Baroo

"When a special occasion calls for a vegan fine dining experience, Baroo’s plant-based tasting menu is the way to go. For $125 per person, the Arts District Korean restaurant offers a seven-course dinner that leans into the funk. The menu changes frequently, but one course might be tart fermented tomato gelee calibrated to make the side side of mouth water, followed by pickled hearts of palm in sweet-nutty ssamjang curry. The grand finale is an elaborate banchan set with rice, a nourishing radish leaf soup, and tangy nibbles like morels in strawberry-infused soy sauce, best enjoyed with Baroo's equally varied (and funky) rice wine and soju pairing. Heads up though: You'll need to request Baroo's vegan (or vegetarian) tasting menu at least 24 hours before your reservation." - sylvio martins, garrett snyder

"After taking several years off to build a family and Grand Central Market restaurant, Shiku, with wife Mina Park, Kwang Uh brought his celebrated fermentation restaurant to the Arts District in 2023. Baroo’s reincarnation in the Arts District — a tasting menu restaurant with creative cocktails, beers, sul, and wine — has placed it firmly at the top of LA’s modern Korean food movement. Though the exploration of Buddhist philosophy is a part of the menu’s overall direction, Uh and Park aren’t heavy-handed with the ideology. Instead, expect a gorgeous, thought-provoking journey through a proverbial life cycle in Buddhism, from youth to maturity, exhibited as courses like battered skate wing with seabuckthorn wrapped in lettuce or pork collar with goulash jjigae and baek kimchi. Priced at $115 before drinks, tax, and tip, Baroo is now the experience it should have been from the start. — Matthew Kang, lead editor, Southern California/Southwest" - Eater Staff, Rebecca Roland, Matthew Kang, Mona Holmes

"Former East Hollywood fermentation shop Baroo has reinvented itself as a Korean-tasting menu restaurant in the Arts District. Owners Kwang Uh and Mina Park are still at the helm, assembling a menu of ever-changing dishes like soy-braised black cod and pork collar with goulash jjigae. An entirely vegetarian tasting menu is also available featuring equally creative dishes including grilled and marinated lotus root, and smoked hearts of palm." - Rebecca Roland

"Baroo is offering a tasting menu with proceeds going to support the Day Laborer Network, helping immigrant workers affected by wildfires." - Rebecca Roland

"After taking several years off to build a family and Grand Central Market restaurant, Shiku, with wife Mina Park, Kwang Uh brought his celebrated fermentation restaurant to the Arts District in 2023. Baroo’s reincarnation in the Arts District — a tasting menu restaurant with creative cocktails, beers, sul, and wine — has placed it firmly at the top of LA’s modern Korean food movement. Though the exploration of Buddhist philosophy is a part of the menu’s overall direction, Uh and Park aren’t heavy-handed with the ideology. Instead, expect a gorgeous, thought-provoking journey through a proverbial life cycle in Buddhism, from youth to maturity, exhibited as courses like battered skate wing with seabuckthorn wrapped in lettuce or pork collar with goulash jjigae and baek kimchi. Priced at $115 before drinks, tax, and tip, Baroo is now the experience it should have been from the start. — Matthew Kang, lead editor" - Eater Staff