Komodo Cafe

Los Angeles, United States

3.9

Closed now

25 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 310-246-5153
Website:
komodofood.com
Address:
8809 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90035
Pico-Robertson
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
1.9 miCulver City
2.1 miPalms
2.1 miLa Cienega/Jefferson
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
No
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Los Angeles) 05:44 Friday, 29 November 2024

Business hours

Monday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Modern California Asian Fusion Cuisine– tacos, burritos, salads, protein plates, rice bowls and seasonal items

History

Established in 2009.

Launched in 2009 as a Gourmet Taco Truck by Chef Erwin Tjahyadi and friends, Komodo is a passion project to mold together Los Angeles diverse melting pot of culinary heritage.

Meet the Business Owner

Erwin T.

Business Owner

Chef Erwin Tjahyadi is one of LA’s hottest rising culinary stars. Specializing in mixing French Traditional cuisine with his penchant for Asian Fusion flavors, he is seasoned in orchestrating custom menus, entertainment industry galas and corporate large-​scale dining events. — See more at: Tjahyadi received his training from Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, where he earned his degree with highest honors. As the co-​owner/​executive chef of Komodo, he has crafted one of the most popular mobile food and café concepts in Los Angeles; as featured in Sunset Magazine, GQ, Details, Gourmet Live, Food & Wine, Urban Daddy, LA Times and more.

