Under-the-Radar New Restaurants to Check Out in Los Angeles, June 2025
Brand new restaurants open every day across the Southland, usually without too much fanfare. This periodic compilation highlights some of the most notable and under-the-radar places that have sprouted up recently. From the San Fernando Valley to the South Bay, from the Westside to the San Gabriel Valley — let's dive right in. For the biggest restaurant openings in town, check out this companion list .
Koreatown— San Gabriel Valley Chinese restaurant Potato Powder Love Noodle just expanded with a new location in Koreatown, right across the street from Chapman Market. The restaurant specializes in chewy, hand-cut noodles and springy potato noodles, served in a variety of soups. For something with a kick, try Sichuan spicy broth, or go for a milder option with a tomato base. Tofu skin, mushroom, and pork belly skewers are also available. 3450 W. Sixth Street, Suite 108, Los Angeles, CA 90020.
Brentwood— A new daytime Japanese sando spot landed in Brentwood on June 20. Niko Sando serves a simple lineup of four Japanese-style sandwiches: katsu sando, egg salad sando, fruit sando, and wagyu sando. Each comes sandwiched between two slices of fluffy milk bread with the crust trimmed off on two sides. Those who are still mourning the loss of Echo Park's Konbi may have found a worthy replacement in Niko Sando, albeit on the other side of town. 1639 1/2 Silver Lake Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026 .
Koreatown— Two Koreatown restaurants — Mountain BBQ and Mountain Noodles — have come together under one roof as Mountain San BBQ. Mountain Noodles was previously housed at the Brown Derby Plaza before relocating to its new home in early May at Koreatown Plaza. At the new Mountain San BBQ, find samgyetang and abalone porridge alongside marinated short ribs and rib-eye steaks on the grill. 928 S. Western Avenue, Floor Three, Los Angeles, CA 90006.
West LA — Sidoh Cafe, an Oaxacan coffee shop, opened in West LA on May 31, just blocks from Sawtelle. The cafe serves the usual coffee offerings of lattes, drip, and espresso alongside specialties like a horchata latte and a strawberry matcha. Pair the coffee with a chorizo breakfast burrito or a concha from the pastry case. 11102 W. Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90064.
Vermont Knolls— Lonell's Soul Food cuisine opened in mid-May in Vermont Knolls, bringing a new destination for oxtails and macaroni and cheese to the neighborhood. Other soul food staples like fried chicken and fried catfish can be paired with sides like collard greens, yams, cornbread, and more. Save room for lemon cake, pound cake, peach cobbler, or banana pudding for dessert. 8501 Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90044. See More:
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
China's first Legoland opens to tourists in Shanghai
Thousands of local tourists poured into China's first-ever Legoland as it opened its gates in Shanghai on Saturday, the latest theme park hoping to capitalise on a domestic tourism boom. The Chinese branch of the British-owned theme park franchise is the biggest Legoland in the world. It drew in early customers who flocked to attractions including a miniature train ride and a dragon-themed rollercoaster. "I personally love to play with Lego blocks and we have many sets at home... so I wanted to come to Legoland at the earliest opportunity," said Shi, a 35-year-old resident of nearby city Hangzhou, who was visiting the park with his wife and child. Despite the Chinese economy's sluggish growth in recent years, domestic tourist spending grew 18.6 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous year, according to statistics. "Ever since the pandemic, I've made very few trips abroad," said Shi, adding his family now travels to theme parks around China "many times a year". Eager Lego fans rushed into the park as soon as it opened, wearing themed shirts and waving branded flags as they enjoyed the 318,000-square-metre (78.5-acre) compound in scorching temperatures. Beijing has announced subsidies intended to make travelling within the country more affordable for Chinese citizens, and is pushing local governments to heavily market their attractions on social media. Companies have taken note of the wider local tourism boom and stepped up their plans in China. A new "Spider-Man" attraction at Shanghai Disneyland broke ground in May, while Warner Brothers is set to open a Harry Potter experience in Shanghai by 2027. Toy giant Hasbro said this week its giant Peppa Pig park in the city was now "in the phase of creative design". Chinese collectable toy maker Pop Mart has also opened an attraction in Beijing featuring life-sized versions of its popular Labubu toys. "The various provinces are putting a lot of effort into expanding their tourism industries, and all of them have special attractions," said Xu, a 34-year-old parent visiting Legoland on Saturday with his children. But profitability remains a problem, especially for local companies with less brand recognition. As of late 2024, around 40 percent of parks were still failing to turn a profit, according to state media reports. Yet analysts point to a growing population of retirees and job market changes as key factors pushing more locals to visit domestic attractions. "The labour market is turning more flexible," said Ernan Cui, China consumer analyst at Gavekal Research. "More people have leisure time to travel around." tjx/jfx
Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Where to eat and drink this 4th of July weekend? Our critic has suggestions
However you might be feeling about the state of our country this long holiday weekend (me: angry, troubled, resolute in staying aligned with the progressive values that truly move our nation forward), I hope you have time to rest and regroup. Here are three suggestions for eating and drinking this weekend: They're places that brought me some recent, needed joy. Not long after the Benjamin opened in Hollywood early last summer, I showed up hoping for a couple unreserved seats at the bar, situated in the center of the restaurant's posh Art Deco room. No go. The staffer put us on a wait list and suggested we hang out at the Moon Room bar located above the restaurant. We climbed the stairs and peeked in. I could roll with the New York 1970s nostalgia vibe — parquet floors with checkered tiles around the bar counter, wild art, a baby grand. That night, though, the place was so empty it looked lonely. We took a walk until the Benjamin called us back. Riding on the success of the glamour downstairs, owners Ben Shenassafar, Kate Burr and Jared Meisler reintroduced Moon Room (which Meisler had opened last spring) as Bar Benjamin, replicating the same tasteful woods, moss-colored velvets and dim chandelier lighting as the restaurant below. Much, much improved. The group brought in two ace bartenders: Chad Austin and Jason Lee. I'm particularly a fan of Lee: A few years back he crafted a summertime cocktail at n/soto of ice, shaved to order, over watermelon juice laced with amaro and lime juice. Then he moved on to Baroo, masterfully devising drinks around Korean spirits or kombucha that synched with Kwang Uh's singular cooking. At Bar Benjamin, he and Austin distill many of the cuisines that define Los Angeles (Mexican, Thai, Sichuan, Persian) into liquid odes. To work backwards, there's a fun play on the ubiquitous Iranian stew fesenjoon that includes Granada Vallet pomegranate liqueur and walnut-rice orgeat that's sweet enough to qualify as dessert. To start, I'd lean more toward the bumblebee-yellow, mezcal-spiked Last Laugh bright with saffron, pineapple, bell pepper and mango. A Gibson infused with the essence of an everything bagel? A bit intense in its pickled flavors for me. But then again, I lean purist in the martini realms. I'll choose the lemony Ben's Martini that also happens to nicely match the very edited selection of small plates, including mustardy beef tartare and dilled shrimp salad in a brioche bun. A fun, fizzing crowd filled the space on a recent weeknight visit. But even if I came upon Bar Benjamin with few customers, the new cocooned atmosphere would be one I'd be happy to have to myself. How might a bowl of warm borscht appeal in summertime temperatures? The broth at the version served at Fusion Kitchen in Mid-Wilshire is light, for starters. Chunks of stewed tomato and grated beets and carrot gently vary the textures. Every third or fourth spoonful catches a few strands of beef. Taste first, and then stir in a couple splotches of sour cream. On the side are toasted triangles of rye bread and several slices of melt-on-the-tongue salo — salt pork, similar to Italian lardo, that is ubiquitous to Ukrainian culture. I've been hungering for more tastes of Eastern European food since writing about Noroc, a restaurant in Sacramento that serves Moldovan dishes, for the 101 Best Restaurants in California guide. With a name as unfortunately generic as Fusion Kitchen, you need to know what you're looking for. This was previously known as the second location of Mom, Please, the Ukrainian draw in Playa Vista opened by Oleksii Kochetkov, his wife, Inna Kochetkova, and his mother, Olena Kochetkova. The same owners run Fusion Kitchen; only the name changed. After blitzing through the menu, I have a few strong recommendations beyond borscht. Cabbage rolls show off the same gravity-defying sleight of hand, improbably delicate wrappers bundling minced beef and vegetables scented with basil. Among varenyky and pelmeni, the half-moon dumplings filled with mashed potato and dressed in mushroom sauce turned out to be the most compelling. And among many options for desserts, zero in on the medovic, or honey cake. It doesn't have the zillion layers of, say, Michelle Polzine's fame-making version at her now-closed 20th Century Cafe in San Francisco. Its sour cream frosting zings, though, with the crucial sweet-smokiness of burnt honey. I'm ordering too much as usual, calling out chef Natalia Moran's modern takes on Filipino standards: lumpia, sisig, lechon, adobo, kare kare, garlic rice … . When I'm done, the server studies me. 