FuRaiBo — Restaurant in Los Angeles

We've been patronizing the Gardena location going on a decade. Their signature wings have always been a go-to for my family. During the last few visits we noticed a change in service. As a small local eatery it's easy to develop regulars and wait staff can show differential treatment to certain patrons. I'm only sharing our experience with the Gardena location as the treatment was not an isolated incident. Small parties are often overlooked or ignored for larger groups. The expectations are that they will order more which would translate to greater gratuity. We were saddened that this is practiced at Gardena. We left work starved after a long shift and craved the wings. Traffic was light and we arrived 20 minutes prior to opening so we waited patiently. A crowd gathered of regulars as the people who arrived later kept waving at the waitress through the window. Once inside we were told to sit anywhere. We took the closest table and waited and waited and waited and waited some more. Regardless of arriving first the regulars were attended to promptly and their orders were already hitting the table before we could order. When we were able to order we eagerly asked for multiple servings of the wings, drinks and a side dish. We noticed an odd expression from the waitress whom stated that if a larger group arrives we would be relocated to smaller table to accommodate new customers. As the dining area is quite small we were able to over hear that they did not state the same request of the other diners. We took the statement with a grain of salt and waited for our food. Dirty dishes and utensils were provided. Dried food was still on the bowls and spoons. We placed them aside to be exchanged. 20 mins passed and we finally saw that the wings were being fried as it was an expo kitchen it was easy to follow the action. Rows of plates were being prepared and destined to tables seated after us. Long story short the 2 waitresses working never asked to refill our drinks, never asked if we wanted to order more food as the initial portions were very small. We had to wave our arms to ask for the check. When I had the opportunity I asked the waitress as to why we were ignored and passed over dispite being first to arrive. She did not offer an intelligent explanation and was mostly silent until she decided to be argumentative as to being overwhelmed and only being a staff of 2. How overwhelmed can you be just opening and we were the first couple sat. Sorry for the long story but diner beware!!! Luckily they aren't the only restaurant to offer this type of food. Honestly the wings were the only consistently edible items. The yakitori, steak sets were usually over done and under seasoned, and the halibut always seems to be out of stock. Needless to say we have decided to patronize other venues. Come for the wings not for the service. If you do please come as a large group to receive better service. Good...

·         Free parking in the small lot behind the building. Otherwise street parking. ·         Cramped interior with table seats and limited bar seats. Unclear if traditional kneeling seats require a reservation. Decorations are Japanese ·         Recommended – FURAIBO'S SPECIALTY CHICKEN TEBA-SAKI (wings). Sweet flavor and mild flavor are excellent. Wings come crispy outer and juicy inner, perfect with a beer. Chicken ramen unremarkable except the torched chicken for BBQ flavor. Curry Udon was thick and pleasant J, unclear if house made or packaged curry ·         Restrooms are single occupant for male and female. Accessed through a maze-like path. Male restroom smells like urine, but looks clean.

Parking is validated for the small lot, but otherwise free. Other parking options is street parking, which is difficult during peak hours (ALWAYS OBEY THE STREET SIGNS, generally no parking in the neighborhood).

The interior looks cramped with notably lantern lamps hanging from the ceiling. I can’t decide if it feels dated or traditional. All the furnishings were black which may reduce the amount of cleaning staff would need to complete. Additional seating was sequestered in a corner, but it was for kneeling seating (no shoes allowed).

The menu offers a variety of food. We ordered the house chicken wings, chicken udon (seasonal? New item?), and a curry udon. The MVP of the meal was the chicken wings because of value and taste. The chicken is perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy in the center. The sweetness and mild spice were perfect in intensity, like lightly honeyed wings and black peppered wings. American style wings taste like candy coated and jalapeno-tossed, in comparison. We did not order accompanying beer, though it would have been an excellent pairing. The ramen was unremarkable other than the torched or grilled chicken has a coal-cooked flavor and aesthetic. The udon also was standard quality, and it is unknown how the curry was made. Nonetheless the udon was enjoyable.

You have to snake around the center seating area to reach a corner for the gender-specific restrooms. The male restroom was single occupant, and it was large. Probably could have fit a barnyard sink and 3 urinals as well as a toilet. The restroom also smelled like urine, it is unclear how well the restrooms are cleaned. No comment on the female restrooms.

Overall, the experience exceeded expectations. I would definitely return to satisfy my chicken...

I rarely leave reviews, but I felt compelled to share my experience this time. Japanese restaurants are generally known for their warm hospitality and attentive service, unfortunately that was not the case here. The food was just okay, but the service was surprisingly rude.

A middle-aged female server rushed us while taking our order and spoke to us in a very harsh tone. Later, we found that our yakitori eggplant was undercooked and still raw, so we politely mentioned it to a man who wasn’t in uniform (I assume he was either the manager or the owner). Instead of handling it professionally, he replied rudely“So what do you want? Cancel or redo?” as if we were the ones being unreasonable. We asked nicely for it to be redone, and he took the plate without another word.

We then waited over 15 minutes, and the eggplant never came back. By the time we asked again, the dish was only brought out after the check was already printed. At that point, we asked for it to be cancelled.

A young female server helped check the bill — her service was neutral, not particularly bad or good. But overall, the attitude from the staff gave me the impression that they don’t really care about customer experience, nor do they seem to want customers to come back.

Very disappointing service. I won’t be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend this place if you’re looking for the usual warm, respectful Japanese...