A friend of mine recently invited me to lunch at Soban. While you may have never heard of the restaurant, Jonathan Gold reviewed it for LA Weekly, and in 2017 while he was the food critic for the LA Times, he placed it on his Top 101 Restaurants in LA. Soban is located on the southern edge of Koreatown.
When the movie Parasite won best picture in 2020, the cast enjoyed an early morning afterparty at Soban. According to many LA media publications, they celebrated hours into the early morning. and that caught the attention of moviegoers who may not be familiar with Korean restaurants.
The restaurant’s exterior looks sizeable, but I was surprised to find the dining space compact and cozy. You cannot help but notice the large glass jars on the counter. One’s imagination could wander into something dark, but they used these jars to ferment many vegetables they serve as banchan.
Soban is well known for the quality and the number of banchan served, and I was happy to experience the variety of small plates before our meal. Until that day, I had never received that much banchan. Even better, it was both quantity and quality. Many of these dishes contained fermented vegetables.
Seafood Tofu Pancakes ($25) include shrimp, squid, crab, onion, and tofu. They are flavorful and, best of all, crispy with a slightly chewy texture. Because it wasn’t spicy, it paired nicely with the banchan.
The best part about having Bibimbap ($17) served in a stone pot is that the rice is crispy on the bottom. You bite into an unexpected crunch and a medley of flavors when you stir everything together. When I dine solo, I usually order Bibimbap, and this was among the best.
Braised Beef Short Ribs ($50) is one of their three signature dishes. I was slightly amused when the owner delivered it to the table, sizzling and enthusiastically separating the short ribs from the bone and cutting them into bite-size pieces. The ribs are in a complex sweet chile sauce and are tender. Chinese red dates provide some additional sweetness.
After peering at the other tables, I noticed that almost everyone had Braised Black Cod, and I noted that I needed to try that dish should I return. Since Gold also enjoyed their Soy Sauce Marinated Raw Crab, I should put that on my restaurant bucket list as well.
Soban is located on Olympic Blvd, just east of Crenshaw. Free street parking is available.
Soban, 4001 W Olympic Blvd, LA 90019; 323.936.9106; sobanla.com