Dude. This place. This place. It's in an inconspicuous food hall on Los Angeles Street. You'd never know. The food...it should be Michelin rated. The menu is one of those deceptively simple ones. Like, you have no idea what you're in for. My buddy and I, we'd read the reviews. We'd looked at the pictures. We thought we were prepared. We were not. The beef jun is melt in your mouth delicious. Like you see it, you think you know what you're about to taste, you have no idea. It's almost like foie gras. It's alchemy. No joke. The shrimp? You'll taste a half dozen different flavors, each as exquisite as the others. The potato mac salad? I am NOT a mac salad fan. I am now a convert. I will sing Broken Mouth's potato mac salad's praises with the passion of an evangelical who recently found Jesus. Also, I have never been more seduced by simple fried rice. The purple fried rice was a meal and an experience in and of itself. The Spam musubi? I may as well have been dining at Shibumi. Distrust me? Try it. For two hours after the meal I was in a food afterglow. My sinuses raged with flavor. I'll echo other reviews in saying that the chef/owner is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. My buddy and I arrived at precisely 12pm when he opened. He already had something like 50 take out and delivery orders to fill. He apologized and said it would take 25 minutes to fill our order. We could not have cared less to wait! He was so friendly, so humble, so kind. L.A. needs more spots like Broken Mouth. He and his team deserve all the success they're enjoying. Long live Broken Mouth. We will be back, and often.

Spring break! Driving from the Bay Area to San Clemente for my daughter's softball double header, we decided to stop in downtown LA as we had Broken Mouth bookmarked after we saw an article in SF Gate about the place. We got to downtown LA just before noon and found parking across the street in an open lot. It said 'Parking $5' but that was for the first 10 minutes or so (the fine print). Parking for the day was $12 max. The area is a bit sketchy, just like parts of downtown SF and Oakland but during the day it was fine, busy with people going about their business. Broken Mouth is located in a food court area with a Thai spot and a pizza joint (Pizza Hut?). When we arrived, it was just before noon and Broken Mouth was still getting ready to open. Once opened, we spoke with the owner who is from Hawaii (Maryknoll grad) who's lived in California for the past 15 years. We ordered the beef, chicken and shrimp plate lunches. He comped us drinks and a couple of spam musubis which was nice. We grabbed a seat in the communal area and waited about 5-10 minutes before he called our order number. The plates were in oval shaped containers packed solid with food. We loved the purple rice with furikake, potato-mac salad, cucumber kimchi and side salad but the main events were even better. The meat jun was well seasoned and plentiful. It also came with a dipping sauce. My son's favorite was the chicken which he devoured. My wife loved the garlic shrimp which was better than Giovanni's Shrimp truck in Haleiwa for sure. If you're in the mood for some ono local grinds in downtown LA, go check out Broken Mouth. You won't leave hungry! Choke food (large portions of tasty food)!

I'm still fuming after my visit to Broken Mouth in DTLA. Not because the food was bad - oh no, it was ridiculously good. I'm talking about the infamous beef plate with mac salad and purple rice. Each bite was a flavor explosion that left me wanting MORE. Like, seriously, why didn't I order two? And don't even get me started on the spam musubi - it was tasty, to say the least. I mean, who wouldn't love a sweet and savory combination of grilled spam and sushi rice? But what really has me steaming is that Timothy, the owner, was the kindest, sweetest person I've met in a long time. I mean, he's got a restaurant serving amazing food, and he's still got a smile on his face and a warm welcome for every customer? It's just not fair. I'm mad that I didn't get to experience this level of hospitality and deliciousness sooner. The real issue here is that I wasted so much time not knowing about this place. Why did it take me this long to discover the magic of Korean-Hawaiian fusion? The beef was tender, the mac salad was creamy, and that purple rice... I'm still dreaming about it. If you're a foodie like me, STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING and get to Broken Mouth ASAP. Trust me, you won't regret it. But know this: I'll be back, and I'll be ordering everything on the menu. Don't make the same mistake I did - find this place before I do, or you'll be hearing about it from me. And be prepared to be charmed by Timothy's kindness, because it's just going to make me even angrier that I didn't discover this gem sooner.

Finally got some ono grinds in LA. Best meat jun in California (maybe the only). It gets busy at lunch so order ahead if you're in a hurry. Industrial food court seating with flies buzzing around. Street parking is a pain in DTLA. You might need to circle the block for an open meter or pay at a lot. Read parking signs! Super friendly bomb service!

