The only izakaya that I regularly visit while im in town. The skewers are so good and plenty of other options. Their meat ball and chicken onion skewers are so addicting. I also recommend the butter potato. The cook behind the grill carries the restaraunt fs. Pricey but worth every dollar. Restaraunt is a bit small so you definitely want to make a reservation a few days in advance. They've served Ohtani before read more

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Right next to one of my favorite omakase spots is this amazing authentic yakitori place and it's such a gem! It feels like a clean, modern take on those classic market‑style yakitori stalls. If you sit at the bar, you can watch the single grill master working right in front of you, turning out perfectly cooked skewers one after another. Chicken seems to be the star here, with tons of different cuts and variations to try. And whatever you do, don't skip the yaki‑onigiri! Just make sure to order it early since it takes a bit longer to prepare. Overall, a fantastic spot with great vibes, great food, and an authentic yakitori experience you don't see often. A must‑try! FYI - apparently Ohtani rented out the whole restaurant a week before my arrival! read more

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Japanese izakaya place that focuses on chicken skewers. Over the food is really good, well grilled and well marinated, and service was pretty fast. All the skewer came within 10 mins after ordering. My favorite was probably the chicken meatball and buttered potatoes. But every was pretty good! The restaurant is pretty small with both tables and bar seatings, my husband and I were able to walk in without reservation on a Thursday night, but reservations are recommended as this place can get busy! read more

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Finally found a place in the US that offers raw chicken. Authentic Japanese restaurant from Japan that specializes in chicken dishes and skewers. Restaurant provides a very cozy environment perfect for a chill hangout or even a date. Expect a wait if you are trying your luck for walk-in seating as reservations are considered first. The staff, also, recommended to come after 7:30pm for the best chance at seating within a meaningful time. My group was seated within an hour after arriving after 7:30pm. Opted for their 10 course (Torimatsu) meal along with raw chicken (Sasami ponzu). Everything was absolutely made to perfection. The stars of the show were certainly the raw chicken, chicken wing skewer, chicken breast skewer, and chicken/green onion skewer. The raw chicken was very clean, flavorful, and tender. The skewers were just absolutely divine with the juices bursting at every bite. Will be returning for some more skewers and try their Yaki-Onigiri along with their Karaage. Definitely recommend! read more

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Cozy Japanese yakitori restaurant focused on chicken. Made reservations for a Friday dinner - would def recommend making reservations as it gets very busy. Place is located in a strip mall with ample parking. Was sat immediately - ordered several different yakitori pieces, as well as some rice balls. Would also recommend ordering some chicken broth as well. Both the chicken and veggies are well prepared. You can also order chicken sashimi here! I've had it a while back before and enjoyed it - but stuck with the normal yakitori today. Service is quick - and there's a decent sake selection as well. Would def come back! read more

Torimatsu - Japanese Near Me - Gardena, California

A very authentic and intimate yakitori restaurant! The chef is grilling everything in the kitchen which is in the main dining room. The skewers are very generous in portions and every thing was cooked perfectly. I was surprised at how quickly all of my food arrived. All the chicken and vegetables were plump, juicy, and tender. Nothing was over cooked. The service is very prompt and friendly. I arrived 10 minutes before opening on a weekday night and I was seated immediately at opening. It quickly got busy as the hour went on. Yaki onigiri - 5/5, my favorite item on any yakitori menu. So happy to see it on theirs and I love the crunchy exterior with grilled soy sauce flavor! Stuffed Lotus - 5/5, I love lotus root and I thought it was so unique and delicious that they stuffed ground chicken in it! Chicken tail - 5/5, Chicken giblets - 5/5, I love chicken gizzards and I'm very sorry that I missed trying the hearts here! Negima - 5/5, a classic yakitori skewer! The green onions pair really well with the chicken. Fried chicken cartilage - 5/5, if you love crunchy foods this is double the crunch! Oshinko - 4/5, generous portion of pickled vegetables. While I didn't like them all, the acidity and crunch were essential to help me finish my food as I got more full towards the end. Chicken wing - 4/5, it is exactly that but butterflyed. I would go with something else next time, but it was good! Quail egg - 4/5, standard. I wish they got grilled more. Okra - 4/5, I love grilled okra and wish they let it get more charred. But it was still very delicious! Ginkgo nut - 4/5, unique skewer to try! It's a little bitter. Eggplant - 4/5, excellent roasted flavor but I wish they cooked it marinated. We had to dip it in soy sauce. I really liked the grated ginger it was served with. Mushroom - 3/5, this was fine. Personally, not the best skewer option on the menu. read more

