Venice Beach Korean Seafood

Putting aside its name, which has never made much sense to us, Venice Beach Korean Seafood was instantly appealing in concept when it was revealed as a new tenant at The Source in Buena Park, replacing a not-much-liked Vietnamese restaurant on the second floor. In scope and execution, it’s essentially a larger version of the third floor restaurant K Soul Food, featuring many of the same live seafood items – octopus, shrimp, and sea urchin – but in a larger space with a full sushi bar. Unlike K Soul Food, which barely markets within The Source, Venice Beach has signage everywhere promoting its $20 lunch specials, featuring multiple seafood choices and sides, and $24 dinner sets.

A couple of the highlights include a sea urchin bowl, filled with straight-from-the-shell uni – maximally fresh – for $20, and raw soy crab, which is famously available (and outstanding) in some LA Korean restaurants. Here, the banchan side dishes are generous – 8-10 items is more than you get at most places, including K Soul Food  – and you can choose from a large number of sushi items that aren’t just limited to Korean favorites.