After having amazing tempura bowls in Japan, my husband and I were so excited to find this place…read more We came here on a Saturday night and were pleasantly surprised that there was no wait. There was plenty of parking in the back of the restaurant. I got the Special Tempura Bowl and my husband got the Special Tempura Plate. We bother really liked our meals! The food quality is top notch and the tempura was so crunchy. The tempura shrimp and egg are our favorites. Service was great, friendly and quick. Would love to come back and try their sushi and soba.

delicious tempura! so crunchy and delicious, not soggy at all. i went for the premium tempura bowl…read moreand dont regret paying extra for the eel. the batter was pretty light, and even though we had it for lunch, I didnt feel gross after the meal like I tend to do with other fried foods. also came with the usual warm and comforting miso soup. service was fast and nice, and the seating area had a good amount of seats including the bar area so there was barely any wait. a friend put our name down at 12:30 and we were seated within 5 min on a Sunday. i would definitely revisit Carlos Jr for some crispy tempura :)

In the entire time I've lived in the South Bay, I've driven past this spot countless times. I'd see…read morepictures and reviews in passing so this spot has been on my foodie bucket list for awhile. I finally gave this place a try and one thing is certain, I will be back - again, again, and again :) Kagura has a small parking lot in the back that tends to fill up quickly, but there's an abundance of street parking. I came to this establishment to find two parties of 3 in already waiting by the door and for the staff to let them in. Totally understand why. Upon walking in, you're transported to Japan, this spot definitely has a unique, homey, quaint charm to it. Agedashi Tofu: 4.8/5 - I wasn't expecting the portion to be large so if I get this again, I'll make sure to bring a friend Millefeuille Shisho Cheese Katsu: 5/5 - Made with meticulous care. An incredibly well-balanced dish with the protein, cheese, and what I believe to be a shiso/perilla leaf incorporated. Crunch was perfect, lots of places tend to overdue it with the batter. This tasted so good it honestly didn't need the tonkatsu sauce (still delish with or without the sauce). Service is phenomenal. I was impressed to see two people essentially taking care of my entire section as the restaurant filled up during the dinner rush. No issues with arrival of food or the pacing. The staff was warm, cordial, and proactively asked if I had questions since I told them it was my first visit. I'm looking forward to coming back in the future and will definitely save some room for beer and/or dessert.

I'd been to T.O.T in little Tokyo before but decided to check out Kagura. It was great, the katsu…read morewas light and delicious. Standouts were definitely the millefieulle katsu - the pork ends up very very tender. The oyster katsu is also delicious! We stopped by at 4 pm on a Saturday so there was no wait. It's a great spot for a celebration or a nice dinner! Parking it's a little tough, there are a few parking spots behind the restaurant.

The restaurant is located adjacent to Abalone Ave, different from the location that was shown on…read moreApple/Google Maps. While you were at the corner, you would see its noticeable sign. It felt causal and cozy inside, simple and clean. We arrived late at around 1:30 pm on a Saturday afternoon but the waitress was patient and friendly, guiding us to seats and let us know to order before their kitchen was closed. It had a lunch special menu which showed several special items at a very affordable price. We picked the Negitoro Bowl from this special menu (at half of the regular price). The tuna had a balanced fat and was minced in a manner that I felt it melt in my mouth. It's a good match with rice. The Kaisen Bowl had a variety of seafoods and all of them tasted very fresh! The salty fish roe made the rice more flavorful. The Kaisen Bowl came with a miso soup and a salad. We also ordered a soba which was well cooked. We definitely will go back to try more dishes!

The food was delicious and the quality felt really good for what I paid. The staff were also very…read morefriendly, and overall it was a nice experience. This was always one of the restaurants I wanted to try, so I was happy I finally got to visit haha. One thing is that the prices are high and the portion felt little small. If you are really hungry, I probably would not recommend ordering only the premium dishes. It might be better to try some of the more affordable menu options too. Still, the food quality was great and I would love to come back again to try different dishes next time.

