{"id":341361,"date":"2025-10-29T18:48:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T18:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/341361\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T18:48:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T18:48:19","slug":"a-fine-dining-veteran-brings-a-tasting-menu-restaurant-with-speakeasy-vibes-to-melrose-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/341361\/","title":{"rendered":"A Fine Dining Veteran Brings a Tasting Menu Restaurant With Speakeasy Vibes to Melrose Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

After years of hosting sold-out pop-ups across Los Angeles, chef Brian Baik\u2019s acclaimed Corridor 109 will open in its permanent Melrose Hill home<\/a> on October 30. At the new restaurant, Baik will serve an 11-course seafood-centric tasting menu at an intimate counter that seats only 10 diners.<\/p>\n

For Baik, who was raised in Los Angeles, opening Corridor 109<\/a> feels like coming home. His parents opened Koreatown bossam specialist Kobawoo House in 1983 \u2014 first on Olympic Boulevard before moving to its current location off Vermont \u2014 and he recalls a childhood spent at the restaurant. \u201cI was there all the time as a kid,\u201d Baik says. After earning a business administration degree from the University of Southern California, Baik moved to New York to pursue a short-lived career in real estate finance before restaurants and hospitality called him back. In New York, he began to build his career, working at prestigious restaurants including Bouley, Eleven Madison Park, the Chef\u2019s Table at Brooklyn Fare, and Sushi Noz. In 2019, Baik moved back to Los Angeles to help his parents run Kobawoo House while dreaming up what he might do next.<\/p>\n

Baik debuted Corridor 109 as a series of Monday night dinners at Kobawoo House in 2021, serving Japanese and Korean seafood courses<\/a>; guests would enter through the kitchen instead of the main entrance, lending an air of exclusivity to the pop-ups. The name Corridor 109 nods to now-closed Paris restaurant Passage 53 using Kobawoo House\u2019s strip mall suite number. Starting in 2023, Baik operated Corridor 109 out of a test kitchen in Chinatown, but he always had his sights set on opening the restaurant somewhere more permanent. \u201cThe focus of the space was always kind of developing the long-term space,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"Tasting<\/a><\/p>\n

Tasting counter. Shelby Moore<\/p>\n

Baik was drawn to Melrose Hill for his first restaurant in part due to its central location and proximity to Koreatown. \u201cI think a big part for me was making sure that I was in a location where there was an okay parking situation,\u201d Baik says. \u201cAnd I could be at a place where I could focus on my restaurant in a way that is genuine to me, and the way that I wanted to do it, versus catering the food to the audience of an area that I\u2019m at.\u201d He saw Melrose Hill \u2014 and its current blossoming of new restaurants<\/a> \u2014 as an opportunity to bring his cooking to people from across Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

In July, Baik opened the front part of Corridor 109 as Bar 109<\/a> with bartender Kayla Garcia (Kumiko) and general manager Jon Tran as a way to introduce himself to the neighborhood. At Bar 109, Baik serves a more casual menu of bar snacks executed with precision reflective of a fine dining background, including a fried fish sandwich<\/a> and a wagyu hot dog. Now, Baik is on the precipice of finally opening Corridor 109 less than three miles from his family\u2019s Kobawoo House.<\/p>\n

Baik built the menu at Corridor 109 around his penchant for seafood and high-quality ingredients. He credits David Bouley for sparking his interest in Japanese ingredients and cooking techniques \u2014 he continued to hone that passion at Eleven Madison Park, the Chef\u2019s Table at Brooklyn Fare, and later, was part of the opening team at Sushi Noz. \u201cThe concept [for Corridor 109] is really sharing the ingredients that I love to eat,\u201d Baik says. \u201cIt\u2019s just sharing the things that are special to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corridor 109\u2019s $325 tasting menu, which channels Baik\u2019s experience cooking Japanese and French food, as well as his Korean American upbringing, will change with the seasons but its focus on seafood will remain consistent. (The menu will be offered for $295 through November 15 to celebrate the opening.) Baik\u2019s aji toast with horse mackerel nested on a slice of homemade milk bread, a favorite from prior pop-ups inspired by Spanish pintxos, will be on the menu. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s kind of that mix of of my cooking background,\u201d Baik says. \u201cIt\u2019s not sushi, it\u2019s not French, but it really kind of brings together some of the different experiences that I\u2019ve had.\u201d Diners can also find an ikura tartlet filled with translucent orange roe orbs, skipjack tuna nestled on top of a swirl of pesto pasta, and channel rockfish swimming in a fish bone broth.<\/p>\n

Master Sommelier Michael Engelmann leads the wine program, which is focused on bottles primarily from small, family-owned estates. Sake will also be available to pair. For now, Corridor 109 will only offer a single 7 p.m. seating each night.<\/p>\n

\"Katsuo<\/a><\/p>\n

Katsuo with pesto spaghetti. Shelby Moore<\/p>\n

\"Tart<\/a><\/p>\n

Ikura tartlet. Shelby Moore<\/p>\n

\"Slice<\/a><\/p>\n

Aji toast. Shelby Moore<\/p>\n

\"Kinki<\/a><\/p>\n

Kinki with fish bone broth. Shelby Moore<\/p>\n

Baik continued his partnership with Montalba Architects \u2014 the group behind the design for Bar 109 \u2014 for Corridor 109. \u201cThey fully understood the vision for this concept and how we wanted to make people feel and experience as they come into the space,\u201d he says. Guests will enter through Bar 109, before being whisked through a tall door and seated at Corridor 109\u2019s tasting counter. Baik and his team will greet guest individually and then get to work preparing the first dish just feet away. (The restaurant does not have a separate kitchen \u2014 each course will be prepared at the tasting counter with guests looking on.) A rectangular block of light sits above the floating preparation island, casting a spotlight down on the chefs\u2019 hands as they cook and plate.<\/p>\n

With Corridor 109 arriving at a time where cost of goods, ingredients, and labor continue to rise<\/a>, Baik had to navigate finding the right price point for the tasting menu. Earlier iterations of the pop-up Kobawoo House offered a menu for $150, which rose to $225 while operating out of the Chinatown test kitchen<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t want [the cost] to alienate guests as much as I can control,\u201d Baik says. \u201cBut the cost of ingredients for us, very special ingredients, is high, and I wanted to be at a location where I wouldn\u2019t have to charge for $500 for the menu cost.\u201d He brings in seafood from Japan for certain dishes on the menu, alongside produce and other ingredients sourced locally from farmers. \u201cI think it is a constant struggle of finding things that are accessible in any way while still doing a high quality,\u201d Baik says.<\/p>\n

After years of development, and a few months at Bar 109 under his belt, Baik feels ready to having the doors open at Corridor 109. \u201cI\u2019m very excited to get things going with the with the restaurant especially, and just to focus on cooking again,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Corridor 109 is located at 641 N. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90004. The restaurant opens on October 30 for discounted previews from Thursday to Saturday, which are available to book on Resy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Brian<\/a><\/p>\n

Brian Baik. Shelby Moore<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After years of hosting sold-out pop-ups across Los Angeles, chef Brian Baik\u2019s acclaimed Corridor 109 will open in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":341362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,2961,14730,224,5337],"class_list":{"0":"post-341361","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-la-restaurant-openings","12":"tag-los-angeles","13":"tag-losangeles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115458954759709852","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}