Don’t be thrown off by the ATM covering half the facade of this strip mall find in Hawaiian Gardens. Behind the double doors just right of the machine, a humming space dressed up like a television set welcomes diners into Shor Bazaar, a South Asian restaurant serving inventive takes on Indian, Pakistani, and Afghan classics. Chef Imran “Ali” Mookhi, previously of Tumbi in Santa Monica and also the founder of Michelin-recognized Khan Saab in Fullerton, helms the kitchen. This might be the most destination-worthy restaurant in Hawaiian Gardens, just a short trip from much of Southeast Los Angeles’s sprawling suburbia.
Latticed windows as well as bold swatches of teal, orange, and earth give the vibrant dining room a timeless appeal that escapes the confines of Hawaiian Gardens’ car-centric strip malls.
There’s no alcohol here, a nod to Mookhi’s Muslim heritage, but that doesn’t mean folks can’t sit at the bar for the stellar non-alcoholic drinks like the passionfruit Seedlip blood orange Sunset or spot-on piña colada with vanilla bean kulfi.