Perilla LA (Los Angeles, CA)
Perilla L.A. – Banchan & More
1027 Alpine St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
626-775-5645
www.perillala.com
Sat 04/18/2026, 01:55p-03:30p
Back in February, I enjoyed a lovely meal at Miles Thompson's Baby Bistro, situated inside Alpine Courtyard in Victor Heights, on Chinatown's border with Echo Park. The development is also home to Perilla LA (a.k.a. 깻잎상회, or kkaennip sanghoe), which features Chef/Owner Jihee Kim's farmers' market-inspired riffs on traditional Korean banchan. I'd been meaning to check the place out ever since it dropped back in July 2023, but the problem has always been that the shop's only open during the daytime, when I'm typically not around. However, I recently had to deliver some menus to the LA Public Library, and thus headed over to Perilla afterward.
About the Chef: Kim Ji-hee (김지희) was born in September 1986 and grew up in Busan, South Korea. In the 1980s, her grandmother founded a doenjang-jjigae specialist spot called Jungwon (정원식당비밀), which her parents still run to this day. It was in that kitchen where she was first exposed to the world of professional cooking, and she was often tasked with making the restaurant's crucial fermented soybean paste. At the age of 20, Kim immigrated to the United States to expand her culinary horizons, first settling in the San Diego area. From the start of 2007 to the end of 2008, she served as a garde manger at Harrah's in Valley Center, and it was during this period where she would meet her future husband.
The budding Chef would eventually relocate to the Bay Area, and spent 2011 to 2012 attaining her degree at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. While attending culinary school, she worked nights as a line cook at Range under Phil West, continuing on after graduation and only decamping in January 2013. In April that year, Kim transitioned over to a position at Michael Mina, but only stayed seven months. Her next gig was at Restaurant Gary Danko, where she ran the fish station for a year starting in January 2014. It was also during this duration when she got married, which resulted in her moving down to LA in order to be closer to her now-husband's family.
In February 2015, Kim secured a job at Rustic Canyon, where she was mentored by Jeremy Fox. However, she ended up leaving in March 2017 for a sous chef post at Hamasaku, but exited after only four months. Following, she spent August and September traveling to Japan and Korea, and upon returning, went to work for Artisanal Brewers Collective, running the food program at 6th & La Brea, which bowed in July 2018. That role proved to be short-lived, and by the end of the year, she was back in Korea, but this time with Joshua Pressman. Pressman's the son of the late Amy Pressman, and first met Kim in 2015 at Rustic Canyon before linking back up with her at 6th & La Brea.
Once the two returned Stateside, they decided to debut a modern Korean pop-up by the name of Dandi (단디, "thoroughly"), which held its first event in late April 2019. The dinner series appeared at Button Mash and eventually took up residence inside Hotel Normandie in July. Dandi garnered its fair share of praise, but was done in by the pandemic; the pair cooked their final dinner together on March 9th, 2020.
With COVID-19 shutdowns now firmly in place, Kim started slanging gimbap and banchan out of her apartment that May under the Perilla LA banner. She began gaining considerable acclaim for her cooking, resulting in various pop-ups at the likes of Tilda wine bar, and eventually the signing of a lease for a permanent storefront in June 2021. Perilla's location at Alpine Courtyard thus soft-opened on June 30th, 2023, with the grand-opening coming five days later.
Perilla has been largely well-received since its launch. In September 2023, it was named one of "America's Best Restaurants" by the NY Times. This was quickly followed by a #42 placement on the LA Times' "101 Best Restaurants" ranking, which has since improved to #19 in 2024 and #18 in 2025. Kim was even deemed a James Beard "Best Chef: California" semifinalist in January 2024.
Perilla occupies Building E at Alpine Courtyard, which I believe is a converted garage. It's a rather small space, with no indoor seating whatsoever...
...So diners will have to grab a table outside.
In addition to a rotating selection of roughly ten banchans, you'll also find a menu of other theme-appropriate dishes and a small selection of sundry beverages. Ironically, even though this place takes its name and logo from kkaennip, perilla doesn't appear to be used in any of the food. Click for larger versions.
Yuchoy Kimchi [$6.00] | Fresno Evergreen Farm Yuchoy fermented with house-made Korean chili flake, plum syrup, garlic, ginger, apple, and chili flake. Bright, tangy, and delicately spicy
I'm generally a fan of choy sum, and today I learned that it can make for some fine kimchi. I appreciated how the vegetable's more assertive bittersweetness played with the banchan's classic-leaning flavors, while texturally the dish offered something a bit different from the norm, too.
