Wow. This place is a hidden gem. It's located in the Tokyo Central which use to be a Marukai with tons of parking! Place is so good had to go the next day. Hands down the the spot for karaage and chashu bowls. The kaarage was juicy and crispy while not being too oily and greasy. It defintely tastes better than it looks on photos! The chashu was cut into smaller pieces and had the perfect amount of fat and char on it. Also for 4.50$ a bowl, and being the "extra-meat" guy, they are generous especially for this price range which I think no other place even compares to. The bowl is just the right amount to satisfy your hunger plus there's a ton of space to walk around in the market to pick something up for desert. Awesome place with solid food. read more

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Served in the Tokyo Central food court in Gardena, they sure weren't busy at noon on a Saturday. Who doesn't want a fried food fix on a weekend, I ask you? Normally, I stick to a pescetarian diet, but I decided on a cheat day today and wanted to compare this highly rated chain to the karaage served as a hot deli item in the attached grocery store. Either one is a bargain less than $1 per piece before tax. They cook to order so Tenkatori serves thigh pieces on the large size freshly fried and raging hot in an open topped paper box. I got a 12 pc and waited less than 10 minutes but there was no one ahead of me. I have to take it easy with fried stuff so I tried one piece each both hot and I have to say from a flavor perspective I like the deli one better. Later, after both had cooled, the deli pieces are still crispy but the Tenkatori ones have to be crisped up in the toaster oven. Perhaps most customers are making sure they are all eaten as hot as they can tolerate it, but I can't. So for ease and quality, the deli one works great for me! read more

Tenkatori - 12 pcs of luscious decadence - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

A friend brought the fried chicken and wasabi mayo to my house. I LOVED IT. I will definitely go back on my own

One of the best places for karaage in SoCal. Once we tried this place, we were here at least once a week for the next month. Their chicken is always worth the wait, but I would pass on the ramen. Service is efficient and a must stop whenever we're in the area. read more

Where else can I get GF fried chicken? The popcorn chicken was just ok.. the breading, nothing spectacular. If I was more hungrier, I would have ordered the karaage, but I wanted something small. But the yuzu aioli was amazing!! If they sold just the sauce I'd probly buy just that. But wow. The slight tanginess of yuzu and smooth flavor of the sauce made each bite wonderful. Thanks to the sauce, 5 stars. read more

Tenkatori has the best karaage chicken - super crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. We always get the boneless thigh - call ahead to order so you don't have to wait as long. read more

Tenkatori - Updated prices - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

Ordered a 12 pc boneless thigh. Not much of a fried chicken fan but the breading is so light. These are perfect for a family of four. Piping hot when you get the order! My first time to Tokyo Central and this vendor was accommodating. Order to go! read more

Tenkatori - 12 pc Boneless Thigh KARAAGE set / Gluten-free - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

My husband has celiac disease and needs a gluten-free diet. Fried chicken has been an elusive treat for him, not any longer!! This is delicious, gluten-free, crunchy, juicy fried chicken!! This will be a place we go regularly in the future! Thank you so much!! read more

Can't say "no" to fried chicken. Who can?? Well, unless you're a vegetarian/vegan. Location: Inside the Tokyo Central Market in Gardena Meal: I got the #1 meal set which included 5 pretty good sized pieces of fried chicken(thigh), white steamed rice, pickled cabbage and a single scoop of very smooth potato salad. This place is a chain restaurant started in Tokyo and apparently, people here in Torrance have been anxiously awaiting the opening of this place. The chicken was deep fried, hot and very juicy. Flavor was kind of bland as I'm used to the American version of fried chicken, but I guess this is where the sauces come in handy. For a few extra $1 or so, you can get sauces to dip them in. Sneaky devils....Chicken was perfectly fried and not overly done, so I can't fault them for that at all. What will make you full is the rice and potato salad. I ended taking 2 pieces leftover home with me. Menu: You can purchase meal sets (like I did) or just buy the chicken itself. You can even purchase fried gizzards as well. Prices were about average. Don't expect American style fried chicken here because you'll be sorely disappointed. The flavoring is different here. Service: Think mall service. They'll be quick to take your order and be prepared to wait about 10 minutes for your order to come out because they fry as the orders come in, so they're fresh when you get them, which is alway a plus. For drinks, I suggest you go into the market and buy your drink there. Seating is inside as well as a patio located outside a door. Parking: Parking is a huge private lot surrounding Tokyo Central (formerly Marukai Market) so, you should have no problems finding a parking spot. Tip: Keep an eye out for the next door spot. A hybrid croissant store will be opening soon and from the looks of it, it should be opening any day now. The word "hybrid" has me intrigued read more