'You forgot to order the signature dish,' she says. 'There's a reason our name is Manila Inasal.' Oops. Thanks goodness she steered me right. Chicken may be the traditional choice for this class of thoroughly marinated and grilled dishes, but the bungus inasal, made with silvery milkfish, is particularly wonderful here. Achiote stains the fish, which has also absorbed the aromatics of lemongrass, ginger and sharply citrusy calamansi juice. Swipe forkfuls through two sauces, one based on green chile and the other on coconut vinegar. With a bit of cucumber salad spooned on the plate, it's a refreshing warm weather meal. To dive deeper: start with always-easy-to-crunch lumpia or, even better, laing, taro leaves creamed in coconut milk with seasonings like garlic, ginger and shrimp paste. Moran's take is restrained, but pleasantly so, and she presents it as an appetizer dip surrounded by focaccia baked with taro leaves. The vegetable pancit satisfyingly mingles egg and glassy vermicelli noodles in a soy-based sauce with thrumming umami. Meatier dishes I tried like the kare kare with ultra-tender cuts of beef (including oxtail) and lechon could have been punchier in their flavors; it's hard not to compare them with the masterful versions Maynard Llera prepares at Kuya Lord. As my colleague Stephanie Breijo reported in June, the restaurant opened two months in Silver Lake Plaza, in the same complex on Virgil Avenue that houses Daybird. So it's still settling in and calibrating. The namesake inasal? I'm already all in.
Business Upturn
13 hours ago
- Business Upturn
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2 – Release date speculation, cast and plot details – Everything we know so far
By Aman Shukla Published on July 5, 2025, 17:30 IST Last updated July 5, 2025, 12:07 IST The neon-drenched chaos of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners hooked fans in 2022, blending the raw energy of Cyberpunk 2077 with Studio Trigger's bold, kinetic animation. Since its explosive debut, viewers have been clamoring for more. With Season 2 now officially in the works, here's a rundown of everything we know about its release, cast, and plot, based on the latest buzz and official teases. When Might Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2 Hit Screens? No precise release date has been pinned down for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2 , but the announcement at Anime Expo 2025 confirmed it's in production. Posts floating around X and some anime news outlets point to a possible premiere in late summer or early fall 2026, likely August or September. This estimate comes from typical anime production timelines, which often span 12 to 18 months for a studio like Trigger, juggling other projects such as Delicious in Dungeon . Fans are hopeful for a teaser trailer soon, possibly during Netflix's Geeked Week or a similar event. For now, keep an eye on CD Projekt Red's site or Netflix's X posts for solid updates. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2 Expected Cast The first season's story wrapped tightly, leaving little room for returning leads. David Martinez (voiced by KENN in Japanese, Zach Aguilar in English) and Lucy Kushinada (Aoi Yūki/Emi Lo) likely won't headline, as writer Bartosz Sztybor quipped at Anime Expo, 'David's story is done, choom.' Season 2 is set to introduce a fresh crew of edgerunners, with entirely new characters driving the narrative. That said, there's chatter on X about minor cameos from survivors like Falco or even Lucy, given their ties to Night City's underworld. No voice cast has been confirmed yet, but expect Studio Trigger and Netflix to bring back heavy-hitters for both Japanese and English dubs, matching Season 1's high bar. There's also a chance for Cyberpunk 2077 characters like Adam Smasher (Yukihiro Misono/Alec Newman) to pop up, tying the show to the game's lore. New faces will likely dominate, exploring uncharted corners of the city. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2 Potential Plot Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Season 2 will tell a standalone tale in Night City, set in 2076, just before the events of Cyberpunk 2077 . Unlike the first season's focus on David's tragic arc in Santo Domingo, this story dives into a new group of mercenaries navigating the city's corporate wars, cybernetic obsession, and gang-fueled streets. Sztybor described it as a 'gritty saga of revenge and redemption,' hinting at themes of legacy and survival in a world obsessed with spectacle. While plot specifics are under wraps, the season may explore new districts or factions, possibly teasing elements of Project Orion , the upcoming Cyberpunk game sequel. Fans on Reddit and X speculate about ties to characters like Johnny Silverhand, but the focus will likely stay on original characters to keep Season 1's emotional weight intact. Expect Studio Trigger's signature flair—blinding action, vivid neon visuals, and a story that doesn't pull punches. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
