Destini Café

Humble Asian restaurant on Culver in playa del rey. Destini Cafe is great, laid back Asian food in the area. Their ramen and bibimbaps are personal favorites. They always have an excellent tea selection. Their lunch specials are a definite bargain. Make sure to check it out!

ADDED NOTE: I am a bit disappointed that I tried the Thai curry offered by Destini. There wasn't nearly enough curry nor rice for the price that I paid. I left hungry and unsatisfied. Please make these portions in particular more.

Came here for lunch on a Friday and food was pretty good. I think on a regular day it's I would be ok to come and sit outdoors when it's not hot but we came when it was 90 degrees and I was so hot!!! Thankfully they had fans which helped a little bit but I was dying just a little bit.

I got the beef bibim bop and vanilla chai latte and was pretty satisfied with the portion and taste. The chow mein didn't blow me away. Parking is in the back but keep in mind there's only like three spots.

Destini Café...it is destiny that has brought us together.

Okay, with that cliché out of the way and out of my system I'll share with you why you should stop by Destini Café.

Food:
Though I'm no connoisseur of Thai food, I gotta tell you that whats being served up here is pretty damn good and leaves me feeling healthy. So far I've tried the red and green curry seafood bowls (each served with a side of multi grain rice) $12.
See my pic of the Red Curry bowl.

You can taste all these seasonings coming together with the curry spice and the coconut milk having a good time with the veggies and sea food. Its a curry-palooza in every bite that you wish would never end. The menu has a pretty good selection of other Asian dishes too.

Herbal Tea is the other thing DC is big on. Im a fan of the Jasmine Golden Dragon tea.

Service:
Its true. Its a bit on the slow slide but it did improve on the second visit but only by a few minutes. Still very friendly tho.

Miscellaneous:
Parking is a bit tricky. Its a dirt lot at the back of the property and can only be accessed through one narrow passage. Ive been lucky to have not encountered a car coming out as Im coming in. That would suck. So for me this is the only wrinkle. I do enjoy eating in the covered patio listening to the Pure Moods relaxing music and the sound of a water fountain. I dont know...it just feels right.

Oh, this place offers a weekend brunch too.

Overall:
Looking forward to a 3rd visit and beyond. I'm impressed with the freshness and quality of food and the place inspires me to eat healthier. But thats me.

Cheers!

*** a touch of Weho comes to Playa. ***

the original Destini Cafe was in Weho.
now Playa is its new location. owner(s)
take the commitment to zen serious, uh?
menu title: "A Beautiful Zen Garden Cafe".
i think that is a bang-on description of this ...

they serve several breakfast selections,
crumpet sandwiches, salads, rice dishes,
hot ramen soups, yakisoba, coffees and teas.
it definitely has a charm that's all its own ... nice.

*** my kinda "anytime" place to go and chill. ;) ***

This place is pretty good for the West side in terms of Korean food.

The teas are also not bad.

The bibimbap is pretty solid and crispy fresh. I think that is quite possibly the only thing I will ever get here because the rest of the menu with Thai food, Chinese food, American omelettes and breakfast, and other Korean food kind of freaks me out.

Destined for Destini.
(wow, what a total-cornballs opener...allow it just this one-time please).

* Totally non-descript store front.
* Quaint breezy covered-patio-seating in back.
* Street parking out front.
* Really warm service, total mom-n-pop shop.

Chicken Kimchi Fried Rice (4.5) = fried egg on-top? moistens that kimchi-spiced fried rice just right! [see pic 1]
Chop Suey w/ wild rice (3.5) = honestly, such a delish dish, the sauce...amazing. Only gripe is it was overly saucy (heeeey now), I mean sodium-wise. [see pic 2]
Iced Gyokuro green tea (4.5) = refreshing!
Iced Chai (4) = raved nonstop of its awesome Chai-ness by its imbiber. [see pic 3]

Thank you Yelp for not letting another non-descript tiny shop go unnoticed [by yours truly]!

I honestly have no idea where this place is getting these positive reviews because I was not that impressed here.

I was looking for a lil munch n crunch to satisfy my hunger. Needless to say, I was shooketh by what I was given.
First things first, let me just say this place offers NO MILK SUBSTITUTE. So, don't even think about ordering a coffee or a chai latte if you can't handle whole milk. You will never leave the toilet.
Secondly, when they say spring roll on the menu, a b**ch expects to receive spring rolls: http://www.jessicagavin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/shrimp-spring-rolls-with-dipping-sauce-1200x1800.jpg
that's what a spring roll should look like.
Instead what I got was a egg rolls. Guess my summer bod isn't going to be coming in time for summer thanks to Destini Cafe.
The chai latte was also not up to par with what I've had. It truly tasted like milk only. The appearance was nice, but that's about it.

Overall, the location is truly the best part of this place. It's very namaste-ish. This is definitely a place to open your third eye. The food though...subpar at best.
Sorry not sorry.

Super cute little place. You would never expect theres a hidden "garden" in the back but as you pass through a narrow hallway past the kitchen, you are taken to intimate out door seating under a trellis with the sound of water flowing from buddah fountains. VERY zen and calming.

*Some of the photos here to not do it justice. I came at night (when you cant see that its a dirt back yard) and it was intimate and amazing.

The food was fresh and delicate. Not your typical "chinese" food. The staff was very polite an attentive.

Sipping my tea, listening to the water fountain, I forgot I was in the husstle and busstle of LA.

Great date spot or just a nice place to relax with some girlfriends.

Disappointing experience with our entrees, which were average at best. The Kung Pao chicken was way too sweet and the mongolian beef just didn't do much for the tastebuds. The Gyoza filling however was very tasty and the best part of our meal. The soups are totally over priced ($5.50 for a small personal bowl of egg drop soup). I get they are made to order with in-house custom broth - but still doesn't make sense on the portion size.

Saturday lunch we were the only people there from noon-1pm.

Tried this place out last night. I got the Chicken Fried Rice with a kettle of Pu-Erh Tea. Husband got the Miso Soup and Chai Latte. It was all so yummy. The staff were so nice and very attentive. Very peaceful and relaxing place to enjoy our meal. Beautiful fountains and there's also wall of tea. Parking is very convenient. Will be coming back for more.