Tenkatori - Located inside Tokyo Central Market - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

Freshly fried chicken, tried their best signature boneless thigh, crispy and juicy, recommend, prices vary by pieces, from $5 to $20 per order. read more

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Friday brunch @11 am - boneless chicken thigh, popcorn chicken Service: Fast-food order and go, no need for specific service Ambiance: food court style Price: reasonable Food quality: you can feel the deep-fried chicken's oil was fresh, had no overnight smell and taste, the chicken was in great seasoning, not oily, very crispy, juicy, and tasteful, big thumbs up!!! Highly recommended. read more

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Juicy tender chicken wrapped in a thin crispy crust... taste so good .... Karage n wings were always standard goto item, will order gizzard when someone to share...but found a new item adding to my must try list...bone cartilage...normally at other places you will get the knee cap, but here, they use that one large cartilage piece from the chicken... chest..that triangle bone cartiage ...crispy, crunchy...wish i had a beer, but was snacking while driving read more

Delicious! I've had karaage at many places and this is one of the top 2. Order early because they do close earlier than a typical restaurant as they are in the Tokyo Central food court. read more

Located in the food court of Tokyo Central, Tenkatori Karaage is my boyfriend and my go-to place for fried cartilage. The typical good-quality fried cartilage can cost you $3 a stick in yakitori form. Here, you get a good sized box for $5.50 (including tax). The chicken is fried to a crisp but still light and airy. There are plenty of seating in the food court, including a covered exterior seating patio. Parking is not much of an issue usually and I absolutely love shopping in Tokyo Central afterwards. To me, it's a great date place. There are plenty of conversation openers just browsing around. read more

Tenkatori - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

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Great service and excellent food... The workers are some of the most polite people I've ever encountered.

Super juicy and extremely flavorful karaage. Some of the best in the greater LA area given the price and the set that it comes with if you decide to get the bento set. Eat it inside the Tokyo Central food court so you can enjoy it while it's hot and fresh and you won't regret it. read more

Karaage is delicious here! Four of us split a kilogram of the Karaage, five wings, and two orders of rice and it was plenty to eat. Only two small tables in the restaurant, so not a lot of seating. But get your order to go if need be. I definitely recommend stopping by and enjoying this Japanese take on fried chicken! read more

Decent karaage. I appreciate the fact that everything is fried to order. While it's not the best karaage I've had, it's flavorful and juicy. Personally I prefer karaage crunchier and less fatty. Prices are reasonable as a 10 piece box is just under $10. Food-wise, Tenkatori Karaage is a solid 3.5 stars. Service was friendly and helpful which is why I'm rounding up to 4 stars. Conveniently located in Marukai's food court, I'd recommend ordering before you shop. read more

Tenkatori - Karaage - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

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I have always loved this place. I considered this the best karaage around. But notice, this is written in the past tense. Ordered the karaage & Yerba. Looked good as always. Then I took a bite. First, one of the best things s about this place is the crispy skin. It was crispy, but not the perfectly crispy skin it was before. The biggest disappointment was that It was overly salty. Sadly, the saltiness is why I'm writing this review. Hopefully this was an off day for them. read more

Just like their neighbor "Gindaco" in the same food court, the food is great, but slow as heck in getting the order to you. Love their chicken wings! read more

The karaage fried chicken at Tenkatori is pretty good and they give you some large pieces at that. The chicken is crispy and juicy and not dry at all. The only thing missing is some ponzu sauce for dipping or at least a lemon wedge. The chicken has good flavor but I'm a dipper and want a sauce. I got the karaage set which came with miso soup, cold tofu, potato salad and I think 5pcs of karaage. Everything was delish. The chicken is made fresh to order so you'll have a wait. You may want to put your order in and go shopping if there is several people ahead of you. The set did fill me up as the pieces are good size. The place is located in the food court of Marukai Market. There's plenty of parking but I have seen it fill up on the weekends. The shared seating area is not too big but there is more seating out the door on the patio. read more

Tenkatori - Chicken karaage combo set - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