Avocado Mentaiko Rice [$18.00] | Avocado rice seasoned with mentaiko (pollock roe) sauce and trout roe. Served with seasonal fermented vegetables
Here, I enjoyed the back-and-forth between lush avocado and the permeating savory-salinity of myeongnan, with the trout roe adding additional pops of brine. The pickles certainly worked for contrast, and the rice itself was what I wanted in terms of stickiness.
Smoked Egg [$8.00] | Three 8-minute eggs marinated and smoked in soy sauce that has been infused with garlic and yuzu
Set in a very familiar-tasting sweet-n-savory liquid was a trio of hunjeran, which were spot-on in terms of texture and their interaction between white and yolk.
As a nod to Malbec World Day, today's twentieth anniversary tipple was the 2006 Bodega Catena Zapata Nicolás Catena Zapata, perhaps the most iconic wine to ever come out of Argentina's Mendoza region. The producer traces its founding to 1902, and this particular cuvée celebrated its first vintage in 1997, named after the bodega's third-generation owner, who was key in elevating the status of Argentinean vino starting in the early 1980s. This bottle was a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Malbec, crafted by winemaker Alejandro Vigil and aged 18 months in French oak.
Mushroom Bokkeum [$6.00] | A medley of trumpet, woodear, and shiitake mushrooms stir-fried with crispy tofu seasoned with sweet soy sauce
The beoseot-bokkeum combined a mushroom three-way with firm, tempering cuts of tofu and a healthy dosing of black pepper, with the dish underpinned by a marked sweetness.
Chicken Dosirak [$18.00] | Doenjang-marinated chicken thigh served over rice with a daily selection of four banchan and egg
Chicken arrived as tender and juicy as I was hoping for, and was well-imbued with the nutty-savoriness of its soybean paste marinade. As tasty as the bird was itself, it also paired swimmingly with its quartet of sides, with the bitterness of those greens being particularly apropos. I had no complaints about the actual bap, either.
Potato Salad [$6.00] | Creamy potato salad with apples, eggs, and fermented cucumber
I do possess a particular proclivity for potato salad, and fortunately Kim's gamja saelleodeu didn't disappoint. It was pretty much the quintessential expression of a Korean-style, Kewpie-based preparation, arriving smooth and creamy, with a satisfying interplay between tangy, pickle-y bits and those crunchy dices of apple.
Fermented Cucumber with Korean Pear [$6.00] | Fermented cucumber and sweet Korean pear, lightly seasoned with Korean chili flakes, garlic, and rice vinegar for a bright, savory-sweet bite
The crisp, sweet, juicy nature of bae was on proud display, set against a bevy of spicy, ferment-y flavors, with the cucumber serving as a welcomed foil in terms of mouthfeel.
Gimbap [$14.00] | Cucumber, avocado, egg, pickled radish, carrots, garlic chives, and sweet soy shiitakes rolled in seaweed and rice. Served with Korean hot mustard sauce
I generally have a hard time turning down kimbap, and Kim's version didn't let me down. I appreciated the roll's multifaceted presentation of tastes and textures, with the savoriness of the 'shrooms and the tang of danmuji being particularly notable. Even better with a squirt of that super-zingy gyeojasoseu on the side.
Rolled Egg [$8.00] | Thin layers of sweet rolled egg and savory seaweed
The gyeran-mari consisted of relatively light layers of egg surrounding a core of seaweed, which proffered both textural variation and an element of savoriness.
Spigarello Namul [$6.50] | Blanched spigarello dressed with fermented soybean paste, garlic, plum syrup, and sesame oil
Spigariello isn't an ingredient that's commonly used for banchan, which is too bad, as it ended up being my favorite of the bunch. I loved how its robust, earthy bittersweetness meshed with the spicy, ferment-ish, and mostly importantly, fruity (from the use of maesil-cheong I assume) forces in the dish. The veggie was quite a textural treat to boot.
Soy Garlic Noodle [$13.50] | Cold noodles with soy-garlic dressing, sesame powder, and smoked egg
Guksu were on point texturally and made sense with the nutty, savory flavors present, while that smoked egg was pretty flawless. However, the noodles ate drier than I was hoping for, so I would've preferred more dressing, or perhaps some sesame oil.
