Founded in 2010 by chef and owner Daniel Bohlen, East Village Asian Diner quickly became a North County staple. Fusing Korean, Japanese, and Californian flavors, the restaurant built a loyal following around its signature Monk's Stone Pot - a sizzling bibimbap-inspired dish featuring rice, vegetables, egg, and optional proteins served in a piping hot stone bowl. The casual diner also offered inventive street-cart snacks like kimchi-chive pancakes, carnitas dynamite fries, and crispy coconut shrimp, along with craft beers, sake, and playful desserts like apple wontons.
Bohlen, a graduate of New York’s French Culinary Institute, drew on his Korean heritage and his wife's Japanese background to craft a menu rooted in authenticity but filtered through a West Coast sensibility. The restaurant’s cozy and quirky ambiance, complete with anime screenings and cheeky robot iconography, made it a favorite among locals and visitors alike.
The Encinitas location remained steady for years despite a brief and ultimately short-lived expansion into Hillcrest in 2013. The San Diego branch, which opened in the former Pink Noodle space, featured the same menu and aesthetic, but it shuttered within a short time after struggling to gain traction in the competitive Uptown dining scene.
East Village Asian Diner's consistency and quality helped it endure shifting culinary trends and the challenges of the pandemic era, during which many other small restaurants closed permanently. The restaurant resisted menu overhauls, offering longtime customers the comfort of knowing their favorites would always be available - a philosophy Bohlen once explained as aiming to be "that place where that one thing a person likes, it will always be there."
Though the ownership has yet to release an official statement about the decision to close, the announcement has already prompted a wave of nostalgia and sadness from longtime fans. Patrons now have until Saturday, August 31 to enjoy one final Monk’s Stone Pot or bowl of spicy udon noodle soup before this Encinitas institution shutters for good.
East Village Asian Diner is located at 628 S. Coast Highway 101 in San Diego's North County city of Encinitas.