Daikokuya Sawtelle

On the Westside, there’s no better place after midnight than Daikokuya, a longtime ramenya that’s become a cozy mainstay for locals in recent years. Inside the tiny Sawtelle outpost (which stays open the latest), whose interior resembles a lantern-lit Tokyo alleyway, late-night diners slurp up bowls of flavorful, porky tonkotsu broth and Chijire-style egg noodles. Each bowl comes with a boiled egg, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and green onions—but go big with a ramen combo adding rice bowls topped with eel, pork cutlets or tuna. Fans of accoutrements can amp it up by ordering their bowl kotteri-style, which adds a boost of flavor with a fatty soup extract. If you or someone else in your party isn’t particularly hungry, the appetizers and standalone rice bowls make for a filling, affordable evening snack.