Service and food was excellent! Only negative thing is the price as it can be pretty steep and on the higher end. But you pay for what you get! The meat is soo melt in your mouth and very delicious! The experience was so worth it and very satisfying. They also gave mochi tofu and cold potato soup on the house for the guests to try. Don't really get Japanese bbq often so this was a cool and exciting experience! read more

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We ordered the USDA set, and the quality of the meat was excellent. It came with six different small-portioned appetizers, along with a fresh salad and flavorful garlic rice--everything was absolutely delicious. They also offer traditional Korean oxtail soup, which was perfectly cooked and seasoned. It was one of my favorite dishes of the night! The restaurant was clean, and the service was fantastic. Highly recommended! read more

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Tamaen Reserve: trying A5 wagyu for the first time! we got the American wagyu set which came with 5 cuts of american wagyu, beef skewer and an A5 wagyu cut. The meats were all so delicious, you can definitely tell the high quality! The staff were so impressive and nice. We went for our anniversary and they gave us a complimentary dessert! Can't recommend this enough, i already wish we could go back. Note that they have a section of seating that is the traditional japanese booths where you'll take your shoes off, just something to know if anyone has accessibility needs! read more

Tamaen Reserve - Japanese Near Me - Lomita, California

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Went here for the first time for my wedding anniversary and it was delicious! American Wagyu set 10/10 This set will fill you up as it comes with a good amount of meat, but ensure you have rice or other dishes to pair with it. Oxtail soup 10/10 Can't go wrong with the flavor and comfort in a bowl Seafood pancake 8/10 It was a little too thick for my personal liking as I usually like more thin and very Crispy. Garlic fried rice 9/10 I liked it a lot but my husband thought the garlic overpowered the meat. He would have rather had the meat with white rice Service was great and had a great ambience! It's pricy but you get what you pay for. read more

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Best Japanese Yakiniku in the area! I came here for dinner while in town and loved everything we had. I started dinner with frozen lemon drinks. I think it had shotsyu or some sort. We ordered various meats and vegetables. This meat tower lets you enjoy the best of the best. Perfect portion size to share two or three people. Service was prompt and the restaurant was very clean. I haven't had such a great quality beef in a while and I thoroughly enjoyed everything bite of my diner. Highly recommend! read more

Tamaen Reserve - Japanese Near Me - Lomita, California

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Had reservations for 7pm on a Friday night. Got there about 10 minutes early. The place was about 80% full. The host was also the server bussing tables. Service was slow as you can imagine. I think it was 15-20 minutes to take our order as you can imagine. Food was great, but A5 is too fatty for you and only ate half the meal. The hooked it up with free rice of our choice and $20 off the next visit as we were waiting around most of the evening. It took a bit over 2 hours. My favorite was carpaccios and salad. read more

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On our recent trip to Osaka, we had the most amazing yakiniku meal. As soon as we got home, we turned to Yelp to find something similar nearby and discovered Tamaen. Booking a reservation on OpenTable was easy, but note that starting in 2025, they'll only be open for dinner. The three of us arrived hungry and decided on the Tower Celebrity set meal, which includes garlic rice, a kimchi plate, a vegetable plate, and a green salad. Since the two guys in our group were extra hungry, we added an A5 wagyu ribeye, four scallops, a Tamaen original salad, a seaweed soup, and an egg soup. The A5 wagyu ribeye was the highlight of the meal--it melted in our mouths like butter. We were glad we ordered the Tower set as it gave us a good variety to try and figure out what we liked. While everything else was delicious, we weren't fans of the limited short rib, which was a bit on the chewy side. Although the meal was pricey, it's worth splurging once in a while, especially for a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary. The experience brought back memories of our trip to Osaka and Kobe and the incredible beef we enjoyed there. read more

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Man this place was unbelievable! Would definitely be back! The Wagyu tower is the way to go. read more

Thoroughly enjoyed my dinner at Tamaen. Food was delicious (picky toddlers loved the meat!), The service was friendly and timely. The restaurant was very cute, clean, and inviting. My friend wanted to celebrate his birthday with a dinner so we made same-day reservations here. We arrived and our table was ready. They even had place settings for the kids (plastic plates and bowls with kid-size utensils). My friend ordered for the table as the menu was quite extensive. We gobbled everything up! Looking forward to returning here again. Lovely dinner. Highly recommend! Parking was super easy. read more

