I don't think I've ever ate Dak kalbi before. I can't recall a single instance where I have. But I've lived in ktown for what, 25 years? And I've been Korean for much longer than that. At first, when they were cooking up the meal, I was like this looks easy to make. Just get some chicken, mushrooms, tteok and potatoes, slather it in gochujang and you got this. But then they later added cabbage, then waited a while to add perilla leaves and green onions, then waited a while longer to add on the cheese. Also while seeing how much the dish had to be stirred, it clearly became evident that this dish takes a lot of precision and timing, and arm movements as well much like a risotto. It was really good but I think what made it truly stand out were the perilla leaves. If there could've been more of them, that would've been amazing. After finishing off the meal, they added kimchi friend rice to it as well, which included kimchi, sesame oil and a lot of seaweed flakes. I think it went well with the meal but also kind of put me in a food coma. The service is great. They're very attentive with cooking the dish right and also refilling the barley tea. The ambiance is cozy and kind of oldschool. Jonathan Gold wrote about it in the LA times a long time ago too. Great place to check out. read more

Mapo Chicken - Fried rice - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Tucked in the corner of a business plaza and unsuspecting is a special chicken place outside of the bbq chicken and chicken noodle soup spectrum. The mapo dak chicken with all the fixings is a classic social meal for an easy night out. Parking is easy and the ladies of the staff execute a flawless and exceptionally fast service of getting you seated, taking your order, and even cooking the chicken for you while mixing in add-ins with perfect timing so you have absolutely nothing to worry about. There are limited tables inside but the scene is fun where people are drinking and having lively conversation. This place is best for groups of 4 at most. read more

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The place was delicious, it's well seasoned and the portions are big. It's $28 per order(portion) with a 2 portion minimum. They give you side dishes and radish soup too! Definitely get the cheese, makes it extra yummy. They have a small parking lot shared with the other businesses but there was plenty of street parking around. They were very quick in serving the food, they cook it right in front of you. Went in the afternoon, there weren't too many people but it started getting busy as we were leaving. It was a pretty chill experience, the place wasn't too loud. read more

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Authentic Dak Galbi restaurant in Ktown! I came here with two friends on a week night and our experience here was pretty good. We ordered two orders of the spicy stir-fried chicken with cheese and it was good! The dish consists of dark meat chicken with rice cakes and veggies all tossed in a spicy sauce which you can choose based on your heat preference. The servers cook the stir-fry in front of you. For two orders, the portion size was good for our group of 3. The chicken was meaty and juicy. I also liked how it wasn't fatty. My only critique is I wish the chicken came pre-seasoned/marinated. The chicken itself wasn't that flavorful and the only flavor came from the saucy coating. I also loved the rice cakes in the dish which had a soft and chewy texture, but there wasn't too many of them. We also added on a cheese which is a must. The cheese was melty and rich and meshed all the ingredients together. Once you finish a good amount of the chicken, they also give the option to make fried rice with the leftovers. It was pretty good and the rice soaked up all the flavors and textures of the Dak Galbi. They also provide refreshing and cool banchan which was a good balance to the rich and spicy Dak Galbi. The interior and service gives a very mom and pop shop feel. It's comfy and when we went there weren't too many people which was nice. For parking, there's a small parking lot outside with limited spots. Overall, I enjoyed my experience here. The value for the food was good, so I would come back again in the future. read more

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I have no complaints about this place at all! Not only are their portion sizes huge, but they give a perfect amount of chicken & veggies with their Dakgalbi. They also cook the food in front of you & you can request them to adjust the spice level. It almost feels like a hole in the wall spot because it is slightly hidden, but I do think it receives the recognition it deserves. I highly recommend going here when you go to ktown. read more

Mapo Chicken - Dakgalbi - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I am so surprised that I never see this place listed on Reddit for LA eats/korean food. This definitely makes it seem like it's more of a hidden gem compared to the other highly raved Korean restaurants. There was no wait (arrived about an hour before closing on a sunday) and the waitress we had was so much fun and efficient! Food came out quickly and it was entertaining to watch how everything was cooked and when different ingredients were added. I highly recommend paying additional for the cheese (you can request to have it added on just one side!) and the fried rice at the end! read more

Mapo Chicken - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

My friend took me here on a Friday night and I am always in the mood for some hearty Korean food. When we walked in it wasn't busy at all but by the time we ended dinner at about 8 PM the line was out the door. It is small inside and it feels like a hole in the wall. The menu is simple and they're known for their dak galbi so we got that. This place tastes very authentic and the portion was generous. The chicken to cabbage ratio was perfect. You can also control how spicy you want it. And the best part? The price was great! I'd recommend this place if you want to try more authentic dak galbi. Come hungry! read more

Mapo Chicken - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Best dak galbi in LA. Very satisfying meal. Amazing cooking, helpful staff, cozy atmosphere. read more