Chef Tim and his crew have perfected what they do. The deep traditions flow through in the authenticity of his food. Completely appreciate the fusion of the two worlds and cuisines. That shrimp though bruh?! Sheeeeesh. Can't go wrong wit it! Light and crispy with flavor in each bite. Definitely gonna be back. So you should definitely pull up and stay eatin!

Of course we've all heard about broken mouth, so I had to try it on my birthday! First off, the owner is SO nice! He is so personable, it's easy to want to support him. We came on a Wednesday at 1 and just beat the lunch rush. We only had to wait 15 minutes for our food, which is not normal. I ordered the beef and my coworkers ordered the shrimp. The beef was very solid, especially with the dipping sauce, but one of my coworkers gave me a shrimp, and I will say the shrimp was absolutely fire. What surprised me was how good the rice is, this might be the best rice I've ever had! The Mac salad was solid, it didn't stand out in flavor to me, but was definitely a good version of Mac salad. The spam musubi was somehow not as flavorful as I'm used to, but still, was a solid version! I tried to bring my other coworkers the day after, again around 1:20 in the afternoon, but unfortunately the wait was going to be way too long. Definitely order ahead so you don't risk the long wait. Broken mouth is located in a cafeteria-style building with several other restaurants. The seating area is ok, but it can be VERY loud especially if there is a barking dog in there like there was when we went. Of course Broken Mouth has no control over that since it's a common shared seating space, so I don't knock them at all for it, just letting everyone know so you can plan for it! Parking is also tough, but there is a lot behind the food stall area, you have to pay $8 for 8 hours of parking, but it's not bad.

This place lives up to its reputation!! food- the food was absolutely delicious, probably the best teriyaki chicken i've ever had and some of the most tender beef as well. the food was extremely fresh, flavorful, and balanced. I wish i lived closer so i could have it again! service - the service was amazing! we were offered free drinks on the house, and got a free spam musubi as well. The owner was clearly a hard worker and very kind. price - slightly expensive but in my opinion that's justified with being the best rated spot on yelp. the food is great quality and large portions so very justified. ambiance - it's in a food court style with a few other spots, but plenty of seating, location is a little sus but it's downtown LA so you're getting what you sign up for

We pre-ordered three plates on a Saturday. The indoor seating area is spacious but dim, and it was surprisingly empty for the weekend. The food was well-seasoned and nicely portioned. The meat jun was the only component that stood out with its interesting texture, though some bites were overly sweet. The garlic butter shrimp was buttery but not particularly unique, and the tofu was unfortunately not crispy. Despite the website warning of a 90-minute wait for orders, we waited nearly three hours, which was frustrating. The food isn't very complex, and there weren't many orders being picked up. It looked like only two people were preparing the food. Overall, prices are high, and while the food is filling and well-made, it's not mindblowing. It's worth trying, but I wouldn't revisit due to the long wait.

MUST ORDER AHEAD! Placed the order before they opened, around 11:30 am and food was ready at 12:45 pm, just as promised. This place is a gem. The owner is super friendly and helpful. He was impressed we knew to order ahead for our first time. We got the chicken Teri and beef plates with Korean greens, kimchi cucumber, potato-Mac and black rice. I ordered the spam musubi too. For drinks, we picked the cold coffee and passion fruit juice. Everything was delicious. Generous portions too. This place is located inside a small food court, which was lightly populated. Gotta ask security to use the restroom. When we picked up our food and ate there, he told the next people it would be about 2 hours if they ordered food now. I'll be back another time soon. Thanks Broken Mouth!

Atmosphere - Warehouse-like building, limited seating, street parking available. Taste - Authentic Hawaiian dishes. Garlic shrimp was deep fried with shells on, seasoned with lots of butter and garlic. Yum! It was very flavorful and crispy. Best Meat Jun in LA. Reminiscent of meat Jun on Oahu. Meat was tender and delicious. Winner! Dishes came with purple rice, mac salad and cucumber Kim Chee. Cucumber Kim Chee had the right amount of spice and crunch. Spam musubi was made with purple rice, teriyaki spam and furikake. The best! Customer service - Very friendly, helpful and took time to chat with us. Price - Average We will definitely be back!