4.5/5 We have been to the other Tamaen location and wanted to give this one a try. We loved their beef tartare the most and actually got two orders since it was so good and at a decent price. The beef tongue was just okay and a bit too chewy for my taste. However, the Kalbi and roast were delicious. Overall the meat quality Iwas great and we enjoyed our dinner here! The desserts were also very good. This is an authentic Japanese (yakiniku) BBQ place that is a hidden gem in Torrance. The restaurant is not so big so I highly recommend getting reservations. It is clean nice and cozy. They have a large selection of fine wines. read more

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We've been customers of Tamaen 10+ years- ownership has changed a few times. We reserved a dinner table a few weeks ago- and I was very upset is staff trying to close the store early maybe? It's 9:30 pm on a Saturday and lights start shutting off. Bill is brought out to pay- which we never have an issue paying but we wanted another bottle of sake. Immediately I felt kicked out!? We spent well over $300 for 2 adult & 2 kids dinner. Allowing us to enjoy time was not an option. If there's a time limit on tables that still would like to continue consumption please make it known. The oxtail soup is not very tender anymore. The menu is minimized and our favorite green onion pancake is no longer an option. Sadly... read more

Really good! Very good quality in meat! The service was really great. The place is really cute inside. It's really hard to find parking because it is always packed in this plaza. Oh and if you're willing to spend the money in good quality meat then this place is good to come to. read more

Tamaen Reserve - Rice - Japanese Near Me - Lomita, California

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Tried out Tamaen Japanese BBQ & Steak in Lomita for some yakiniku. We ordered the Japanese A5 Wagyu Yaki-Shabu, Truffle Salt Beef Skewer, American Wagyu Premium Short Rib Gold, Beef Tartare, Kyoto-Style Grilled Green Onion Roll, and Oxtail Soup. The beef quality was honestly top-tier, especially the A5 Yaki-Shabu -- super tender and rich without being heavy. The Beef Tartare was another standout, really clean and flavorful. You grill everything right at the table, and the staff made it easy to follow along with what to cook and how long. The place itself feels relaxed and unpretentious, good for small groups or date night if you're into Japanese BBQ. Prices are on the higher end, but the quality matches. Overall, it's a spot I'd come back to when craving top-tier beef and a slower-paced meal. read more

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My wife and I just went here this past Saturday for dinner. And are we ever glad we did! The service was exemplary and the food even better! We shared one of the course dinners and loved every element of it but the meats are the star of the show. All cooked by yourself yakiniku style so you can have it cooked to your liking. We really liked the short rib and the zabuton cuts! read more

Tamaen Reserve - Japanese Near Me - Lomita, California

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Absolutely delicious with melt in your mouth meat. Servers are so nice, gave my mom a chocolare cake slice for her birthday! We had the tamaen american wagyu set, each bite just got more and more delicious. Definitely would recommend and would return!! read more

This place is still SO good and we came back for our Annuversary (again)! They even gave us complimentary green tea and strawberry sorbet to make our evening more special. Also, the service is always top notch here. We plan on trying out their steak restaurant eventually too (next door). Thank you guys again for everything! read more

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First things first, there are a lot of Japanese steak options in the South Bay. But this spot is on another level. We went with the prime cut beef assortment and seafood platter. Incredible quality beef. Healthy portion sizes. Delicate flavors. The shrimp and scallops were very fresh and well prepared. The kimchi sides and bibimba were perfect compliments. Absolutely top shelf from beginning to end. Friendly staff with a clean and comfortable setup. Everything I was hoping for. Worth your time and money. read more

Tamaen Reserve - Japanese Near Me - Lomita, California

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What a great restaurant. We had a wonderful experience during our first visit here. The staff was incredibly friendly and lovely. The food was absolutely delicious. Tasty, quality meats. We had the garlic fried rice and it was heavenly. The house salad was literal perfection. We loved the meats we ordered. Everything came out very quickly which was also nice. I had mentioned to our server that it was my husbands birthday and they brought out the cutest birthday themed ice cream dessert so that was a nice touch. I also loved having a nice hot cup of tea after the meal. 10/10 in terms of service and delicious, quality food. Highly recommend! read more

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The food was delicious. We dipped our meats in the sauce to give it more flavor and then cooked it. The waitresses are always friendly and smiling. Nice and peaceful restaurant, maybe it wasn't that crowded. We'll be back. read more

