Azabu

We were invited for friends’ wedding reception here. Very cute cozy restaurant and food is very good and they offer variety of Japanese Italian to French etc…

I’ve been meaning to come here and finally made it here to try their raved Hamburg steak! I have to say it was definitely worth the wait time at the table (it does take a while to cook!). Definitely loved the vibe in here and the staff were all super sweet and friendly! Definitely need to go back for some more authentic food!

— Locale Destination —
It’s on Artesia Blvd and Van Ness Ave in Torrance.
It’s in the corner of big shopping plaza. Next to karaōke place.
Ambiance: simple, cozy, «French» theme, dim. Small bar seating and tables.
Service: Friendly. Run by Japanese. Open for dinner only.
Menu: Japanese «Yoshoku» items and bar (beer, wine, shochu, not hard liquor)
Parking: Plenty
— Gluttony Expedition —
Seafood gratin: it lacked in flavors — it needs more salt, pepper, (Tabasco) and cheese. This dish is supposed to be more cheesy, not just a cream sauce generally. I tasted nothing — so bland. Lots of seafood (shrimp etc) and some pasta in it. Outside was crispy and inside was creamy. Cooking quality was there but the taste quality was very disappointing — especially it was highlighted as their signature item.
Fried potato: it’s seasoned, crispy outside and moist inside, well cooked, as yummy as the one at «Bistro Beaux» in Torrance. Great!
Pudding: Japanese flan. Very rich in flavor and texture. Almost too heavy for me, but you’ll like it if you wanted something heavy. The caramel sauce was a bit bitter side. Not bad.
Calpico: Japanese drink. Kinda like «yogurt» type taste but not really. Japanese love this :)
Kirin Black: it’s hoppy with dark, stout like bitter/​sour flavor. Meh.
— Conqueror’s Deduction —
Bar with «Yoshoku» (Japanese homey dishes) menu — it’s like «Bistro Beaux».
But I prefer «Bistro Beaux» to here because BB has a lot bigger and better booze selections, the food is probably better than here. I think the food (cooking) quality is here but not so much in taste quality, though I might need to try a little more. But the flavor on the seafood gratin (the signature item here) was way off… They make their own pasta, which might be good for you, but I’m not a pasta fan.
I’m not impressed, though I might give s second shot…

We decided to explore a bit more locally, and since we’re craving some seafood, this place came to mind. We came during dinner time, so the place was packed. While we were waiting, our host set our expectation regarding waiting time, that was much appreciated.
This is what we had:
1. Salad mix green. We got the halved portion, I loved the sesame dressing. It really complements the bitterness.
2. Salmon carpaccio was sliced thinly, it didn’t have the smoothest texture, but quite delicious.
3. Seafood gratin, it was very filling and cheesy. It came with big chucks of seafood, which was nice. Be warned that it is super heavy, but it’s lick your bowl delicious.
It’s a cute little place, good service, good food, we would come back here again.

One of the few Japanese/​Italian izakaya in LA. Friendly service and good food. Plenty of parking. The restaurant is connected to the Karaōke/​Bar Astro next door and share the same bathroom so it does start getting loud and rowdy later in the night which is not an issue for me.
Pirikara Kyuri Jako — Straight forward. Good tsumami for drinkers
Hatsu Sunagimo Teppan — Straight forward as well but the right amount of flavor. Very good.
Kamo Jibuni — Cooked right but the flavor was just okay for me.
Tomato/​Yamaimo Salad — Refreshing and good with ume dressing
Tako Marine — Very good as well. Love the flavoring.
Jya-​Jya Men — Didn’t like the noodles since it seemed like they were boiled too long but the sauce/​flavor was really good.
Spare Ribs — A little too sweet for my taste but the rest of the table loved it. Very tender.
One of the few go-​to places in Torrance!

