LA｜Neighborhood Japanese Spot

Azuma Japanese Restaurant — a humble street-side Japanese eatery in Gardena. By just past 6 PM, the place was already packed. We snagged the last four seats at the counter. It’s an open kitchen, and we watched three Mexican chefs working non-stop, tickets covering the wall, woks steaming—turns out “Azuma” is run by three Mexican uncles. 😄 The menu is pretty varied—yakitori, chazuke, and other izakaya-style dishes. Ingredients looked fresh. We ordered: 🍤 Tempura Rice Bowl ($17) 🍱 Tempura & Grilled Fish Combo ($27) 🐂 Beef Tongue Skewer ($9.50) Everything was decent but not outstanding—solid homestyle Japanese food. Sitting near the pass, we noticed the Teriyaki Beef & Sashimi Combo was a popular order—the beef is flame-grilled, so it draws a crowd. Verdict: A comforting, casual meal, but not worth a special trip. Lots of positive reviews on Yelp and Google though. Parking is easy—lot behind the restaurant. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ #JapaneseFood #JapaneseCuisine #LAEats #LAJapanese#LADiscovery #HomestyleEats #GardenaEats #IzakayaVibes