Restaurant Amachi — Restaurant in Whittier

I'm writing this review as someone who cannot stand teriyaki sauce. This place prepares mostly that, so my rating is partially based on the small menu, but due to my bias, I cannot review the teriyaki itself.

The restaurant is arranged with booths lining the walls, and some tables in the center. There is an unused pastry case and room dividers blocking off a third of the dining room, but they are decorated with family photos of patrons, which is very sweet.

Staff greeted us and seated us right away. Service during both our visits was sincere and timely. I got the feeling that the staff enjoy working there.

The meal starts with miso soup and an iceberg lettuce salad. Delightful to see these days as complimentary appetizers become scarce.

What my spouse and I have ordered across two visits: Beef sukiyaki: Distractingly sweet. Not sure if this is typical sukiyaki. Beef was tender.

Chicken kushi: Despite googling this and ordering with confidence, I got surprise teriyaki or teriyaki-adjacent sauce. Good cook on the chicken, though. To go with their beer selection, I would love to see karaage as an option.

Fried tofu: Straight forward, but a good deal for $5. There may have been a dipping sauce on the side that made the combination similar to agedashi tofu.

Veggie tempura: Good variety of vegetables, great crunch.

Curry katsu: Pretty standard fare. Good crunch on chicken, familiar curry taste, though a little too sweet.

Again, most of the combos and entrees involve teriyaki sauce. It would be nice to offer more variety, like vegetables, different sauces, or soba/udon-based dishes. Shishito, mushrooms, and bell pepper could make great...

I love Amachi, I'm not ashamed to say it. There are few restaurants I can say that about. So let me tell you why.

It's a small, quaint, family style restaurant, much like like those I encountered as a teacher in Japan. It is highly recognized within the Whittier community. The prices have always been respectable. A top quality meal for around the same price as many fast food burger meals. The food is consistently flavorful and traditional American Japanese food. The hosts have always been friendly. Though the menu doesn't change much, and is more limited than you might find at other commercially owned Japanese restaurants, the selection is really good. I ate here several times a month with my buddy for years. I've eaten Japanese food from restaurants all across Japan, and here in LA. County, and though it can be a bit busy, its small and hidden away off the street, and they have strange hours, it's still my favorite. It's one of those places I hesitate reviewing, because the selfish side of me would rather have fewer people know about it.

PARKING:

Amachi is located off Green Street in a little side pavilion beside Mimo's Cafe. You can not see it from the street. Parking is in the rear across from Amachi where a little alley passes. You access the city parking from Comstock Avenue.

UNUSUAL HOURS:

They are closed on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday they are open for lunch, then close and reopen a few hours later for dinner. Friday to Sunday they are only...

Amachi Restaurant oh how I truly enjoy visiting you. I crave your delicious entrees that consist of freshly battered Veggie/Shrimp tempura to the freshly sliced Tuna sashimi. Along with every combo comes an endless rice bowl (you'll be surprise just how much rice you can consume). I usually start my dinner off with an order of the pork dumpling along with a order of sashimi. For my main course my main go to is the short ribs and tempura combo. From the rice to the salad all the way down to the complementary miso soup, you can taste the traditional Japanese flavors. Thank God there is a place that exist like this literally a block away from home.

Lastly my daughter loves it so much all she ever...