Closing Time – Daikokuya Little Tokyo

This is the first installment of Closing Time and in the spotlight today, Daikokuya. If you’ve never been there, you should go. If you’ve been there and think it’s, oh let’s say not top 3 on your ramen list, then you’re a fool. A FOOL!

So what’s Closing Time?

If you’re catching up on the Fasttrack and hungry and the clock says, “there’s probably nothing open, dude,” Closing Time will let you know if that’s true straight from the horse’s mouth. As you can see, it’s a picture of business hours as posted by the restaurant themselves.

Daikokuya can be pretty much summed up in two words: Fan(freaking)tastic ramen. It’s easily FTP’s favorite ramen place in Los Angeles. Located in Little Tokyo in Downtown, you’re surrounded by different and great places to eat, but rarely do we go anywhere else. Admittedly, the numerous restaurants that serve ramen in Little Tokyo, do have decent and very good ramen, but this place transcends decent and very good and manifests into a craving.

So where is it?

Map: 327 E 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

If it’s your first time at Daikokuya in Little Tokyo, there are several things you should expect and prepare for. If you’re the type (which is definitely us) that would rather find street parking than pay the exorbitant downtown parking lot/structure fees, then (depending on the time of day and day itself) look forward to circling the block a few times. However, this does provide an opportunity for the second thing you should be looking forward to. Daikokuya is a very popular place and when you combine that with the seating capacity, which is very very limited, you will find a long waiting list. Your best bet is to have someone put your party’s name on the list and then go find parking. Whichever will come first, whether a seat or a spot, is totally up in the air.

At this point you may be asking yourself, “this place sounds like too much work. Is it worth it?”…yes, it is! Now this isn’t a full review of the various items on their menu, but the Daikoku Ramen is worth it. Their tonkatsu soup base, egg noodles, and mouth-melting chashu pork all go together in a bowl to make a near orgasmic experience. Just looking at the picture on their menu of the ramen can be considered food porn.

There’s also one bit of advice for those that really appreciate the tonkatsu flavor. Get the kotteri flavor, which is added soup extracted from back fat. You won’t regret it and we have never gone back to having a bowl of the ramen there without it.

Now there have been several occasions where our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. When we make the trek out to Daikokuya, our main focus is the ramen; a nice large bowl of Daikoku Ramen. However, when we have found ourselves imbibing beverages made of hops and barley, a sort of hunger takes over, better known as the beer munchies…

…also, if you’re looking to kill some time while waiting for a seat, Far Bar is a great place to get a couple of drinks.

But I digress…when the beer munchies happen, we venture out into the land of Daikokuya’s combos. Unless you’re a professional eater, in my opinion, there’s no way to finish a large bowl of ramen and a bowl of a rice dish on the side. But trying to finish the combo is still a worthwhile experience. If the combo size rice bowls are any indication of their larger sized brethren, then you’re in for a treat. My personal favorite is pork cutlet bowl. The bowl’s hearty pork slices over rice which it topped with an egg and soy sauce marinade is an awesome meal in itself, if you’re not the ramen kind of person. Other options in a rice bowl are salmon roe (also very good), teriyaki eel, chicken with egg (which on their menu is described as reuniting mother with child…LOL), and tempura bowl, among others. So if you’re adventurous for a combo or not in the mood for a bowl of soup, you won’t go wrong with any of these.

Two other items on the menu that I’ve constantly seen being ordered, but have not been able to indulge, are the gyoza and the fried rice. People have raved about those two items, but soon I will hopefully be able to also (like I needed another reason to visit again).

Overall the Daikokuya experience is a great one. The ambiance is nothing less than what you would expect to find in Little Tokyo. The place has great service, attentive waitresses/waiters, and better than awesome food. You can walk into the place wondering why you always find yourself wanting to wait to be seated, but when you finally are, you’re reminded of exactly the reason why in that first sip of broth.

So what time does Daikokuya close?

Monday thru Thursday: 11:00 AM to 12:00 AM
Friday and Saturday: 11:00 AM to 1:00 AM
Sunday: Noon to 8:00 PM

Leave us a comment and tell us what you think. We all have ramen preferences, so if you have other places we should try, give us some suggestions. In the meantime, you know where we’ll be…