Corridor 109 has finally put down its roots.
After years spent operating as a pop-up, chef Brian Baik’s restaurant is getting its own permanent brick-and-mortar locale in Los Angeles, which just opened its doors this week. The 10-seat Corridor 109, whose name pays homage to the acclaimed Paris restaurant Passage 53, will offer up an 11-course seafood tasting menu.
And those dishes will include rare and special products directly from Japan; Baik himself will select each and every ingredient for the menu, which will evolve over time. Initial bites include ikura tartlet, a fresh salmon roe tartlet; katsuo pesto, skipjack tuna with pesto spaghetti; and aji toast, with horse mackerel and homemade milk bread. Master sommelier Michael Engelmann has crafted a wine list to pair with your meal, serving vinos mainly from small, family-own estates. If you’re in the mood for a stronger tipple, Bar 109, Corridor 109’s watering hole, can be found in the same spot (and it offers up some snacks, too.)
Los Angeles–based Montalba Architects dreamt up the location for both the bar and the restaurant, turning a former furniture store in a modern eatery. Design touches include a stained walnut chef’s table surrounding the kitchen, along with warm, moody lighting and blackened stainless steel. And, of course, you’ll get to watch as Baik and his team whip up their creations.
Baik is no stranger to the restaurant industry. His family opened the Kobawoo House in 1983, which is where Corridor 109 originated back in 2021, when Baik took over dinner on Monday nights; the pop-up, gaining traction, then moved to another space in Chinatown. In addition to coming from a strong culinary lineage, Baik has made his way into kitchens of many an acclaimed restaurant, including Bouley, Eleven Madison Park, and Sushi Noz.
Corridor 109, in L.A.’s Melrose Hill neighborhood, is open Thursdays to Saturday during previews for a 7 p.m. seating. As of now, pricing for the spot is set at $295, but will increase to $325 after Nov 15.
