Tamaen Reserve — Restaurant in Lomita

I had the pleasure of visiting Tamaen Japanese BBQ with a friend on Thanksgiving Day, and it was hands down one of the best Japanese BBQ experiences I’ve ever had. The service was fast and attentive, making the experience even more enjoyable.

We paired tasty BBQ meats with cold beer, which was a perfect combination. While we loved everything we ordered, the American Wagyu outside skirt (特上ハラミ), intestine (“TECCHAN” テッチャン), and tripe (“JO-MINO” 上ミノ) were the standout items. For those unfamiliar with intestine and tripe, they might sound intimidating, but here they were incredibly fresh with no unpleasant odor at all. We appreciated the option to choose between salt or miso-marinated sauces for TECCHANN & JO-MINO , and we loved them so much we ended up reordering these dishes three times. It’s a treat we can’t easily find in our area.

Everything was absolutely worth the price. Highly recommend Tamaen to anyone looking for authentic and delicious...

Everything about their wagyu is utterly amazing. It's so so buttery that it just melts in your mouth... the meat is so tender and the cuts are just amazing. Come here for a culinary experience. You won't be stuffed, but you can be satisfied (plus it leaves room for dessert! ;)). My favorite is actually the wagyu set on the wooden platform tray they serve it on. I actually think one tray is good for 3 people to try since there are 3 ish pieces on each section. This allows you to try other things in their menu. I highly recommend the shiso rice - it's so good and fluffy! Yes, this place is pricy, but you are here for high quality meat, not the cheaper meat that is designed to be AYCE.

Service is sometimes hit or miss when I'm here, hence the 3 stars. In addition, the ventilation in here is not great. It gets smoky which is really weird in a BBQ place... would think ventilation would've been better with their experience.

Easy...

So we were on the hunt for an independent steakhouse. Looking around the area we found The Steak Library. Menu looked good online so that's where we ended up. It did seem strange that we ended up in a strip mall, but decided to walk through the door anyway. I am so glad we did. We entered this quaint chill and relaxed vibe little place that had the bar & kitchen in the back and intimate seating along the side. One of the 1st impressive things this place offers is several drying chambers holding cuts of beef for in house aging. Very Cool. We were greeted by the GM Makoto and we're taken to our table. We received menus and a drink list. Makoto and his staff were very knowledgeable & helpful in answering all of our questions. Once we figured out our wine selection, we started out with the...