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25 reviews of Komodo Cafe

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Westwood, CA
Awesome food, reasonably priced. Decent amount of vegetarian options. My top three items are the kimchi nachos (still great with no meat), the quesadilla (they put this great sauce on it), and the farmer’s market salad.
Restaurant is tiny and always crowded, so its not exactly fine dining, but if you’re looking for quick, delicious, casual experience, Komodo is great.
Place rating: 3
Los Angeles, CA
Komodo seriously does have some dangerously great tasting food! I’ve been a repeat customer not only to this location, but to their restaurant near Venice Beach. I typically get the MP3 or Marinated Steak. A few days ago I visited this location and ordered the marinated steak well done, everything tasted excellent but I personally wanted to add some sauce on the steak to mix things up… I would have rated this restaurant five stars, but in my opinion it now is a three star facility because they wanted to charge me an additional 55 cents for the extra sauce…
I’m not a cheap person by all means, but for a restaurant like this to charge for extra sauce is also a direct reflection of their brand, cheap. McDonalds is cheap and they don’t charge for extra sauces, etc. Therefore I will not be back to this location because I wasn’t satisfied, especially after tipping them out for the basic service.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
My favorite, go-​to for a delicious and hassle free dinner! Quick to order, find a seat and have your food in front of you before you know it. Their 4 tacos for $ 10 is my staple along with their harvest salad w/​beets. The staff is friendly and the food is always heavenly. A must visit place in Los Angeles!
P. S. Make sure to go when they offer their limited time specials like the phở-​ritto or ramen burrito!
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Came to LA and had Komodo bookmarked because I was super excited to try their ramen burrito but they didn’t have it (limited addition). I was visiting on January 31st and it was the last day for their «PHORRITO». As I was sad that they did not serve the ramen, I had to try the phorrito. Smell and taste just like phở but without the soup. Pretty good. It was made pretty too. I also ordered a side of truffle fries. YUM!
Staff was friendly and the place was clean. Small space. Street parking. I cant wait to come back next fall for their ramen burrito and all the other yummy items on their menu.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
My palate has been pretty spoiled lately, and no, I’m not talking about fine dining at critics top five star shindig popping up all over LA. 4 delicious crafted taco for $ 10 is a great deal!
A-​: Blazin Shrimp — not much to it other good shrimp and just spicy, not enough flavor
A: MP3 — there’s no sauce on it, so dish out the 50 cent and buy the garlic aioli sauce, sooooo worth it. the egg on this thing is too cute
B: BMC — it’s like a mexican banh mi in your mouth
A: Signature — it’s signature for a reason
B: Dumplings — they were ok, satisfy the cravings
Cannot wait to come back!
Place rating: 3
Culver City, CA
The place is too small and crowded so expect to take your food to go. I found out about Komodo when a friend brought a plate of the miso steak to a party and it was delicious perhaps because I had given up on eating red meat for a year prior to tasting. I liked it enough to come in. Parking on the street was fairly easy. I got the Asian Taco, the Komodo 2.0, and the banh mi taco. Everything smelled great and tasted good. I wanted it to be amazing like the steak and it wasn’t.
Place rating: 5
Carson, CA
FOR THE FOODIE. Want to try food that stimulates your taste buds and is a fusion of your favorite Asian flavors? Then this is the place. Imagine the rat in Ratatouille where he mixes flavors together to create something extraordinary. That was my thought process indulging the food I ordered here. I went for the
4 Tacos for $ 10 which was a steal! I was unsure which tacos to ordered and asked the cashier what she recommended and trusted her judgement. The food arrived in a timely manner and the presentation was beautiful. Each taco I ordered represented a distinct taste I’ve had before. One represented a loco moco consisting of a hamburger patty with gravy and onions in it. Another had fresh herbs which appeared Vietnamese which created a refreshing taste into each bite. The other two were good as well but the two described above stood out the most. Parking is easy to find. Come hungry!!!
Place rating: 3
Santa Monica, CA
I’ve come here several times, and I almost always have a wonderful experience. The last time I ordered from here, though, has really turned me off from this location for a long time. First of all, I’m really disappointed that they do not offer a delivery service — they’re not available on Eat24 or GrubHub. Second of all, my boyfriend was really excited to try their Brutus salad, and was gravely disappointed. It was extremely tater tot heavy, which, for $ 13 was a big waste of money. I ordered the phorrito, which made it my fourth time having it from both locations, and was really bummed about how small it was! It was about the size of my hand, and I usually can only eat half of it. I managed to eat the whole thing and was still very hungry. For $ 10, I could’ve gotten a more satisfying meal at In-​N-​Out with change to spare! Our friend’s girlfriend ordered the kimchi nachos, and although the serving looked large and appetizing, the flavor was surprisingly bland and had no kick to it. How did you manage to take the kick out of kimchi?
