Seth Rogen’s 5 Favorite Places in L.A.
Aug 8, 2025In true Seth Rogen fashion, his “welcome to Los Angeles” moment embodied a perfect blend of chaos and comedy. Shortly after departing his native Vancouver in 1998 to pursue a Hollywood career, a rookie detour caused the then 16-year-old actor to arrive 45 minutes late for the first day of filming the TV comedy “Freaks and Geeks.”
“My dad was driving me to work, and he turned west on Ventura, and when we hit the 405 we realized we were going the wrong direction,” remembered Mr. Rogen during a recent video interview.
After nearly three decades in Los Angeles, the 43-year-old, who now stars in the Apple TV+ comedies “The Studio” and “Platonic,” has grown to enjoy driving around the city, often venturing 45 minutes across town to go to a restaurant, which, he admitted, “in Vancouver would be psychotic and completely unheard of.”
Mr. Rogen identifies most with the Los Angeles neighborhoods that are far from the glitz and glamour. In “Platonic,” whose second season began streaming this week, destinations like Pasadena, the Arts District and Runyon Canyon serve as the backdrops to the adventures of his character, Will, and his partner in crime, Sylvia (Rose Byrne).
“I think what’s great about ‘Platonic’ is there’s a real contrast,” he said. “It’s capturing sort of a less glamorous side of the city,” but it’s “a side of the city that a lot of people in Los Angeles spend more time in.”
Today, Mr. Rogen regularly hangs out at Barnsdall Art Park in East Hollywood and catches movies at the iconic TCL Chinese Theater, which he likes for its “incredible sound” and butter-and-salt pretzels. He also geeks out over the kimchi fried rice at Kyochon Chicken in Koreatown — although, he said, he’s likely to take his order to go and eat at home.
“What I love about the ambience is that it’s my living room,” he said with his unmistakable laugh.
Here are five places you might spot Mr. Rogen in Los Angeles (when he is not dining in his living room).
1. Grand Central Market
In Season 1 of “Platonic,” Mr. Rogen’s character had a business meeting inside Grand Central Market, the century-old food hall and retail marketplace in downtown Los Angeles, and was eating the famous bacon, egg and cheese sandwich from Eggslut. (The owner of Eggslut has credited Mr. Rogen and his generous tipping for helping sustain the business in its early days.) Mr. Rogen appreciates the vibrant destination outside of work, too. “That’s a place I bring people from out of town, because to me, it captures a cool kind of contrast of Los Angeles,” he said. “It’s this big food market with great Korean food and Mexican food.”
Read all of Seth Rogen’s favorite places in Los Angeles in this New York Times article by