Meiji Tofu + Gochujang Meat Sauce [$8.00] | Soft meiji tofu with pickled sea beans and a spicy, savory ground beef sauce
What appeared to be a take on yak gochujang conveyed an abundance of intensely savory, sweet, meaty flavors, with a creeping heat. Unsurprisingly, it served as a consummate counterpoint to that soft, creamy, delicate tofu.
Oiji Muchim [$6.00] | Fermented cucumber seasoned with garlic, scallion, rice vinegar, plum syrup, and sesame seed
Cucumbers showed off a nice crunch, their refreshing flavors joined by a pleasingly pickle-y tartness as well as the unmistakable nuttiness of sesame.
Mushroom Dupbap [$16.00] | Galbi-marinated and braised maitake mushrooms, broiled and served over rice with scallion-ginger sauce
My deopbap featured pleasingly firm, "feathery" slices of ipsae-beoseot accompanied by a delightfully zesty condiment incorporating both ginger and scallion. And again, I had no qualms about the rice.
Jang Ah Jji [$8.00] | A variety of seasonal vegetable marinated in soy vinegar, garlic, and serranos. Topped with seaweed and red onions
Last up was another standout for me: jangajji set in a seemingly sweeter-than-usual marinade. With regard to texture, I quite liked the juxtaposition of gratifyingly chewy king oyster mushrooms with the crunch of both carrot and cauliflower, while at the same time, those onions imparted a welcomed zippiness.
Over the past few years, I'd been hearing a lot of good things about Perilla, and fortunately, it appears that the commendations have been justified. The banchan were clearly some of the best I've had, and did an admirable job melding the traditions of hansik with Californian influences and Kim's training in "Western" cooking, while the non-banchan dishes were certainly worth a try as well. I'll be curious to see if the Chef will eventually branch out and open a more formal restaurant serving her version of Cal-Korean cuisine--that could be interesting.
1027 Alpine St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
626-775-5645
www.perillala.com
Sat 04/18/2026, 01:55p-03:30p
Back in February, I enjoyed a lovely meal at Miles Thompson's Baby Bistro, situated inside Alpine Courtyard in Victor Heights, on Chinatown's border with Echo Park. The development is also home to Perilla LA (a.k.a. 깻잎상회, or kkaennip sanghoe), which features Chef/Owner Jihee Kim's farmers' market-inspired riffs on traditional Korean banchan. I'd been meaning to check the place out ever since it dropped back in July 2023, but the problem has always been that the shop's only open during the daytime, when I'm typically not around. However, I recently had to deliver some menus to the LA Public Library, and thus headed over to Perilla afterward.
About the Chef: Kim Ji-hee (김지희) was born in September 1986 and grew up in Busan, South Korea. In the 1980s, her grandmother founded a doenjang-jjigae specialist spot called Jungwon (정원식당비밀), which her parents still run to this day. It was in that kitchen where she was first exposed to the world of professional cooking, and she was often tasked with making the restaurant's crucial fermented soybean paste. At the age of 20, Kim immigrated to the United States to expand her culinary horizons, first settling in the San Diego area. From the start of 2007 to the end of 2008, she served as a garde manger at Harrah's in Valley Center, and it was during this period where she would meet her future husband.
The budding Chef would eventually relocate to the Bay Area, and spent 2011 to 2012 attaining her degree at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. While attending culinary school, she worked nights as a line cook at Range under Phil West, continuing on after graduation and only decamping in January 2013. In April that year, Kim transitioned over to a position at Michael Mina, but only stayed seven months. Her next gig was at Restaurant Gary Danko, where she ran the fish station for a year starting in January 2014. It was also during this duration when she got married, which resulted in her moving down to LA in order to be closer to her now-husband's family.
In February 2015, Kim secured a job at Rustic Canyon, where she was mentored by Jeremy Fox. However, she ended up leaving in March 2017 for a sous chef post at Hamasaku, but exited after only four months. Following, she spent August and September traveling to Japan and Korea, and upon returning, went to work for Artisanal Brewers Collective, running the food program at 6th & La Brea, which bowed in July 2018. That role proved to be short-lived, and by the end of the year, she was back in Korea, but this time with Joshua Pressman. Pressman's the son of the late Amy Pressman, and first met Kim in 2015 at Rustic Canyon before linking back up with her at 6th & La Brea.
