Had a delicious dinner at Waraku last Sunday. It was the first time I had been there since they changed the name of the restaurant from Wadatsumi. We went there at 5:30pm when they opened and there were already a few other groups waiting to get in. Since we had had a reservation they seated us first. We started with a few appetizers and some Kirin beer. First there was beef tongue carpaccio, which was very tender and delicious. We then had the baked crab gratin which was baked in a crab shell and very tasty. Next was a Sakurabi kakiage which was lightly fried mix of vegetables in tempura batter and some Shrimp tempura which was perfectly fried. Last appetizer was the mushroom croquettes which were light and crunchy. For main courses, we had the Deluxe irodori don which was very fresh sashimi but the portion size seemed smaller than I remembered and it was the most expensive meal of the three at $39. . My companions ordered the Bara chirashi don , $29. and the Kaisen don$20. and were happy with their choices. Great restaurant for casual dinners with friends. Moderate noise levels. Service was good and not rushed. read more

See all

Wadatsumi has quickly become our go-to spot for a traditional Japanese meal I find it to be very reasonably priced for the quality of food. I've been for a few dinners and just had lunch there today. The lunch menu is a smaller segment of their dinner menu but still offers good variety. Also will try to visit for lunch more often as it's several bucks cheaper Service is expedient & the food comes out relatively quick read more

Waraku - Negitoro bowl & pork katsu curry. Good value for $ - Izakaya Near Me - Torrance, California

This is probably the BEST tasting fish I've ever had in the US. They source their fish from Osaka and IT SHOWS!! Zero fishiness and melts in your mouth. We tried a whole spread of dishes from the curry, unagi bowl (so fatty and melt in your mouth), vegetable tempura and seaweed salad. The tuna sashimi is a MUST ( the price is completely worth it). Super pretty interior and we were able to snag a private room with traditional seating. Quick service too- would absolutely love to visit again read more

Waraku - Tuna sashimi - Izakaya Near Me - Torrance, California

I hadn't been here since Covid. I do t recall it being as pricy as it is, but the quality is good and it is totally authentic The beef bowl was very good. Surprising that they serve it with wasabi The chirashi bowl, which apparently is their lunch special , is a combo of various seafoods. It was fine, I think I should have just got the maguro bowl instead but I'm glad I tried it The lunches come with a small bowl of miso soup and a small salad. The salads have a miso dressing , quite tasty It's quite a nice interior and has some individual booths The wait staff were super attentive and very efficient read more

See all

Freshest seafood, sashimi. Great lunch set and the food is always fresh and delicious. One of my fav lunch spots. Highly recommend! read more

Waraku - super fresh sashimi lunch set - Izakaya Near Me - Torrance, California

Service was excellent and the quality of sashimi was amazing. We were definitely surprised with the freshness of the fish. We celebrated my birthday which was the 18th, there were four of us. The restaurant is nicely spaced out and there is a bar for overflow or those who like bar seating. And the prices are very good considering, these days. I ordered the chirashi bowl and the three others ordered *omakase sashimi. Everyone was happy, but I did noticed that the sashimi was not served with rice or come with miso soup. Also, the three orders came on one plate. I would of preferred individual plates with rice on the side and more decoration (shedded daikon) etc. Finally, my chirashi was not a true chirashi. It was a bowl and the sashimi selection was very limited, cut into pieces. This being said it was only twenty dollars and came with miso soup. I much rather be charged more and have a traditional chirashi with all the usual fish toppings. Anyway, as aforementioned the quality and the price is a great value. Many places charge twice the price and the quality and service is not as good. Enjoy! read more

See all

Came in for a weekend lunch! I had heard from a local that this spot was her fave spot for sushi so once in town, I had to try it! There was a bit of a wait for 2 but otherwise not horrible. The service is also really sweet and attentive! Fresh Yuba (4/5) - It was refreshing but otherwise not very flavorful. I don't know if that's just maybe how yuba is but it was an interesting dish to try out! Baya Chirashi (5/5) - We were able to share it between 2 - not being full but satisfied. The fish is fresh and it comes with fresh ikura too so that's a plus Overall I'd like to try out more places next time I'm in town, but if looking/recommending a solid sushi spot in Torrance I'd try Wadamatsu read more

