When Akira Back, who has multiple restaurants in Asia and Las Vegas, opened a steakhouse in LA, the original idea was to do a sort of Korean fusion with a focus on grilled beef. Now it’s an unabashed high-end Korean barbecue, with banchan and requisite side dishes that give it a complete Koreatown-style experience, only more west. At the moment, there might not be a more impressive place for Korean barbecue, from the sleek ambience to the helpful service.

An originator of grilled duck barbecue in Los Angeles, this now-classic restaurant on the western edge of Koreatown still has some of the most delicious and remarkable Korean barbecue that doesn’t feature beef, pork, or chicken. Everything about the meal, from the banchan to the finishing fried rice on the tabletop grill, is engineered for maximum flavor.

With a spartan interior and bustling dining room, Mapo Galbi is a spicy chicken specialist, grilling tender chicken thighs cut into smaller pieces along with cabbage, rice cakes, carrots, and plenty of gochujang sauce. The whole pan simmers and reduces over time, with servers finishing meals with a fried rice loaded up with perilla leaves and seaweed laver.

A higher-end Korean barbecue restaurant when so many places seem to change hands or vary in quality, Chosun Galbee is a family favorite for the Korean community when they want solid service, a nicer ambience, and excellent beef. The cold naengmyeon is a must-order.

A big chain in Asia, Magal BBQ continues to prepare some of the best mid-range Korean barbecue in town, featuring flavorful off-cuts and non-primal selections that still offer plenty in the way of flavor. The combination plates work best for groups of four or more. The egg and fried rice volcano is a fun way to cap off meals here, too.

All-you-can-eat Korean barbecue is a staple of the genre, but few execute the concept as well as Yerim, which offers very good sub-$40 menus with a wide array of high-quality meats like marinated short rib, beef tongue, and intestines. After a few drinks, tax, and tip, expect to pay $60 a person, which is a solid deal these days.

If places like Cote in New York City provided a format on how to do big-city KBBQ, then Mun certainly picked up the ball and carried it to Los Angeles. With a very good starter set of premium meat sliced into cubes and served on ventilated tabletop grills, Mun is a mid-to-higher ranged KBBQ with a dark, date-worthy dining room. Definitely more for adults and couples than for families with its loud music and club-like vibes.

Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong has proliferated around Los Angeles, and still remains a fun place to gather with friends, sip shots of soju, and partake in mostly very good meat on the tabletop grill. Some people prefer its neighbor Quarters, which is operated by the same restaurant group, but Kang Ho-Dong is the O.G.

With new management from Yangmani owner Jennifer Choi, Ong Ga Nae has been spruced up from top to bottom, with Choi’s husband now designing upscaled Korean barbecue dishes like an immense bulgogi jeongol laced with spinach, or hulking cuts of short ribs on the bone. Ong Ga Nae might not have the history of its prestigious neighbors Soowon and Park’s, but it’s a solid contender for a city always craving new Korean barbecue spots.

Classic Korean barbecue Soowon might get a little overshadowed by its neighbor Park’s BBQ down the street, but the longtime restaurant still excels with high-quality beef and attentive service. A reliable star in the galaxy of Koreatown barbecue.

This classic Koreatown spot is a tad run down, and perhaps too bright, but that doesn’t deter families and locals from digging into the ample portions of marinated galbi and unmarinated beef tongue (the house specialty), finished with heaping bowls of cold dongchimi noodles. At this point, there’s no better old school KBBQ spot in LA.