I don’t think I’ll be coming back here for a long time.
There is metered parking out on Pico and residential parking on the side streets. They accept credit card, DO NOT deliver, and they have limited indoor seating. The Venice location is much bigger.
Place rating: 4
Jacksonville Beach, FL
This place was so delicious. We ordered the lychee lemonade (to die for), the seasonal Dragonfruit lemonade (also yummy), and 4 tacos: the Java, the Moco, the MP3, and the BMC.
The Java & BMC were our favorites, by far. The Java’s pork was perfectly tender & flavorful, and the cucumber/​tomato salad with the fried shallots on top took the taco to an awesome dimension. The BMC was just like a Banh Mi in a taco. Fun way to eat it, and they hit it right on the head.
The Moco had great flavor, but it was a bit strange eating the ingredients in taco-​form. We’d prefer it on a bun. The MP3 was our least favorite. Not horrible, but just not «right on.» The steak had a little too much allspice or a similar spice for our liking, and it just didn’t seem to vibe as much as the others.
Overall, great lunch! Service was awesome, too. Can’t wait to try their Phorrito before we leave the LA area!
Place rating: 5
Rosemead, CA
This place is awesome! I love their phorrito. Imagine the essence of phở wrapped in a steamy tortilla. The portion of food in one order is good enough to feed two people.
My beau and I also ordered 4 tacos for $ 10. I ordered Java, loco moco, soi and blazing shrimp. Believe me those tacos are huge and flavorful. My favorite would be Soi. It’s a bit tangy and savory and it’s for vegetarian ! That’s a plus for herbivores out there! The staffs are very friendly and attentive. They would always check on our table to see if we need anything. I will come back next time to check out their next seasonal special. Mmmmmmm…
Place rating: 4
San Mateo, CA
Small casual restaurant on the corner of busy Robertson and Pico Blvd. Another tasty rendition of the taco + Asian fare meal. We ordered the Killer Combo (4 tacos) and Lethal Combo (burrito and taco) to take on our long drive back to the bay area.
The BMC — Vietnamese style taco. Loved the chicken with hoisen aioli, but they were a bit too generous with the pickled shredded daikon and carrots. More meat, less daikon and carrot please.
Moco — Loco moco (beef patty, rice, over easy egg, and gravy) in a taco. The taco «inners» were tasty, but I’d rather not eat this dish in taco form.
Java — Indonesian pork with cucumber and tomato salad. The perfect mix of meat and freshness. One of my favorites.
MP3 — Breakfast in a taco — hash brown, fried egg, steak, and the best garlic aioli ever! We also got this in burrito form.
Komodo 2.0 — good standard taco, but not as memorable as the rest.
We washed it all down with a lychee lemonade (yum!)! My favorite was the Java and MP3, and would come back to try their garlic parmesan fries.
Place rating: 2
La Habra, CA
We came in here with decent amount of expectation given the fact that they’ve been featured by many food pages in social media.
Place– corner of busy streets of weho-​ish/​Hollywoodish Goodluck with street parking and chaos
Store– little but ample seating
Amount– $ to $$
I had the Moco burrito and was not pleased. Nothing compared to any asian fusion comfort/​street food out there. They basically wrapped a whole burger steak with the rice one side and mushroom/​onion on the other. So you got a burrito that’s Hella bland on one side and super saucy and sweet on the other with a mediocre middle for their meat. I couldn’t even eat the burrito like any other burrito because the wrapping was horrible that the sauce kept dripping from the other end. Its a burrito. It should be intact
The meat also disappoint. It was so bland tasting so I wanted to get sauce for their mediocre taste (other than its sweet mushroom sauce at the other end of the burriro) but they charge 50 cents for tiny sauce. Come on now. First I paid for a poorly done burrito then I have to pay more for the sauce just so I can enjoy what I’m eating? Sadness
Then there’s the truffle fries that’s filled with salt. I think they got distracted in the middle of preparing our meal and put all the salt on the fries but nothing on the burrito. Good thing it was crispy.
I give them the fact that they do free refill for their drinks.
Place rating: 1
Santa Ana, CA
What in the world Unilocalers! You have to be kidding me. Mystery taco meat covered in cojita is still for me but this place is awful.
Pros
Lychee lemonade but lemonade is used very loosely. It tastes like the juice in a canned longan.
Mango is delicious
Both have free refills and the only reason I would go back
Cons
Phojita the best part of phở has to be the broth so they just took that out to make a dry burrito. I hope they didn’t print too many shirts cause this gots to go!
All the taco… Can’t remember the names: but a shrimp one, pork one that tastes like dog food meat, corn was flavorless, ahi tacos was slimy. Ugh I would as for my money back but I drank ¼ of my money back.