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We ordered the chicken at the end of the day so it seems we got the leftovers, tough meat and not as crispy. Was sad we ordered the large with $25+ of chicken. I highly wholeheartedly recommend the OC location (so tasty, crisp, fresh). I'd be willing to try this location at another time of day but was disappointed by the eod chicken. read more

Delicious and tasty. Served hot. Found inside the super market. Best to get these first before grocery shopping or else you will buy everything in the store. Will come back for sure. Will try their ramen and other good hot times. Trust!! I will post a pic next time I go. read more

It's basically a large booth thrown together located in the food court area of the flag ship Marukai Hypermarket. To me, it has the nostalgic feeling of something from a Yatai/street stall w/ humble stools where you can order some food & a tumbler of Sake (sah keh) or Sho-chu- (show chew)/Japanese low alcohol vodka. Unfortunately there are no stools to sit on and everything is take out. The whole layout is very unpretentious & artless as though Tenkatori is located in a rural prefecture/state or some working class area in Tokyo or Osaka. The staff here is mostly Japanese speaking, but ordering here is quite simple with a very limited menu, but what it does is done well. Tori means bird in Japanese, but on a menu, Tori most often refers to chicken. I have only tried the generously ample Kara Age (kah rah ah gheh) thigh portion. Kara Age here seems marinated in garlic, touch of ginger, Mirin/Japanese sweet cooking Sake, white pepper, Memmi/soy sauce w/ an infusion of Katsuo Dashi/bonito stock. This marinated chicken is then dusted with Katakuriko/potato starch and then fried in a light vegetable oil. The crispness is from the hot frying, but also there seems to be a covering of chicken skin which when fried up gives even more of a teeth shattering quality. Because each order is cooked to order, don't bite into the Kara Age immediately after receiving it because it may be possible to get burned. The meat is infused w/ the above marinated ingredients, & it comes out meaty, moist, pleasantly chewy. It makes me feel happy to be a carnivore at least while I'm eating a Tenkatori chicken. It takes about 10 minutes per order to cook so I kill two birds w/ one stone by shopping at the Marukai store. In addition, another way of better time management is to buy an order of Sushi which can take up to 10 minutes from Sushi Boy at another concession near by. I like the contrast of Sushi which is clean, ocean kissed, not fatty to the earthy, soy sauce, oil enriched, garlicky Kara Age. For me, it's a "classic" surf & turf combination. Tenkatori Kara Age is guileless down home cooking at a high level. The oil is fresh so that there is no "old, stale flavor". The heat of the frying is high to seal in all the juiciness. The marinade infuses an earthy, smoky, satisfyingly subtle fermented undertone. Kara Age can be eaten cold, but I like to eat it when it is cooling off just enough to bite into it releasing the warm meaty scents. But eat it as you will. 4 Yelp stars for chicken worth eating. read more

Tenkatori - Thigh Kara Agè (kah rah ah gheh) at Tenkatori. - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

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Japanese style fried chicken at its best. I always get the "teba" or bone-in wings and "sunagimo" or gizzards. I skip the sauces as I find them overpowering and prefer to taste the seasoning of the crispy coating. Their "kaarage" or small boneless thigh pieces appear to be their best seller, but I prefer bone-in dark meat. They also sell ramen. I've had their spicy miso and honestly cannot recommend it. I guess there are so many good ramen places in the area that I've set a high bar for myself. Their fried chicken is definitely on point though. Highly recommend it! Tips: it's inside the Tokyo Central food court on Artesia and Western. Since there's a market, save a few bucks and get your drinks and dessert inside the market. There's also a free self serve water dispenser. There's a selection of sushi in the market that gets discounted around 6-6:30ish everyday. There are a booths with bench seats inside but they tend to fill up quick during lunch and dinner. The outdoor seats were closed for some reason as of the date of this review 6-12-22. Hope they open it soon as it opens up a lot more seats. read more

The chicken thigh Karaage is my favorite here. They are so good with beer. They are the most popular here I think.

Everything, just get everything. I had the rice bowl, chicken salad, shishito peppers and the sparkling lemonade. Fan freaking tastic.

Honestly, the best karaage I've had in the South Bay! Super nice staff. Order ahead during peak hours (lunch, dinner) or you'll wait a bit.

