BEST RESTAURANT EVER love it sooooo much if ya don't ur weird tastes so good get the crispy noodlesread more

I had a wonderful experience at this restaurant! The food was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully…read moreprepared. Everything i ordered was delicious and served hot. The service was also excellent. The staff were friendly, attentive, and made me feel very welcome. I had an issue with my order but they handled it perfectly!

Returned for my husband's birthday, and was another successful dinner…read more This time we ordered the No. 4 chef's omakase and it was better than the No. 2 - Chef's Omakase in our opinion. The meats are seriously so filling. On an unexpectedly busy Monday night, the service was great. My husband and I received dessert on the house (Yuzu panacotta) for his birthday which was very kind of them. I've already recommended this place for a few friends and family since we enjoy it so much. Definitely a place to splurge if you have the money, but it seems to be one of our regular spots now for anniversary and birthdays. Expecting another return in the near future.

HIKARI is probably my favorite Japanese bbq spots in LA, the quality here is top tier and the…read moreselection of meats is pretty wide. The portions are small, but the quality makes up for it. Last time we also ordered a beef tendon stew and it was sweet like a sukiyaki and so delicious. This is the perfect JBBQ spot if you typically don't have a huge appetite The space is small and cozy and the service is really good, the servers are friendly and make you feel at home They used to have more sauces for dipping your meats like wasabi and salt but more recently it's been just soy sauce. The soy sauce is good but I hope they bring back the other dipping sauces

Great food selection, attentive server. What else can you ask for?…read more We went there kinda late so they were not busy at all, so it was quite. but I know this place can be very busy which can lead to long wait.

If you're craving authentic Japanese comfort food wrapped in a vibe that whispers "psst... you…read moredeserve privacy", This is the spot. The private booths alone made me feel like I was signing a secret business deal, except the only thing I was negotiating was how much more food I could fit into my stomach. Every dish came out looking like it had been through a glow‑up montage. So delicious! * Unagi -- Melted in my mouth like it had a personal vendetta against being solid. Sweet, buttery, and dangerously addictive. * Katsu -- Crispy enough to be heard across the booth. If this dish had a crunchy Japanese category, this would be the headliner. * Spicy tuna -- The perfect balance of heat and flavor. Not "call the fire department" spicy, but definitely "I see you trying to impress me" spicy. * Seared tuna, Elegant, silky, and so fresh it probably had plans later. * Uni pasta, Listen... this dish is a commitment. Creamy, ocean‑kissed, and luxurious. It's the kind of pasta that makes you sit back and reevaluate your life choices, in a good way. * Sake - WOW ...My delicious sake was smooth, floral, and paired with everything like it had studied my taste buds in advance. The staff here operate with polite ninja efficiency. They appear, refill, deliver, and disappear before you can even say "arigato." Not rushed, not pushy, just clean, respectful Japanese hospitality that makes you feel taken care of. "Always remember the energy you give....is the energy you get in return!" The private booths are the star of the show. Cozy, warm lighting, and enough privacy to talk chisme without worrying about the table next to you judging your life choices. It's intimate without being cramped, like a little wooden cocoon of comfort. Kagura is one of those Torrance gems that hits every category: authentic food, quiet comfort, top‑tier service, and dishes that make you want to come back before you've even left the parking lot, oh and let me remind you how small that parking lot is, be prepared. If you're into Japanese cuisine that feels both homey and elevated, this is your spot. Living life one bite at a time...go and enjoy yourself! Miguel C.

If I lived closer to here, my wallet would seriously be in trouble…read more Anytime I'm in the South Bay, this place is a MUST! I've been a fan and regular for a while now and have never disappointed by their quality or service. The workers are all extremely friendly and welcoming. Cut steak don: 5/5 I don't think I've ever dined here and not ordered this. The steak is extremely tender and cooked to perfection. The sauce they pair it with coats the rice and creates a delicious bite with every spoonful. Roast beef don: 5/5 GET THE EGG!! you won't be disappointed. This is wifey's go to here and one of the rare occasions she will eat meat. The yogurt sauce cuts through the heavy meat and once you mix the egg into the rice, it's game over Spicy black curry omurice with Pork katsu: 5/5 The katsu's breading actually sticks to the meat which is why we always order this dish as well. Not to mention, the seasoning on the katsu is amazing and the pork is juicy! Make sure you upgrade to the garlic rice, it's next level (Not pictured) Beef tongue 5oz: 5/5 Tender cuts of beef tongue paired with their miso wasabi sauce, just delightful The interior is designed like a small Japanese eatery. There's a few tables and some bar seating Overall we've never had a bad experience here and definitely recommend anyone in the area to come experience this for themselves

Kara age fried chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside…read more It came out very hot, which made it even better. It was well seasoned so it didn't need much sauce. Steak curry & rice was really good. It tasted like the curry I had in Japan and was the best Japanese curry I've had recently. They recommended ordering the steak well done, and l went with that. The sauce portion was generous so there was plenty to go with the rice. There are no extra toppings just rice, curry, and steak but I would come back to have it again.

