"Chef Debbie Lee's long-awaited modern Korean gastropub is finally here. After years of delays and a brief stint as a pop-up, Yi Cha is set to open in the former Otoño space in Highland Park on October 30. At Yi Cha, the Korean term for second round, Lee will serve her take on Korean American pub dishes alongside an inventive cocktail menu."
"Yi Cha's debut is a full-circle moment for Lee, who first made her mark on Los Angeles in 2010 with her Korean food truck, Ahn Joo, named after small snacking dishes served with soju and beer at Korean pochas. At the truck, Lee slung early iterations of her rice cake-based K-town nachos and Korean fried chicken, both of which return on Yi Cha's menu. Lee also competed on The Next Food Network Star in 2009 and published her cookbook Seoultown Kitchen in 2011."
"During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee prepared takeout Korean food for locals while living with her family in South Orange County. After moving back to Los Angeles in 2021, she set her sights on opening something that felt representative of her. "When people were asking me for mandu and jjigae, it's when I realized this is how I want to retire and be known," Lee told Eater in 2023. "This is who I am, my heritage and ancestry, and I want to be in a really great community.""
Yi Cha will open October 30 in the former Otoño space, offering Lee's interpretation of Korean American pub food and inventive cocktails. Yi Cha, meaning 'second round' in Korean, revives Lee's rice cake–based K-town nachos and Korean fried chicken from her 2010 Ahn Joo food truck. During the COVID-19 pandemic she prepared takeout while living in South Orange County and returned to Los Angeles in 2021 to pursue a concept rooted in her heritage. The project faced delays, shifted to pop-ups in Silver Lake, and now opens as a modern pojangmacha–inspired gastropub.
Read at Eater LA
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