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Although Escala has had a soft opening for some time now, the restaurant officially opened on Thursday, bringing Colombian-inspired eats to Koreatown. The space is located in the same strip mall as mainstays Toe Bang and Kang Hodong Baekjung, and showcases craft cocktails, wicked street art, and live DJs and turntablism nightly.
Escala is owned by "OG Chino," an old school member of the Angeleno street art scene who originally hails from Bogota, Colombia. Thusly, there's a ton of tagging on the walls, including some burn art done by Chino himself. Behind the stoves is chef Chris Oh of Seoul Sausage. There are Latin American dishes like tamales, empanadas, elotes, and ceviche punched up by spicy sauces like the candela, as well as cocktails made with aguardiente—the anise-flavored sugar cane spirit native to Colombia.
The restaurant is also doing laid back brunches complete with DJs and fried chicken and waffles on Sundays. Here's what we had to eat.
