Jilli

Jilli in Koreatown is a sool jib, which means “drinking spot” in Korean. And if you’ve driven through Ktown, you know there’s no shortage of those places. But that’s not why we’d send you to Jilli. The short menu here involves cheeky takes on Korean bar foods that are delicious whether you need something to soak up booze or not.

This minimalist, narrow space used to be Kinn, and not much has changed. The long wooden bar is still the best seat in the house, except Jilli amps up the ambiance with a 2000s hip-hop playlist and Korean cartoons projected on the walls. The craft beer and natural wine menus are as interesting as the food, all of which are delicious and come out fast. There’s a rigatoni alla kimchi vodka with salty bacon bits, mini-shrimp toasts full of plump shrimpies, and Chimmelier’s Korean fried chicken that’s double-fried so the crispy skin locks in the bird’s juices like a sous vide envelope.