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    Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior

    4.1 (475 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 8:30 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

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    TENDON TEMPURA CARLOS JUNIOR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Outdoor seating
    Dogs allowed

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    Chirashi bowl and salmon bowl
    Jason Y.

    Stopped by Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior in Pasadena and really enjoyed the meal. I ordered the chirashi bowl with a side of tempura. The chirashi bowl was loaded with fresh fish and was super hearty and filling. There was a good variety of fish and the portions felt generous. The tempura was also a standout. The batter was light and crispy without feeling heavy or oily, which can be hard to find. It paired really well with the dipping sauce and made for a comforting side to the meal. They also have a large menu with sushi, soba, udon, tempura, and combo options, so there are a lot of choices depending on what you're craving. One thing to note is that seating is limited and there tends to be a wait, so coming earlier is probably your best bet. Overall a solid spot if you're in the Pasadena area and looking for a satisfying Japanese meal.

    Premium Tempura Bowl
    Shannon W.

    Got the premium tempura bowl, and it was kind of disappointing. The batter was not sticking to the shrimp nor the squid after biting into it. It kind of fell apart. There was also no crunch to it. I remember the Torrance location tempura had a very nice crunch, batter was light and airy, and it stuck to the food. The sauce is the same, as they put it in the rice instead of you dipping it into a sauce. I also got cold soba on the side since they can't substitute the rice for soba. Soba wasn't anything special. The noodles at the Torrance location is better I promise! The miso soup was okay, didn't really enjoy it that much. It's not your typical miso soup. It has mushrooms in it. The mushroom flavor was too strong for me. Service was meh since we sat down first, but they took the order from our neighbors before us. Their food came out first too. Most likely won't come back to this location again. Not sure if they just had an off day when I went, but I had a disappointing experience.

    Brandon S.

    I come here pretty often for either a special tempura bowl or a chicken tempura bowl. There is validated parking behind the plaza for an hour. Problem is wait time is usually somewhere around 30 min - 1 hr on a weekend since the restaurant is very small. The tempura bowls I get alway comes with scallop tempura, shrimp tempura, seaweed tempura, shishito pepper tempura, and runny yolk egg. The difference is the special has a whitefish tempura and the chicken has a chicken tempura. I love how the tempura here doesn't make me feel greasy after eating the whole bowl with a nice balance of sweetness to savory-ness. The runny egg yolk gives a gooey texture to the rice to contrast the crispiness of the tempura. Overall, food is delicious. I can't give them a full 5 star because of how the restaurant is managed. They take forever to clear tables and seat people, leading to long wait times. I watched them leave a table of 2 open for an entire 30 minutes before calling the next group of 2 in. That needs to be fixed.

    Premium tempura bowl with extra maitake mushroom
    Steven T.

    Different sets of tempura, soba, udon, and sushi/sashimi Sister got the hot soba which she swears has a light yuzu taste. Soba prepared and in bowl of soup. Brother has the premium tempura bowl with extra ikura and maiitake. It had Anago or conger eel, decent I got the tempura with cold soba. Cold soba is as good as it can get. My sister said she would order cold over hot soba next time. Tempura is decent overall. Shrimp, pumpkin are good Small restaurant vibes

    Deluxe Tempura Bowl
    Brandon C.

    I ordered the yellowtail handroll and deluxe tempura bowl. The best part of the meal was the yellowtail handroll; but note that the first bite is pretty basic, it's not until you get deeper into the roll does the sauce/flavors really stand out - if you are looking for a perfect handroll, it's close but not quite there. The deluxe tempura bowl comes with eel, I am a huge fan of eel but it it seemed as if the unique flavor of eel goes away after you put it into batter. It's the long piece of 'fish' that stands sideways on the bowl - the white fish had more of a kick than the eel. I would not recommend the deluxe for the eel, although I did like the shrimp, it was quite tasty. Although I am saying these things about the food, the price point makes it not an amazing place to dine at a lot, tempura from others chains like Marugame, when the tempura is fresh, is comparable to this Carlos Jr's - Torrance location is definitely the gold standard. Minor thing, but we were seated before the group next to us and had asked the waiter to order. What ended up happening is that the table seated after was asked for their order before us; additionally, their food came out first - just be patient... I did not want to be upset about that and spoil my lunch at the time.

    Premium tempura lunch plate with a fried egg, rice, miso soup
    Violette S.

    Stopped by near the end of their lunch service and were quickly seated. Ordered a variety of things to sample, including two sushi rolls and two lunch plates. The sushi was decent, but I wouldn't come to this spot when craving sushi specifically. One of the rolls we ordered was "spicy," but rather than mix the spicy ingredient in with the fish meat, it was just served on the side which I thought was odd. The lunch plates came with a variety of servings, including the tempura (of course), miso soup, and rice. Very generous portions and the tempura crunch was light and airy. Unrelated to the quality of the food, but something that always rubs me the wrong way, is when staff comments on the amount of food ordered, which happened here multiple times. Take that for whatever it's worth.