Notes
No restrooms
Tight seating
This place is not good. The end!
Place rating: 5
Corona, CA
BEWARE — the food is DANGEROUSLY GOOD here!
Probably one of my favorite comfort food spots in L.A.
I typically order the DEADLY COMBO with truffle or garlic fries and a soda, which I upgrade to their homemade nectar for a little extra but definitely worth it – the lychee lemonade and mango citrus are so amazing and refreshing. I can literally drink them all day if I could. Thanks to the deadly combination, I’ve tried a few tacos on their menu, and they’re all pretty good — but my favorites are Komodo 2.0 and the Asian Marinated Chicken. The garlic/​truffle fries and tater tots are also to die for!
I’ve also recently tried the PHORRITO, and it’s so good! Phở lovers will be pleased — it’s like the real deal without the broth.
Great service, and great food!
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
Finally made it here after seeing so many insanely good looking pictures of the food here.
Tiny store with not much seating, best is going at off times to get a seat. Parking is metered, but you usually get lucky in this area.
Service was great, they really work the crowds well and make sure you are enjoying your food.
We went with the sampler to get to try as much as possible and I have to say i enjoyed them all, except for the two with the egg, not a fan of how raw and runny it was, pass on that next time, the rest very unique and worth trying.
Loved the dragons blood, the burritos look killer and I’ll have to come back for one of those.
Prices and portions are fair, quality is great, a must try!
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
Not sure what’s more deadly, getting bitten by a komodo dragon or devouring 4 komodo tacos in 4 minutes. Well I hope I don’t find out how deadly the former is. And the latter is pretty deadly… Deadly delicious! …anyway, onto the review.
Komodo Café came as a very pleasant surprise. Yeah it’s kinda tiny inside but if you get lucky and bypass the busy times, you’ll have a great experience here. I thoroughly enjoyed the marinated chicken taco most out of the mp3, komodo 2.0, fish and something out of the 4 taco combo. The tacos felt kinda dry but the contents were good! Nari goreng was small in size but packed with flavor. It’s pretty much Indo fried rice without meat. Highly recommend! I caved and got an order of garlic fries too. Suffice to say, I was stuffed and highly satisfied…
…the drink refills are free?!? So I also tried every drink possible (dragon berry, mango something, and lychee something [I apologize for my lack of descriptiveness]).
If you can get here before the crowd does, you’ll love this place.
Place rating: 4
Downey, CA
I came back again to try the KILLER combo of 4 tacos ($ 10). This was absolutely a better choice than getting the LETHAL, which caused me to get stuck with the not so great Fish n’ Grapes. If you really want a burrito, you better make sure you like the type of dish you select. If it’s your first time you should probably pick the tacos to start out. Here’s the taco breakdown!
— KOMODO 2.0: Steak, jalapeño aioli, and southwest corn salad.
— ASIAN MARINATED CHICKEN: Chicken, jalapeño stir fried rice, green onions, mandarin oranges, sesame seeds, and sweet soy sauce glaze.
— MOCO: Hawaiian seared angus ground beef patty, caramelized onions, scallions, gravy, mushrooms, rice, and sunny side up egg.
— BLAZIN’ SHRIMP: Spicy shrimp, sour cream salad, and cilantro.
My favorites by far were the Komodo 2.0 and the Moco. However, they are all lovely bites and I enjoyed all of the ones I had. The fountain drinks and fries were just as good as before.
Place rating: 5
Edmonton, Canada
Amazing, unique tacos! Really great location on Pico Blvd. Tacos are all prepared fresh, and they even have great sides like truffle parmesan fries (delicious!).
The best part, you can order tacos individually, and you’ll want to after you see their menu. It’s impossible to choose. I recommend the MP3 (it has tater tots, how can you say no to THAT!) and fins’n’grapes. And the truffle parmesan fries.
Seating can be tough, so be prepared to take out if you need to.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
I love having this place in my neighborhood. It’s so unsuspecting! First of all, the Komodo food truck is amazing, and this place has all the yummy food truck tacos plus an additional assortment of great dishes, and always a special of the day (e.g., phorrito — burrito w/​phở ingredients). Also, they always have lychee lemonade and sometimes have other flavors.
In case you didn’t know (cuz the menu doesn’t mention it, you can make any taco into a burrito bowl or a burrito. If you go with either option, they totally hook you up with meat! Basically, if you’re super hungry, it’s worth it to upgrade from a $ 3 taco to a $ 10 burrito or bowl.
I really love the signature and the blazin’ shrimp from the taco menu. That said, if you don’t have a high tolerance for spicy, you will not like the blazin’ shrimp! The truffle tots are delicious and come with a generous portion (easily shareable between 2 – 3 people). The salmon & brown rice platter is very very good. Salmon is cooked nicely, and rice & salad provide for healthy sides.
