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.
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]