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TL;DR - good place for a yakitori experience, their Torimatsu course was good, and next time I'll try their chicken sashimi lol I heard this place was known for their raw chicken AFTER I left lol so maybe I'll try it next time. For this visit, I ordered the Torimatsu course which comes with 10 Yakitori skewers, salad, soup, and ice cream. Also got a few other things a la carte like their roasted egg plant and soboro-rice. Unfortunately a few of their menu options that we wanted to try were unavailable that night, like their karaage and one of their salads on their Torimatsu course. The skewers were good but didn't have that smoky aroma you'd typically expect from a yakitori restaurant. The food was otherwise tasty and we left satisfied. The service was quick (they plopped all of our skewers on two plates all at once!) and kind (our waitress gave my kid ice cream with a candle on it because it was her birthday). Overall, decent place and I'd come back! read more

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I've heard about Torimatsu for yearrrrrs. Who hasn't heard about the legendary Japanese chicken skewer place that serves raw chicken in LA? For one reason or another, I never made it out here , and FINALLY, we were able to check it out last week. We ordered the set menu, and in my opinion, the set menu items were not the best. There wasn't a single vegetable item, and there was an item like liver, which is not for everyone. I found it hard to enjoy that. One of the items, chicken in yubu, came out not cooked well, it wasn't even hot. I don't think I would've even noticed except my husband got the same skewer that was well charred and piping hot, so I could really tell the difference. The seasoning was on the mild side, so it's good if you don't want anything too salty, but it is almost bland without additional seasoning. We also added fried cartilage and the raw chicken in ponzu dish, and it was ok. I personally passed on the raw chicken, but my husband enjoyed it. Lastly, we ordered non-alcoholic beer, and the bottle was lukewarm. When we asked the waitress about it, she just gave us a glass with ice so that we could add it to the beer. The decor is old school charm, and I love the feel of traditional neighborhood yakitori-ya. Overall, I was kinda disappointed after hearing about Torimatsu for so long. I don't think I'll be back but I'm glad we finally got to try it. read more

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Back again (like a yakitori-loving Terminator)--this time with my partner, who also loves this place minus the Terminator energy, my nemesis (a.k.a. G-san, my partner's 32-year-old friend whose diet consists exclusively of chicken breast, cheese, and bread), plus his worldly brother (what happened to G-san to make his culinary repertoire as small as an American toddler???) and the brother's girlfriend. Our mission: cultural and culinary enlightenment. Our weapon: tsukune Yakitori-- still the best in the U.S., hands down. Caramelized perfection, juicy and still fluffy on the inside, slightly crisp on the outside -- like if your dependable neighborhood tough guy turned out to secretly write poetry and has received many awards...quietly, unexpected ギャップ萌え. Watching G-san bite into it was like witnessing the exact moment someone unlocks a new flavor dimension. Well...TBH, I don't know what his reaction was because I was over there, meeting Buddhas, feeling like I had reached the Pure Land, and reacquainting with my ancestors, drinking Sapporo and eating tsukune, and my favorite -- the cartilage. The Yakionigiri tho... Had blown G-san and his brother+gf away. Or at least that's what they SHOULD have felt. Rice ball heaven, if they could make a shiso miso yakionigiri with umeboshi, my life would be complete (my grandpa used to make it for us, but it's a Sendai thing, maybe?) And for my last meal, I'd definitely come here. Seeing that I'm only 30.., 頑張ってくださいw. I will become rich just to support Torimatsu. Well, not just Torimatsu, but you get my sentiment. The yakitori taisho, grilling meats and onigiri, sall the while donning a Yamamoto Dodger's jersey, in the midst of the Ohtani craze -- respect --while the music hummed softly, and for a brief moment, world peace felt achievable. Everything else -- the yakionigiri (order first, always), the atmosphere, the friendly staff (shout out to Mai-chan, who's always there when we go and serves us so efficiently and kindly)-- flawless as ever. Still worth the drive from Irvine. Still the best tsukune I've had. めっちゃ美味しかったです。またG-sanの味覚教育のために来ますw！焼き鳥食べるたびに自分のおじさん化にびっくりするけど、ほんとに軟骨おいしくて、サッポロビールとあって、幸せをかみしめてます。:) read more

