7 Days in Los Angeles of a first-timer — The Food and Coffee Saga
In December 2017, I travelled to Los Angeles for the first time to rekindle motivations in myself. For the full itinerary, click this sentence. This post is dedicated to restaurants and coffee shops worthy of praise.
Restaurants
Bottega Louie
Downtown Los Angeles, CA.
Bottega Louie serves good food and patisserie in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. The restaurant also has very nice ambiance and friendly staff.
Daikokuya
Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, CA.
Daikokuya is very famous for its ramen, proven by a long line-up every single day. Drop in your name in the waiting list, go check out Japanese Village Plaza and come back in 30 minutes.
Din Tai Fung
Glendale, CA.
International Chinese restaurant chain famous for their soup dumplings. Expect a lot of food monger during the weekend even when it just opens.
EMC Seafood & Raw Bar
Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA
Indisputably one of the best restaurants for fresh lobster. A good combination is steamed lobster with garlic noodle. Daily happy hours run from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm and have you $1-each refreshing oysters.
Off Vine
Los Angeles, CA.
Off Vine is known for its magical and romantic ambiance, greatly suitable for a date. But it also serves great food for solo travellers. One of its highlight is soufflé, which takes about 30 minutes to prepare.
Pampas Grill Churrascaria
Original Farmer Market, Los Angeles, CA.
It serves Brazilian-BBQ buffet and it costs by weigh. People line up for it.
Philippe the Original
Downtown Los Angeles, CA.
Since 1908, Philippe the Original is a well-known diner serving their famous French dip sandwiches.
Sanamluang Cafe
Thaitown, Los Angeles, CA.
Another Thai restaurant that serves Thai soul food of high quality and generous portion.
Siam Sunset
Thaitown, Los Angeles, CA.
My favorite Thai restaurant. They serve a wide variety of authentic Thai soul food including rare breakfast dishes. I returned there twice.
Sugarfish
Santa Monica, CA. Also available in Downtown Los Angeles, CA.
It serves Nozawa-principled sushi and it is known for its ‘Trust Me’ courses.
Yangji Gamjatang
Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA.
Family-run Korean local restaurant serving hearty pork bone soup (aka gamjatang) for affordable price.
Coffee shops
Alchemist Coffee Project
Koreatown, Los Angeles, CA.
The coffee shop is nicely decorated, and it is a perfect place to enjoy coffee while working on a laptop, reading a book, or sketching away.
Funnel Mill Rare Coffee & Tea
Santa Monica, CA.
They have nice and rare coffee beans here, and the coffee is made using syphoning.
G&B Coffee
Grand Central Market, Los Angeles, CA.
They have several signature offerings. It’s a bar style and you can order from any where around it.
Menotti’s Coffee
Venice Beach, CA.
Coffee brewed and served with great care. Very nice and friendly barista.
Phiz Coffee
Many places in Los Angeles, CA.
It’s very popular in L.A. and its neighbor cities. There was a line-up in the Glendale branch.
Zia Valentina
Original Farmer Market, Los Angeles, CA.
Zia Valentina is famous for espresso shots in waffle cups. Affogato adds ice cream on top of it.
Disclamers
All images are taken by myself and filters are applied aesthetics.
