This was my first trip stateside in 3 years, and my first time back in LA in 22 years. So to say I was a little excited about the food scene is an understatement. I started off with a list of 50+ spots I wanted to eat at, and I managed to whittle it down to my top 5 and then fill in my entire food itinerary from there. Here is everything I ate in LA in 5 days!
Day 1 – Holbox, Memorylook Coffee, TOKKI
My trip started off strong with a visit to Holbox. This spot has a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a 4.8 star rating on Google with thousands of reviews. My favourite dish here was the Kanpachi and Uni Tostada.
Before heading to our 5:30 pm reservation at TOKKI, we had a quick coffee break at Memorylook Coffee. I was enamored with their beautiful drink an dessert photos online, however, we went a little late in the day and all the desserts were sold out. Instead we tried two of their drinks – Einspanner Latte and Chrome Latte. They were aesthetic, but not $10 (each!) good.
I’ve heard rave reviews of TOKKI, but I have to say I left disappointed. The stand out dish of the night was the Dae-chang (Beef Intestine) over Rice. It features soy glazed marinated intestines, red onion with chili powder dressing , egg yolk and a side of wasabi. The intestines were sticky and crisp on the outside with the most unctuous fatty bite. Perhaps we ordered the wrong things, but I don’t think I’ll be back, or recommend this spot.
| Holbox Address: 3655 S Grand Ave #C9, Los Angeles, CA 90007 Website: http://www.holboxla.com/ | Memorylook Coffee Address: 2881 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006 Website: https://memorylook.com/ | TOKKI Address: 3465 W 6th St Suite 90-100, Los Angeles, CA 90020 Website: https://tokki-la.com/ |
Day 2 – The Rose Venice, Jae Bu Do
Unfortunately for us, we planned our vacation during American Thanksgiving so everything was closed on Thursday. Thankfully, we were still able to get some good eats. For a late lunch we went to The Rose Venice. It’s a very standard spot reminiscent of a Joeys or Cactus Club , but their Killer Bee Pizza was divine.
For dinner we went to Jae Bu Do and it was my first experience with Korean style charcoal seafood BBQ. This was one of my favourite meals in LA. We got the Combo A and it comes with a huge variety of seafood like manila clam, oyster, mussel, shrimp, scallops, and octopus.
To accompany it, there is also a spicy cold seafood bowl, corn cheese, steamed egg, noodle soup with seafood and more! Needless to say it was a lot of food and all of it was delicious. The best part is, at the beginning of your meal they put sweet potato and potato next to the charcoal so it’s cooking throughout your meal and at the end you get delicious potatoes for dessert. If you’re a seafood lover you need to check this spot out next time you’re in LA.
| The Rose Venice Address: 220 Rose Ave, Venice, CA 90291 Website: https://www.therosevenice.la/ | Jae Bu Do Address: 474 N Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90004 |
Day 3 (Day Eats) – Coin De Rue, Courage Bagels
We were still going strong on Day 3 and we started the day off at Coin De Rue. Although it came highly recommended, it was very average for me. We got a selection of buns and croquettes but they weren’t anything special. However, their signature item is cream filled buns which we didn’t get as we aren’t huge on cream, so maybe those are better!
Next up we had Courage Bagels. This spot is incredibly busy and we ended up queuing for an hour and a half to order and waiting for another half hour for our bagels. However, it was totally worth it.* We got half orders of: Run It Thru the Garden and Roe! Wild Alaskan Salmon Roe. Both were fantastic. The bagel was crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. They were also the perfect vehicle for the high quality ingredients on top.
Day 3 – Grand Central Market (Broad Street Oyster Co., Sticky Rice, and La Tostaderia)
After all that lining up, we were hungry again (just kidding we did some touristy things first!). We headed over to Grand Central Market. The number 1 spot I wanted to try here was Broad Street Oyster Co. They’re known for their famous lobster rolls and it did not disappoint.
After we whet our appetite with the best lobster roll I ever had, we headed over to La Tostaderia. We got their Mixta Tostada with octopus, scallops, shrimp, cilantro, tomato, red onions, peppers, radishes, habanero and lime juice. They are not joking with that habanero! This was such a flavorful and refreshing dish (soooo much seafood and lime!) but we were sweating from all that spicy heat. I was involuntarily crying because of how spicy it was.
To cool ourselves down, we went to Sticky Rice for some authentic Thai food. This spot is LA’s first destination for Thai Comfort food and they are serving it up with only organic, free range and locally sourced ingredients. We got the Gai Yang which features boneless chicken thighs marinated overnight in Thai herbs and spices. Grilled and served with sticky rice and a side of papaya salad. The rice definitely helped cool our tongues down!