Mapo Chicken - Dakgalbi - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

This is a dak-galbi place (think a Korean style chicken stir fry) located in a slightly more low key part of Koreatown, which means we were easily able to find 2 street parkings right by the restaurant at 7 pm on a Friday night (something miraculous in and of itself. We did not make reservations (and I don't think they offer as we looked into it) but were able to easily be seated upon arrival. This place is frequented by Korean tourists and I have no doubt it's popular on Naver restaurant reviews. Dak Galbi w/ extra veggies, rice cakes, and cheese: 4/5, okay so admittedly our fault I think what would have made this a 5/5 was if we asked for it to be made spicy. We decided as a group to order no spice and while it was still well seasoned and flavorful, it was missing that extra oomph. read more

Mapo Chicken - Dak Gal Bi w/ veggies, rice cakes, and cheese - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Below 1 star - i ordered to go beef bbq plate with rice , instead they gave me beef with sauce that tasted old with small containers of rice and kimchi , paid $30 including tax - I wanted to bring it back but didn't have the chance , It was a ripped off read more

Dakgalbi 4/5 - this was pretty good but I don't know if it's worth coming back. This dish is pretty easy to make at home. I do like how they cook the chicken in front of you but I do wish they added more veggies. They also add udon but it's not much. We also added rice at the end and they cook it with the leftover sauce which I actually think is the best part. We made a reservation for Saturday night but there were plenty of open tables. They have free parking in their lot! read more

I first found about this place a couple years back, and I come at least once a year every year since. I first found it because I wanted dakgalbi, as I was missing Korea and this had been my favorite dish from when I lived there and I looked for a spot and I found this place, and I love it! You won't regret it, and make sure to leave some chicken there for when they come to mix the rice and seaweed read more

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TLDR: the portion size was drastically reduced (from previous times) and no longer worth it. This was the third time I've been here (first two times were ~1.5 years ago) and I was really excited to return because the chicken dish was not only so good but portion was worth! This time they gave us probably less than half of then original protein (chicken) portion size and at this price point I think it was not worth it. For ~75$, my partner and I did not even get a full meal. I will likely not return. read more

Solid chicken bbq place. I love how you can customize your meal with the spice level, adding extra veggies, cheese and noodles. My favorite part at the end is when they add the rice and mix it with dried seaweed. Additional perks: free parking, the ladies cook your food for you, and you can request bibs if you don't want your clothes to get dirty. read more

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I was in the area and hungry, pulled over to get some food. I come in and am told that it's a minimum of a two person order which is $28. I was by myself and didn't want to spend $28 so I said thank you anyway but I'm just one person. Then I asked if I could use the bathroom and the woman says "No- no public restroom." Lol I'm not public? I was about to sit down and order but didn't know about the two person minimum. Absolutely rude. read more

Got the chicken dak galbi and it was amazing! A little hot to eat but makes perfect for Korean comfort food. It's a very Korean place, so I love the old school vibes I get from here as a Korean American - it makes me feel like I'm at home~ it's a good place to come at night if you just want to relax and chill. I don't drink, but I imagine this would go really well with a couple drinks for those who do. Parking is tight so you have to find street parking most likely, which shouldn't be too bad! I'm giving it the rating I do based on what type of genre this place is. read more

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food? * dakgalbi (4.8/5): comes with rice cake, sweet potatoes, perillla leaves and plenty of chicken. 2 servings fed 3 people (two college guys and one girl LOL). seasoning was well done, and can be adjusted to how spicy you want it to be. note: minimum 2 orders per party! * fried rice: rice and seaweed gets added at the end. crispy if you wait a bit, and very filling! vibes? not a lot of tables, but very hole in the wall vibe. parking lot is small and street parking is hard to find, but worth the food here. good for sharing! come back? yes! homey vibe. read more

Mapo Chicken - 2 portion dakgalbi - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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If you are in the mood for dak galbi, this is your place in ktown. You can adjust the spicy limit (just tell your waitress), and they cook fried rice at the end for you with a couple of banchan. Its honestly a hole in the wall, so parking is super limited. read more

Mapo Chicken - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I wanted give this place 3.5stars but dakgalbi for 4star!!! Reason why I gave 3.5star from total experience. Interior or something. This is my first time here and I love this place. Dakgalbi was my favorite menu in Korea but I couldn't find any of good place to eat and finally I found this place :) I went to here around 9pm and I thought we need hurry to eat but they didn't push us or didn't made uncomfortable while we eating. Emo was really kindly and asking to us need something and spicy level. We wanted order extra vegetables but emo kindly said to us don't have to order extra because enough vegetables. This place interior was old and nothing modern or not a cozy place but Dakgalbi was good and I thought best place in K-town for Dakgalbi. If you looking for Dakgalbi, should go this place!! read more

Mapo Chicken - Dakgalbi. Looks so good - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Just recently tried out Mapo after a friend suggested we all eat there for dinner. We came on a Saturday night and it wasn't busy at all when we arrived. Service was super fast and all the workers were very on top of their duties coming around and cooking the food. I thought everything was delicious and honestly for the price, it's worth it. This place does seem kind of hidden, so I don't know if it's usually busy or maybe we got lucky at the time of arrival. I definitely enjoyed eating here and will be back next time I'm close by! read more

Mapo Chicken - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Love this place!! I've been coming here for years and it always hits the spot. A great spot to come to with family and friends.

