The cheesy corn arrives first, bubbling in its stone bowl while the grill heats. Then comes the gyeran-jjim — a steamed-egg custard with the texture of a savoury soufflé, circling the perimeter of a hot stone pot like a golden moat. Only after these does the meat make its entrance at Baekjeong, the Korean BBQ restaurant backed by celebrity wrestler-turned-TV host Kang Ho-dong that closed its decade-long Chapman Plaza home in January 2024 and reopened in May 2025 a few blocks west on 8th Street. The new space is twice the size, with a neon-lit dining room, an all-glass butcher room displaying dry-aged cuts, and chimney-shaped vent pipes siphoning smoke from each table.
Karpo tracks live wait times, reservation windows, and whether the full menu or lunch-only dishes are available right now — useful when you're deciding between Baekjeong and the half-dozen other Korean BBQ spots within three blocks.
The format remains what it was: beef or pork combos cooked on tabletop grills by staff who will handle the tongs entirely if you let them, though they'll pass you the scissors for the final snip. The brisket is sliced thin enough to cook in seconds. The marinated short rib carries enough sweetness to need the pickled radish that comes with the banchan. The new dry-aging programme means some cuts now spend weeks in the glass-walled room before they reach your grill, visible to anyone walking past on their way to the dining room.
Baekjeong: The Anchor
The restaurant seats far more people than the original Chapman Plaza location, spread across 6,500 square feet of deep red brick and a mural that runs the length of the dining room, inspired by South Korean tapestries. A 26-person private dining room sits in the back with its own VIP entrance, though it wasn't yet open in the first weeks after the May reopening. The main room hums with the clatter of scissors on metal and the hiss of fat hitting hot grates.
Staff will cook the meat for you at the table, especially helpful for first-timers, though they encourage participation once you've watched a round or two. The Beef Combo includes brisket, marinated boneless short rib, and your choice of rib-eye or non-marinated short rib; the Pork Combo swaps in pork belly, pork jowl, and marinated pork steak or spicy pork belly. Banchan portions may be insufficient for larger groups, so individual meats are available to supplement the combos if you're still hungry after the first wave. The kimchi jjigae — kimchi stew — arrives in a stone pot hot enough to keep bubbling for the entire meal.
The lunch menu differs from dinner, with a la carte dishes including marinated beef steak with gochujang butter and fried pork cutlet with garlic fried rice. Weekend late-night hours extend until 2 AM Friday and Saturday, when the energy shifts from families to groups arriving after drinks elsewhere. A cocktail bar and full cocktail menu were planned but not yet available as of the May opening; for now it's beer, wine, soju, and mocktails.
Thirty Minutes Before: Drinks and Browsing
If you've booked for 7 PM and arrive early, walk south on Vermont to the cluster of bars and cafés that line the blocks between 8th and Wilshire. The neighbourhood is dense with options, most of them open late and used to people killing time before dinner. Beer and soju are easy to find; wine bars less so, but they exist if you're willing to walk an extra block.
Alternatively, spend the half-hour browsing the aisles at one of Koreatown's larger supermarkets. H Mart is a ten-minute walk north on Vermont, stocked with banchan to take home, shelves of gochugaru in every grind, and a food court that will make you question your dinner reservation. If you'd rather stay closer, the strip malls along 8th Street hold smaller grocers, cosmetics shops, and bakeries where you can pick up a castella or red-bean bun to eat on the walk over.
Thirty Minutes After: Dessert or a Second Wind
Baekjeong doesn't do dessert, so if you want something sweet after the grill, you'll need to leave the building. The closest move is to walk east on 8th Street toward the cafés that stay open past midnight, serving patbingsu — shaved ice with sweet red beans and condensed milk — and soft-serve in flavours that rotate weekly. Some also do toast: thick-cut white bread griddled with butter and topped with whipped cream, fruit, or honey.
If you'd rather drink, the bars on the second and third floors of the nearby buildings come into focus once the sun sets. Most are small, dimly lit, and require you to remove your shoes at the door. They serve beer, soju, and anju — the category of Korean drinking snacks that includes everything from dried squid to fried chicken. Soowon Galbi, another Korean BBQ option in the neighbourhood, offers a more focused meal with strong galbi as the centrepiece if you're comparing notes for next time.
Getting There and Getting In
Baekjeong is at 3429 W 8th Street, between Vermont and Normandie. Street parking is possible but competitive after 6 PM; paid lots are scattered along 8th and within a block north or south. The Metro B Line stops at Wilshire/Vermont, a twelve-minute walk north. Reservations are available via Resy and advisable for larger groups, though walk-ins often get seated if you're willing to wait twenty minutes.
The restaurant is open 11:30 AM to midnight Monday through Thursday, 11:30 AM to 2 AM Friday, 11 AM to 2 AM Saturday, and 11 AM to midnight Sunday. Expect to spend $30 to $60 per person with drinks, closer to $40 if you stick to one combo and a beer. No cover charge. The full menu runs all day, but the lunch-specific dishes are only available until mid-afternoon.
Please drink responsibly. Must be of legal drinking age.
Tags: #koreanbbq #koreatown #baekjeong #losangeles #kanghodong #gyeranjjim #steamdedegg #kbbq #8thstreet #laeats #koreanfood #dryagedbeef #latenightla
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Ask Karpo first
Ask Karpo whether the private dining room is open yet, whether the cocktail bar has launched, and how long the wait is running tonight. It'll also show you whether Soowon Galbi or any of the other Korean BBQ spots within three blocks have tables available if Baekjeong is fully booked.