The foods were pretty good. We had a glass of plum wine, baguette bread with butter. pork rib (4pcs), and a seafood pasta. They were all yummy, but the pasta was a little salty and for the plumwine, they only give ¹⁄₅ or ¹⁄₆ of a glass (very little), which is not a shot drink. The baguette was really good! It’s in btwn warm and hot! So soft inside and crispy outside! But be aware to order at least in prior to 10−15min. it takes that much of time to come out to your table. Our server was really nice, but she seemed very busy due to the place was pretty crowded on Friday night even after 10PM. Though it’s a small restaurant with two waitress, it seems like they need more servers for a better service on Friday night.

Latest I heard is that they are only open for dinner now. Regardless, the entrees are presented beautifully and the food is consistently delicious.

I was treated to a birthday dinner here. The pork belly with ginger sauce was good but the service was really slow. The waitress said the green dot items on the menu take longer to prepare. But the pork belly dish did not have a green dot and it still arrived last. I’m not sure what’s going on in the kitchen but getting an order of bread and butter took over ten minutes. Also, bring your own fly swatter.

Azabu is a small restaurant with about 8 tables and bar counter dining. The posters & art reflect a Italo-​Franco aesthetic around the fin de dix-​neuvieme siècle with advertisements featuring Cinzano, Cognac, Champagne, and a reproduction of a sketch in charcoal by Matisse. Perhaps a picture by Monet would have been more apropos since he had Japanese Ukiyoe woodblock prints hanging in his dining room in Giverny, France. There is a reason for this interior design theme since some of the foods in the menu are originally of French or Italian inspiration such as gratin, paste (plural of pasta), cheese omelet in demi-​glacé sauce, ratatouille, tomato garlic sauce, Scampi, and curries via possibly British occupied India rounds out the «foreign» influence.
1) Deep Fried To-​fu & Hijiki (brown seaweed) comes in a traditional iron pot w/​a heavy wooden lid. Two large pieces of To-​fu are fried to a golden brown crispness placed in a very hot slightly sweetened Sho-​yu/​soy sauce broth along with onions, carrots, and long thin brown strands of Hijiki. It’s a hearty dish, and the frying of the To-​fu releases a nice rich oiliness that rounds out the Sho-​yu broth as well as the onions releasing a sulfur based funkiness.
The Hijiki acts almost like a vegan non-​starchy pasta that adds a slight sea scented Umami. The starch component is the springy Shiratama/​Japanese gnocchi made from Mochi rice flour. The portion is large and is good enough for two persons, but even with all the richness, there is a simplicity and lightness to this dish that even one person with an average appetite can eat it and still have room for another small dish.
2) Sliced duck breast in light soy sauce: A very small but tasty dish with a moist, meatiness & seasoning that makes it seem like a duck cha-​shu-​. Appropriately there is a bit of sharp ground yellow mustard to apply to the duck breast just like when serving pork cha-​shu– which originally harks back to China. The meat is cooked medium rare which is ideal, & the sprigs of cilantro adds a nice sharp herbal green scent to add a contrast to the meatiness.
3) Seafood Gratin (grah tan): We ordered the small, but I thought it was rather large in size. It is basically a light milk based béchamel sauce possibly flavoured w/​a bit of nutmeg, Gruyère cheese. There are shrimp, bay scallops, chunks of salmon w/​spinach leaf. The top seems sprinkled with Panko/​Japanese bread crumbs and baked in high heat. Since this gratin doesn’t use heavy cream or heavy use of cheese, the flavours are subtle, well nuanced in a style that is more Japanese than French. I only wished that there would be a slice or two from a baguette to sop up the creamy béchamel sauce.
4) Pork Belly w/​Ginger Soy Sauce is a combination meal accompanied by succotash medley of corn, carrots, string beans, peas, finely shredded cabbage, mashed potato salad which, to me, was a bit bland, Tsukemono/​Japanese brined pickles of cucumber. This dish may have been the least favorite of the four items that we had ordered. The pork belly is, of course, fatty, & the meat is not over done so it remains moist & soft, but the ginger sauce was not particularly distinctive & the ginger flavor too mild to make an impact or counterpoint to the fatty pork belly. A bowl of rice is included.
1−4a) I ordered the Hakutsuru Draft 300ml Sake (sah keh) which has a more neutral bouquet bit of bitterness to counter the sweet with a nice light floral finish. It went well with especially the Deep Fried To-​fu, Duck Breast, and Pork belly. A good austere Chardonnay, Pouilly Fuisse, or dry Sauvignon Blanc would probably have worked better with the gratin, but I wasn’t planning on doing an association de vins et mets at an Izakaya that night.
5) Custard Pudding was closer to a French Crème Caramel. The egg & cream based pudding was soft, creamy, and not too overly sweet. A sugar caramel sauce was at the bottom which provided a sweet yet slightly burnt bitter taste that added flavor interest to the smooth, silky, mono-​taste profile of the custard.
All the servers were genial, friendly, and helpful. The space reminds me of a bistro in France or Osteria in Italy, but much of the food reflects the food aesthetics of Japan. The food here tends to be well thought out and well executed. Be sure to reserve ahead since this is a small restaurant with limited seating. 4 Unilocal stars for a very good neighborhood restaurant in a city with many Japanese restaurant choices.