    Sandy P.

    Ordered the special tempura bowl, really enjoyed the white fish tempura. Each bowl is made to order so the tempura is fresh and lightly battered. Didn't have much of a wow factor but it was good for a first time.

    Mix of Tempera
    Lauren L.

    My first time trying Tendon Tempura! We came here to celebrate my friend's birthday before we headed to the Pasadena Playhouse which was down the street. We both ordered the Tempera Special and shared an order of the Yellowtail Hand rolls for an appetizer. The hand roll was generously stuffed and it tasted fresh. The tempera special came with pumpkin, scallops, white fish, shrimp, seaweed, and jalapeños. It also includes an order of rice and miso on the side. Overall the food here was great. I will say the highlight of the night was the outstanding service. The multiple staff members that helped us order/ served us were very friendly and attentive. That alone would make me want to return to Tendon Tempura.

    Onion Kakiage
    Ann C.

    I was craving tempura tonight so we decided to try this Location after having it at the Torrance location. I have to say... Both Locations were the same! Thank God because now I can get this deliciousness closer to my house. Let's get into it... My boyfriend ordered the premium tempura plate and I ordered the mixed tempura and soba combo. We also ordered the onion Kakiage and seafood Kakiage on the side. Everything was perfectly fried, crispy, flavorful, and delicious. We love the Onion Kakiage... it's definitely a must get. The Pasadena is a smaller location and I can see how lines can get long during prime dinner time or on the weekends. But if you're looking for great service and excellent food... You gotta check them out!

    Uni hand roll - wasn't fresh
    Tiffani C.

    Been here twice. Food was good both times but both times I had a stomachache when I got home. Not sure what it is but def don't get the uni cause it didn't look fresh. We tried the onion karaage too and it was hard to eat and nothing special. The weekday lunch portions are a good deal. I know it's supposed to be authentic tempura like you get in Japan but I can't tell the difference. I mean it's good but most tempura is. I'm not sure I'll try it again cause of the stomachache afterwards on both occasions I went.

    Special Tempura Bowl with miso soup
    Marissa D.

    3.7/5 Got the special tempura bowl and it was delicious. Miso soup was nice because it had mushrooms. Some parts of the tempura were soggy (the shrimp) and some parts (the veggies) were perfect. Don't come here in a hurry because I think it almost took 25-30 mins to get my meal on a Friday at 1:30pm. I lived in Japan for a year so I always have high expectations for Japanese food. It satisfied my tempura craving, but for $20.99 it felt like it wasn't living up to my standard. Waiters were Japanese, but to be honest they didn't seem very happy doing their jobs. I noticed that they had a sass to their responses to all the customers which isn't typical for Japanese waiters but it wasn't a make or break of my overall experiences. For the price, I just didn't feel like I got the value for my money and don't see myself coming back here.

    Large pieces of fish perfectly fried
    Alexis Y.

    Tiny little spot nestled on Colorado Boulevard, but it fills up fast! Fortunately, I came by myself and was able to sit at the bar. I came specifically for the tempura and I was not disappointed. Literally the crispiest most delicious tempura I've ever had. Large pieces of fish, and tender. 10 out of 10. Fast and friendly service, fair pricing.

    Chicken tendon
    Vivian H.

    Finally got to try this place and it didn't disappoint! We arrived around 11:40am on a Sunday and wait time was very short, like 10mins tops. Menu is pretty straightforward and there's even the origin story of how this restaurant came about, super cute! I ordered a chicken tendon and my fiance ordered the special tendon (has white fish). It came with a nice miso soup that wasn't too salty at all. Theres also pickled ginger and seasoned celery at each table. Very nice palette cleansers! Tempura was lightly battered and saucy. Not as crispy as I had anticipated but probably due to the sauce. Breading wasn't too heavy either which I prefer. Origj ally my fiance felt there wasn't enough rice but it ended up being just right. Portions are really good and you will end up full but not too stuffed! Loved the variety included in the bowl and the chicken breast was pretty juicy and tender. Would recommend to anyone craving tendon! They do have a Torrance location too. Theres parking in the back that I didn't know existed, but you can also just do street parking around the area. By the time we left around 12:30-1 the line got a lot longer so try to arrive before 12!

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    Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior

    Is this place vegetarian friendly?

    I would say no, because they use bonito in alot of the dishes. But I would call to ask, they might have vegetarian options

    Is there an outside seating?

    There's no outdoor seating when we went last week.

    Is this place baby toddler friendly?

    No, the wait times are extremely long and there is no dedicated waiting area.

    What is the business hours?