Great restaurant and parking was easy. We had a couple beef towers food was really great. Loved the meat quality. The garlic rice was also fantastic, we also loved the ox tail soup. Service was great and they even have some shoes off booths in the back to sit read more

Tamaen Reserve - Beef sushi - Japanese Near Me - Lomita, California

My husband and I had dinner here for our anniversary... the service was fantastic and the food was delicious! It's expensive but you get what you pay for. It's an amazing spot for special occasions. read more

Dear Me, We haven't been here in forever and decided to come back to check it out again. The A5 wagyu ribeye was definitely an experience and worth a one time try. Next time u come make sure u order USDA Prime short rib marinated and the Coppa coffee. We can also try beef cheek, beef tartare next time. read more

We happened across this location last night thanks to Yelp Nation. We enjoy a similar style restaurant down the road (Gyu-Kaku), but I'm here to tell you, the food is better at Tamaen, plus the physical restaurant is very clean. The atmosphere is chill, for those not familiar you sit at a table with your own grill, so you do the cooking. I was not expecting to find Opus One on the wine menu, but there it was, along with a bunch of other great wines. The 'house saki' is on the expensive side, but it is exceptional, and was served super hot, as it should be. They focus on having excellent beverages to accompany the excellent food. #EXCELLENT The meats are cut thin, so the time on the grill is not long, around 1-minute. We thought each meat selection was excellent, we started with the High-Quality Short Rib ($26.99) and finished with the High-Quality Ribeye ($22.99). The ribeye comes seasoned and was our favorite, but each was sensational. We also enjoyed the vegetable assortment which has a great variety, and it was recommended that we try the Cheese pancake, which was very good. Not sure I can say enough about this location, but there is more, our server, Sally K. was great. She was very full of food suggestions and did a nice job enhancing our experience with her spot on service. I'm happy to have found Tamaen, it is a cut above the rest when it comes to Japanese BBQ & Steak. read more

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The restaurant has a very Japanese BBQ style inside with a fancy touch. The meat was soft and tender. One can tell they use high grade meat. The hot sake bottle is very unique and delicious. The service is semi-Japanese / American style, good service. The prices are on the higher-end, but was very filling. read more

Tamaen Reserve - Hot Sake - Japanese Near Me - Lomita, California

I think this is the only place that you can go and eat a high end real Japanese style BBQ. I'm a Japanese guy who born and raised there and most of my time in Japan was in Tokyo. So I know what is real good Japanese BBQ for sure. Waitress' are very nice and kind. It's pretty expensive but it's worth trying and you won't regret it. I recommend this restaurant for any special occasions. read more

Tamaen Reserve - Yukke - Japanese Near Me - Lomita, California

Showed up around 5:30 and had the place to ourselves! Our server was wonderfully sweet and explained items to us and wasn't pushy at all. Drinks and sides came out SUPER QUICK!! The pickled veg was sooo good! I need this in my life! We selected a mix of salted/marinated and golden and USDA beef cuts. I must admit the Golden beef was like BUTTER!! We got adventures and tried the onion tongue and it was good as well. The beers were ice cold, the food was delicious!! Eash sharable platter of meat ranged from $18 to $30. So that'll add up quickly if you're not paying attention. The ambiance was nice, the parking was plenty, great service. Dont mess this place read more

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good food, great atmosphere. authentic cuisine. tasty wagyu. located in the heart of Lomita

Came here for my bday, super good quality and delicious! I love the beef tongue, that is my go to when going to any Japanese restaurant. We ordered most of the wagyu dishes and everything came out perfect. We ordered a bunch of hot sake and had a really good night, careful with the hot sake as the bottle comes blazing hot. The service is exceptional and it is a very nice restaurant to have dinner. read more

Tamaen Reserve - Bday at taeman - Japanese Near Me - Lomita, California

The place is super expensive, but I would try the Japanese Kobe Beef A5. It's like butter and don't grill it till it's burnt or you'll lose the point of the Kobe Beef. Many of us are too used to low grade and low cost meat, and that's okay. This is more like experiencing fine wine or gourmet chocolate. It's more about the taste of the quality beef than being filled. If you want to enjoy the taste but not spend too much, I would suggest ordering only a little for the experience, then go to In-N-Out afterwards :) read more

Little over priced but wow, everything is so good! Friendly and fast service too, definitely coming back.

