Restaurant in Los Angeles, United States
Fermentation-forward tasting menu, book early.
Baroo is the LA Times 2024 Restaurant of the Year and the most original Korean Contemporary tasting menu in Los Angeles. At $115 per person, Kwang Uh's fermentation-driven cooking covers territory no other LA restaurant does. Book at least 3 to 4 weeks out — seats move fast and the vegetarian menu requires 24 hours' advance notice.
Baroo is the tasting menu you book when you want to understand what Korean cooking can become, not just what it has always been. At $115 per person, it is the most intellectually compelling Korean Contemporary tasting menu in Los Angeles, and the LA Times named it 2024 Restaurant of the Year to prove the point. The fermentation-forward cooking by Kwang Uh operates in territory that no other LA restaurant occupies, which makes the booking decision easier: if you want technically precise, deeply flavored modern Korean in a warm, relaxed Arts District room, there is no closer substitute. Book it. Just know that seats are hard to secure and the advance planning required is real.
Baroo started nearly a decade ago in a Hollywood strip mall, selling grain bowls and fermented pastas for under $20. Those early plates built a devoted following before the restaurant closed. The current incarnation at 905 E 2nd St in the Arts District is a different proposition: a tasting menu format with the same fermentation obsession but with genuine restaurant infrastructure behind it. Mina Park, who co-runs the restaurant with Kwang Uh, is directly responsible for that transformation from beloved short-lived project into a functioning, scalable business. The Arts District room is comfortable and flatteringly lit, which matters for a tasting menu experience that asks you to settle in.
The cooking centers on fermentation at a depth that changes what ingredients mean. Kwang Uh works with kimchi, soybean-based jangs, pickles, and even buttermilk (paired with lemongrass in at least one sauce) in ways that create flavor dimensions the source ingredients alone do not suggest. The LA Times description of his approach is worth quoting for what it signals: "kimchi, pickles, soybean-based jangs and even buttermilk open doors to unseen worlds of flavor." One course features short rib or pork collar alongside a bowl of rice seasoned with dried shepherd's purse and XO sauce made from chorizo. These are not decorative Korean references dropped into French technique; they are full commitments to fermented Korean flavor logic applied to contemporary tasting menu structure. For a broader sense of how Korean Contemporary tasting menus are developing globally, Nae:um in Singapore and ANJU in Saint-Gilles represent different regional expressions of the same movement.
The vegetable and seafood emphasis defines most of the menu, with the meat component appearing as a single focused course rather than the centerpiece. That balance makes Baroo a better fit for diners who want protein used as punctuation rather than as the main argument. Beverage director Jason Lee has built a drinks program weighted toward Korean spirits, which pairs more coherently with Uh's flavor profiles than a standard wine list would. The service is described as gracious, and the pacing has been specifically calibrated to avoid the elongated timelines that frustrate LA diners accustomed to faster meals.
Vegetarian tasting menu, available with 24 hours' advance notice, channels Korean temple cuisine and is described by the LA Times as immediately one of the most brilliantly realized plant-based menus in the city. If you or anyone in your party does not eat meat, the advance notice requirement is the key practical detail: you must request it when booking, not when you arrive.
Seat count is not published, which makes group planning at Baroo require direct contact. The tasting menu format naturally constrains group flexibility: everyone at the table moves through the same menu together, which works well for a cohesive group experience but limits the spontaneity of larger parties with divergent preferences. For a genuinely private dining occasion, the fact that the Arts District room is described as comfortable and flatteringly lit suggests a setting that works for milestone dinners without being formal or intimidating. The $115-per-person price point makes per-head costs predictable, which helps groups manage expectations in advance.
If private room access is your primary requirement, verify availability directly, as no private dining room is confirmed in available records. For groups prioritizing a guaranteed private space, Providence or Osteria Mozza may offer more structured private dining infrastructure. Baroo's strength for group occasions is the shared tasting menu experience itself: the progression of courses generates conversation and provides a focus that à la carte group dinners rarely achieve.
For broader context on what $$$$ tasting menu experiences look like in comparable cities, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, Alinea in Chicago, and The French Laundry in Napa each represent the format at different price tiers and formality levels. Baroo sits closer to the relaxed, chef-driven end of that spectrum than to the ceremony-heavy end.
Within LA's tasting menu category, Somni and Restaurant Ki represent the higher-formality, higher-price tier. Kato is the closest peer in terms of Asian Contemporary tasting menu ambition, and deciding between them comes down to whether you want Taiwanese or Korean as your flavor foundation. For a night that prioritizes fermentation-forward cooking and a warm room over white-tablecloth ceremony, Baroo wins that comparison. For our full picture of where Baroo sits in the broader LA dining landscape, see our full Los Angeles restaurants guide.