Once the two returned Stateside, they decided to debut a modern Korean pop-up by the name of Dandi (단디, "thoroughly"), which held its first event in late April 2019. The dinner series appeared at Button Mash and eventually took up residence inside Hotel Normandie in July. Dandi garnered its fair share of praise, but was done in by the pandemic; the pair cooked their final dinner together on March 9th, 2020.
With COVID-19 shutdowns now firmly in place, Kim started slanging gimbap and banchan out of her apartment that May under the Perilla LA banner. She began gaining considerable acclaim for her cooking, resulting in various pop-ups at the likes of Tilda wine bar, and eventually the signing of a lease for a permanent storefront in June 2021. Perilla's location at Alpine Courtyard thus soft-opened on June 30th, 2023, with the grand-opening coming five days later.
Perilla has been largely well-received since its launch. In September 2023, it was named one of "America's Best Restaurants" by the NY Times. This was quickly followed by a #42 placement on the LA Times' "101 Best Restaurants" ranking, which has since improved to #19 in 2024 and #18 in 2025. Kim was even deemed a James Beard "Best Chef: California" semifinalist in January 2024.
Perilla occupies Building E at Alpine Courtyard, which I believe is a converted garage. It's a rather small space, with no indoor seating whatsoever...
...So diners will have to grab a table outside.
In addition to a rotating selection of roughly ten banchans, you'll also find a menu of other theme-appropriate dishes and a small selection of sundry beverages. Ironically, even though this place takes its name and logo from kkaennip, perilla doesn't appear to be used in any of the food. Click for larger versions.
Yuchoy Kimchi [$6.00] | Fresno Evergreen Farm Yuchoy fermented with house-made Korean chili flake, plum syrup, garlic, ginger, apple, and chili flake. Bright, tangy, and delicately spicy
I'm generally a fan of choy sum, and today I learned that it can make for some fine kimchi. I appreciated how the vegetable's more assertive bittersweetness played with the banchan's classic-leaning flavors, while texturally the dish offered something a bit different from the norm, too.
Avocado Mentaiko Rice [$18.00] | Avocado rice seasoned with mentaiko (pollock roe) sauce and trout roe. Served with seasonal fermented vegetables
Here, I enjoyed the back-and-forth between lush avocado and the permeating savory-salinity of myeongnan, with the trout roe adding additional pops of brine. The pickles certainly worked for contrast, and the rice itself was what I wanted in terms of stickiness.
Smoked Egg [$8.00] | Three 8-minute eggs marinated and smoked in soy sauce that has been infused with garlic and yuzu
Set in a very familiar-tasting sweet-n-savory liquid was a trio of hunjeran, which were spot-on in terms of texture and their interaction between white and yolk.
As a nod to Malbec World Day, today's twentieth anniversary tipple was the 2006 Bodega Catena Zapata Nicolás Catena Zapata, perhaps the most iconic wine to ever come out of Argentina's Mendoza region. The producer traces its founding to 1902, and this particular cuvée celebrated its first vintage in 1997, named after the bodega's third-generation owner, who was key in elevating the status of Argentinean vino starting in the early 1980s. This bottle was a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Malbec, crafted by winemaker Alejandro Vigil and aged 18 months in French oak.
- Initial Impressions: This smelled of jammy blackberries counterbalanced by an agreeable sensation of roasted meats. In the mouth, I found restrained tannins and lots more of those vivacious berry flavors, evened out by flashes of mint and a touch of smoky astringency.
- After 30 Minutes: The nose became noticeably dustier, earthier, but still demonstrated loads of fragrant fruit, but rendered in a more floral manner. On the palate, the wine actually offered less fruit, and highlighted more aggressive tannins along with increased smoke, herb, and a sous bois quality.
- After 60 Minutes: Aromas at this point were a bit more muted, and actually began going in the direction of blueberries. I also tasted more blueberry, again with components of forest floor and mint. Overall, a pleasurable wine with plenty of life left in it.
Mushroom Bokkeum [$6.00] | A medley of trumpet, woodear, and shiitake mushrooms stir-fried with crispy tofu seasoned with sweet soy sauce
The beoseot-bokkeum combined a mushroom three-way with firm, tempering cuts of tofu and a healthy dosing of black pepper, with the dish underpinned by a marked sweetness.
Chicken Dosirak [$18.00] | Doenjang-marinated chicken thigh served over rice with a daily selection of four banchan and egg
Chicken arrived as tender and juicy as I was hoping for, and was well-imbued with the nutty-savoriness of its soybean paste marinade. As tasty as the bird was itself, it also paired swimmingly with its quartet of sides, with the bitterness of those greens being particularly apropos. I had no complaints about the actual bap, either.
