Danbi

Not particularly impressed. It is by no means bad food but for the price and the reviews, I was expecting more from a Michelin guide worthy place. The crudo was the best dish of the night with an amazing sauce that had complexity. However I think it would have been better paired with hamachi instead of snapper. The uni bimbimbap is good too because the uni, shrimp and ikura are simply ingredients that can speak for themselves. The japchae was disappointing because the noodles were very stretchy and way too greasy. Just a grease ball. The pork jowl was my favorite, well seasoned and well cooked. The zabuten was probably sous vided steak and grilled afterwards and tastes of course, good. But there's nothing original about it that makes it stand out other than the price. This also brings me to the cocktails, which were expensive and very average. By far the most disappointing thing was that I had diarrhoea late last night and my friend had food poisoning afterwards. It is unclear if the food was to blame. It was very unfortunate for the waiters because the service was great but it was eclipsed by the average food. Overall the three of us spend over $110 per person.

A beautiful restaurant for dinner in Koreatown. Definitely do reservations ahead of time (can be a week or more to get the time you want). The Zabutan (Waygu) set is the star. Coming with rice, pickles, kimchi, and salt to dip in. The meat was succulent, rich, juicy, and very filling. Easy to split this dish, given how rich it is. The scallop pancake was crispy and rich, the crudo was small but bright, the perilla noodles were a clean pallet cleanser, the tartar was delicious (would get again). Only issue would be that it can get quite loud at night and the drinks weren’t memorable. Overall, would recommend and I love sharing this place with loved ones. Definitely coming back!

Danbi is a Michelin notes BiB establishment in the burgeoning Korea Town of Los Angeles. I was lucky to get a seat to take it in. The space us ultra hip and chic. Darker vibe but with lots of cool adornments. It's noisy here in a good way. The place is electric. The service is AMAZING. I had the pleasure of sitting at the bar and all of the staff were so helpful, engaging and attentive. The food was amazing! Zabuton was perfect. The uni bibimbap was superb. And the cocktail offering was genius! Cannot say enough! 5 x 🍜🍜🍜🍜🍜

I personally don’t think the host needs to tell every table he seats that the table limit is 90 minutes. Perhaps they want to be consistent, but it’s weird to say that when we see the restaurant at 15% capacity, and by the time we left, it was not at 100% capacity. I get it for AYCE restaurants. Maybe I get it for super popular restaurants. I think it can be written on the menu if at all necessary. Overall, if guests are spending over $200 for a party of two, we should be able to sit there for 2 hours if we wanted to. Otherwise, service was good and attentive. For drinks - there was only bottled beer, wine, and soju/korean drink cocktails. I enjoyed the "luv u so matcha" cocktail. They should offer draft beer. For food - Honey butter chips - can be skipped if you’re not trying to eat dessert as your first bite. Would be fine as a drinking appetizer Cold perilla noodles - my favorite dish, very refreshing and flavorful Uni bibimbap - MP $60, expensive, but tasty. Also had raw marinated shrimp and ikura Pork jowl - tender and flavorful, came with pickled veggies. Wish the slices weren’t as skinny as they were already sliced thin Scallop pancake - good amount of bay scallops and nice crunch. Could use more green onions/chives, and preferred dipping it in the sauce for my cold noodle dish

Very good atmosphere in Korea town, we got lucky that someone cancel so we got seated right away without a reservation. The cold noodle is okay, you can better one elsewhere but the uni bibimbap is amazing with good amount of seafood. The pork is also juicy and soft.

I visited and enjoyed Danbi in 2024. Its inclusion on the Michelin guide in 2025 interested me and prompted my recent return. Reservations are recommended. I was met with a 40 minute wait on a Thursday night with my walk-in attempt, but eventually was given a table. Parking can be a nightmare even on a weekday night (as is the case with Los Angeles’s K-town), but a couple of parking garages nearby are ready to scalp you $10 when you eventually give up on finding street parking. The Chapman plaza itself will also have a parking lot with valet service that is embarrassingly small considering all the restaurants it hosts and will quickly fill up. Compared to the other storefronts in the plaza, the outside of Danbi is unassuming. On my first visit, I walked right past the quiet "danbi" written softly in lowercase cursive on the glass door which blended into the window pane walls. Inside is a small dining area that is sleek and modern yet cozy. I really liked the scallop pancake on my first visit. The uni bibimbap was very good too. I don’t typically like uni, but I remember the uni was very fresh and creamy. I know everyone’s crazy about the honey butter chips, but I kinda thought… that they were just chips hahaha I mean they were good, but… mmm… hahaha This time, I started with a drink from the bar. I had the Love U So Matcha. On the nose, this drink was citrusy and refreshing. On the palate, the passionfruit gives a bright and sour punch, and along with the orgeat and falernum, gives a tropical vibe akin to a Mai Tai. The matcha flavor adds a bitterness and a rich, velvety texture. The soju is present but not harsh. I really did love this drink so matcha. We shared the grilled pork jowl as an appetizer, which was delicious. The meat was soft and tender. The crust had me in disbelief - I almost thought I was eating beef. The chili oil paired well with the dish. My friend had the perilla cold noodles, which were delicious and refreshing. They reminded me of cold soba. A great option for vegetarians and health conscious diners. I, on the other hand, had been eyeing the zabuton for a year, and I finally got it. The wagyu zabuton comes sliced and served on a hot sizzling platter. It’s also definitely shareable between two people, but I demolished that thing myself. The steak itself is insanely good - tender and juicy. The real fun of this dish is pairing it with its accompaniments. You thought it was good on its own? Try it with some sliced garlic. Try it with their house kimchi. Try it with their garlic rice. Each side further enhances your experience of the zabuton without overshadowing the main dish. But the kimchi and garlic rice are also amazing on their own. For dessert, we shared a slice of the dalgona basque cheesecake. It was ok. I would’ve liked a creamier texture. But I liked the shards of dalgona paired with the cheesecake. Sweet, with a slight burnt bitterness. I really enjoyed my meal at Danbi. The menu felt well thought out, and each dish was interesting as well as delicious. I also thoroughly enjoyed my cocktail. My favorite item would definitely be the zabuton. I can’t wait to come back to try more things.

10/10 As a Korean American, I’m generally hesitant to go to upscale Korean spots but Danbi did not disappoint. Service - attentive and excellent. I ate at 6:15 and the place was already buzzing. Everything was timed well. Service checked in at all the right times. Atmosphere - convivial. Great place for a night out with friends. A little dark as I wanted to stare at the food in brighter light. Food - the Zabuton was melt in your mouth perfection. Definitely bring friends as it’s a big portion. The accompanying garlic rice was the perfect compliment. I wish they had some refreshing kimchee to go with it. Even white kimchee would’ve been a nice accompaniment. I didn’t drive, but it sounds like parking is a nightmare.