It was my first time visiting today. The vibes of this restaurant felt like a more upscale yakitori without the yelling and like hole in the wall shin sen gumi gives. They season their food a lot lighter then the shin sen gumi fountain valley location I go often. My family particularly enjoyed the duck and the chicken skin. I also enjoyed the chicken thigh with green onions! I would also recommend the grilled onigiri I got the Bonito flake one! It was crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. I was sat in front of the glass but would be nice to reserve the seats on the side so you can get your skewers grill to plate (: The service was good they were pretty attentive and pleasant. The food also came out super fast but granted it was a Monday night and two other parties were there. read more

Torimatsu - Yakitori and grill - Japanese Near Me - Gardena, California

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Best yakitori place in LA. Tons of respect to the yakitori maestro! They do skewers that other yakitori won't trouble to make. Love the vibe, the service, the food, everything! read more

Torimatsu is magical. The entire staff is incredibly excellent, but especially our server. He was so nice and attentive, but not overbearing, just perfect service level. We did not have a reservation (I *highly* recommend making one) and when we called the day prior, they said we could try to stop in at opening for a table. We got very lucky because they were able to give us a table for 75 minutes - perfect! The aesthetic is simplistic chic with what I would envision a yakitori place in Japan looks like. I'll confirm for you next year after I go, lol. ;) But it was perfect! We ordered some special grilled onigiri that takes 35 minutes to prepare so all our food came out accordingly. I would imagine without this though, things would come out pretty quickly. If you belly up at the food bar, you can see the chef at work like a maniac preparing everything. Dinner and a show. You must make reservations for these seats. :P The quality of everything is incredible. We had everything from chicken wing tips, to chicken hearts, boiled chicken skin...basically all the variations of chicken can be had here. It's all so plump and tasty! I especially loved the chicken wrapped in perilla leaves, incredibly juicy and delicious. My friends and I also did have those grilled onigiris I mentioned, as well. Salmon and roe - all was so tasty. I'd definitely get those again, as well. Overall, my favorite yakitori thus far in the greater Los Angeles area. LOVED IT! Plus they have plenty of parking. read more

1. Quail egg: n/a 2. Aigamo: 3.5 3. Tebasaki (tip of chicken wing): 3 4. Tsukune (meatball): 3 5. Negi-niku (Chicken green onion): 3.5 6. Motsu (Liver): 3.5 7. Sunagimo (Giblets): 3.75 8. Sasami (chicken breast): 3.25 9. Kawa (Skin): 3.75 10. Bonbochi (Tail): 3.3 11. Tsumire (Chicken and mushroom): 2.5 12. Shiso-maki (Chicken with shiso): 2.5 13. Kitsune (Chicken with fried bean curd): 2.5 14. Stuffed lotus: n/a 15. Stuffed bell pepper: 3.75 16. Hatsu (Heart): 3.5 17. Nankotsu (Soft bone): 3.5 18. Atsuage (fried tofu):n/a 19. Ikada (Green onion):n/a 20. Shiitake: 2 21. Asparagus: 3.25 22. Shishito (Japanese peppers):n/a 23. Okra: 3.25 24. Imo-butter (potato): 3 25. Nasu (eggplant): 2 26. Mushroom: 3 Side orders 1. Dry curry: was ok. Need more curry flavor Overall food was 3.25. May need to try some of their other items. read more

Torimatsu has some of the best yakitori in all of LA, and has blown up since being featured on LA Eater as an essential South Bay restaurant. I appreciate the authentic feel of the restaurant. As you go inside, the amount of seating is very limited, so don't even bother coming with a big group. It's just not possible. As you walk in, you'll be greeted by an elderly Japanese man that is manning the binchotan grill and working hard. It's very reminiscent of eating in Japan. I think the best value is probably going for the Torimatsu course meal that includes 10 yakitori pieces, a salad, soup and ice cream. We ordered a la carte because we came with a seasoned professional and he ordered all the high value skewers. Be patient because it takes a while for the food to arrive, but they are absolutely fantastic. Come early, and come with a small group. read more