Baroo is a hard booking. The combination of a small Arts District room, significant critical recognition (LA Times Restaurant of the Year), and a loyal existing audience means seats move fast. Plan to book at minimum 3 to 4 weeks in advance for a standard reservation. If you need the vegetarian tasting menu, you must give 24 hours' advance notice at time of booking — not on arrival. Booking method is not published in current records, so check the venue directly or via standard LA reservation platforms. For more on what else to plan around your visit, see our Los Angeles hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide.
At $115 per person, yes , with one condition: you need to be on board with the tasting menu format. This is not a high-price meal with a conservative payoff. Kwang Uh's fermentation-driven cooking is doing things that Korean restaurants in LA are not doing elsewhere, and the LA Times ranked it the #3 restaurant in the city and named it 2024 Restaurant of the Year on the back of that distinctiveness. Compared to Alinea or Le Bernardin, $115 is a competitive price point for the caliber of cooking on offer. If you want à la carte Korean in LA, Baroo is not your venue. If you want a tasting menu that operates in genuinely original territory, the price is fair.
Baroo runs a set tasting menu, so there is no à la carte ordering. The menu emphasizes vegetables, herbs, and seafood, with one meat course featuring short rib or pork collar alongside fermented rice seasoned with shepherd's purse and XO sauce made from chorizo. If you want the vegetarian version, which draws on Korean temple cuisine, you must request it 24 hours before your reservation. The Korean spirits-focused drinks pairing is worth taking, as it was assembled specifically to work with Uh's fermentation profiles rather than defaulting to a wine-only list.
The confirmed accommodation is a full vegetarian tasting menu, available with 24 hours' advance notice. It is described as one of the most fully realized plant-based tasting menus in LA. For other dietary restrictions, the set menu format means you should contact the restaurant directly before booking rather than raising it on arrival. The tasting menu structure limits real-time substitutions, so advance notice is practical regardless of the restriction.
Groups can dine at Baroo, but the set tasting menu means everyone eats the same progression, which actually works in favor of group cohesion. Seat count is not published, so for parties of six or more, contact the restaurant directly to confirm availability. No dedicated private dining room is confirmed in current records. If a guaranteed private room is the priority, Providence or larger format venues in the LA dining scene may be more practical. For groups where the shared experience matters more than a private space, Baroo's format delivers well at a predictable $115 per head.
Yes, and specifically because it does not feel like a formal occasion restaurant even though the food is operating at that level. The Arts District room is comfortable and flatteringly lit, the service is gracious, and the pacing was designed to avoid the drawn-out timelines that make some tasting menus feel like endurance events. At $115 per person with Michelin recognition and an LA Times Restaurant of the Year credit behind it, the occasion is substantiated without requiring black-tie energy. For a comparison, Somni delivers more ceremony at a higher price; Baroo delivers more personality at a lower one. For anniversaries, milestone birthdays, or first visits with someone you want to impress, it earns the occasion without over-formalizing it.
Yes, with advance notice. With 24 hours' notice, Baroo offers a vegetarian version of the $115 tasting menu, described by the LA Times as channeling Korean temple cuisine. It is one of the more fully realized plant-based tasting menus in Los Angeles. For other restrictions, check the venue's official channels before booking, as the format is set-menu only.
Baroo runs a single tasting menu at $115 per person, so there is no à la carte ordering. The menu leans on vegetables, herbs, and seafood, with fermentation as the throughline: kimchi, jangs, and pickles built into the structure of the meal. If you want the most distinctive expression of what Kwang Uh does, book the vegetarian menu with 24 hours' notice — the LA Times called it immediately one of LA's most brilliantly realized plant-based feasts.
Seat count is not published, so group bookings require direct contact with the restaurant. The tasting menu format limits flexibility — Baroo is not a fit for large parties expecting split bills or individual ordering. For groups of four to six at a similar price point, the format works well if everyone is aligned on the prix fixe experience.
Yes, if the other person is genuinely interested in what Korean cooking can do beyond the familiar. At $115 per person with gracious service and a flatteringly lit Arts District room, the setting and pacing hold up for a birthday or anniversary. It is a better fit for a two-person dinner than a larger group celebration, given the intimate format and fixed menu.
At $115 per person, Baroo is one of the stronger value cases for a serious tasting menu in Los Angeles. The LA Times named it 2024 Restaurant of the Year and ranked it #3 on its 101 Best list; it also holds a Michelin Plate for 2025. Compared to Hayato or Vespertine at significantly higher price points, Baroo delivers comparable critical standing at a lower cost of entry. Book if fermentation-driven, vegetable-forward Korean cooking interests you — skip it if you want a more conventional multi-course format.
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