Home / Neighborhoods / Koreatown
Koreatown after dark
The densest neighborhood in LA, and maybe the best place in the city to be hungry at 1am. Bring friends. Bring an appetite.
Ktown packs more people into a couple of square miles than anywhere else in LA County, and it shows. Strip malls stacked three stories high, BBQ smoke pouring out of vents on every block, karaoke signs glowing until close. The official city lines run from Vermont to Western and Third to Olympic, but the energy spills well past that.
This is a night neighborhood. Come late, eat a lot, sing badly, and go home full.
The vibe, and how Koreatown got here
Koreans started settling in LA in the early 1900s. Racial covenants kept them boxed into a district south of here for decades, until the 1948 Shelley v. Kraemer ruling opened up the blocks north of Olympic. After 1965 immigration law changes and a slump in old Mid-Wilshire, Korean businesses moved in hard. By the late 1970s most shops on Olympic and 8th were Korean-owned, and the first Koreatown sign went up in 1982.
The neighborhood took heavy damage in 1992, and it rebuilt. Today it's Korean, Latino, Bangladeshi and a lot of young people from everywhere, all living on top of each other. Old Wilshire Boulevard architecture sits right next to new towers and mini-malls.
Things to do in Koreatown at night
-
Wilshire Center
The Wiltern
Wilshire Blvd at Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90010An Art Deco theater from 1931 at the corner of Wilshire and Western, part of the green Pellissier Building. Preservationists saved it from demolition twice in the late 1970s. Now it's a concert venue that holds about 1,850.
The lobby alone is worth the ticket. Look up when you walk in.
TipEat BBQ before the show, karaoke after.
-
Koreatown
Break Room 86
630 S Ardmore Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90010An '80s-themed bar inside The LINE Hotel, reached through the loading dock. The karaoke rooms hide behind a phone booth and vending machine. Disco ball, cassette tapes, album covers on the walls. It does live performances too.
TipBook a room ahead. They fill up fast.
-
Koreatown
Rosen by Pharaoh
3488 W 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90005Long-running private-room karaoke, called out as one of the best noraebang in Ktown. You get your own room with your own crew, so nobody else hears you destroy that ballad. Reserve with a food and drink package or just walk in.
TipBigger groups, book ahead.
-
Koreatown
Wi Spa
2700 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90057A Korean spa that keeps late hours, with heated rooms, hot tubs, dry and steam saunas, sleeping rooms and a restaurant. There's a co-ed jjimjilbang area plus separate men's and women's sides.
The move after a long night. Sweat, soak, nap, eat. Ask your doctor first if heat and you don't mix.
TipHydrate before the hot rooms. Seriously.
-
Koreatown
The Prince
3198 1/2 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90005A 1940s Tudor-revival bar with red leather booths and very low light. It's shown up on screen a bunch, Chinatown and New Girl among them. It serves Korean bar food: fried chicken, spicy chicken, rice cakes.
Old Hollywood room, Korean snacks. Perfect combo.
TipOrder the fried chicken for the table.
-
Koreatown
Chapman Market
3465 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020A Spanish colonial revival landmark from 1929, now packed with restaurants, boba shops and bars around a courtyard. Good place to start a crawl or kill time waiting on a table.
-
Koreatown
Koreatown Plaza
928 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006A three-story Korean mall anchored by an H Mart, with beauty shops, goods and food courts. The grocery aisles are a snack run of a lifetime.
TipHit the snack aisle stoned. You've been warned.
-
Koreatown
Koreatown Pavilion Garden
1000 S Normandie Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006A small garden with a traditional Korean pine pavilion, dedicated in 2006 for the centennial of Korean immigration to the US. A quiet five minutes in the middle of the chaos.
Late night food in Koreatown, from BBQ to 24-hour galbi jjim
This is what you came for. Go big.
-
Koreatown
Park's BBQ
955 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006Opened in 2003 by chef Jenee Kim in a Vermont Avenue strip mall, and still the name people say first. Prime beef, good banchan, tableside service. It won a James Beard award for Outstanding Service in 2018.
Order one of the combo platters and let the grill do the talking.
TipIt's not cheap. It's worth it.
-
Koreatown
Baekjeong
3429 W 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90005Loud, packed, and a great time with a group. Get Hodong's Favorite combo, beef and pork, and keep the soju coming.
TipGo with four people so you can order more.
-
Koreatown
Soowon Galbi
856 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005Family-feeling BBQ house known for its house galbi, marinated 48 hours. Combo B covers four people with beef and pork. Add a scallion pancake.
-
Koreatown
Sun Nong Dan
710 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005Open 24 hours on Western. Order the galbi jjim, braised short ribs in a bubbling pot, and always add the cheese. A server torches it at your table. Medium spice is plenty for most people.
This is the single best 3am meal in LA. Not a debate.
TipThe original 6th Street spot closed. Go to Western.
-
Koreatown
BCD Tofu House
3575 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010Soondubu jjigae, the bubbling soft tofu stew, plus dolsot bibimbap in a hot stone bowl. It's open very late, so it catches everybody coming out of bars and karaoke.
Weekday lunch combos are the low-key move.
TipOrder it mild if your mouth is already dry.
-
Koreatown
Dan Sung Sa
A pocha on 6th Street in a strip mall, built for drinking and snacking. Cheap skewers, spicy ramen, shareable plates and soju cocktails served in a teapot. Waits can run long at peak times.
TipGet there before 6pm or bring patience.
-
Koreatown
Gol Tong Chicken
361 S Western Ave, #101, Los Angeles, CA 90020Sweet, sticky, boneless Korean fried chicken run by a retired film director. The Director's Cut platter gives you three sauces so you don't have to choose.
A perfect Koreatown night
Sesh at home base, then take Metro or a ride in. Start at Chapman Market for a drink while the sun goes down. BBQ at Park's or Baekjeong around 8, and order more meat than seems reasonable. If there's a show at The Wiltern, walk over. Otherwise slide into Break Room 86 or a private room at Rosen and sing until your voice goes. Around 2am, hit Sun Nong Dan for cheese galbi jjim. If you still have legs, finish with a soak at Wi Spa. Somebody else is driving.
Neighborhoods next door
Downtown is a few stops east on the Metro, and Langer's pastrami is right on the way at MacArthur Park. Echo Park and Silver Lake are a short ride northeast. For more late spots across town, check where to eat, or browse every neighborhood.
Questions about Koreatown
Is there 24-hour food in Koreatown?
Yes. Sun Nong Dan on Western Avenue is open 24 hours and known for cheese-topped galbi jjim. BCD Tofu House on Wilshire stays open very late too. Wi Spa is there if you'd rather sweat it out.
What's the best Korean BBQ in Koreatown?
Park's BBQ on Vermont is the usual first answer, with prime beef and a James Beard service award. Baekjeong on 8th Street is the louder, more party-style pick, and Soowon Galbi is great for groups.
Where can you do karaoke in Koreatown?
Break Room 86 inside The LINE Hotel has hidden '80s-themed karaoke rooms, and Rosen by Pharaoh on 8th Street does private noraebang rooms. Book ahead on weekends.
Can you smoke weed in Koreatown?
Not in public. Smoking on sidewalks or in parking lots can get you a ticket, and LA city has no consumption lounges. Smoke at home or a rental that allows it, or take a ride to a licensed lounge in West Hollywood.
What are Koreatown's boundaries?
The City of LA draws Koreatown from Vermont Avenue to Western Avenue and from Third Street to Olympic Boulevard, plus a business stretch down Western. Most people count a wider area than that.