trip to korea many years ago. i inhaled everything but there was so much food i ended up with a big takeout bag. i kid you not this one $20 meal has turned into like 4 meals for me. pork turned into lettuce wraps, rice fried and mixed with eggs , broth used to elevate a cheap ramen. i WILL be back. i wish i could have bought some of the banchan as an extra charge or something so i could take it home with me because im STILL dreaming of it. the inside has good a/c and a cute homely atmosphere. and the staff was incredibly kind and helped me choose what to eat and helped me pack up the broth once i was done eating. you can see the giant goblet of boiling broth in the kitchen as you eat. easy parking behind the restaurant and in the street.

food was worth the wait !! we didn't have a reservation and…read morewas expecting a 3 hour wait.. but our girl Lia at the front desk got us in earlier than expected she was professional and very detailed oriented !!