TORACHAN JAPANESE BBQ

I came here with my friend that's working in town, this was the closest to the area we were in. I'm not sure how new this place is but it's such a cute restaurant, that has an authentic vibe. Our server was very attentive, she made sure that we were very taken care of.The food was amazing, we got the Wagyu option, it is pricey but between two people it was enough! Super filling, melts in your mouth, delicious! We did substitute the tongue for more short rib.

We decided to come here for Valentine's Day which ended up being the best idea. Started off with a pint of Asahi to go with our meats and a glass of plum sake which I really recommend if you like sweet drinks as much as I do! Protein wise I preferred the High Quality Salted Tongue over the High Quality Salted Cube Cut Tongue, just because the thinner slices were perfect texture but if you prefer a fattier texture then get the cube cut for sure (both were delicious) . The Beef Tartar was amazing as well, you just know those hens ate good because I haven't seen such a rich tasty egg yolk in so long. Pro tip get the Fried Garlic & Wrapping Lettuce (from the appetizer section) to eat with your Japanese BBQ! No complaints at all about these two, they were the most perfect pieces of lettuce given plus the garlic being soft inside and crispy outside was the cherry on top. The A5 Wagyu Short Rib really set the bar high starting off. Marbling was impressive and super tender. Next we had the American Wagyu - High Quality Outside Skirt also tender plus not too fatty! The Temaki Sushi was yummy too, a great change of pace dish for us. We had the American Wagyu - Coulotte and the leaner side tasted great but the fatty part was too chewy for us. For our soup we got their popular Oxtail soup(with udon), and I'm not kidding when I said I would come back just for this soup alone as hangover cure because it was just that good(didn't even get a picture b/c it was gone too quick). For our last protein we had their American Wagyu - High Quality Top Blade. That cut was even better than the short rib we started with. From the marbling to the texture, it is definitely on top. For our dessert we had their tiramisu which is now a core memory for me. No exaggeration, you cannot leave without trying this. The bottom was a sweet creamy warm custard (I'm assuming), with a chill soft light and fluffy layer on top. As a sweets lover and tiramisu enthusiast it was unexpectedly one of my now top favorites! We were given roses for Valentine's Day and hot tea to wash down our meal which was very sweet and thoughtful. Speaking of that, our servers were amazing and attentive. Even though it was super busy, there were enough servers attending to all the customers efficiently. They have an efficient yelp reservation and waitlist system which I recommend if you don't want to wait. The interior is kept clean and the ambiance was very casual for a nice dinner date! Overall me and my girlfriend would come back because food & service was 10/10!!!

Amazing meat and service!!! I was excited to try this new Japanese BBQ place. I typically prefer Japanese BBQ as the portions are smaller so I can easily enjoy a large variety of meats. Came by on a Saturday night with a reservation. The restaurant was pretty full later so it seems like reservations are needed on weekends but the servers said weekdays are still slow (as of early 2025) The beef tongue was the SOFTEST TASTIEST tongue I've had!! We also had a variety of wagyu meats and some were melt-in-your-mouth while some were super meaty and tasty, all were amazing in their own way. For drinks, they had Premium Malts on draft which is still rare around here so I loved that. There were only two servers for the whole restaurant which is A LOT of work, I'm super grateful for the quick and professional service they had. Looking forward to coming back soon!!!

Saw this place pop up on social media so I decided to give it a try. I had reservations here so we got seated right away, but the restaurant wasn't too overbooked, so I think we would have been okay if we didn't have reservations. The restaurant is located in a plaza, so there's ample free parking. The staff was really friendly and explained the menu to us. We ended up ordering 3 different cuts of meat and their oxtail soup. Everything was really good, I especially loved their oxtail soup since it was my first time ever trying this dish and it really made a lasting impression on me. The meats were also really good, super tender but beware that you might burn it since you have to cook it yourself. We thought that we didn't receive a plate of meat since we ordered 3 meats, but only received 2 dishes. When we explained that to the waiter, he came back with the plate of meat and said it was on the house for having not explained the items on the plate to us. We really appreciated the hospitality and consideration of the staff. Overall, I had a great experience here. They also had a fun membership for kids. It's a bit on the pricier side but you can really taste the quality of the meats, so I'd definitely come here again for a special occasion or if I was in the area.

