What if I told you there was a place that specialized in beautifully simple Japanese style sandwiches? What if I told you this place also happens to have excellent French pastries: some of the best croissants and caneles on the west coast? Well, this magical place does exist. It’s called Konbi. A teeny counter seating only cafe + take out window tucked in a nondescript corner of Echo Park, just passed the busy strip of Sunset (although that strip seems to be extending each year). It’s easy to miss if you don’t know what you’re looking for, sandwiched between a gas station and a couple random boutiques.
Konbi is all about quality over quantity. It’s a small menu, but a focused one. Everything is done extremely well. Their sandwiches took over LA foodie Instagram back in late 2018 when they first opened, and soon grabbed the nation’s attention as BA’s best new restaurant in 2019. If New York has great late night spots, LA is all about the pretty daytime only cafés and Konbi is our darling cafe that continues to shine.
the details
| Address | 1463 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles |
| Website | https://www.konbila.com/ |
| Yelp | https://www.yelp.com/biz/konbi-los-angeles |
| @konbi | |
| Hours | 9am – 4pm everyday |
| Price | $$ – most sandwiches are $10-15, everything else is generally $5-10 |
| Aesthetic | japanese minimalist |
good to know
Go here for: an obligatory LA foodie meal, and also let’s be real, for the foodie social media clout
Order this: egg salad sandwich ($10), egg omelette sandwich ($11), katsu sandwich ($14) (or ideally come with friends and trade so you get some of everything), and (if you’re lucky and they’re still available) chocolate croissant ($6), canele ($4)
Amount of time to spend: a quick 10 min stop by, or a short ~30 min bar meal
When to come: earlier the better, they run out of pastries quickly!
Parking: is usually not too bad on the side streets (particularly on weekdays)
Other things to note:
- If you’re dining in, it’s best to come by yourself or with one other person – there’s only 10 seats and often a wait.
- They also sell hojicha milk jam by the jar online, so you can love them even without being in LA.
Last visited: January 2020
Last updated: July 2020
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