- 111 San Pedro St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
When chef Ki Kim got down to create Restaurant Ki in January 2025, he was on a mission to share his love of Korean meals via a refined and progressive lens. In its first 12 months of opening, this hidden Downtown L.A. gem has earned a coveted Michelin star, and chef Kim himself was named Michelin’s California Younger Chef Award Winner. Discovering the speakeasy-style restaurant is a part of the enjoyable (however it may be a bit traumatic once you’re beating L.A. visitors to make the only 6:30 p.m. seating). After parking within the public storage on San Pedro Avenue, discover the foyer on the second flooring—the storage is fairly small, so there’s not an excessive amount of floor to cowl. After coming into via the glass doorways, choose the elevator button that claims “Restaurant,” and a particular raise with entry to the basement arrives. Press B, and also you’ll have discovered your vacation spot.
There are solely 10 seats on the chef’s counter, supplying you with ample facetime with Kim and his gifted workforce. The meal begins off with an array of snacks, together with Kim’s well-known crispy octopus, all plated on distinctive and classic finds, a lot of which Kim himself has hand-collected through the years. Whilst you by no means know when the menu will change, count on it to lean seafood-heavy, that includes a steadiness of uncooked and cooked dishes. Some highlights on the present iteration embody a pear and duck liver mousse, a fragile uncooked squid and uni creation with puffed quinoa, a comfortable cup of noodles with a wealthy crab broth and essentially the most delicately tender grilled lobster you’ll ever have.
