Koreatown’s Hottest Restaurant Group Teases a Sleek New Korean Bakery

Koreatown’s hottest restaurant group is growing again. In Hospitality, known for projects as sprawling as modern Korean dinner spot Kinn and casual fried chicken stand Chimmelier, is opening a bakery and pastry concept called Mil Bakery this month right along busy 8th Street.

Like several of the group’s other projects — including the well-known Hanchic — the new Mil plans to parse out the nuances of Korean, American, and French flavors and techniques. The bakery will offer a variety of cross-cultural pastries on a rotating basis, including a Miso-garu cookie that combines Korean misugaru, miso paste, and white sesame seeds. Elsewhere, a traditional pound cake might be infused with the flavors of aromatic Korean herb ssuk. Ultimately, the group says, the hope is that Mil can combine a bit of the best from a variety of cultures, while still feeling right at home in Koreatown. Expect breads, dessert pastries (including cookies and brownies), and morning options like muffins.

Leading the charge for Mil Bakery is young baker Jiyoon Jang, who makes some of the coolest, moodiest baked goods on Instagram right now. Born in Busan and raised around Palm Springs, Jang previously spent time at Clark Street Bread and at home, operating a takeout pastry box business during much of the pandemic. Now she’ll have a spot to call her own, with an opening just weeks away.

The arrival of Mil Bakery is good news for Koreatown, a neighborhood that is being remade in real-time with a new generation of restaurants, owners, and diners. Spots like Tokki are reimagining Korean drinking and dining culture, while places like W Brazilian Steakhouse and Casa de la Clayuda Oaxaqueña show the breadth of the dense community. In other places, restaurants like Yangban Society are rethinking Korean and Korean-American food in the context of Los Angeles as a whole — and earning high praise for their efforts.

Jang and the In Hospitality team will launch Mil Bakery at the end of the month at 2748 W. 8th Street, inside the existing All Good Things shop. Can’t wait until then? Jang is popping up with pastries and more at the upcoming Market with Maum on Sunday, May 15 in Chinatown.