Torimatsu - Menu July 2024 - Japanese Near Me - Gardena, California

A superb dining experience! We all had the 10 skewer torimatsu course which included skewers such as chicken gizzards, liver and other delicacies. The chicken meat ball was one of my personal favorites of the bunch, and was snappy and delicious. Service was quick and friendly, and the ambiance is lively and abounding with character. I do wish they provided some carbohydrates with the meal given the pre-fixed meal (needed to pay), plus there was some confusion with my order, but otherwise it was a great experience. read more

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Torimatsu is the best yakitori restaurant. I don't eat out often, but when I do, I always come here. The yakitori is perfectly grilled, and whether you have it with sauce or just salt, everything is delicious. The service is also excellent! read more

Very good spot for Yakatori. Make a reservation ahead of time because this place does not have a lot of seating for walk ins, Seems like everyone who came had reservations. My boyfriend has dabbled in making Yakatori so he wanted to try a spot where he was not behind the grill. So glad I found this place, everything was really good! Was extremely full after we left. Would definitely make the drive to come back here again! read more

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So what's up with the waiters?? They're so rude and when you call to speak to the manager they're never there lol. They're too good for Americans or something? And the food was ridiculous over priced for a little skewers of chicken. Not worth it, save you money its just chicken and the flavor isn't unique or remotely authentic read more

I have mixed feelings about not living nearby this restaurant. I may come few times weekly if I lived closer and gain weight from eating too much! Probably a good thing it is far for me. This is the best yakitori restaurant I've tried in the States. It reminded me of being in Niseko Japan as the food and cooking are so authentic and delicious. I'm amazed how the chef can manage so many skewers and still cooked them just right. My favorite was the rice ball which had the perfect flavor and charred rice! I'm salivating just thinking about it. We were actually brave enough to try the sashimi CHICKEN! We chickened out in Osaka but ended up trying it for the first time here. It tasted like fish sashimi. We didn't get sick. We ordered way too much food and had to take some home. I say stick to the yakitori. The omakase was a good deal! read more

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I'm surprised to see so many poor reviews for service when I thought the service was as good as the delicious food! Place is small and fills up quickly but we were able to make a reservation that day. Definitely excited to go back! read more

Best yakitori. Perfectly grilled. Everything is good. Service is good. Expertise is unmatched on how each item is cooked. Not overcook. No heavy flavoring. Brings out natural flavor of chicken. read more

Pretty small space with ample seating. This place is reminiscent of the typical restaurants in Japan. There is one master griller (?) that cooks everything; you can tell he's done it for years. They use charcoal which creates that amazing aroma when you eat all the different items, and they use a sauce that's probably been around and added to for many years. I'd say the meat quality for most of the ground chicken products were pretty dry. Best was cartilage, heart (hatsu), liver, and chicken sasami ponzu. Have an open mind when eating the different types of chicken available. You won't be disappointed with the whole cuts! Course menu will get you full for sure, but I'd do the non-ground chicken a la carte. read more

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One of my favorite yakitori restaurants, with guaranteed quality and excellent service attitude. It was a great experience. Highly recommended read more

yakitori omakase they also have rare chicken breast and various exotic cuts. highly recommend! make a reservation or call early, this place books out fast! read more

Torimatsu - Japanese Near Me - Gardena, California

My first time having Yakitori. Price is reasonable. Even though the skewers are small, I left full. Just one thing if you're unfamiliar, one of the choices of skewers is all gristle. Unless you like eating chicken bubblegum, I suggest switching it out for a more traditional variety. Generally, Asians waste less of the animal than Americans, and eating gristle, tendons, cartilage, and feet is not uncommon. read more

This place specializes specifically in chicken yakitori. Everything here is chicken. The downside is you're eating only one meat. But the upside is they do it amazingly. If you're coming here with the understanding their focus is on perfecting chicken you're going to have a good time. If you want something else it's your own fault. That's not to say you can't have other things, they have other smaller items like their fantastically grilled rice ball. But don't be unreasonable and ask for beef or pork. You know it's a chicken place! Definitely some of the best chicken wing yakitori I've had. read more

