Perilla L.A.

Is Perilla L.A. Worth a Visit?

Yes — and it earns a place on your regular rotation, not just a one-time curiosity trip. Perilla L.A. ranked #19 on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants 2024 list, with the publication singling it out as the restaurant one critic would eat lunch from every day for the rest of their life. That is a direct, verifiable endorsement, and the food backs it up. Chef Jihee Kim has built a banchan shop in Chinatown that positions Korean side dishes — traditionally supporting players, as the entire point of the meal. If you have been looking for a format that is light, affordable, and genuinely interesting to eat, this is a strong answer.

What Perilla L.A. Is

Perilla operates out of a converted garage in Chinatown, Los Angeles, at 1027 Alpine St, Building E. The space is small and the setting is unfussy: shaded outdoor tables, a compact kitchen, and a daily rotation of banchan that follows whatever produce is coming in from farmers' markets. The format is not a tasting menu, not a reservation-heavy counter experience, and not a special-occasion splurge in the traditional sense. It is a daytime destination, focused on precision and freshness rather than ceremony.

The banchan selection changes with the season, built around fermentation, brightness, and textural contrast. The LA Times description of the food gives the clearest picture available: garlicky eggplant, sesame-speckled green beans, complex kimchi made from collard greens or daikon, and a seaweed-rolled omelet sliced into circles with spiraling centers. Small portions of the day's banchan selection come over rice as part of a compartmented dosirak tray, served with warm doenjang-marinated chicken or cod. Google reviewers rate it 4.7 out of 5 across 53 reviews, which is a strong signal for a venue this small and niche.

Multi-Visit Strategy: How to Make the Most of Perilla

Perilla rewards repeat visits more than almost any daytime restaurant in Los Angeles. Here is how to think about it across two or three trips.

Visit one: Arrive at lunch and order the dosirak tray. This is the leading orientation to the kitchen. You get a structured sample of the day's banchan alongside rice and protein, which gives you a clear read on what Kim is cooking right now and how the flavors sit together as a composed meal.

Visit two: Monday is the strategic day to come. The LA Times critic's recommended approach is to eat a dosirak at the outdoor tables on Monday, then take home four or five banchan to eat through the rest of the week. The banchan hold well and the flavors often deepen by the next day. This turns a single visit into several meals, which dramatically improves the value calculation.

Visit three and beyond: Track the seasonal rotation. Because the menu follows farmers' market availability, returning in a different season, late summer versus winter, for example, gives you a meaningfully different set of dishes. Perilla is one of the few Los Angeles restaurants where the multi-visit case is built directly into the format.

Is It Right for a Special Occasion?

Perilla is not a celebration dinner in the conventional sense. There is no wine list, no dim lighting, and no tableside theatrics. But as a lunch occasion, a birthday lunch, a low-key catch-up with someone you want to impress without the weight of a $200 tasting menu, it delivers something harder to find: food that is genuinely considered, in a setting that is relaxed enough to let the conversation breathe. If your group expects formality, look elsewhere. If the occasion calls for something personal and carefully made, Perilla fits well.

For context on the broader Los Angeles dining scene, see our full Los Angeles restaurants guide. If Perilla's Korean-inflected approach to produce and fermentation interests you, Atomix in New York City is the benchmark for Korean fine dining if you want to see how far the format scales upward. Closer to home, Kato handles Asian-inflected tasting menus at the $$$$ end of the spectrum in Los Angeles.

Practical Details

Find more options in the city with our Los Angeles hotels guide, Los Angeles bars guide, Los Angeles wineries guide, and Los Angeles experiences guide.

FAQ

What should I order at Perilla L.A.?

• Order the dosirak tray on your first visit. It gives you a composed meal built around the day's banchan selection, served alongside rice and a choice of doenjang-marinated chicken or cod. It is the most efficient way to understand the kitchen.
• On return visits, buy banchan to take home. The LA Times critic recommends four or five containers to eat through the week. The fermented preparations, including the seasonal kimchi and pickled vegetables, hold well and are the strongest argument for Perilla as a regular habit rather than a one-off meal.
• Check what is in season. The menu follows farmers' market produce, so the specific dishes on offer will vary. Ask what came in most recently if you want the freshest items.

What should a first-timer know about Perilla L.A.?

• Perilla is a daytime operation in Chinatown, running out of a small converted garage space at 1027 Alpine St, Building E. It is not a dinner restaurant and not a tasting menu format.
• The banchan rotation changes based on seasonal produce, so the menu you see on one visit will not be identical to the next. That variability is a feature, not an inconsistency.
• Google ratings sit at 4.7 out of 5 from 53 reviews, and the LA Times ranked it #19 on its 2024 list of the 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles. Both signals point to high consistency for a casual daytime format.
• Booking is easy relative to most LA restaurants on the 101 list. If you are used to the reservation difficulty at Providence or Hayato, Perilla is a relief.

What should I wear to Perilla L.A.?

• No dress code applies. The setting is a casual outdoor space at a converted garage in Chinatown. Come in whatever you would wear to a farmers' market or a casual lunch.
• This is not a venue where formality signals respect for the food. The quality of the cooking at Perilla is serious; the atmosphere around it is not.
• If you are visiting before or after another Los Angeles restaurant on the formal end of the spectrum, such as Osteria Mozza or Somni, there is no need to adjust your outfit for Perilla specifically.