Little Tokyo in Downtown Los Angeles is by far our favorite spot to hang out in the city! It’s full of great food and is so close to our other favorite area in Downtown, Arts District (breweries anyone?). Since we are always there, we figured we might as well give a shoutout to our favorite places to eat & drink at in Little Tokyo!
Pasta e Pasta by Allegro
Yes, we are absolutely starting this list off with pasta! You heard that right. Pasta! Japanese style pasta to be exact. Just trust us and try it. Our go-to dish every time is the Mentai Japanese Cream. It’s a Japanese style cream sauce with cod roe and mushrooms. Sooooo good!
Fugetsu-Do
Not many businesses can say they’ve been around for more than 100 years. Fugetsu-Do is a family-owned and operated mochi and manju shop that has been operating in Little Tokyo since 1903! Support local LA businesses and try them out!
Our favorites are the Uguisu, mochi filled with red bean paste and dusted with Kinako (roasted soybean) powder, and the Korey’s Chocolate Mochi, chocolate-flavored mochi with a chocolate ganache center.
Men Oh Tokushima Ramen
Just look at that ramen! Makes us drool every time. No Little Tokyo post would be complete without ramen. And yes yes we know, what about Daikokuya or Shin-Sen-Gumi? Well, you have your favorites and we have ours. We enjoy the intimate small atmosphere of Men Oh. It really reminds us of how it was in Japan!
Demitasse
If you need to satisfy your coffee cravings, there is no better place than Demitasse. Their sign out front says it all “Friends don’t let friends drink Starbucks”! Honestly, once you go here you will understand the difference in quality. One of our favorite orders is this Kyoto Iced Coffee!
Mitsuru Cafe
Looking for something to snack on while walking around? Mitsuru Cafe has got you covered. If you get there at the right time, you can see them making fresh imagawayaki through their front window.
The best way to describe this treat is like a stuffed pancake. It is filled with a sweet red bean paste. Our other go-to order is their mitarashi dango, rice dumplings with a sweet soy glaze!
Far Bar
Fan of craft beers, whiskey, or bourbon? Far Bar is your spot! They have a large selection of bottled craft beers from Japan as well as 34 different craft beers on tap. For something a bit stronger, try out their whiskey highballs or the old fashioned.
Suehiro
Suehiro is the place we go when we are really missing Japan. Their menu is full of our favorite Japanese comforts foods: unagi don, chazuke, hayashi rice! So much good food coming out of their kitchen. Makes us hungry just thinking about it!
Tanota Takoyaki
Here’s another great place to stop by for a snack! For those that don’t know, takoyaki are fried octopus balls. Basically a fried dough ball filled with green onions, octopus, pickled ginger, and fried tempura scraps.
At Takoyaki Tanota, you have options when it comes to the toppings. From the Original, the Mentaiko, and even a Parmesan Truffle. Try them out and see which one you like!
Donatsu
Two words: vegan donuts. Okay to be honest we were a bit skeptical at first, but damn are these good! The dough is light and fluffy and they have interesting options like the Pistachio Rose Matcha or their Creme Brulee (our favorite)!
Aloha Cafe
Our go-to spot for Hawaiian food! I mean just look at that french toast, made with giant blocks of Hawaiian bread. On the savory side of things, our favorite is the Loco Moco: a bed of rice topped with homemade hamburger patty, two eggs, grilled onions, and smothered in brown gravy!
If you want something to soothe your soul, we also recommend their saimin: buckwheat noodles, served in a dashi broth topped with sliced char siu, kamaboko, & green onions.
We hope this list of our favorites in Little Tokyo will encourage you to try out these local LA spots. Let us know in the comments what your favorite place and your favorite dish is in Little Tokyo! Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Pinterest as well.