Just like back home. Friendly Japanese legit authentic seafood gratan was the best. I’ll be back again.

I’m not sure how long this place has been open but it is POPULAR.
Both times that I’ve dined here they were on a weekend (friday and saturday nights) but it seems to be a pretty crowd-​pleasing place. The restaurant itself isn’t very large (5 or 6 tables and bar seats) but it adds to it hole in the wall appeal.
The fair is Japanese with a European flair which is quite popular in Japan and I’m so glad it’s making it way to the U.S. They also have a large variety of tapas to choose from. Both times I’ve had the seafood gratin which was very filling and super tasty. I’ve also tried the smoked salmon, pork cutlet, and the carbonara — all of which tasted excellent.
So why only 4 stars? I definitely was sad to see that there were only 5 or 6 tables, most of which are reserved (since they are so popular). So -.5. And the other reason was the price of their tapas. The ingredients that they use are awesome, but I will definitely stick to having an entrée to myself thank you very much.
But I will definitely come back.

This restaurant is very Japanese.
Nice yo-​shoku ya san.
Customers were all Japanese when we were there.
Got pasta, hanba-​gu sute-​ki, buta no sho-​ga yaki.
The pasta was like ramen noodles. It was interesting. I liked it though.
Hanba-​gu and sho-​ga yaki were both really good.
Wanna try other dishes next time.
I will definitely go back.
Service is really good too.
Parking is free in the mall.

I’ve heard so many great things about this restaurant from different people, so I was excited coming here with my friend for lunch.
We both ordered Hamburg steak. It comes with rice, miso soup, green salad, and pickles. I enjoyed everything especially miso soup. I liked what’s in it, the size of tofu and the type of miso paste they use. Some time I get disappointed when I am served not so great miso soup at high-​end Sushi restaurant…
As for hamburg steak itself, I guess my expectation was too high, it was good but didn’t wowed me. Since I cook hamburg at home often, I was hoping to have something spectacular here.
But their flan was amazing!!! So velvety, plenty of caramel sauce, too bad we only ordered one, so I have to share with my friend: /​
Service was great. The owner lady was very friendly and attentive. (She is funny, too.) I wish they are closer to my house, there are so many other things that I would like to try, especially from their dinner tapas menu.
Side note: the place was packed with Japanese people, reminds me of a café-​restaurant in Japan.

We love this place.
Everything is awesome.
Authentic Japanese Western (Yoshoku) cuisine.
You should go there!