I love their lunch items! I go there at least once a week…read more The atmosphere is great!!!

Dear Shin-Sen-Gumi Yakitori,…read more I feel duped. I came here thinking I was going to enjoy grilled chicken skewers. Instead, I was subjected to eating some of the most epic beef and pork skewers ever. Had I known you guys were serving up a variety of delicious grilled meats, I would have been here sooner! Seriously, stop grilling meats so satisfyingly oily, juicy, and smoky. It's too damn addictive!

I've always wanted to come here and I'm glad I finally pulled the trigger. I can't believe it took…read moreme this long because I'd be a frequent customer many years ago if I had come sooner. This restaurant opened over 40 years ago in the 1980s. They have not changed their seasonings or recipes since then. A lot of their sauces and kimchee is made in house (and has not changed in over 40 years). This is probably the best Japanese BBQ experience I've ever had and I've had A LOT of BBQ experiences. My favorites are items you typically cannot get anywhere else. Their raw beef liver sashimi and their raw minced beef are amazing. It's really hard to find these creations. If you like liver, then you'll be an instant fan. If you're a little squeamish then you can always grill it a bit before you eat it lol Their cuts of meat are also a league above the rest. I loved them all! Their wagyu tongue, negi tongue, gokujo kalbi, tokujo ro-su, and pork belly are all worth writing home about. They also serve vegetables and salad to go with the BBQ. We also tried their yukkejan soup which is their spicy beef soup. It was very tasty. Savory and not too salty. Very well balanced. I'd eat this alone on a cold rainy day. The ambiance is busy with moderate noise. Lots of Japanese locals were there that night and were simply having an amazing time socializing. Overall 10/10. Definitely coming back!

This place has been around forever. A solid choice if you want Japanese style bbq. You have to call…read moreand make reservations in advanced. Don't expect to get seated without reservations. Meat quality is always good. Their liver is always fresh. Nothing to complain about!

This is probably an outlier review for this place, as I'm not a fan of of fatty cuts of meat, so…read morethe wonders of Wagyu will be forever lost on me. Still this is my favorite yakuniku place in the south bay. Why? Because the tongue kalbi is amazing! So is the kurobuta sausage! Don't miss out on these when you come here.

I've been coming to Yamaya for years, back when dinner was the reason to visit. The quality of the…read morebeef has always been solid and while I still think places like Manpuku are a little more memorable, Yamaya has never really disappointed me. These days, though, it's lunch that keeps bringing me back. In a city where fifteen dollars barely buys a sandwich, Yamaya somehow serves one of the best lunch specials in the South Bay. It isn't trying to impress you with theatrics. It simply gets the fundamentals right. The yakiniku is grilled just enough to pick up a little char without drowning in sauce. A few thicker pieces can be slightly chewy, but the flavor is consistently balanced. The salad is simple, the miso soup is comforting even if it's usually closer to warm than hot and then there's the rice. The rice deserves its own paragraph. Perfectly cooked, unlimited refills and paired with unlimited mentaiko and house pickles, it's the kind of combination that makes you slow down and wonder whether another bowl is really such a bad idea. It's simple food executed with enough confidence that it doesn't need to hide behind unnecessary complexity. The service has been a little inconsistent over the years, but on this visit it reminded me why hospitality still matters. Our server was warm, attentive and genuinely welcoming without feeling rehearsed. The restaurant was calm, a Japanese family chatted quietly at the next table and for an hour lunch felt refreshingly unhurried. Is this the best yakiniku I've ever had? No. Is it one of the best values I've found in Los Angeles? Absolutely. Some restaurants chase spectacle. Yamaya earns repeat customers instead. That's a much harder thing to build. One of the lunch deals I recommend most often in the South Bay.

One of the best things about Sundays is being able to enjoy yakitori for lunch here. It's a bit of…read morea drive from my home, but it's absolutely worth it. With the recent rise in the cost of living, we don't eat out nearly as often as we used to. And after seeing how reasonably priced restaurants are in Japan, I usually prefer to cook at home since I can recreate many dishes myself. But this place is in a league of its own. The chicken liver is simply outstanding--without a doubt the best I've had in the U.S. The service is also exceptional, warm, and attentive. Yes, it's more expensive than eating yakitori in Japan, but it's worth every penny. Since I only get to visit Japan once a year, Torihei is my one and only choice whenever I'm craving authentic yakitori that I simply can't make at home.

We went here at a Thursday evening for dinner and we were sitting at the bar…read moreMy friend said he has been this restaurant before so he highly recommended it It reminded me so much of the vibe of Japan We ordered so many dishes last night and all the grilled chicken are all good I personally love the grilled ginkgo nuts because it is so delicious and very rarely to see restaurants serving it with shells The service was really good and it is a great place to hang out with friends and families Have a drink paring with the food definitely it the best way to enjoy the food there Somehow, I noticed the little hallway entering the back kitchen and also inside of the lady's room smells bad I am not sure it is the plumbing issue or something but the smell is irritating and unpleasant Other than that, everything is very good Note: the restaurant is located at the plaza with 85 degrees bakery so the parking is plenty and easy to find a space