:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65568241/1179289651.jpg.0.jpg)
Centrally-located Koreatown is getting another entertainment venue soon, complete with private karaoke rooms, a DJ booth, and some serious K-pop backing.
The new SMT comes to Koreatown by way of SM Entertainment, Korea’s largest entertainment company and the group responsible in some ways for popularizing K-pop across the globe. SM Entertainment already operates restaurants in other cities in Asia, and has now taken over 16,000 square feet of prime Los Angeles real estate just a block off Western. The multi-level space sits at Oxford and 6th, across the street from Here’s Looking at You.
SMT looks to offer a variety of options all under one roof, from a Seoul-inspired anju small plates menu downstairs, complete with a large patio and inside bar, as well as multiple other private dining rooms, a DJ area, and more. Upstairs will be nearly a dozen private karaoke rooms, another bar, and yet more open-air drinking space. Local consulting firm New School (Yours Truly, Adamae) is on to help guide the place operationally; the chef hails from Seoul, and oversees SM Entertainment’s other culinary ventures.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19322935/smt_google_maps_koreatown.png)
There’s no firm opening timeline for SMT yet, though given the construction underway at the address already, it’s likely that an opening is just a few months away. The large space will certainly have competition in the already- dense neighborhood from nearby places like the Venue, Mama Lion, and even the much larger Wiltern a block south, to say nothing of the community’s prodigious karaoke scene.
SMT. 3900 6th St., Los Angeles, CA.
- All Koreatown Coverage [ELA]