Waraku - Fresh Yuba - kinda tasteless but fun texture and really refreshing - Izakaya Near Me - Torrance, California

See all

Waraku is currently offering special holiday sushi bento boxes to-go for a limited time. They take awhile to prepare, so call in your order at least 1 hour in advance. You can choose from the rainbow bowl or the treasure bowl, and they're just loaded with premium cuts of sushi. They source their fish directly from the Osaka Central Wholesale Market so you're guaranteed the best quality. Waraku is one of our favorite places for traditional Japanese cuisine. The whole vibe of the place transports us back to Japan, especially with their private rooms and aesthetic presentation. We decided to dine in for lunch with some sake and beer when we picked up our pre-order treasure bowl. Tofu Salad 3 Kinds Bluefin Tuna Box Unagi Tamago Bowl House Signature Beef Curry Niku Soba Sakura Baby Shrimp & Leeks Kakiage Treasure Box to go read more

See all

WARAKU is a one of the best authentic Japanese restaurant in the South Bay Area! Seafood from Osaka, Japan. Clean and neat. Nice ambience. Vast menu; so many options to choose from. Sashimi excellent! Service is quick & efficient! Will definitely return. read more

See all

Very fortunate to have this location next to work. The first thing I want to compliment is the rice. Fantastic Japanese rice that elevates the experience of the restaurant. All the dishes here were great and the service was excellent. On the pricier side but worth the price in terms of quality IMO. The restaurant was remodeled last year and has a nice Japanese ambiance. read more

See all

Delicious and great experience! I got to try this restaurant since I was visiting a friend in Culver City. I got the kaiseki don because their chirashi was already sold out. At $28 you get one piece of many different cuts. My favorites were the amaebi (sweet shrimp), roe, salmon, and there were a few I couldn't identify but were very yummy! The quality of fish here is real quite nice - everything tastes extremely fresh. You can actually taste the difference in freshness and quality. Even their rice tastes exceptionally good. My only dislike was that the fish was cut pretty small for my bowl - there wasn't even much rice. I did not feel completely satiated after just my bowl plus a miso soup. Service here is really friendly and fast. The food comes out in around 10 minutes. Restroom is pretty clean. There is a large shared parking lot with free parking. There's bar and table seating and they have a wide selection of alcoholic drinks. read more

Waraku - blue fin negitoro bowl - Izakaya Near Me - Torrance, California

See all

This was the first time dining here for our group of five. We were seated in the private dining room. The service was excellent and the meal choices fantastic. Nothing left over by anyone. I had the sashimi assortment and loved it. Presentation was exquisite and the taste perfect. Not a large luncheon meal. I would have liked more. But it was a good value. My other guests dined on various sushi bowels. Parking outside is spacious. The hostess was really sweet and took us right to our table. This may have been our first time here, but certainly not the last. read more

Waraku - Kitchen - Izakaya Near Me - Torrance, California

One of my favorite Japanese restaurants ever! Waraku has become one of my go-to spots when I'm in the mood for good Japanese food. I'm a huge fan and recommend this place all the time to friends who like Japanese food. Their fish is so fresh, and I love their rice bowls for lunch and dinner, especially the unagi tamago bowl! I was so excited to see that they have holiday specials. I've ended up ordering their Treasure Box (which is absolutely STUNNING) twice for my family for the holidays. I call ahead to order these and pick them up when ready. In addition, I always enjoy ordering their Takowasa, Steamed Abalone, and SABA Mackerel. My friends and family and I enjoy sharing these among the table when we eat here. Amazing service, and absolutely delicious authentic Japanese food! Highly recommend this spot! read more

See all

Always good food, fresh and friendly. Been here many times and always come back for lunch or dinner .