Second floor of the Niji-ya marketplace mall. Unassuming from the outside. But unbelievably tasty karaage (Japanese fried chicken) in several styles. We tried all four sauces and four of us liked the four. We had traditional karaage plus wings plus popcorn chicken. All delicious. Super friendly owner and fantastic food. read more

Tenkatori - Menu - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

Having a delicious karaage place so close to us is such a blessing. Thank you! Their fried chicken is never dry, juicy but crispy outside and not too much breading. Seasoned just right. We ordered online the 1kg and chicken gizzard, both gone during car ride home by 4 people. We showed up 25 min earlier, too eager I guess and they started on our order earlier for us. Highly recommend when you are craving some fried chicken with no bones, all thighs and friendly people. read more

Well, I wanted to really try this, and love it, but I think the hype was a bit much. Especially for my tastebuds. I love bold, strong tastes. This karaage was hot, juicy, and fresh-but too boring for me. However, I really appreciate that it wasn't dry, hard, or burnt like a lot of other karaage. I got the 5 piece karaage, and the 5 piece sweet and spicy karaage. Even the sweet and spicy wasn't thrilling. It was like the sweet chili sauce you get at the Chinese market-not earth moving delicious. I would have loved some type of garlic spicy sauce more. But it doesn't exist. I got a side of rice. It was huge. Too much rice for me. At least two scoops worth. My whole meal cost $12. It was ok, but for my tastebuds, I wouldn't get it again. If you like karaage, you'd probably love this place for the juiciness and subtle marinade. They do make everything fresh, so expect a short wait. read more

Tenkatori - Menu showing most popular item! - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

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Best fried chicken, especially the gizzards. Always hot, crispy, and not greasy. To avoid the long lines, phone in your order early.

I've seen on Facebook that this place reopened after the food court remodel inside Tokyo Central (former Marukai). The menu changed since the last time I came here. I told my family for a drive to eat karaage so only my sister said yes. We went after 11am on a Saturday in September. The menu doesn't offer miso soup or potato/macaroni salad. I ordered the wings and karaage with rice and small serving of cole slaw. The karaage had lots of meat and big in size. The wings were good and fried well. We had to wait 20-30min. Next time I should order karaage rice bowls or ramen bowl. read more

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Hubbers wanted karaage. Where else to go but here since it's the best we've had?! Might as well have him try the sunagimo. And I might as well try the cartilage. Chicken was amazing, as usual. So was the sunagimo. The cartilage was a little tough, but surprisingly flavored well. So, if that's the kind of texture you're looking for, then this dish is for you. Stickin' to the karage and sunagimo for now! read more

Tenkatori - Left: cartilage. Right: karaage. Bottom: sunagimo. - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

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Fried chicken and gizzards are my go-to and delicious! It is a good idea to order ahead online. If not the wait can get a little long but definitely worth it. read more

Foods always good. Good service. It's located in a shopping center so it's really busy. Can't go wrong with Karaage chicken.

I've been meaning to come here, and this past weekend, I finally got a chance to come, and I gotta say... it's awesome. The "small" bowl of curry costs $4, and although it doesn't have any meat in it, it's 22oz of rice, which is incredibly filling. I also got 12 pieces of the karaage to dip in the curry, and it was amazing. The chicken is incredibly juicy and T H I C C. Aside from being lava hot and making sure your mouth's roof is on fire a la the Bloodhound Gang, it's really just a great fried chicken at an incredible price. I also took left over chicken from here and made a fried rice with them the day after--that was amazing too. I'm definitely coming back. read more

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Pros: 1. The fried chicken is good. 2. Part of a great destination (Tokyo Central market and great food court). Cons: 1. They charge for sauce. Not even 1 free one despite a large order. 2. It always takes a long time, and I see other people who came after me who get their order first. read more

Their food and service is as good as ever. Everyone is wearing a mask and gloves. They have a bento special going on through 8/15/20, ask for details when ordering to make sure it's still offered. I ordered ahead and walked in and out in 5 minutes. You don't have to wait in the grocery shopping line (if there is one) for food court access. read more

Tenkatori - Menu as of 8/1/20 (1 of 2) - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California

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My fiance and I came here during our work lunch last week and ordered the 1kg of karaage (approximately 2.2 lbs of CHICKEN). We got one dipping sauce for 75 cents. The chicken was bomb and so was the dipping sauce. The 1 kg was able to feed us for lunch and we were able to have the leftovers with rice. That's 4 meals for around $21. Tenkatori seemed to be having a soft opening when we went. It's located in Tokyo Central in the food court. Food took awhile to come out but it was hot and fresh. I will go again and again. I love this place! read more

Tenkatori - 1 kg - Chicken Wings Near Me - Gardena, California