Beverly Soon Tofu Restaurant

"Open since 1986, Beverly Soon is one of the most iconic restaurants in Koreatown, and if you only have time for one meal in the neighborhood, you should consider having it here. With wood-carved tables and wooden beams spanning the ceiling, the space feels like a mountain spa, but instead of massages and body scrubs, you’re getting incredible tofu stews and big plates of meat. The sweet ladies running the place will also sell you hard on the bibimbap, and you should take them up on it - it might be even better than the tofu." - Brant Cox

"Beloved soondubu restaurant Beverly Soon Tofu is coming back to life for a night at Koreatown’s Intercrew on Tuesday, April 23. Chef Johnny Tran of Intercrew and chef Monica Lee of Beverly Soon Tofu will collaborate on a seven-course menu priced at $100 per person. Reservations are available through OpenTable." - Rebecca Roland

"This is not the first major closure that has hit Koreatown in the last few years. Beverly Soon Tofu, which opened in 1986, closed permanently in 2020." - Rebecca Roland

"When Beverly Soon Tofu closed due to the pandemic, the Los Angeles food community heavily felt the loss. The restaurant operated in Koreatown from 1986 to 2020. Over the decades, owner Monica Lee saw Koreatown grow into a dining destination, with her restaurant’s own high-profile media attention certainly driving visitors..." - Bettina Makalintal

"The first-ever cookbook written by a Los Angeles Koreatown restaurant owner will come from Monica Lee, who founded Beverly Soon Tofu in 1986. Though the longtime location on Olympic Boulevard closed in September 2020 (the original opened on Beverly Boulevard, hence the name), Lee and her two daughters, CJ and JJ, have been collaborating with food writer Tien Nguyen to write the history of the legendary Koreatown restaurant and share its recipes." - Matthew Kang