* I would probably queue again for these but no more than 30 minutes. They were really, really, really good bagels though.
| Coin de Rue Bakery Address: 1110 S Western Ave Suite 101, Los Angeles, CA 90006 | Courage Bagels Address: 777 N Virgil Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029 Website: http://couragebagels.com/ | Grand Central Market Address: 317 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013 Website: http://www.grandcentralmarket.com/ |
Day 3 (Night Eats) – Kang Ho Dong Baekjong, SomiSomi
For dinner, we went to our first meat based Korean BBQ (and sadly only stop this trip). Where better to go than Kang Ho Dong Baekjong. This spot is quite famous and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to try it. Korean BBQ just tastes better in LA. We got the beef course and everything was so flavourful and tender. The best part is, the staff does all the cooking! They’re constantly observing all the tables to ensure that everything is cooked perfectly.
To end Day 3, we went to SomiSomi for some dessert. These Instagram worthy desserts have been on my radar for years, and I’m so glad I finally got to try! We got the Ube and Cookies and Cream twist in an Ah-Boong (Korean style fish shaped waffle cone) and it was so delicious! The soft serve was delightfully milky with a strong ube flavour.
| Kang Ho Dong BaekJong Address: 3465 W 6th St #20, Los Angeles, CA 90020 Website: https://www.baekjeongktown.com/ | SomiSomi Address: 621 S Western Ave #208-A, Los Angeles, CA 90005 Website: http://www.somisomi.com/ |
Day 4 (Day Eats)- République Café Bakery, Alfred Tea Room, Hangari Kalguksu, Fugetsu-do
For brunch on Saturday we went to République Café Bakery. This gorgeous spot is serving up a delicious modern French brunch in a beautiful church like courtyard. It was definitely giving some Harry Potter vibes. Needless to say, since it was a Saturday morning, there was more queuing to be done before food was to be had. However, I will say it is worth the wait! The pastries here are divine and the main dishes were fantastic. For our brunch we got a smattering of pastries (Savoury Danish, Vanilla Canelé and Crème Brûlée Bomboloni), Mushroom Toast and Vegetable Frittata.
Is any trip to LA complete without a visit to Alfred Tea Room? We went for a quick tea break and tried Iced Matcha Oat Latte with Boba and Hibiscus Lemongrass Iced Tea. Both fantastic, highly recommend. I got my matcha latte unsweetened, and the boba was the perfect sticky and sweet component.
Day 4 (Night Eats)- Hangari Kalguksu, Fugetsu-do
For a late lunch we went to Hangari Kalguksu. This spot is serving up homey Korean noodle soup that is so comforting. The portion sizes here are no joke. I’m pretty sure one bowl can feed 2 hungry people or 3 not so hungry people. It was so busy here even at 3 pm on a Saturday so I think that really speaks to their popularity. I highly recommend trying the Kimchi Sujebi!
After our late lunch, we were still so full to the gills. We went to do some more touristy things before checking out Fugetsu-Do in Little Tokyo. This Japanese confectionary shop has been in business since 1903! To continue with the theme of the day, there was another queue to order. The mochi here was so soft and squishy! We got a box of 6 to share, and my favourite was definitely the Strawberry Mochi and Uguisu (smooth red bean paste, covered with sweet Gyuhi mochi, and then dusted with Kinako).
| République Café Bakery Address: 624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Website: http://republiquela.com/menus/ | Alfred Tea Room Address: 705 N Alfred St, Los Angeles, CA 90069 Website: https://www.alfred.la/ | Hangari Kalguksu Address: 3470 W 6th St Suite 9 and 10, Los Angeles, CA 90020 Website: https://www.hangarikalguksu.com/ | Fugetsu-do Address: 315 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90012 Website: https://www.fugetsu-do.com/ |
Day 5, Girl and the Goat, Maru Coffee, Smorgasburg Los Angeles (Mana Po and Tacos 1986), Shake Shack
On our final and last day in LA, we had to go out with a bang. We started off strong with an excellent brunch at Stephanie Izard’s Girl and the Goat. I’ve been wanting to go here for years, and I’m happy to report that it did not disappoint. We got the Everything Crumpets & Cured Smoked Salmon and This Little Piggy. If there is one thing you need to try it is the crumpets. They were soft, fluffy, crispy and umami all at once.
To keep us fueled for our flight later at night we went to Maru Coffee. Very cute Korean style coffee shop. I got the Cold Brew but the coffee was way to acidic for my tastes. Oh well, caffeine is caffeine!
Since it was a Sunday, we couldn’t pass up the chance to check out Smorgasburg Los Angeles. This is a free day market with tons of food stalls to choose from. First up was Mana Po for authentic Filipino cuisine. We got the Chicken Inasal which features Mesquite grilled marinated chicken with garlic rice and Atchara. The chicken was so flavourful and moist. We couldn’t go to LA without having some authentic Tijuana style tacos at Tacos 1986. This popular taco spot got some national spotlight after a visit from President Joe Biden. I tried the Asada Taco and Pollo Taco. Both tacos were great, but the best part was the corn tortillas they were making fresh for every taco.
| Girl & The Goat Address: 555-3 Mateo St, Los Angeles, CA 90013 Website: https://girlandthegoat.com/los-angeles | Maru Coffee Address: 1019 S Santa Fe Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90021 Website: http://marucoffee.com/ | Smorgasburg Los Angeles Address: 777 S Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90021 Website: http://la.smorgasburg.com/ |