This place is so cute and the service was amazing! Our server was very attentive and kind and was…read morevery fun to talk to. The food here was exceptional. We ordered another round of the beef tongue cause it was just. that. good. The chicken thighs with the green onions were also good. I probably wouldn't order the meatballs again, not because they were bad but the other things were just soo much better.

A solid four stars! Maybe more ... just be aware that despite the name there no robots to be found…read morein the restaurant. Not that I was fooled, but I did wonder a bit. It's a nice yakitori place. A tad pricey. Great food, but not as raucous as Shin Sen Gumi - more of a nice place for a date vs a very casual have some chicken heart and a pitcher of beer place. The karage chicken was different than a lot of place as it was give a more unique flavor than chicken tenders with a lemon. Service was politely, friendly and not intrusive. Parking was convenient and easy. Finding the place was a bit tricky as the sign is a bit subdued. It's at the point of the interior buildings.

Came here for dinner last night with my husband. Very clean and service was amazing. This is why I…read moregive them a 5 stars. Food is a 4 stars, but because of the excellent staff service, 5 stars. We ordered: Mune kizokuyaki - chicken breast all spice (tare may be a better choice, but my husband wanted to try mixed spices since it was different) Unagi (eel) Teba (chicken wings) Very flavorful Ebi (shrimp) the head and shell were left on, so won't order it again as it's too much work to remove the shell and fingers get dirty) Tsukune (chicken meatballs) Beef harami steak with mashed potatoes & cabbage- only $2 more to add side mashed & cabbage Tori Q (marinated cucumbers) Agedashi Tofu Houjicha pudding for dessert (loved it) Drinks : houijicha tea and Sapporo beer Overall, for the price and the size, it's well worth it. Again, had better yakitori's elsewhere, but serving size is much smaller, so you end up ordering more; which means more $$$$. Service was also amazing and food came out quick. Our favorite picks are: Unagi, teba, tsukune, beef harami, & Tori Q cucumbers. Will come back again for sure to try other skewers/apps. I will definitely order the chicken breast/green onions in tare sauce next time as opposed the mixed spices. In summary, I highly recommend to check this place out and experience the great ambiance and service.

Where to begin? I honestly hadn't heard of this chain before walking in. I was actually just…read morehunting for ramen after making a return at Walmart and thought I spotted a spot pulling into the lot. I came by myself and ordered five items plus a Yuzu Sapporo. You have to get the Yuzu Sapporo. I loved it, especially paired with the chicken skin. Perfect match. The service was great; the waiter came by and gave me a full run-through of how the menu works. Here's the breakdown: Ramen: Must-get. Grilled Ground Chicken Rice Bowl: Must-get. Fried Seared Chicken Skin Chips: Do get! Kizoku Yaki (Thigh w/ Teriyaki): Do get! Shiitake Skewer: Skip. It was small and kind of dry. I walked out super satisfied. I feel for the people who were disappointed because they've been to other locations after the fact, but I noticed the menu is already changing (saw a couple of updated editions), so hopefully they keep growing. I'd attribute my good experience to the responsive waiter, getting seated immediately at the bar, and the fact that I crushed it with my order. I'm already thinking about coming back because we really need more yakitori spots for those "in-between" stages, like a late lunch or a late- day cravings when you just want variety and small bites. That's exactly what a yakitori spot should be! It's smoky. Be prepared!

Back again. I remembered they have a great BENTO BOX, so that's what I ordered again and…read morerecommended the same for my friend. We had a great time here on a Saturday afternoon. The food was as great as I remember and although the restaurant had plenty of people, we didn't feel rushed. Everything was delicious from the sashimi, tempura, fish, nishime and chicken karaage. The bento box also comes with potato salad, udon and gohan. When I'm in Gardena, this is my choice for Bento Box... You literally get a little of everything!

Kotohira was a little crowded when we got there at 5pm, Saturday for dinner but luckily we got…read moreseated right away. We haven't eaten there for a while, mostly ordered take out, so it was nice to sit inside and enjoy a good meal. We ordered the tenzaru set with soba noodles, somen salad and my father in law ordered the mini Tendon set with soba. Service was pleasant and the food delicious. Parking can be a challenge but if you get there early, you shouldn't have a problem.

