Fresh on the heels of a successful launch of Baby Bistro at Hotel Normandie, architect/restauranteur Jingbo Lou has another hit on his hands at the 1027 Alpine complex, with a very well attended brick-and-mortar grand opening of Chef Jihee Kim’s Perilla LA. Focusing on a high quality selection of banchan, but also offering some really tasty rice combos (like my delicious cod dosirak with banchan), Chef Jihee provides really tasty, accesible Korean fare. #InBeforeEater
Keep this 1027 Alpine address in mind, as this 6-structure complex is envisioned by Lou to become a dining destination in the Victor Heights/Chinatown area. Two other famed chefs have already committed to the project. Coffee house Heavy Water has also grand opened to long lines this past weekend in the same complex. Parking can be a bit of a bear here, but not impossible to score. I am really looking forward to the evolution of this development.
Perilla LA
1027 Alpine St., Building E (enter by foot on Centennial)
Los Angeles, CA 90012
IG: @_perilla.la
Super happy for them!! I’ve been meaning to stop by and pick up some snax for Dodger games or the bowl… but one thing or another I had to stick to snacks closer to home. Ah well…
Anyone else been? Not sure if my index is off but curious what others think, as for me this place was better in theory than practice. Some stuff is great, but felt other things were missing an undercurrent or bass note or something… maybe because vegan?
I might be off or just a hater lol!
Edit: agree with @J_L the cooked food was really good.
Visited 3-4 times so far! The cooked food has been on point each time but we always order cooked food for dine in and take all the banchan home for midnight TV snacks.
I think it’s dine-in food is much better (as it should be since its made to order) and to temper expectation for the to go banchans since they are mainly built for to-go! I’ve also stocked the fridge full of their banchan before at home but always cooked a protein to go with them even with eating at home.
I went to Perilla today. It was hard to find. I walked a block the wrong way. A woman that i saw standing across from where I parked followed me and accosted me. The conversation went like this:
Her. Are you looking for something?
Me. Yes, a restaurant called Perilla.
Her. I’ve never heard of it.
Me. I guess you can’t help me then.
Her. I guess you should get out of here then.
Me. Fuck you. Who the fuck are you to tell me where I should be?
Her. Fuck you. I’ll shoot artillery up your ass.
I walked away. The woman disappeared.
A few minutes later, I found Perilla close to where the woman was originally standing. It’s hidden in a house behind some other houses, one with a coffee shop and another with a tattoo parlor. I got a few banchan. They were pleasant.
" In another garage, this one 160 square feet, Heavy Water Coffee Shop serves vegan beverages and pastries from Bakers Bench, a kiosk in Chinatown run by Jennifer Yee, who will open a spot in the front half of a Craftsman home on the site. The back half will serve as a third location for Cassell’s Hamburgers, Mr. Lou’s franchise. And Baby Bistro, a 35-seat fine-dining concept, will take over a single-story Victorian house. Two other Victorian homes on the property are used as offices."
Pretty excited for Baby Bistro, though I could never decide how much value I found in Bakers Bench. Cassell’s seems a bit meh, given what we coulda got.
