Liu's Cafe
Taiwanese restaurant · Koreatown ·
Taiwanese-Hong Kong cafe serving rice bowls, pastries, & teas
Taiwanese-Hong Kong cafe serving rice bowls, pastries, & teas
"An ideal neighborhood restaurant and bakery with DNA plucked straight from Hong Kong or Taiwan and rooted in Koreatown, this light-filled spot draws morning crowds for custard-filled, fluffy bricks of Hong Kong-style French toast with milk tea or spicy wontons, while evenings add beef noodle soup and a handful of desserts. With a no-reservations setup and an accessible price point (every dish under $15), it works for any occasion — from a quick pastry stop on a walk to a brunch catch-up with friends or a solo meal of comforting chicken over rice — and you’ll soon find yourself becoming a regular. Chiayi chicken rice layers shredded chicken and crispy fried shallots over a scoop of white rice in a shallow, fragrant pool of brothy sauce made with chicken drippings; add a healthy scoop of chile oil for heat. At night, the beef noodle soup arrives with fall-apart tender beef cheek slices and baby bok choy in a rich broth tinted with warming spices, with chewy noodles hearty enough to chase the chill of even the coldest Los Angeles nights. From the glass-case pastry program by chef Isabell Manibusan, the rotating, seasonal selection often includes flaky cheddar-and-scallion biscuits, pineapple buns, and taro-and-coconut hand pies. Best for a casual, no-reservations weekend brunch with friends that will cost less than $25 per person, and if you’re ordering takeout in person, you can skip the often-long weekend line and walk straight to the counter to order." - Rebecca Roland
"An all-day Chinese American cafe in Koreatown just expanded its hours to serve dinner for the first time after shuttering its adjoining creamery earlier this year, converting the former ice cream space into a cozy secondary dining room to handle the busy brunch crowds. The daytime menu still hits with tried-and-true crowd favorites like Chiayi chicken rice and sesame cold noodles swirled in peanut sauce, but after 5 p.m. beef noodle soup joins the lineup, with tender beef cheek slices swimming in a full-bodied, dark broth. At $13.50, the soup can easily stand on its own as a soul-warming dinner or be paired with spicy wontons and a flaky scallion cheddar biscuit from pastry chef Isabell Manibusan." - Eater Staff
"In Koreatown, this Hong Kong and Taiwanese cafe has extended its hours to 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday; the breakfast and lunch menu runs until 5 p.m. with dishes like Hong Kong French toast and chicken rice, while dinner offers a similar lineup with the addition of beef noodle soup." - Rebecca Roland
"This casual Taiwanese iner in Koreatown has the kind of daytime scene where off-duty chefs sip hot milk tea with friends and dates lock eyes over warm buns. The people-watching is a major draw here, but it’s the inventive pastries and homey rice bowls that make it a standout. We recommend stockpiling the matcha pineapple buns and black sesame coconut cakes then throwing in a few gussied up classics like spicy wontons and Hong Kong-style French toast filled with oozy “lava custard.” They don’t open until 10:30am, but get there by noon on weekends before things start to sell out." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
"This daytime diner from the team behind the now-closed Tokki (and Danbi) has first-rate Taiwanese comfort dishes and incredible people-watching, but it's the creative pastries that make it a triple threat. Liu's is only open from late breakfast to late lunch, which makes it well-suited for a leisurely midday deal, or if you don't mind battling the sidewalk crowds, weekend brunch. Start with the cold sesame noodles, caramelized pork belly over rice, and Hong Kong-style french toast filled with salted egg yolk custard. The adorable space is lined with vintage movie posters makes provides a nice backdrop for your next daytime date, too. Just warn them about the brutal street parking situation first." - sylvio martins, brant cox, garrett snyder, cathy park