Wow, quite delicious! Sauce isn't as spicy so you can ask for more! One of the OG places in KTown!! read more

Dakgalbi here was closest to the one they serve in good restaurants in Chuncheon, SK. Even places I've eaten it in Seoul (Hongdae and Dongdaemun) were meh. Good sized portion; brought 1/4 of it home! Yummy! read more

I love this place and I rave about it to anyone that goes to LA. It was the first place that I ever tried dak galbi and instantly fell in love. It is quite small inside so if they're busy you'll have to wait a bit. In my recent visit I feel like the taste has gone down. It was not as flavorful as it used to be. Maybe they changed their recipe, but it just didn't taste the same as before. I do still recommend it though if you're in the area. It's a very homing environment and staple food. read more

Mapo Chicken - Dak galbi - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

So yummy in my tummy!!! For the paranoid and anxious like me, they have outdoor seating in the back. I'm glad they have their own parking lot, but it is small. When dinner rush starts, you have to look for street parking in the residential area. Parking is still not hard though since it's in the less busier part of Ktown. Sadly and surprisingly, there are extremely limited dak galbi restaurants in la. Tasty Grill used to have it in their menu, but they closed down. This place is still very delicious, flavorful, and reasonably priced. I think it's $20 per serving and if you're in a group that eats normal to less than normal, you could usually get one serving less than your party and still be extremely full. That is because you could and should ask for fried rice at the end and you have side dishes to eat it with. If you do order fried rice, make sure to not eat all of the food since they use some of it to flavor your rice. You could also adjust the spice level if you ask. They make it more spicy by adding more sauce, so it's best to start mild if you don't know how much spice you can take. Always order the cheese and udon as extras!!! Otherwise, it just feels incomplete. You're welcome~ read more

Mapo Chicken - CHICKEN or DAKGALBI - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

This place was quite amazing! I have been wanting to introduce my family to the Dak-galbi and Yelp led me to finding Mapo Chicken. The service here was absolutely great. Our server saw that were a group of 5 and she recommended ordering four servings of Dak-galbi and 2-3 bowls of rice for the fried rice afterwards. I really appreciated her recommendation because it was just the perfect amount. In order to expedite the process of cooking, they made two servings on our table and two servings in another grill and added it on. I was really thankful for their hard efforts. The Dak-galbi they make comes with chicken, sweet potatoes, and udon. In addition to that, you can add on cheese and vegetables. She gave us the option to put cheese on half of the dish which I really appreciated. Additionally, they are so generous with all of their Banchan (Korean side dishes). The post-fried rice was also great. The place was run by mainly two ladies, but they work so hard to make sure everyone gets food quickly and has a great time. I was lucky to find this place and my family really enjoyed their first experience with Dak-galbi. read more

Mapo Chicken - Making of the Dak-Galbi - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Worst Experience: Today (8/10/23) at 7pm my family and I came in to eat dinner and a sever here threw all of our food and took the veggies from our bowl and gave OUR vegetables to the table behind us and told us to use the leftovers which had the red sauce all over it. When we asked for new veggies the server gave us an attitude and threw it at our table and left. On top of that this server never once checked up on our table and went around to all the other tables purposely skipping us. This restaurant has the service of cooking the food so that the customer don't have to but when all the other tables were getting this service we didn't. We had to stir our food and never did we get an apology. This incident ruined our whole mood today. It was clear that she didn't like our table when we did nothing wrong. She looked like she didn't want to work. read more

Mapo Chicken - RUDE SERVER - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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This out of the way spot is a great for Korean tabletop grilled chicken. And the chicken is awesome! Super low key environment and friendly and helpful staff make it comfortable for everyone. read more

I think about this chicken dak galbi all the time! love a restaurant with a signature dish that makes ordering un-fussy. delicious, family-style meal. will definitely be back. read more

Mapo chicken was my first time trying dduk chicken galbi. Honestly was very pleased because #1 tastes great #2 portions are big #3 service is quick!!! Parking sucks here but you can also street park. The spiciness can be adjusted to your preference so it wont ever get too spicy! Definitely a place worth going back to!! read more

