Liu’s Cafe is the ideal neighborhood restaurant and bakery, its DNA plucked straight from Hong Kong or Taiwan and rooted in Los Angeles’s Koreatown. Crowds filter into the light-filled dining room in the mornings for custard-filled, fluffy bricks of Hong Kong-style French toast paired with milk tea or spicy wontons, while evenings add beef noodle soup and a handful of desserts to the menu. With the no-reservations setup and accessible price point (every dish is under $15), Liu’s works for any occasion, whether gathering friends for a catch-up over brunch, grabbing a quick pastry while out on a walk, or having a solo meal of comforting chicken over rice. Soon enough, you’ll find yourself becoming a regular, too.
A casual, no-reservations weekend brunch with friends that will cost less than $25 per person.
If ordering takeout in person, you can skip the wait to be seated (which often gets quite long on weekends) and walk right up to the counter to order.