Love the lunch set menu here, each dish you order comes with side dishes such as Miso soup, kimchi, rice, and salad. What a great deal!

My husband and I had a date night here last night and it was so good! I initially made a reservation at a different Japanese BBQ place in Lomita, but when I saw how far it was (from Manhattan Beach) I searched for a closer spot and found Torachan. Now, it's a little confusing because this restaurant also operates under the name Ogawatei (signage also says Ogawatei) but tbh they can call themselves whatever they want- the food is excellent. I think this might be the first time my husband and I have ever done Japanese BBQ surprisingly (we are Korean BBQ lovers) but something about Japanese BBQ is so clean-tasting- not heavily marinated, just high-quality, tasty meat.We ordered 3 different meats- a tongue, skirt steak, and a Japanese wagyu- and all were soo good. Each serving is a 4oz portion, and 3 servings were more than enough for the 2 of us. We also ordered a garlic rice that was served in a hot stone bowl, and assorted kimchi- the kimchi was so good we ordered another.I highly recommend this restaurant. They weren't extremely busy, but it also could have been because we had an early reservation- this restaurant could either be an easy date-night spot, dinner w/ friends, or even a night out with family. There was only 1 waitress serving all the tables and she deserves recognition. This restaurant reminds me of restaurants in Tokyo- clean, efficient, and delicious!

We came here for my bf's birthday, and I will say, we had an amazing time here and will definitely be back! Food, atmosphere, service and the people were 10/10. First of all, the food. Everything was super high quality. You definitely get what you pay for here. (These may not be the exact names since I forgot to take pictures of the menu) We got:-the kimchi platter-assorted side dishes-original beef tar tar (comes with sashimi-like slices with egg yolk on top)-premium beef tongue-regular beef tongue-beef shoulder-something that started with a ch-pork cheek-garlic rice (comes with soup, kinda reminds me of an ochazuke style)Our favorite was the premium beef tongue. I feel like it was totally worth paying the extra $10 for the premium beef tongue. My biggest tip would be to ask for a bowl of lemon, because lemon juice on the premium beef tongue is a game changer. My second favorite dish would probably be the original beef tar tar, then the shoulder which was super tender.Service was phenomenal. Super helpful with recommendations, I couldn't decide which drink to get, and the server helped me choose the Yuzu Chu-Hi, which I liked the best. My bf got a freshly squeezed lemon sour, and on tap, they had malt beer. Service was pretty quick too!They also gave us free ice cream for my bf's birthday! And the table behind us was so sweet in wishing my bf a happy birthday, and brought a very enthusiastic atmosphere! Super friendly people here!

I've never eaten meat as delicious as this. I'm still thinking about how tender and buttery it was. If you're not willing to spend at least $100, stay home. Come here prepared to invest in the best wagyu steaks you've ever grilled. Their house made kimchi is delicious and perfect.

Ambiance: this new Japanese bbq restaurant has replaced the previous TamaenService: very friendly and attentively refilled water, but so lack of knowledge with their menu and food, and basically had to check with the kitchen for almost all questions Food & Drink: standard Japanese bbq items, with daily and monthly speciality High Quality Salted Tongue - ***** premium quality, tender and juicy meat, highly recommend A5 Chuck Short Rib Wagyu - **** Sukiyaki style, very tasty with egg yoke, fatty and melting in your mouth, recommend Seafood Pancake Ogawatei Special - *** average taste Shiitake Ogawatei Special - * not so good as ingredients for bbq, it got burnt easily outside and still undercooked inside Green Salad - ** lettuce and cucumbers with soy sauce Matcha Ice Crema - *** light taste Sprite - *** canned drinkPrice: small portions and pricey, expect $50+ per person for a light meal

The food was good but I don't think it's worth it for the price.The premium salted tongue and beef tartar were so delicious. I would order that again. The a5 wagyu short rib was $37 and you get six small slices. I would not order that again. The pork cheek and cold noodles were good. Also got a pitcher of asahi for $30.