Stimulate your senses at one of LA’s most popular seafood restaurants—this time, we're in Koreatown—with a sensory-overload dinner theatre: The kitchen sautées in the firing wok, skilled hands furiously shuck bivalves, barmen shake up cocktails, speakers blare 'Top 40' indie rock and dual flat screens show the game of the moment. Groups happily dig into plates to share—try fried filets that have been lightly battered, fried and well-seasoned for a crispy bite that's slightly salty, tangy, spicy and completely addictive—and bivalves from the raw bar. There's also an Asian-inspired array of crudo from salmon carpaccio with ponzu sauce and fish roe to—gasp—ankimo, aka monkfish liver.
An obligatory lobster roll is served Connecticut-style (i.e. with drawn butter, served on the side here), with meat that is sometimes overly dressed with tarragon on a soggy toasted brioche bun. Steamed clams and congee display an unusual twist of Eastern inflection—a scan of the room with families and groups of friends confirmed we were in Koreatown, after all—taro noodles and abalone for the clams, and the option to flavor with uni, clam or abalone for the rice porridge.
If you and your dining mates don't mind the occasional wait (it's no reservations for parties less than six), service served with a smile and a shout (yes, it's very loud) and a group-friendly option that's a change from the usual Koreatown spots (menu hits or misses aside) then take a seat and enjoy the show.