It’s no wonder that Los Angeles has a thriving community of Asian American Pacific Islander-owned restaurants: Southern California is home to the largest Thai population outside of Thailand, and LA has the highest concentration of Koreans in the United States outside the Korean Peninsula. And that’s not even counting the city’s diverse South Asian, Japanese, and Pacific Islander communities, among others.
What that means in terms of dining is that excellent Asian food is always at your fingertips, whether that’s unexpected twists on Indian food from a chef with MICHELIN cred, Kaiseki-style Japanese food in Little Tokyo, or a tasting-menu restaurant inspired by Korean royal court cuisine.
As we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, here are five Asian-owned restaurants in LA that you’ll want to jump on a booking right now.
CaliChilli (Long Beach)
If you’re craving an Indian feast with unexpected flavor combinations, head to CaliChilli in Long Beach. Singapore-based chef Manjunath Mural—his restaurant Song of India earned a MICHELIN star—has created a menu that stays true to his playful Indian cooking skills while incorporating Mexican, Italian, and Californian influences. You’ll see that in dishes like the Cali quesadilla stuffed with pan-fried chicken and served with herbed sour cream, or an eggplant bharta lasagna layered with paneer. “We call it unauthentic Indian cuisine,” owner Praveen Nai says.
Eigikutei (Little Tokyo)
Eigikutei has been thrilling Angelenos with kaiseki-style Japanese food in Little Tokyo since last year. Helmed by Tomoko Morishita and her son Eiji Morishita—whose family was instrumental in bringing Japanese food to the US, opening their first US restaurant in 1930—the sleek, minimalist Eigikutei is the perfect place to bring a group of friends for shabu-shabu. Gather around the hot pot to cook paper-thin slices of pork or prime beef (or A5 Wagyu, if you’re feeling fancy) and vegetables while you sip craft cocktails from the restaurant’s full bar. If you’re in the mood for sushi, the chefs, led by Minoru Tanahara, turn out beautiful sashimi and nigiri omakase in three price ranges.
Joseon (Hollywood)
Angelenos know they have the best Korean food in the country, so it was particularly exciting when Joseon jumped into the mix with its rare-to-find Korean tasting menu last year. Chef Debbie Lee—known for her fast-casual drinking pub Anh-Joo and a stint on The Next Food Network Star—leans on her North Korean roots at the restaurant, where you can choose between five- and seven-course meals. Standouts on the menu include the Wagyu bone marrow with kimchi duxelles, raw dishes like perilla-cured Tasmanian sea trout tartare, and a scorched-rice crème brûlée that’s like a rice cake churro.
“Our inspiration comes from the Korean royal court and how they’d eat today,” Lee says. (The Joseon Dynasty ruled the Korean Peninsula for more than 500 years and would enjoy elaborate multi-course dinners with exquisite service and a sea of banchan.) But don’t let the dishes make you think this is some fancy-pants destination—Lee wants you to feel at home. “We’re trying to take away the myth that you have to get all dressed up,” she says. “Just come as you are and enjoy the food.”
La Ong (Beverly Hills)
La Ong is exactly the type of Thai restaurant you’d expect in Beverly Hills: artful and elegant. Here you can get well-executed standards like chicken satay, pad thai, and Thai-style crispy pork belly in a gorgeous dining room outfitted with exposed brick and lush greenery. The name is an ode to the chef and owner Bonnie Maikong’s grandmother, who passed down recipes from generation to generation. Plus, the restaurant perfectly melds its California roots with its Thai heritage, using both local produce and ingredients imported from Thailand.
Soban (Koreatown)
The late LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold long ranked Soban among his favorite spots in LA, and more than a decade after it opened, the restaurant is still dishing out some of the best Korean seafood in town. (You might also recognize it as the restaurant that went viral for hosting the Parasite Oscars afterparty).
Your meal will start with a rainbow of about a dozen banchan, which are made with local, seasonal produce. Jars around the restaurant are filled with house-made ferments used in sauces and for seasoning. Then get ready for showstopping mains like soy-marinated raw crab and the not-so-traditional braised black cod. “The way we make our food is quite laborious, because we’re making everything in a traditional way,” says chef and owner Deborah Pak, whose mother Jennifer founded the restaurant and now runs a small farm that supplies produce to the kitchen. “That’s why I think the restaurant has resonated with people for so long.”
Karen Palmer is a pizza- and pasta-obsessed food writer based in Los Angeles. She is the former editorial director of Tasting Table, and her work has appeared in Eater, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, and many other publications. Follow her on Instagram at @karenlpalmer.
