Borit Gogae — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I'm usually not one to be wow-ed by restaurants that have gone viral on social media since they just tend to be instagram-worthy places that lack true flavor/ quality food.

I was delightfully surprised that Borit Gogae was not of this nature. Most dishes are plant-based non-meat based, wish some being fish-based. Staff mentioned that the flavor profiles are not as heavily seasoned due to their lack of MSG use. I personally didn't find that fact/ practice too important for my experience since MSG has been proven to not have adverse effects on health. I would have been fine if the dishes had some more flavor with a use of a bit of MSG, but health and "well-being" seemed to be the theme here. You'll find that a lot of the dishes at Borit Gogae in general may feel a bit muted compared to other places, which was almost like a breath of fresh air from a lot of the heavily seasoned restaurants elsewhere. Kind of like home cooked meals!

I enjoyed the spread of banchans and all of the fiber intake from this meal. Given the price point of almost $30 per person, I would strongly not return if the prices were to hike any more - vegetables are fairly low in price even considering inflation, and the raw materials cost and the fact that since nearly every table is ordering the same set menu, they are mass-producing the dishes for constant rotation. Even with the labor cost, a price more than $28 would personally not be justified.

The ambiance of the restaurant was very cozy, warm, and almost cafe-like with a traditional twist. I would not say that it was entirely traditional, and this difference would be apparent to those who have a deep understanding of Korea/ Korean culture and non-metropolitan cities.

I would personally take people who are looking to try a more diverse Korean cuisine other than KBBQ or soondubu here. Definitely a great experience.

TLDR: Pros: Good experience, lots of vegetables, not heavily seasoned food, can experience a variety of Korean banchans that are typically not offered in other restaurants as banchans. Cons: Pricey for what it's worth, can get crowded, long wait time unless...

Talk about traditional........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First time to this location. The DECOR is absolutely something to be viewed closeup. Artsy, traditional korean figures in Hanbok dresses, individual place mats for each customer, and the music. So far very very welcoming. The employees are very very helpful, sweet and understading. The lady pictured in the logo does actually exist. She will come out and introduce herself and help you with the menu. All the employees will constantly check on you and even the lady from the restaurant logo. LOL Now the food has a very different setup then your regular korean restaurants out here in Ktown. The amount of vegetables and choices to have with your Borit Rice (barley rice) is different. It is setup on a tray of beautiful colors of marinated vegetables. You mix that in with your borit rice and sesame oil. It is a set menu if you chose to order it that way. All the items that come in this set menu is enough to feed two people. You also get two different soups with the set menu. Perilla seed & chicken soup (Deulk kae kook) and a Fermented soybean-paste stew (cheonggukjang). You also get a scorched rice soup in the beginning with some fried kelp. We did order the spicy pork barbeque. Not too spicy, and super full flavor of the marinade. Once your done with all that, they bring you a tea at the end of your meal you may get korean dessert of whatever they choose for that day or you may get a "Yugwa" ( a traditional Korean dessert consisting of glutinous rice that is pounded and then mixed with honey, water, and cheongju - rice wine). Truly one nice way to finish a delicious meal. This is a must...

I went on a Tuesday night and had a very easy time finding parking. There is free parking behind the restaurant and street parking. The entrance is also from the back of the restaurant.

Service was excellent. It felt like going to your friend's house and being helped by the kindest Korean mom. They don't have buttons at your table to request assistance but the staff is always walking around, incredibly attentive, and super warm and friendly. My entire group ordered the set and the food came out immediately. It being our first time, the server went over how to tackle the spread and explained the soups.

The food was excellent! So many delicious veggie banchan and the set is basically a BYOB - build your own bibimbap. There were lots of banchan I've never had before like chopped chili pepper, shishito pepper, eggplant, and a white mushroom that looked like a shorter seafood mushroom. My favorites were the small patty sized kimchi pancakes, the acorn jelly salad (could use more acorn jelly 😬), and the entire BYOB experience... that's pretty much all the food 😆 the sea snail dish was good but I wasn't a huge fan of the texture. I eat pescatarian and it reminded me of bony cartilage. The best part is that you can get unlimited Barley rice and banchan. It was so much food that we never finished our first set. We ended up taking the leftovers home and it was enough for another meal.

Overall, I would definitely go back and absolutely recommend it. There is an a la carte menu and I would love to try some of those dishes with a...