What happened to my favorite restaurant in torrance? I went for lunch today and it was so underwhelming. The steak bowl was dry, chewy, and overcooked as if it was precooked and microwaved. It used to be juicy and cooked to perfection. The chutoro negitoro don had sad thin small slices of tuna. The slices were so thin and not even half the size it used to be. Also ordered bluefin tuna sashimi on the side, and for 26 dollars we got 6 half sized pieces. They look like leftover scraps. I've been coming since wadatsumi days and today's dishes look nothing like photos from then. I am so disheartened to see my favorite establishment go down in quality like this. read more

Better food/fish than fancy Japanese restaurants in Little Tokyo/DTLA. PLUS great, friendly service! read more

See all

Disappointing to say, but the only reason this place has so many good reviews is because they are meant for Wadatsumi. Many recent negative reviews, particularly those from July 24 onward, reflect issues with Waraku, so don't be misled by older positive reviews. We arrived right when the restaurant opened and were asked if we had a reservation, which we didn't. We were made to wait awkwardly at the front with no indication of whether we would be seated. After a few minutes, we were shown to our table but only given three menus for our party of five. When we tried to order, many items were unavailable. It would have been helpful if they had informed us of unavailable items before we spent extra time reviewing the menu. When our food finally arrived, it was underwhelming and didn't justify the price. We also asked a waiter for wasabi, but they forgot about it, and we struggled to get anyone's attention since the staff was inattentive. I do not recommend this place. They fell short in customer service, food quality, and overall experience. I truly hope they improve, but we won't be returning. read more

Genuine Japanese food with excellent sashimi and sushi. Reasonable prices! My go to restaurant in Torrance.

I swear, this plaza is just a goldmine of amazing Japanese food, you can't go wrong with any of these places. Sashimi is life and you're frankly missing out if you haven't had any here yet. We're talking melt in your mouth sashimi. I am a sucker for blue fin tuna so what do you expect me to do except go for a blue fin tuna bowl? For the price you pay, you get a fairly healthy portion of tuna and rice and man is it fresh. Melting sashimi hits different especially when you aren't paying an arm and leg for it. Other noteworthy items include some appetizers like dashimaki egg and their squid (tho they recommend pairing it with sake to offset the saltiness of it). If you come at prime dining hours, there may be a wait so make a reservation in that case. Once you snag a seat though, you should expect a spectacular meal. read more

See all

waraku got a facelift! chicer ambience with the same quality of authentic japanese food. loved to see that there were nothing but improvements made here since the last time our family dined here! read more

See all

Great little place, very cozy. Service was friendly. Recommend reservations. Food was fresh and delicious. You can get extra rice if you ordered a bowl free of charge. Bowls come with salad and miso soup. read more

Waraku Sushi in Torrance is fantastic. Everything is fresh and high quality, but their chirashi is the standout--beautifully prepared with generous cuts of fish and amazing flavor. Consistently great food and a solid go-to spot for sushi. Highly recommend! read more

There is no way this is run by the same management. The restaurant has gone downhill so badly. This used to be one of my favorite restaurants but i will not be returning anymore. I really hope the food gets better soon as they used to be. They used to have a smaller portion but now it's even smaller with the rebranding of the restaurant. The interior has been renovated which is a plus. The staff lis under staffed. The food quality has gone down. The chawanmushi lacks flavors. Sashimi doesn't seem to be as fresh and also the selection has gone down significantly. Everything was just mediocre and unreasonably priced for the portion. This place sucks now. read more

came here excited because it was my first time after the remodeling to waraku. i was a little bit skeptical, however, since the reviews were unpromising. disappointed to say that those reviews proved correct. i ordered the sashimi combo like always and had the curry as well. the sashimi was ok but the portion was smaller. the curry was EXTREMELY SALTY. it was so bad we asked for the server to take it back and ordered the grilled-fish-of-the-day. that fish was also extremely salty that we didn't dare to finish it. the server with dyed hair and colored contacts was rude, saying that she can't cancel the order and told us to wait as she asks the manager. she left us not knowing if our order was exchanged and when we asked again, she told us to wait longer. thankfully, the manager was able to swap out our order and cancel the other one but it took such a long time and the server lady was not polite at all. the annoyance on her face was evident so we didn't feel good as customers. so sad that one of my favorites in torrance has come to this. i hope they can improve and serve their customers well again. read more