The meat quality was so great. And the mood is amazing!! All servers were very kind and friendly :) read more

Tamaen Reserve - Japanese Near Me - Lomita, California

This is Japanese BBq at its finest, top quality. and most elegant. The beef and presentation of food is top notch and eye catching with the cute (albeit a bit hand made looking) simple stair-steps used to present the beef to your table. We happened to go on Valentines night and had the American Wagyu Set which seems to be the optimal value for quality of the 3 sets (but we haven't tried the lowest or top yet). It was excellent and melt in your mouth beef. This is far above our AYCE KBBq style meal and a good notch+ up from say our goto Gyu-kaku type J-Bbq - although also for well more than double the cost. Worth it? Yeah every once in a while but not for our usual. Service was great, the two wait staff were wonderful and attentive! Only leaving off a star for now for the interior - it's tired and looks and feels no better than our AyCE places... for such wonderful food and presentation - the inside should match. Go for the Wagyu and savor each bite it's delectable. read more

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Tamaen always delivers great quality meat and food. Can't go wrong here Service is on point Very reasonably priced We sat at the shoeless area. Felt very authentic. This is a popping restaurant and full of energy so don't expect a quiet dining experience. read more

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Found this spot yesterday. I'm out in California for work. Now I have been to Japan many times in my life and I felt like I was there when I walked in this place. I was greeted when I walked in and my server was very friendly. Now if you have never had Japanese beef before you are missing out big time. Let's see how to put it, A5 Waygu is like beef butter in your mouth! So absolutely freaking delicious!!!! I had an assortment of cuts yesterday. My favorite was the ribeye. The special of the day cut was also amazing. My dinner came with pickled veggies, assorted kimchi, a salad and rice. Was a perfect meal. And you just grill it right at your table. If you live in the area or are visiting make sure you check this spot out. read more

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WOW. Made a last-minute reservation to meet a friend for dinner. I cannot believe I have never been here before. Do not judge this place by location, we have been to some Michelin rated restaurants and have had some of the most exquisite meals, but nothing compares to this. Everything we ate, just melted in your mouth. I CANNOT WAIT TO COME BACK!!!! read more

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Food is excellent and they also have a very nice wine selection. I would be returning soon.

Everything was just amazing here. Love that they had bidets in the restroom. Restaurant was very clean and the staff was super friendly. They were playing some disney music in the background which is a plus. The quality of meat was amazing, we should have done the set but wasn't interested in all of the items in the sets so ordered by plate. The oxtail soup was just okay to me but it did have flavor. The bibimbap was more of a kimchi rice, super spicy but delicious. Definitely will be coming back to try the set menu instead. read more

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Great service. All the staff was amazing and very fresh. Every single food we ordered was delicious. Highly recommend this place.

Amazing food in a very random location. All the food tasted very light and fresh. It seemed more like a korean / japanese bbq & steak house. We got the celebrity set which is I think $230.00. All the meat was so good and high quality. I just wish the workers would've explained more how to cook the meat or even inform us that we would need to cook it ourselves. They did even tell us what sauce is for what. If were spending over $200 on just meat, I would assume better service. We also got a lot of side dishes and all were reallly good. My least favorite dish was probably the korean bibimbap but it was still tasty, just nothing special. The pancakes we got were my favorite. The texture with the egg WOW! We also got spicy noodles, but it was more like cholmyun. which is a chewy spicy noodle, and one of my FAVORITES! Everything was good, but i think the service could've been a lot better. they never really came by to check on us, we waited for a while to get our check and late realized there is a button you can press to call the waiter. They also cleared the table while I was still working on my food. Even the dessert was taken away and i asked her to bring it back because I was slowly working on it. We were obviously sharing everything at the table with myself and 3 other people, the server not once offered to help distribute the food or helped clear the table for more space. It was very difficult to share anything since our table was so crowded. I just think if the service was better the whole experience would be 100% more pleasing. read more

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Such a fan of this place and I'm definitely coming back. The quality of food and the service was amazing. Came as a group of 4, and we ordered the CEELBRITY SET which was 7 different types of cuts with salad, pickled vegetables and kimchee. Since it was mostly meat we had to add the TAMAEN ORIGINAL SALAD, and added the TAMAEN ORIGINAL PANCAKE which was to die for. I've had a fair share of seafood pancakes and this was definitely one of the best I've had. ENJOY! read more