Will Chris Oh's Hanjip Be the Best Korean Barbecue West of La Cienega in LA?

If you follow Chris Oh on Instagram you'll know that the Korean-American chef loves his barbecue. The Seoul Sausage chef's partnership with Stephane Bombet (Terrine, Viviane), called Hanjip, is most certainly going to be a Korean barbecue restaurant right in the heart of Downtown Culver City, at least according to this teaser Instagram photo.

The setup shows a Kang Ho Dong Baek Jeong-type setup, which is the kind of casual, Hong-Dae approach to Korean barbecue. That usually means sitting around in low-flung stumps and sharing grilled meats on a circular grill. The banchan for this more casual style tends to be rustic and simple versus the subtle and refined side plates you'd find in a more traditional Korean setting. However, knowing Bombet, the place will likely not have any of Kang Ho Dong's dingy environs.

@hanjipbbq coming soon :) #korean #bbq #kbbq #westside #cheflife #instagood #picoftheday

A photo posted by chris oh (@seoulsausage_aka_chris) on Sep 25, 2015 at 12:12pm PDT

With this entry into Culver City, does this mean that solid Korean food will proliferate beyond Koreatown? Right now Genwa, which has locations on La Cienega and Wilshire just east of La Brea, is the only real game in town west of Koreatown. Hanjip is poised to bring Korean barbecue in a greater level of quality than ever before seen on the "near" Westside.

According to Bombet, Hanjip is slated to open within a few weeks time. Just yesterday, Oh teased on Instagram that construction was going smoothly. The chef-driven setup follows a little bit of Kang Ho Dong Baek Jeong's Midtown New York model, which has Jean-Georges alum Deuki Hong at the helm. Generally Korean barbecue places tend not to have a chef associated with the menu.

and so the #beef and #pork tasting begins :) what's your favorite cut??? maybe we will put it on the menu :) @hanjipbbq #comingsoon #koreanbbq #kbbq #cheflife #instagood #picoftheday

A photo posted by chris oh (@seoulsausage_aka_chris) on Sep 24, 2015 at 7:40pm PDT

Hanjip
3829 Main St
Culver City, CA 90232