See all

This is a long overdue review. I dropped by here for a quick dinner right at opening so to beat any dinner rush. There were plenty of diners coming in shortly after so I knew this was already a good place I came here wanting to try their toro and wagyu sashimi and it did not disappoint. For me Torrance is a bit of a drive so I haven't come back since but I have definitely bookmarked this location to come back whenever I am in the area again. Everything tasted fresh and very good. They also have plenty other food items on their menu so you're not confined just to wagyu and toro, although I highly recommend you try! read more

See all

High quality sashimi and Chirashi bowls! I came for a weekend lunch and there was no wait. I got the Kaisen-Don and the sashimi pieces were fresh. It comes with an assortment of fish and I enjoyed the sweet shrimp and mackerel a lot. Overall I would recommend this spot for good sashimi. They also have lunch sets which come with rice, salad, steamed egg, and miso soup. read more

Waraku - Izakaya Near Me - Torrance, California

Well known place for sushi in Torrance. Located in a popular plaza with lots of parking. Service is quick and efficient. There is seating in the main area, private room, and more seating in the back area. Menu is vast with many options to choose from. read more

See all

Wadatsumi has a nice mix of different Japanese options - my wife almost always gets a sashami type bowl or offering, but this time I went off the reservation and tried the beef katsu curry w/ rice, which was quite good, although not the best in the area and I like it a bit spicier (and bigger!). Inside is nice and simple tables - a bit close together perhaps but altogether clean and nice. The sashimi items are all good here and never disappoint though so probably stick to those items in the future. Note they will refill your white rice bowl for free if you're a voracious rice eater, so go ahead and don't feel the need to pace yourself with the rice! Also I noticed the lunch specials looked like a good affordable deal so that' something to consider for the next time! read more

Waraku - Beef curry w/ katsu - Izakaya Near Me - Torrance, California

Chirashi bowl is delicious. Beef Curry is very flavorful. Niku soba is also good! Love it! read more

See all

Came here for dinner with some friends for the first time. The inside of the restaurant is very cute and clean, lots of seating indoors but none outside. The menu selection was large and everything we ordered tasted extremely fresh and flavorful. The staff was friendly and took our orders quickly. Once the orders were in the food came out in a timely manner. I definitely would go back here to try more of the menu again! read more

See all

Really wanted to love this place, especially with all the great reviews. Could it have been an off day with their raw dishes? Or maybe I was better off ordering only cooked items. The decor was modern and clean, staff was friendly. Dishes came out pretty quickly. Unfortunately the bowls didn't look and taste as good as the pictures in menu. If I didn't order the fried dishes and have friendly staff, I would have gave this place a 1 star. The chutoro was ok, the rest of the tunas in the bowl were stringy and not as good. My main disappointment was the uni, ikura and crab bowl. It was not fresh at all! The uni tasted bitter and looked really sad. The ikura was also not fresh, didn't taste good and was not the plump balls of sea freshness you expect that burst in your mouth. My kids are not too picky and liked the bluefin tuna bowl. My only concern is that if you come hungry, you'll need to order two. The tuna was cut really thin. I thought the chicken karaage and their tempura octopus was pretty good. Nice and crunchy and flavorful. Octopus was tender. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be coming back here again. read more

See all

Went there for Saturday dinner. We called the day of and made a reservation for 6PM. Glad we did. The place was packed 30 minutes after we sat down. The menu is pretty authentic. I like how they have the special of the day. We got fried oysters, hotaru ika, kakuni, aji sashimi, grilled mackerel. My favorite was probably the kakuni. It was not as tender as I would have liked but the flavor was perfect. Went so well with the mustard. Also the grilled mackerel. Really big piece of fish!! And it was super fatty. Reminded me of Japan. They have an extensive wine list, which I thought was interesting for an izakaya. Our waitress couldn't really make recommendations but I enjoyed the selection. Would love to go back and try other dishes. read more