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Excellent yakitori spot! I heard great things, and my experience confirmed the high reviews. This place is a legit yakitori joint that does chicken right--exactly what you'd expect with a focused menu centered around chicken. Their chicken thighs are some of the best I've had, and while the chicken skin isn't the absolute best, it's still among the top in Southern California--where, frankly, great yakitori is hard to find outside of Japan. The downside is the limited menu, but what they do serve is excellent. Also, they no longer take reservations, so it can be hit or miss for seating, especially with large parties. That said, I've always managed to get in without issues. If you're craving quality Japanese skewers, you've got to try this place! read more

Enjoyed a wonderful yakitori dinner here. Very authentic and good service. The fried cartilage was amazing as were all the grilled items we enjoyed. read more

Very good place to get yakitori Ordered the Torimatsu course and few extra skewers All the skewers were delicious. Favorite skewers was the duck and chicken breast. The chicken breast skewer was super simple and very juicy. The green onion salad was a tad strong but I liked the dressing. The dessert at the end was some sor of yuzu sorbet which was delicious. It does take a while to get the next skewer but it's understandable because it's only one person grilling. Overall a very good experience. Prices are similar to other yakitori place but I would come here instead because they use binchotan instead of ogatan. I would recommend make reservations in advance because we saw a few parties try to walk in and the estimated wait time was 2hrs. read more

Had the 10 course menu and everything was so delicious! I've been to some other yakitori places around Gardena but Torimatsu has a more traditional and authentic feel. The chef's been there for over 25 years and he really takes his time to preparing the yakitori, and he grilled the rice ball for nearly 20 minutes to get it perfectly charred and crunchy. read more

Been here two time and both times the food was great the staff were friendly and helpful service was good even with a full house and only two servers. Their coffee sundae ice cream was so good definitely a try. read more

We called about two weeks ahead to make a reservation for a party of 4 for a Friday evening. On the day of our reservation, two of us arrived on time however the other half of our party was stuck in traffic - they kindly sat us and we just ordered some drinks while we waited for the rest of our group. I ordered the 10 skewer omakase and I thought the skewers came out at a good pace. It's nice because they bring a 2 or 3 at a time so they're all still warm. We really liked the atmosphere and didn't feel rushed to finish our meal - well at least not by the staff. We could see how many people were trying to do a walk up so we didn't want to take up their table too long. Although the staff took their time to tell us what skewers they were giving us - I was too caught up in the moment to take photos of all of it or write it down. They did say the omakase skewer options change regularly. I do recall my favorite though - it was the chicken in perilla leaf. We also ordered the grilled onigiri - we were absolutely stuffed. read more

the best yakitori , trust me ...... good luck getting a seat , they are always booked for obvious reasons read more

I spotted this place after a massage in the same plaza and saw several different groups of Japanese business men walking in for a after work drinks or dinner. Anyone who has traveled to Japan knows that yakitori is a very popular spot for the businessmen after work for drinking and snacking. I wasn't too hungry but I just had to try it out. The place is small but felt very authentic. There are a few tables and a bar where you can watch the yakitori master at work. If you have choice or a small party, definitely sit at the bar to watch the skewers being cooked on the grill which authentic bincho charcoal. Bincho charcoal is higher quality and what they use in Japan at the legit yakitori joints. It provides a better flavor to the meats and veggies on the grill. They have ala carte options or an omakase set with 10 chef's selected skewers of the day. I ordered just a few skewers to try plus a yaki onigiri with pickled plum. Everything was great and I definitely will be back to try the omaskase set next time. My favorite today was the shiso-maki (chicken with shiso/perilla leaf). I also tried the stuffed lotus root, negi-niku, and the kitsune (chicken in deep fried tofu skin). Everything was great....served hot directly from the chef! It's hard to find authentic yakitori comparable to Japan in the states. This spot comes close and according to the menu, there is also another location in Shinbashi Tokyo Japan. This place is legit!!!!! read more

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If you love Yakitori like us This place is very good, sometimes it can get busy because it's a small spot so the food may come out slow at times but for us it's well worth it . Close to the 110fwy read more