3.5, but I decided to round down.
Maybe it’s because I had to drive over an hour to eat here, and had really high expectation from the 4.5 rating on Unilocal,but I don’t think this was anything to write home about?
If you live in the area, I can see how this could be a nice neighborhood spot for you. But for me, if I’m driving all the way out to Torrance, I think there would be a lot of other places that I’d eat before I end up here.
The service was definitely very good, as most Japanese restaurants would be. The servers spoke fluent English and Japanese, and were very attentive. We had a reservation and was seated right away, but we were also asked to leave after our meal because another reservation was coming. So that’s something to keep in mind if you’re the type that like to linger and chat with your dinner party. We had to move our party (birthday celebration) to a tea place afterward.
Between the 5 of us we ordered 5 – 6 appetizers, 5 main courses, and we pretty much finished it all. I would agree that the quality of the food is good, but none of the dishes stood out to me. There wasn’t anything «interesting» or «creative» or «amazing». They were just good, and fine.
They did tell us that they change the menu based on the season so maybe it’s worth checking out this place every season to try different things on the menu. For one we didn’t get to try the potato with octopus and instead got a marinated octopus dish. We also had chicken wings, pork ribs, mushrooms, eggplants, hamburg steak, chicken curry pasta, cold pork noodle.
Someone posted a picture of the pork noodle and said it’s miso pork noodle? All I know is they called it Ja-​Ja Mien when they served it, which sounds like a Chinese Dish (Ja Jian Mein) and it looks like it and tastes just like it too. My husband was laughed at by our entire party for eating Ja Jian Mein at a Japanese restaurant. No one wanted to try it when he offered to share. HAHA.
I tasted a bite of the custard dessert and I will say that was very good. Overall, the food is solid, and you know you can count on quality food if you come. But I wouldn’t go out of your way just to eat here and expect to be blown away.

This place is so great! Actually sat in the bar side (Astro) since the restaurant side was full, same kitchen and same menu, but the bar has a separate bar menu you can order off of as well.
The cheese omelet with demi-​glacé was one of my favorite items, if you love cheese, you will LOVE this dish, must have! Another must have for me was the oil baked whole garlic. It comes with croutons, which are more like small pieces of bread, ssssoooo good! It was a little challenging to get the garlic out of the skin, but definitely well worth the effort. Also had the miso ramen (which is on the bar side menu) which had a very good broth and the noodles were really good too, not too hard like many other places. Lastly the pork cutlet curry which is another spot on dish.
Got a bottle of shochu here which really one of my favorite japanese alcohol to drink. Mix in 20% water and it tastes like nothing! They save the bottle here for you if you don’t finish it so you can have it next time.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed EVERYTHING that we ordered. I would definitely come back again!

4.5 stars!
+Hidden in the same plaza where loft is located. Next to Astro Karaōke and there will be plenty of parking space.
+Loved the modern décor! They use lots of wood and it looks beautiful. They light up candles on the counter for dinner and has nice ambience. Definitely can take your significant other here for casual date night dinner.
+Cute waitress! Her mom is the owner of the restaurant and she’s beautiful as well and super charming. They both have smile on their face :)
+They serve plenty of alcohol. Anything from beer, shochu, wine, plum wine, etc. Pick your poison!
+The dinner menu is quite extensive. They have hearty dinner plates like hamburger dinner plate that comes with miso soup and rice, pasta dishes, curry, gratin, and many more. I ordered the seafood saffron pasta dish and it was BOMB. My dish had mussel, squid, shrimp, and I think scallop eyes. They also use fresh pasta so the spaghetti was so moist and slightly chewy in a good way. Japanese people would say their noodle is «mocchiri». LOVE IT! I cleaned my plate last night with no shame. If I had a bread, I probably would have sweeped all my sauce clean too haha.
+I took a bite of my friend’s carbonara was really creamy and good as well!
+They also serve desserts and I had the opportunity to try their custard pudding. HOLY CRAP, this was SO GOOD. My friend is a pudding connoisseur and she swore by me that it was the best pudding she’s ever had and trust me, she has tried custard pudding/​flan at everywhere she could get her hands on. The custard wasn’t too soft or too hard, just the right texture with semi sweet caramel sauce on the bottom. The combination was perfect!
–I think the only down side is that this restaurant is not big & knowing how good it is, it might get packed easily. Make sure to come in early and save yourself a seat!