    11am - 2pm 5pm - 7:30pm Closed on Mondays

    View All 6 Questions

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    Love this spot. We came here for their shabu shabu and it was delicious and authentic…read more Please note, Shabu is only available at the counter due to limited 4-6 burner station setup at the counter. Shabu is fresh, delicious and authentic. The Kurobuta Pork Loin is very lean and tasty. The Black Angus Ribeye also very nice. Their ponzu has something else added but really nice. Not sure if it had a dash of sake but love their ponzu sauce. Lunch time at counter for shabu fills up quickly so be ready to wait in line if all shabu stations are occupied. Still worth the wait. Once seated, you'll get served fairly quickly. Excellent and very friendly service. Love our initial experience here. Definitely will be back. Happy Eating!!!

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    Love handrolls! They're delicious and make for a quick but filling meal, and you know exactly what…read moreto expect when you come to a handroll place. My friend and I came to KazuNori for Saturday lunch right when they opened at 11:30. Only one other group was there at opening, but it gradually got busier over the course of lunch. As is standard for handroll places, seating is all counter seating so that you can watch the chefs make and place each piece in front of you. I don't recommend coming here with more than 2 others, as conversation can be difficult due to the seating arrangement. I went with the 6 hand roll set for $29, which offers toro, yellowtail, salmon, bay scallop, crab, and lobster. Everything was good, and my favorites were the scallop, crab, and lobster. You can ask for less rice in each roll if you aren't super hungry or have a smaller stomach. They make everything easy when it comes to paying the bill by charging an automatic 16% fee, so you don't need to fill in the tip. I think that's fair given that each handroll is personally made for you by the chef.

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    Tuesday June 23rd…read more They were notified that we were coming in with a large group. Lady on the phone said no problem. We were probably about the only ones seated by 3:45. Ready to order, Waitress kept helping other diners that walked in... while we waited. By the time we ordered off the lunch menu we were told that we couldn't get the lunch prices. Yet we had been sitting there for a full 15 minutes waiting for one of the three servers speeding around. Finally one of the servers took our orders, couldn't understand her since she was taking very fast so we had to have her repeat herself several times. When we got our bills it didn't reflect the price for lunch. Server said because we put our orders in after 4..... after sitting for 15 minutes to have our orders taken. Lady in our party asked for the mgr, then the server decided to change the price of the orders. Our orders were slow to arrive

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    Ordered: - Hakata set with Tonkatsu ramen (5/5): Came with a…read morespicy tuna don, karaage, and tsukemono. The karaage had a solid fry, and wasn't greasy at all while being both crunchy and juicy. The sauce was a creamy and spicy and paired well with the chicken. The tonkotsu ramen was delicious although a bit on the sweeter side - the egg was very well marinated and the chashu generous and flavorful. - Tokyo set with tuna don (5/5): Also came with soba noodles, miso soup, and tsukemono. The tuna don had a generous portion of tuna and rice. It tasted fresh and was a simple and well executed dish that satisfies your cravings. The soba noodles were a surprise to me. I didn't expect the soba noodles to be in a sauce with a string sesame oil consistency and taste. It was refreshing yet a bit heavier as a result. I also love the variety of fish provided with it. Overall (5/5): Disclaimer - we came here late April. But this is a gem in Pasadena that we wished we visited sooner! The lunch deals have very generous portions for the price and we were super stuffed after. We also were quite impressed with the execution of the tsukemono which looked like canned vegetables mixed with mushrooms that were pickled together for an unexpectedly rich flavor. The vibes of the establishment are modern and tasteful, and we really liked how spacious it was. Service was also solid. Overall we hope to be back to further explore the menu!

    Repeated multiple times does not disappoint. Tempura everytime…read more Also the sauce in the tokyo set for lunch/soba kaisen for dinner, is a must get. I don't even have soba/sashimi as my first choice in japanese places but this is something I must everytime I'm here. Service is actually too nice. LOL This is actually legitimate 5 stars, no inflation. Great interior too and very spacious so there is privacy without being too close to other tables. Again, shocker given how modern it is, you wouldn't expect high quality japanese food here

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    Yakiya

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    Came here for their 10-course yakiniku experience and thought it was a great way to try a variety…read moreof dishes and wagyu cuts. The course featured both A5 Japanese and American wagyu and there was a lot of attention to detail throughout the meal. We started with the wagyu tartare and hamachi and both tasted super fresh. The steamed egg with abalone was silky smooth and comforting, while the cod was rich, buttery, and fatty in the best way. I also enjoyed the fresh crudité with the red miso dip as a lighter bite in between courses. The meats were definitely the highlight. The beef tongue was thick and flavorful, and I especially liked the scallion kosho because it balanced out some of the richness. The ribeye, short rib, and chuck were beautifully marbled, and the fresh wasabi was a nice touch that complemented the meat well instead of overpowering it. We also ordered the bone marrow rice on the side and I'm glad we did. It was rich, packed with flavor, and had chunks of meat mixed throughout. Our server also brought out birthday shots poured through the bone marrow which made the experience extra fun and memorable. Finished everything off with mandarin sorbet and vanilla ice cream which was refreshing after such a rich meal. Overall a fun dining experience with quality ingredients and good service.

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    Tendon Tempura Carlos Junior - japanese - Updated August 2026

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