The Bun Shop is a food truck-turned brick and mortar in Koreatown that serves the *best* bao buns in L.A. I’ve been a loyal fan since 2011 when I stopped by their truck randomly when I went to the DTLA Art Walk. The shop opened in early 2014 and since then I’ve made my sisters, brother, and dad eat there with me as much as I can convince them. Now, I live much closer to the shop so I’ve been enjoying some buns maybe twice a month at least. Once my dad even came to my apartment to give me something & wound up making me get in his car to grab some buns…while I was in pajamas (no judgements there). The Bun Shop is the collaborative effort of Brian Yeun and chef James Seok. A fun fact I recently learned is that Brian’s brother is Steven Yeun, who plays Glenn on The Walking Dead (thanks to The New Potato for that!).

I’d recommend the Kalbi bun, which is beef, a tempura onion (the pièce de résistance in my opinion), mixed greens, and a spicy aioli. 1 bun costs $3.75, but you save the more you get- I usually get 2 or 3, because I have a problem (but really it’s no problem at all). They also have chicken, pork, and spam buns as well as 2 vegetarian options. I wouldn’t know about any of those because I’m a Kalbi bun loyalist. I also love their shop fries ($5) which are delish because they have rosemary on them- the best. The interior design is great and they even serve beer & wine and have happy hour specials.

The cherry on top is the fact that everything is so affordable- you can get a meal for anywhere from $10-15, and it’s both great quality + quantity. If you’re in the L.A. area and haven’t tried The Bun Shop yet, run, don’t walk, and tell them I sent you! 😉

The Bun Shop
151 N. Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90004