Azabu is another hidden gem in the South Bay! Tucked away in a little corner in a small plaza that also houses The Loft and Pizza Hut, it might be easy to miss. This place however is definitely one that should not be missed because it is truly a lovely place.
I came to this Japanese/​Asian Fusion restaurant for a dinner with fellow Unilocalers Jamie A (along with her husband Pablo), Josephine A., Jennifer N. and Craig Y. I took an instant liking to the restaurant when I walked in. It’s small and cozy. The walls are decorated with various wine bistro inspired art. Off to one wall is the various wine bottle offerings that they have is laid out. The restaurant has an extensive wine menu that includes various reds, whites, sparkling and plum wine. Our server recommended the Flor De Campo chardonnay from Santa Barbara. I had a small sip and it was indeed a sweet pairing to our food for the night.
For their food offerings, they have various different tapas, curry entrees and pastas. From the tapas, my favorites of the night were the sautéed mushroom in garlic sauce and the cheese omelet in demi-​glazed sauce. One of the things that really struck me was how wonderfully presented all their food was. I loved how the mushrooms came out sizzling hot in little black skillet. The mushrooms were so nice and fresh! The cheese omelet was beautifully plated with the demi-​glaze sauce at the bottom. Equal in it’s pretty plating was the good taste of the dishes!
For my main entrée, I chose to get the carbonara pasta. Normally their carbonara pasta comes with bacon, but because I am on a Lenten vegetarian diet, they were very accommodating to my request of no bacon. I really enjoyed my vegetarian carbonara. It was creamy and delicious!
Last but not least, was the delicious dessert! I got the pudding which had sweet caramel sauce. The small sweet treat definitely put a smile on my face!
Dinner at Azabu with my fellow Unilocalers made for a very lovely evening! I enjoyed the good company, the delicious food and drink and overall just being here at this Japanese tapas/​wine bistro.

****Juicy Meat Hot… and ooh so Sweet!****
Craving juicy beef dripping with sweet sauce and oozing with flavor? A beef so good that it stimulates your teeth and melts your tongue? A meat that meets your every need and satisfies your cravings? That delicious beef served here!
~Beef Hamburg Lunch Special-​4 Stars
You are served a very well prepared piece of meat with an amazing sauce. The Hamburg is juicy and fresh and total quality. It drips with juicy flavor. It sits atop a thin layer of Demi sauce. It is served with tasty mashed potatoes and some vegetables I did not care for that were reminiscent of the frozen ones from the market. The dish is served with a mixed green salad and miso soup.
~Homemade Custard/​Flan-​4 Stars!
Done with your beef? Then you are ready for the custard surprise! Home made custard was excellently done. Great texture with a light caramel sauce that was not too sweet.
~Ambience and Vibe-​4 Stars!
Light and friendly! «Cheery» and fresh air flows through this eatery. It is connected to a Karaōke place, has wine and beer. I wish I lived closer. This would totally be a hangout for me!
The cost for the above was about $ 11.95 for the lunch special and a few bucks for the custard. The dinner menu is much more extensive and is definitely the way to go if you live in the area.
Friendly service with a smile and good food has me being a fan!

New Japanese spot in the plaza with The Loft. I don’t know the theme, but it seems like Japanese tapas and wine bar (and I like it a lot). My husband found this spot and kept talking about it. I kept putting it off as he didn’t know the name (so I couldn’t Unilocal it) and Google searching Japanese restaurant Artesia Blvd, Gardena, comes up with… well you know. Too many places!
I really like the ambiance of this place. There is a bar and small tables throughout. This seems like a good place to go for everyone as there was a family to our right and a group of young women on a girl’s night. Also, there are spots along the bar. We started with Ashahi black and a glass of Pinot noir. Our favorite dish of the night was our appetizer which was a special — octopus and mussels. It was served chilled in a light citrus sauce with cilantro and radishes. So flavorful and perfect! I am glad this one was served this night because it gave me a great dish to remember from Azabu.
We also got their berkshire pork belly in a ginger sauce ($ 16 ish) and the fried chicken wings ($ 7) Both were good, but the first dish was such a winner, it is hard to compare. The bill can get high with drinks, tapas-​style dishes, but the quality was not lacking and I do appreciate new, small businesses in the area.
Very pleasant service in a clean and well-​organized restaurant. Nice find in Gardena and a new spot for locals to try! *** CLOSED SUNDAYS ****
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