Damsot — Restaurant in Los Angeles

This place has been on the list for a while, and it’s perfect for busy workers who want a quick yet satisfying meal. With over 50 branches in Korea, its consistency and quality are pretty reliable!

Their signature is pot rice — sticky white rice at the bottom topped with options like spicy eggplant, cheese eggplant, beef, eel, abalone, and salmon. Each set comes with Korean side dishes (like kimchi and pickled radish), salad, and miso soup, plus a pot of barley tea to pour over the crispy rice at the bottom, creating a comforting second serving similar to porridge.

Each table even has a step-by-step guide: mix the main dish with most of the rice, scoop it into your bowl, then pour the barley tea over the remaining crispy rice, wait until it softens, and enjoy!

【Abalone Pot Rice】 Tender abalone steamed with fresh ingredients and their signature broth made from abalone innards. Topped with lots of roe — you can even wrap it in seaweed with side dishes for extra flavor.

【Beef Loin Sukiyaki】 A Korean-style sukiyaki with a broth said to be perfected after 600 hours of research. Dip the beef loin in raw egg for a rich bite — the Korean broth is bolder, and I really enjoyed it.

【Steak Pot Rice】 Limited to 15 portions for lunch and 15 for dinner daily. Cut into cube-like pieces, the steak is incredibly tender and juicy.

【Shishito Pepper Tofu Pot Rice】 A perfect pairing of shishito peppers and tofu. The crisp fragrance of the peppers and the richness of the tofu make it a clean, refreshing option.

The restaurant is bright and clean, and yes — they even have their own parking lot with...

I got to try the same popular style pot rice in Los Angeles. I had seen this popular Korean hot pot rice so many times online, and finally got to try it. The crispy rice crust is my favorite. I’m a big fan of eggplant, and I love all eggplant dishes. I didn’t expect Koreans could make eggplant rice taste this good. The eggplant comes in big, thick pieces—not like the usual way we fry it in oil. This eggplant isn’t oily at all, but it doesn’t affect the flavor one bit. Mixed with minced meat, it becomes a big, deliciously mushy bowl—so tasty. At the table next to us, people ordered salmon and eel rice. We chose eel, and it was really high quality—tender, barely any bones, and delicious. The kids ordered fried chicken rice and finished it all. Surprisingly, the shishito peppers on top were even better than the chicken pieces—I ended up eating them all. We also got a sukiyaki beef hot pot with udon. It wasn’t as sweet as the ones in typical Japanese restaurants, but still very tasty. We finished every last bit. A unique touch is that the meal comes with a small bottle of yogurt drink at the end, cold and refreshing—perfect to cleanse the palate. Make sure to go early during mealtime—we went right at 5 PM when they opened, and by the time we left, there was a long line outside. The restaurant has a parking lot downstairs for diners upstairs. Parking costs $5, which is...

Damsot – Honest Review on Their Pot Rice 🍚✨

I was so excited to try Damsot because pot rice (솥밥) is HUGE in Korea! When I had it there, the pot was steaming hot, keeping everything warm and savory. Naturally, I expected the same here in LA—but here’s my honest take.

What we had:

🥩 Steak Pot Rice ($27.99) – Steak was a bit chewy, and my butter didn’t even melt because the bowl was more hot-warm rather than piping hot (this was for all of our dishes 😣); however, the chewiness of the meat probably could be adjusted if you tell them in advance! 🍆 Eggplant Pot Rice ($18.00) – Simple, clean flavors, but nothing surprising. 🍖Beef Belly Pot Rice ($19.99) – Tasted exactly as expected, but didn’t have that extra depth I was hoping for in their sauce. I thought the sauce was pretty ordinary sauce, which all Koreans could make at home.

💭 My Thoughts:

✔ Presentation was neat & clean ✔ Service was top-notch—super kind & attentive! ✖ Flavors were just okay—not bad, but not amazing ✖ Steak sauce felt like something I could buy at the store (strictly my opinion but I can even tell you the brand name 😂)

I haven’t been back since their grand opening, so maybe things have improved! If you’re curious, I’d say it’s worth trying once and decide for yourself since our tastebuds are all different, but I personally...