Torikizoku — Restaurant in Torrance

maybe I expectation was too high,but after didn’t eaten a thing whole day and a good work-out AND super craving for yakitori, this place does let me down hard. The menu is a joke, it looks like the “menu” my friend will be prepare in a house party, this is not the menu anyone will want to see in a yakitori restaurant especially in LA for sake. The choose is so so so limited, and so mediocre. I was really hungry so I decided to try it anyway, maybe the taste is beyond. But the taste is also mid. They don’t have kawa in their yakitori section, so I ordered the ponzu kawa which is not good. It even has a lot of hair on the kawa and I’m not taking about small hair, like big thick one. And it’s literally just ponzu and fried chicken skin, like ponzu you can get in any Japanese supermarket, and that’s it. The yakitori is also really really mid, everything it’s just not good. And this is when I’m super hungry but still I don’t like the food. I am just glad this time we don’t have to wait, bc the last time we were here that was a 1 hr waiting time I’m just so so glad we didn’t wait for it that time…there’s like so many good yakitori restaurants in LA and this one I’ll definitely not recommend. We left immediately and go to another yakitori place after we finished a really small amount of...

I used to love this restaurant so much that I had previously given it a 5-star rating. I’ve been here multiple times and even thought about bringing my family. But after today’s experience, I’ve changed my rating to 1 star—and I don’t see myself coming back.

We ordered around 15 items from the menu, including appetizers, small plates, and skewers. The menu was placed near the edge of the table, and a server, seemingly annoyed, moved it toward the wall. About five seconds later, the menu tipped over and knocked over a glass of beer.

What shocked me wasn’t just the accident—it was how the server handled it. They saw everything, did nothing at first, and only came back later with a few napkins. There was no apology, no offer to replace the drink, and no acknowledgment of the inconvenience.

We ended up spending around $150, and despite the poor service, felt pressured to leave a tip. Honestly, it felt like a complete waste of money.

After that, even the food didn’t taste good anymore. We left four of the skewers untouched, which never would’ve happened before.

It’s incredibly disappointing to see such a sharp decline in service from a place I once...

After a long wait, the restaurant felt very cozy. However, there was an issue with the waiting numbers on the online system—it kept switching between 3rd, 2nd, and 4th place. I'm not sure if it was a machine error or something else. We ended up trying a variety of appetizers and skewers, along with some drinks. Unfortunately, the cream sodas were sold out at the time. One of my favorite drinks was the hot tea, along with the iced green tea. The wait for the food was relatively short, but the portion sizes were a bit surprising. The presentation was nice, and the food arrived hot, though for around $8 per dish, I expected slightly larger portions. The takoyomi was good—more filling than octopus. The main highlight, however, was the skewers. They arrived together, cooked well, with a nice smoky charred flavor and a clean taste. Overall, I think this place is best for skewers, which they excel at. However, considering the wait time, it might be better suited for a casual visit with friends over drinks rather than...