Mapo Chicken - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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BEST CHICKEN GALBI SPOT. This reminded me of Korea because of the comforting aesthetic of the restaurant. The interior itself is not outstanding or fancy but it's very homey and cozy. The women employees do it all for you and were really receptive to our requests. They add in the veggies and any add-ons you want later. I'm definitely going to be a regular here whenever I'm craving chicken galbi. I'm shocked this restaurant doesn't have more reviews but chicken galbi is a very Korean thing so maybe that's why. LOVE & MUST TRY :) read more

Mapo Chicken - Chicken galbi for 2 - Korean Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Loved - Chicken galbi - Banchan - Barley water - Fast and attentive service - Casual atmosphere read more

The service staff (old women) was ridiculous. We asked her to bring folk for my son then she was fucking anrgy.. then she was completely rude (maybe she was pissed for no reason) what a rude staff. Food was good but the way that the old lady treat customers was not acceptable. Wont come here again. I am a korean and such korean staff should be fired for this business. read more

A really interesting place to visit. The menu is really limited. You only has the choice of choosing the chicken Dak Galbi and you will not regret your choice. Everything is cooked at the table, right in front of the eyes of the customer and it is a really mouth watering process. The chicken is not as spicy as it looks and cheese is a must try add on. After eating all the chicken, make sure you leave some space for the fried rice which they will add toasted seaweed and kimchi. A really nice one dish wonder place and the service is also pretty good. They have parking right in front of the restaurant so there is no worry about the car safety read more

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I would say mapo is probably one of the better places in ktown for dakgalbi. What puts this place apart from the other competitors is the sauce and quality of chicken. Besides that I'd say I wish they gave you more vegetables. However, you can always add more for a price. Their servers are very attentive and will cook the whole meal including fried rice at the end upon request. It's a place you can relax and enjoy a drink with a couple friends. Only other thing was I wish the tables and chairs weren't so close to the party next to us. As I can hear their whole conversation and they could probably hear ours. read more

Alright. For those of you who are still as yet uninitiated, let me explain how this works. Mapo serves basically one dish "dak galbi". (There are other dishes but that's not why you come here because of you find those elsewhere.). Dak galbi is a spicy Korean dish that incorporates chicken, chewy rice cakes, slices of sweet potato, and lots of leafy greens, grilled in a massive pan with sesame oil and spicy red pepper sauce. When you are seated, the server will ask how many portions you need and how spicy you want your food. Generally 2 servings is enough for 3 people, and 3 is enough for 4 (formula should be n + 1). I recommend medium to regular spice for most people, but be careful if you order extra spicy. Let the server know your order, grab a drink and wait for the show to begin! The server will bring out side dishes (banchan), that include a light salad, kimchi, and other pickled veggies to offset the spice. The server will prepare your food at the table, and you'll basically be able to tell when the food is ready once the chicken looks done. It's quick, delicious and satisfying. The prices are super affordable and it's become a favorite for college students because it's so easy to share, especially at the larger tables. So don't expect it to be quiet there on a weekend! But you will be full! Enjoy! read more

Excellent food, great service and a really unique take on KBBQ. Definitely going back!

So good! Just thinking about it now makes me want to go back right now. Came here on a Friday night and just barely beat the weekend dinner crowd. By the time we left there was a crowd of people outside waiting to be seated. Considering I was in a group with 6 guys I consider it a miracle that we beat the rush. We got the Dak Gal Bi (spicy stir-fried chicken) which was so bomb. Everything is made right on the grill in front of you, but the Korean ladies supervising the restaurant pretty much make everything for you. The chicken was cooked just right and had the perfect amount of spice added. When you're done with the stir-fry don't forget about the mixed rice afterwards. My group added some cheese to this part for some extra gooey goodness. Definitely worth the visit! Parking: Small lot available in the front, street parking can also be found in the surrounding area read more

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MIGHT I SUGGEST THIS RESTUARANT TO EVERYONE IN THE WORLD? You know this place is legit when the people you sit next to are all speaking Korean. This restaurant basically serves only one dish, "dak galbi" which is a spicy stir-fry chicken. You can add vegetables, rice cakes, cheese, etc to the them for a price of 1.99 (per addition). We ordered one order that serves two for three people and were stuffed out the wazoo afterwards which was perfect! I cannot fully describe the food because it is an experience you must try first hand. The food is cooked right in front of your eyes, make sure to stir so it doesn't burn! I highly recommend adding vegetables, rice cakes, and cheese one top! It makes for a gooey, endlessly delicious, and unforgettable experience. read more

Generous portions and very yummy. Service was very attentive. And at the end of your meal, they bring rice out and turns your leftover chicken and veggies into a fried rice / bibimbap mixture. Our waitress was very attentive and came to make the fried rice at the perfect time. I really loved the rice cakes that come with the chicken (only thing on their menu so you know it's good), and ordered extra rice cakes on the side. Great decision. Really recommend this place! read more