Korean Comfort on a Cold Day
After a brief hiatus of reviewing, we’re back at it again with a new review of a Korean spot in LA. Mike’s physical therapist (a fellow foodie) recommended this place to us. Today was a particularly chilly day here in LA, so we decided to go for something warm and comforting.
Front of house is essentially a one man operation with the owner, a small Korean boss lady, waiting on and serving all the tables. The vibe of the whole restaurant kind of feels like you’re walking into her home. It’s modest, homey, fairly small and cozy. The owner is very friendly and welcomes everyone in with a smile. Through she’s very welcoming, don’t expect the quickest service. We had to wait quite a while to get our order taken and for our banchan to come while seeing other tables who came in after us getting served before us. That’s okay though. To be expected we suppose. The dank food made up for it anyway. I’ll wait as long as I have to for some of that pickled radish banchan. SO GOOD.
We ordered the Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup and Bulgogi stew served in a hot clay pot. Both dishes were outstanding. The spicy seafood noodle soup had handmade noodles and a spicy savory broth. Not a generous amount of seafood, but it was $9.99 and the large portion with lots of noodles made up for it. The bulgogi broth was sweet and salty. It was served in a boiling clay pot with delicious bulgogi, enoki, bell pepper, korean rice cake, cucumber, glass noodles, and green onion. A lovely balance to the salty spicy seafood soup. Everything we got including the banchan felt very homemade and comforting.
The whole experience felt very homey which is something we both appreciate in a restaurant. Though neither of us are Korean, this is probably the closest we’ll get to Korean homestyle cooking at a restaurant. Definitely a perfect spot on a grey winter day.
*Per recommendation on Yelp, we wanted to try the fried mackerel; however, it wasn’t on the menu. Half way into our lunch, a group of older Korean men behind us had ordered it. Next time we’re here, we’re definitely going to give this secret menu item a shot.
Western Doma Noodles
429 N Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004
