Curry House CoCo Ichibanya - Koreatown — Restaurant in Los Angeles

CoCo Ichibanya is without question the premiere spot in Ktown for Japanese style curries. Convenient, tasty, and affordable, you can do no better in the area for your fix of an East Asian Hearty Curry, and its primary failing is that it's such a good choice, you'll inevitably get tired of going here, because it's just such an easy recommendation.

To the uninitiated, Japanese curries are usually a little sweeter and heartier than their Indian and Chinese counterparts, using spices and a fine selection of vegetables to achieve a more complex subtle flavor, not necessarily suffuse with fiery pain. Coco manages a balance by serving a mild and medium spice version that's very pleasant to fans of heartiness, and offering a one-of-a-kind exponentially increasing spice scale which starts at 1 and goes up to 10, with level 10 allegedly being 32 times as spicy as level 1. Most friends of mine find level 3 to be their practical limit, and some of my more audacious acquaintances have pushed up to 5 or 6. Personally I just take my level 1 because it's delicious, but the point is that all parties will find what they want.

The selection of food is also great. Beef, vegetable, cutlet, omelet, all kinds are served here and they're all great. Complementary pickled ginger is available at every table and if you haven't tried the combination, it's quite addictive. There's even a small selection of noodles (curry udon and spaghetti) for the non-curry inclined. For connoisseurs, the elephant in the room is whether Coco is better than rival Japanese curry chain Curry House, and the jury is out on that one. On the surface it is slightly cheaper, but that's only if you compare the bare-minimum dishes, which honestly feel a little lighter at Coco. While Curry House's premium dishes are more expensive, I slightly prefer their higher end dishes, like their Keema Curry, to the same dishes at Coco. But it really comes down to preference and since there's no longer a Curry House in Korea Town, there's really no alternative in the area.

Parking underneath the area is validated for an hour and a half as long as you have a receipt (making getting a quick dessert here also an easy way to snag parking for surrounding areas), and generally being the final touch of an architypically good eating experience. If you haven't eaten here yet and you've come to K-town with an appetite for Japanese Curry, this...

I've been to this location and the one in Irvine as well- they're both equally delicious. This may be one of my favorite chain restaurants for Japanese curry in this area. I used to visit curry house in Little Tokyo but after I discovered CoCo, I just haven't been back.

Coco is decently priced and I think it's slightly cheaper than curry house for equal/ better quality of curry. I really like how you can adjust the spicy level and rice level of your plates here.

The service is always really great here. Sometimes it's a little slow but they've always been attentive and really friendly, so a definite plus for that !

The restaurant is also quite clean and they wipe the table down nicely before seating another party. The restroom needs a key and for customers - it's fairly clean and well kept as well, can't complain!

Now to the food - I usually get the chicken or pork katsu curry with rice. Occasionally I get the omelette but I'm not super impressed by the egg so I can do without it and still be satisfied. The flavor of the curry is really tasty and pairs perfectly with their plump white rice ! I recommend the Katsu since it's always fried perfectly and never undercooked or burnt. Sometimes I enjoy the chicken stew with additional spinach if I'm feeling "healthy" that day. I usually eat very spicy but I actually prefer having my curry mild at CoCo so I can enjoy all the flavors (note: each additional level of spicy is +$.. the amount will be noted on the menu).

I always order a side of their corn soup too! Definitely try if you're a fan of creamed corn.

Tip: since I never finish the rice, I always get an XS size of rice and it will subtract $1.00 from your menu item price. It's a good deal if you don't eat a lot of rice and don't want to...

Ordered a Pork Cutlet Omelet Curry with regular rice and regular spice. This is a nice warm comfort meal. The regular amount of spice is good even for those with a sensitive spice palate. You can go for more spice if you’d like and if you think your order wasn’t spicy enough, there are little spice shakers to add some more spice though it may not be as great if you ordered the exact spice ahead of time. The pork cutlet was a nice size and cut into good portions; I would have preferred it to be more crispier on the outside fresh from frying but the outer fried part was still nice. The pork inside was firm but has a nice qq to bite into. The omelet was the right consistency between soft and firm, cut apart very nicely every time. And the curry was nice and savory, served the right amount to be finished off between the cutlet, omelet and rice. Altogether, the presentation of this dish was very pleasing and simple in a way that made it feel like home. This location is in one of the most populated parts of Koreatown. It’s highly recommended to find other means of transport to get here. There is parking validation but I’m unsure where exactly to park as there are multiple lots and the validation only works for one. But the traffic is enough to deter people from driving here. If you’re able to walk to this location, it’s a great choice in the area. The interior is decorated with spices and signage of curry. The staff are quick on their feet and even at peak dinner time on a weekend, it wasn’t too hard to be seated but the place was...