Came here for a date night and will definitely be coming back!…read more The meal came with complementary ice tea, I believe it was barley or oolong tea. I ordered the ten toji don combo and a salmon hand roll. The food came out fast and was piping hot. The portions were also huge for not a ton of money. The udon was delicious and the ten toji don was good as well! I loved the combo of the shrimp tempura with the egg. The salmon hand roll tasted fresh as well, 8/10. There is ample seating in the restaurant and lots of parking outside. The restaurant is also located in a shopping plaza with many other restaurants and dessert places.

I was just starting to eat my meal when the sat a large group breaking them in to tables on both…read moresides of me. So people needed to squeeze by and then one guy asked if he could sit for a moment at my table. I said okay. But then I think he planned to stay at my table until finally my waiter moved him! There was a seat at one their tables the whole time. Then their waitress wedge herself with her back toward me in between the tables and I had to stop eating. Very disruptive and rude. Taking a while for the six people to order so I nudged her and I asked her to move and she seemed upset that I did that but didn't say anything no apology so it was very uncomfortable and I was rushing through my food so I burnt my tongue on the hot soup again even though I knew it was hot because I just wanted to get out of there. And then when I was done, I had to wait a while for the check and then they couldn't process the Apple Pay at the table so then I had to go to the front and wait for somebody to attend to me there overall this experience was not fun and stressful and I had got there right when they opened. I sure wish I had selected a different seat!! I wouldn't get the Nabeyaki soup again. It was really big and had a lot of end pieces of tough napa cabbage. There were two pieced of shitake mushroom and the standard thin fish cake slice. There was and egg in the soup and a three small chicken pieces. On the side were three small pieces of green bean and two tempura shrimp.

Met an old food service industry friend for lunch. I had a very savory and flavorful uni pasta with…read moreshrimp! I would have liked a slightly larger portion, but it was satisfying nonetheless. Our server was extremely friendly, perfect temperament for food service! I'll have to bring the wife here!

Welcoming and friendly even 30 minutes before closing. Very cool vibe with music from the 80s…read morewafting through the background. So far so good -- the only thing left was the taste of the food. And of course it was good. It's a random Japanese pasta spot in the middle of Redondo Beach... how could it not be? BB

It takes a lot for me to be blown away when it comes to food and this place was it for me. Our…read morefriends introduced us to this place and it was spectacular! The ambiance is great, not so loud and the vibes are perfect for night out with the girls or even date night. We came in a group and just ordered family style but I started off with the Beef BBQ Yakiniku salad and it was so delicious I didn't share this particular plate it was so flavorful. Their Gobo Chips are a must along with their Doteni Braised Beef Tongue and that was my favorite so simple and that bite was perfection. Their chicken and green onion skewers those were finger licking good the chicken was so tender. We finished off with the Shabu shabu hot pot and that broth was so flavorful and all the cabbage, spinach and noodles were great! Everything we had was delicious and can't wait to go back and try some other items. Their customer service was great, we were a group of 6 and everything came out quick and we were able to enjoy our tasty food and drinks.

Made a reservation several days in advance because this place is usually hard to walk into, but…read morewhen we arrived the restaurant was not really busy and even walk-ins could have been seated easily. What was most disappointing was how rushed the service felt. About an hour into the meal, staff repeatedly tried to clear plates that we were still eating from, and we had to tell them more than once that we were not finished. After asking whether we wanted more drinks and hearing that we were fine, they brought the bill almost immediately, which made it feel like they were trying to push us out. Meanwhile, other tables that arrived before us were still comfortably dining and talking. We had also ordered more than enough food--honestly more than several other tables around us--so there was no reason for our table to be rushed out. Most restaurants typically allow at least a two-hour dining window, yet we ended up leaving in just about one hour because the pressure to leave was so obvious. Ironically, the food was actually excellent, but the staff's behavior completely overshadowed the meal and made it hard to even remember how good the food was. Since this was noted as a special occasion, the experience felt especially disappointing. Rather than feeling welcomed, we felt pressured to leave. Would not recommend this place for a birthday or any special occasion.