The staff is really helpful and friendly. They take your name with you order, so you aren’t just a number here. Parking is pretty scarce in the area, but there are metered spots out front.
Place rating: 4
Irvine, CA
COME FOR THEIR TACOS. 4 tacos for $ 10!
They have a variety of tacos to choose from but we got the Komodo 2.0, Loko Moko, MP3 and Signature. The best one was the Loko Moko!
We also tried:
–Brutus Salad 5⁄5
–Seasonal White Fish 5⁄5
–Kimchi Nachos 3⁄5
There is very limited seating inside – they basically crammed in a bunch of tables together. Theres people hovering over you either while they wait in line to order or while they wait for their food/​open table. Aside from that, their food is bomb! Hope they open up a location in OC soon :)
Place rating: 5
Paramount, CA
I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Indomie burrito and it didn’t fail. I’m indeed a ramen fan and word of this burrito had been all over social media so I had to give it a try before it was gone at the end of the month. The ramen was sweet and the Chinese sausage was excellent.
I’ve always come during the day to eat here but this was a night visit this time around and the place was packed! I love being out with huge crowds. Although there was a full house, the food was prepared in less time than the actual estimated time given. I was also able to snag a seat as tables began to clear.
Komodo continues to impress, can’t wait to see what new items they’ll have in the coming months.
Dinner 11/​20/​2015
Place rating: 3
Diamond Bar, CA
This review is solely based on the plates and not the tacos!
I will be back to try other things on the menu as I definitely feel there is potential there; however, I was indifferent about their plates being offered here.
steak miso plate– the steak pieces are overly salted. I believe it has something to do with the miso sauce, but still way too salty for my palate! Steak pieces were a little chewy.
shrimp plate– great kick of lime if you are up for it. I actually don’t mind a little bit of sour, but this plate was overly drenched with lime. Shrimp pieces were good and flavorful, but time to time, I felt my lips puckered up.
garlic fries– the portion of fries here are huge, but the fries were a little disappointing. I expected more from the garlic and didn’t get too much of a kick.
The flavors here are quite bold for the plates. I definitely want to come back and try their infamous tacos and see what all the rave is about.
Place rating: 2
Los Angeles, CA
Honestly this place is waay overhyped… sure, the fusion tacos are pretty cool, but it don’t taste that great.
The tacos are pretty creative, but both times I came they were cold… the tortilla wasn’t soft, it was just dry… The garlic fries were pretty good. But overall, for the price I’m paying, I would expect a lot more, since there are a TON of dank $ 1 taco trucks in LA.
Komodo is one of those places where you come just to say you’ve tried it and never want to come again.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
TL;DR: Colorful, mouthwatering pictures don’t do the tacos here justice. Just go. Now.
Adding to the abundance of five star reviews, I am here to say my Komodo experience was met with complete satisfaction. This spot is a 15 minute walk from my house, so I don’t know why it’s taken me two years to visit, but now that I have popped the Komodo cherry, I will resort to only walking to and from this location to justify the many calories I am about to consume from their food.
I walked in knowing that I was going to get the killer combo of 4 tacos/​$ 10, but upon reading the descriptions of the tacos, I decided to let the kind lady ringing me up decide what I should try. I must say, I liked them all with equal adoration. I washed it down with mango citrus juice (with a free refill!), which was my favorite among the three that they were offering that day. My belly was filled to capacity after my tacos, but I want to come back and eventually try everything. Like, all of it.
Oh, and service was pretty darn good too. This was a busy lunch spot on a weekday, and it’s a rather cramped location with only two tables and some bar style seating. But even with the lunch rush, the ladies working here were so helpful and let us take our time ordering and dining. They came by to check if we needed refills or sauces, and even doled out some free samples of their other juice flavors.
Can’t wait for my next trek out there for kimchi nachos and tots. And tacos, more tacos.
Komodo was recommended to me by a friend and I can see why! Everything was so good and full of flavor. Asian fusion done right! I literally liked everything I ordered. It’s honestly hard to choose what was my favorite. Here’s what I got:
— Komodo 2.0 (taco)
— Asian Marinated Chicken (taco)
— Blazin’ Shrimp (taco)
— MP3 (taco)
— Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice) — If I had to choose, this was probably my favorite. Be sure it mix the sauce in!
The seating area inside is quite small. This wasn’t a problem when I went for dinner on a week night but I can imagine it being a problem during rush hours. Also, there is parking in the back and on the street but you will need to pay. Trust me though, Komodo is worth these minor inconveniences. I am a believer and you will be too! I will most definitely be back!