First time here. You need a reservation. I got the torimatsu course along with a few more item. Everything was really good. Unfortunately one of the skewers was still bleeding, but it's all good. My experience here was amazing. The staff is great, the food is delicious,plenty of parking. I will definitely come back again! read more

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I've been here twice! Overall I think this is a pretty good restaurant - I think some of the skewers are hit or miss but maybe because we did the Omakase next time we'd order what we preferred. I'm docking down a star because there is a lady who was quite rude to us (explained below) the second time I came here. //CONTEXT// First time I came here with my Japanese speaking friend who made a reservation and we got bar seating for two. I recommend you calling and making a reservation 2 weeks out or so. They seem to turn down walk-ins. Second time I came here with my boyfriend. //SERVICE// I'll start with the service first. The first time around service was fantastic! They were nice and cordial, and originally we had a table and asked for the bar and they said if we could finish in 1.5 hours then they could seat us there. Amazing. Second time around, I originally made a reservation but I didn't realize I put it under my boyfriends name and phone number. So when I walked in and told them we had a reservation for 2 under my phone number they said they didn't have it. They said they'd put us on a waiting list. I asked them if I could see the reservation list to confirm they didn't put down my information incorrectly. The lady was rude and said "NO that is private information" and rudely brushed me off. My boyfriend and I walked back to our car to wait for our waiting table, we get a call from them on my boyfriends phone number and that's why I wanted to check the list (although our fault for forgetting). Anyways the way she handled it was extremely rude and throughout the experience left a bitter taste. //FOOD// We did the Omakase which is a chicken skewer Omakase! I think the first half was super tasty, but the tail-end I feel like it wasn't extremely memorable. The chicken started to become very dry! I highly recommend their chicken sashimi in ponzu! It is so tasty! I do think you should write down what you like because then you can order a la carte next time. Their rice ball plum cake was decent but maybe because I'm not a huge fan of rice balls but it's cool it was smoked on the charcoal. //OVERALL// I'd probably come back to have friends experience the raw chicken and omakase - but the service turned me off a bit. read more

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One of the most authentic Japanese Yakitori spots in the Southland and possibly even in the US! All the employees who work there are Japanese, the vibe inside feels like a classic outdated Tokyo restaurant, and the food is fantastic! There was a wait on a Friday night even after 9pm so you knew it was going to be good! The place inside is pretty small. I'd imagine you couldn't sit more than maybe 25-30 people total if you're using all chairs. Anyways, all the skewers we tried were delicious! I'd 100% return if in the area! 戻ります! ありがと! read more

Amazing place. Very small and intimate. The food is superb. The lotus root stuffed with chicken and the shiso leaves stuffed with chicken are worth a trip. Chicken meatballs are top notch. Chicken liver is also very good. A very nice selection of sake at reasonable prices. They have a 300ml of Kubota Manju Junmai Daijingo for only $55. Service is friendly and professional. Very reasonably priced. Food was $80 for 2 and we ate quite a bit. This is a very small and popular place where groups often linger. Reservations are a must. read more

Torimatsu is as good as Yakitori can get really not just in U.S. standards but even in Japan standards. Torimatsu is a well known restaurants for the chefs, even the most well known Nakazawa san from Sushi Sho (Mentor for many of the best Sushi chefs in Japan) have dined at this restaurant. Shoji san is just pure legendary and only term that can define his form is, shokunin ship. He is the master at this craft and he has done this yakitori craft more than most people have been born. He is some what a sort of a Jedi when it comes to Yakitori. I myself particularly do not favor a single type of cuisine nor style of cooking. I just care for one thing which is energy and how the energy is transformed and converted. I love to eat food that was prepared at the time of cooking using the best quality ingredients but simplicity that brings the most complex umami. It happens to be mostly simple Japanese cuisine such as: Sushi, Soba, Tempura, and Yakitori and such. I have dined at this restaurant for the last decade probably close to once or twice a week. I can say every time the experience was just incredible as if I'm transported to the world of Shoji's philosophy and his art of simplicity but complexity. The flavor profile is just mild blowing to see how he can transform such a simple ingredient into something so delicate and special. I would say his appetizer and other side dishes apart from the Yakitori are amazing as well. Such as dry curry, cha soba, and torizosui. I'm happy to be in such a city with such an amazing legendary chef Shoji san. read more

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