clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Late Night Driver Crashes Into Japanese Restaurant on Western Avenue

A scary situation during off-hours for Bento Man, just south of Koreatown

If you buy something from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

A car crash at Bento Man on Western
Reddit
Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

Following a wild series of events, a car ended up right in the dining room of Bento Man on Western late Sunday night. Thankfully the restaurant was closed at the time (thus there were no immediately apparent injuries), as the tiny shop was completely overtaken by the Jeep left stranded inside.

Reddit picked up the crash a few hours after it happened on Sunday night, and comes complete with the above image showing the vehicle, lights still on, sitting inside the Harvard Heights eatery. According to witnesses, a driver heading northbound allegedly hit a pair of parked cars, went over a curb and through a fence, and ultimately came to rest completely inside Bento Man.

The restaurant, for those unfamiliar, is a catch-all Japanese stop serving standard fare like ramen, udon, teriyaki, curry bowls, and yes, bento boxes. It’s actually a rather popular option for the area just south of Pico, and comes complete with shabby-chic casual space decked out in bamboo and fading teal green tones.

The menu at Bento Man
Yelp

No word yet on when Bento Man’s dining area will be officially operational again, but this is far from the first time a restaurant has had to go through something like this. Car crashes and restaurants seemingly go hand-in-hand in this vehicle-obsessed city, with cars and trucks plowing into everything from a cozy diner in Eagle Rock to a popular upscale sushi restaurant on La Brea.

Bento Man

1500 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006 (323) 733-5316 Visit Website