Sawtelle, LA｜The Most Absurd Yakitori Experience Ever 💣

An experience from last month… One evening in Sawtelle’s Little Osaka, every restaurant had a line. Not wanting to wait, we randomly walked into this empty spot called Yakitoriya. And then… The skewers themselves were actually pretty good—the chicken was juicy and flavorful. The only letdown was the shiitake skewer, which was way too dry. But here’s the catch: 1️⃣ If service matters to you, skip this place. The whole restaurant is run by a husband-and-wife team (chef + server). As more customers trickled in, they were completely overwhelmed. We ordered 18 skewers total (9 each) and it took almost 2 hours to get through them all. 2️⃣ They enforce a minimum spend and require everyone to order a drink—even water costs $5 per person 💧… A bit ridiculous, honestly. 3️⃣ You can’t choose your seat—even if the restaurant is empty, you have to sit where the owner tells you. Rules are rules, I guess 🫠 📍 Check their Yelp reviews—they tell a similar story. If you have zero expectations for service and plenty of time to kill, you could give it a try for the food alone. But personally, my goodwill vanished during the endless waiting… One skewer, wait 10+ minutes… another skewer, wait again… ask for anything, wait even longer… #DinnerTonight #LAEats #Yakitori #LAFoodExplorer #LALife #LAYakitori #ServiceFail