We visited Waraku for lunch on a Saturday, and the restaurant was nearly full. The atmosphere truly felt like a slice of Japan authentic and immersive. We ordered the octopus tempura and mixed vegetable tempura. Both were impressive ,the seafood was fresh, the octopus tender and naturally sweet. The mixed veggie tempura was uniquely presented, with onion and carrot fried together into a crispy cluster. I had the deluxe chirashi, while my friend chose the soba lunch set. The fish was incredibly fresh, and the pricing was very reasonable for the quality. Food: 5/5 Service: 5/5 Ambience: 5/5 read more

See all

I am reviewing based only on the chirashi, which is excellent. My favorite is the bara chirashi - it is a gorgeous bowl of fish and rice. So so satisfying and sits well in the belly. read more

Waraku - Bara Chirashi Rice Bowl - Izakaya Near Me - Torrance, California

See all

The attitude has changed, so has food and service. I didn't care for the server's condescending politeness. The food is going down in quality. I ordered the three kinds of bluefin tuna chirashi. sushi rice barely covered the bottom of the chirashi box. The bits and pieces of tuna instead of sliced. The menu says a 16 oz draft beer, nope. I'll no longer patronize this restaurant. read more

I have been to this restaurant when it was "Wadatsumi" and I came back again after they renewed and opened as "Waraku". I loved the assorted sashimi bowl! The fish were fresh and prices were affordable too. My favorite dishes were the Japanese rock oysters, sakura baby shrimp kakiage and truffle mushroom croquette! These were soooo good. The oyster is huge and very fresh! It is a must try. Also the sakura sencha was so unique, refreshing and delicious! read more

See all

The good: I went to a Yelp elite event where a fellow local yelper who grew up around here told me this was her favorite Japanese spot (and she was Japanese). I can see why! I tried shrimp tempura that came with miso soup, salad and flan-like steamed egg, salmon rice ball, tamago appetizer, karage, and toro rice bowl. My picky toddler ate a bit of everything (except the raw toro)! The tempura was crumbly and different than your average tempura batter. The toro bowl was fresh and the sushi rice was a great texture. I liked that there was a variety of menu options. The bad: They were out of one of their chirashi bowls. They get pretty crowded fast so the last time I came we were turned away. Online, it doesn't say that they take reservations but I saw lots of reserved table signs so I am guessing they take them. The interesting: I didn't realize they have another small side/back room. It seemed like our table was the only non-Japanese table of people there. Our total was around $200 for 5 adults and a toddler. read more

Everything here was delicious! We got the unagi bowl, chirashi bowl, and okonomiyaki. My fav was the unagi bowl, they gave us tea at the end to turn the leftover rice into a soup. The okonomiyaki was good, but a different style than we're used to, and it came at the end, so we weren't as hungry for it. I'm excited to go back and try more dishes! read more

A nice small shop in Torrance however portions are a bit small compared to the hefty price for a meal. We got the Kaizen and the Salmon Ikura bowl to go. The fish pieces are pretty thin and each came with only a few pieces of fish. The fish didn't taste the freshest, however that might be my fault as we ordered our meals to-go using the website and the food might have been finished earlier and have been sitting on the counter for a hot minute. Overall, it was nice to try but I wouldn't come here again. read more

Waraku - kaizen and salmon bowl - Izakaya Near Me - Torrance, California

Came here on a Sunday for lunch. We went right when they open so there was no wait. There was plenty of parking in the plaza. I got the bara chirashi cut various sashimi bowl. It was a mixture of sashimi. It was pretty flavorful and delicious! It kind of reminds me of a poke bowl. The inside is kind of small. They have a few tables and chairs. I don't think it would fit a big group gathering. I would definitely recommend this place for a quick bite! read more

Waraku - Bara Chirashi Rice Bowl - Izakaya Near Me - Torrance, California