Ricebar

Really small place. The dishes were delicious and reminded me of the foods I ate growing up as I grew up in the Philippines. Service is fast and friendly. My mainly complaint is that I feel like the bowl’s serving is really small for its price. $10 is a lot for such a small bowl. It is worth a try at least once though as the food is good just not a fan of the serving amount so don’t plan on coming back.

"Filipino food with a modern twist, served mainly as rice bowls..." Pros: Interesting take on Filipino cuisine with a bit more modernized recipes. Fairly simple menu with a "select your own" type of rice bowl configurations. Food is pretty flavorful and some combinations work best together. Cons: Portion size is quite small, may not be enough for some. Price per bowl is pretty expensive and the amount of food may not justify the price (can be up to $13 with meat, not including tip). On a side note: Located near the Jewelry District, Ricebar is a very small and compact restaurant with limited seating. Kudos to the team at Ricebar for trying something new with Filipino food and giving people a simple and accessible way to experience it. However, they need to increase their portions and be a little more generous, even if it's a rice bowl concept. Price may scare people away for another visit once they see how much (or little) food they actually get.

The focus in this small space is the food. Well, also the close knit ambiance makes it feel like you walked in to auntie's kitchen to chow down on her great homemade rice bowls. They have specials that rotate out of menu frequently. So, I suggest stopping by a lot so you don't miss out. Try their homemade drinks, too. The food is a flavor explosions and the drinks refresh and cleanses your pallet. Finish your visit off with a rice krispies bar. Cos, what else makes sense in a rice bar.

There's a dive bar allure to Ricebar in its simplicity. From the outside it's almost camouflaged against jewelry stores and the nearby athletic club. Inside I sat down at one of about 8 bar stools, 2 of which were taken by other customers. The menu has a lot to offer, but I went with the spam slider and pork longgansia without much forethought other than 'I've never had spam' and 'sausage is usually good.' They don't serve beer but customers are welcomed to bring in their own. Both were excellent, and well priced. The spam slider was $5 which included 2 slices of fried spam, mayo, something similar to sriracha on pan de sal. Spam is salty and delicious and balanced by the fried egg and silky yolk. The spicy mayo adds the right amount of heat while the pan de sal, which is somewhere between English muffin and a biscuit, brings it all together. This was so good I could have eaten two if I hadn't already ordered the longgansia. I can only imagine it works as the perfect late night drunk food, or a cure for the morning after. The longgansia didn't fall short, either. Savory and sweet homemade sausage with a hit of crunchy minced garlic add to the smoothness of yet another fried egg on top of buttery rice. Coming in at $10, this was a good amount of food. I managed to finish the sausage and egg but couldn't get through all of the rice (I blame the spam slider). With the variety of menu items at Ricebar I have several reasons to go back. Even with a wait this place would be worthy of the trip.

Got the pork longganisa and it was great! Felt like having a good home cooked meal with a casual, homey atmosphere. You order at the door before sitting down, and the food comes out pretty quick. It was a little pricey for a no frills place, but reasonable compared to other restaurants around here.

Great tasting filipino food although I'm not sure what the standard should be, but I'm fine with eating tasty things without knowing exactly what is in there. Well-managed establishment with a slight hole-in-the-wall feeling but is popular with the downtown crowd.

If I worked in DTLA I would appreciate this spot more but I don't. It's great for a large cheap quick breakfast. I loved the Arroz Caldo and wished my whole bowl was of just the white, but I chose other things. It was good, just not worth the special drive in.

Tiny but extremely personal. Reminds me of restaurants in San Francisco. Everything served is insanely delicious. I recommend putting all the vinegars found on the table. Highly recommended and really cheap.