Potato Salad [$6.00] | Creamy potato salad with apples, eggs, and fermented cucumber
I do possess a particular proclivity for potato salad, and fortunately Kim's gamja saelleodeu didn't disappoint. It was pretty much the quintessential expression of a Korean-style, Kewpie-based preparation, arriving smooth and creamy, with a satisfying interplay between tangy, pickle-y bits and those crunchy dices of apple.
Fermented Cucumber with Korean Pear [$6.00] | Fermented cucumber and sweet Korean pear, lightly seasoned with Korean chili flakes, garlic, and rice vinegar for a bright, savory-sweet bite
The crisp, sweet, juicy nature of bae was on proud display, set against a bevy of spicy, ferment-y flavors, with the cucumber serving as a welcomed foil in terms of mouthfeel.
Gimbap [$14.00] | Cucumber, avocado, egg, pickled radish, carrots, garlic chives, and sweet soy shiitakes rolled in seaweed and rice. Served with Korean hot mustard sauce
I generally have a hard time turning down kimbap, and Kim's version didn't let me down. I appreciated the roll's multifaceted presentation of tastes and textures, with the savoriness of the 'shrooms and the tang of danmuji being particularly notable. Even better with a squirt of that super-zingy gyeojasoseu on the side.
Rolled Egg [$8.00] | Thin layers of sweet rolled egg and savory seaweed
The gyeran-mari consisted of relatively light layers of egg surrounding a core of seaweed, which proffered both textural variation and an element of savoriness.
Spigarello Namul [$6.50] | Blanched spigarello dressed with fermented soybean paste, garlic, plum syrup, and sesame oil
Spigariello isn't an ingredient that's commonly used for banchan, which is too bad, as it ended up being my favorite of the bunch. I loved how its robust, earthy bittersweetness meshed with the spicy, ferment-ish, and mostly importantly, fruity (from the use of maesil-cheong I assume) forces in the dish. The veggie was quite a textural treat to boot.
Soy Garlic Noodle [$13.50] | Cold noodles with soy-garlic dressing, sesame powder, and smoked egg
Guksu were on point texturally and made sense with the nutty, savory flavors present, while that smoked egg was pretty flawless. However, the noodles ate drier than I was hoping for, so I would've preferred more dressing, or perhaps some sesame oil.
Meiji Tofu + Gochujang Meat Sauce [$8.00] | Soft meiji tofu with pickled sea beans and a spicy, savory ground beef sauce
What appeared to be a take on yak gochujang conveyed an abundance of intensely savory, sweet, meaty flavors, with a creeping heat. Unsurprisingly, it served as a consummate counterpoint to that soft, creamy, delicate tofu.
Oiji Muchim [$6.00] | Fermented cucumber seasoned with garlic, scallion, rice vinegar, plum syrup, and sesame seed
Cucumbers showed off a nice crunch, their refreshing flavors joined by a pleasingly pickle-y tartness as well as the unmistakable nuttiness of sesame.
Mushroom Dupbap [$16.00] | Galbi-marinated and braised maitake mushrooms, broiled and served over rice with scallion-ginger sauce
My deopbap featured pleasingly firm, "feathery" slices of ipsae-beoseot accompanied by a delightfully zesty condiment incorporating both ginger and scallion. And again, I had no qualms about the rice.
Jang Ah Jji [$8.00] | A variety of seasonal vegetable marinated in soy vinegar, garlic, and serranos. Topped with seaweed and red onions
Last up was another standout for me: jangajji set in a seemingly sweeter-than-usual marinade. With regard to texture, I quite liked the juxtaposition of gratifyingly chewy king oyster mushrooms with the crunch of both carrot and cauliflower, while at the same time, those onions imparted a welcomed zippiness.
Over the past few years, I'd been hearing a lot of good things about Perilla, and fortunately, it appears that the commendations have been justified. The banchan were clearly some of the best I've had, and did an admirable job melding the traditions of hansik with Californian influences and Kim's training in "Western" cooking, while the non-banchan dishes were certainly worth a try as well. I'll be curious to see if the Chef will eventually branch out and open a more formal restaurant serving her version of Cal-Korean cuisine--that could be interesting.
posted by kevinEats at
1:55 PM
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