Musha Restaurant
Categories: Japanese, Asian Fusion [Edit]
Neighborhood: Torrance1725 W Carson St
Ste B
Torrance, CA 90501 (310) 787-7344
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 6:00 p.m.-11:30 p.m.
Sun 6:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner, Late Night
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
101 Reviews for Musha Restaurant
Craft. Lucques. Foundry. What's common on their tasting menus? Pork belly! Pork belly! Pork belly!
But, do you want the best pork belly? Nope, it's not top chef people. It's Musha. That's right. Don't miss this one. Slow cooked to be sooo tender, sweet sensational broth, and mixed with a dap of sweet hot mustard on the side. Amazing. Talk about luscious mouthful....
Musha is one of my favorite places in LA. The pork belly is enough for 5 stars. Haven't been? I will not lead you wrong, my friend. You're going to want to pork that pork belly. It's that sexilicious.
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Oh, yes.
I love izakaya restaurants, even more so after venturing off to Japan, so I jumped at the chance to eat here, especially because it meant being reunited with an old friend that I hadn't seen in years.
Whether it was nostalgia that filled the room or just the sweet, sweet delicious pork belly, I'll never know, but DAMN does Musha make one hell of a pork belly. Those that know me know I love anything pork or pork related, so this was definitely the highlight of the meal. Though I'm mentioning it here first, it was actually the last dish we got. You know you've had a good night when your dessert is some goddamn pork belly.
We also tried the fried chicken (awesome), the grilled chicken (also awesome) and the gyu ponzu (great presentation - the taste was slightly lacking), we also got the udon with mussels, some yellowtail sashimi (which, as has been promised to me by other Yelpers, was fucking amazing), and a spicy rice dish that was also good.
Yes, every single thing was good, and I'm guessing everything else on the menu is good as well.
And there was beer.
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I live in OC, so when my friends from LA want to meet in the middle, Musha is the place for me. Izakaya style format, this is a great little restuarant to throw a few beers back and to enjoy really well put together japanese fusion-type dishes. I suggest the beef tongue, rice risotto, and the butakakuni or "simmered pork belly" with spicy mustard (read the other reviews about how good this really is). All of the dishes go well with a pitcher of Kirin or sake. Not uncommon to see a group getting their drink on, espc. on weekends. The staff is very friendly and attentive. Reservation helps but not always needed.
PS. Big ups to the BLACK TEA ICE CREAM Musha has for dessert! Disclaimer: This is a personal favorite of mine. Most of my friends give me weird looks after they taste it but that just means more for me! Maybe you have to be Japanese to appreciate it??? "\-_-/"
Let's be truthful. Anyone who has eaten in Tokyo will admit this place is no match. Other reviewers don't know real Japanese food. The "yaki-udon" was not "yaki" at all. Yaki means to cook the noodles in a wok after they were boiled. This place put the boiled noodles on a plate with some onions. Not yaki-udon at all. Also, most portions were small and most food was tasteless.
The best part was the pitcher of Kirin draft for $12.
First of all, I hear that the Musha restaurant in Torrance offers more of an authentic experience than its sister location in Santa Monica.
So, now onto this great place in Torrance. I really enjoyed the food, although I didn't order any of it myself. My friend who lived in Tokyo for 3 years and a japanese food purist took me here and did all the ordering. We had the pumpkin dip, musha house special salad with crab, the grilled steak with ponzu sauce. It was all really good and wouldn't mind ordering it all again. The price is pretty good for the good quality of food as well. Would definitely go back, especially to try more of the great stuff that's on the menu.
You know how after a big meal, and you have a lot of gas, you can taste what you ate when you burp?
It's disgusting.
(You: "WTF kinda intro to a 5-star review is this?)
Well I just burped. And it was tasty.
Where can you eat and have tasty burps afterwards? Musha.
We got here around 6:30pm, and it was shockingly empty. After studying the (entertainingly witty) menu, we ordered 3 dishes, and they came about 5 minutes later. I can't for the life of me remember the names, but each and every single one was like nothing I had tasted before. I was blown away.
After the 1st round we agreed that we were only 40% full. So we ordered 2 more. Then thought the waitress would think we're fatasses, but who gives a damn.
Ended up paying almost 30 bucks per person, but it was worth every penny.
Mmm, burps.
Verdict: no wait + amazing Japanese tapas = culinary orgasm. 5 stars.
Tip: come early, even if your wife is giving birth. Just eat fast - she'll understand if you tell her you're going to Musha.
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this japanese izakaya tapas bar has definitely hit the top of my favorite japanese restaurants list. Musha is located in the same plaza as Kappo Seafood & is right by a Japanese video store. once you walk in, you enter a cozy ambience with dim-lighting, modern japanese decorations & music. it's basically one big room with a couple of booth tables, a few small tables w/ chairs (each table has its own set of condiments & napkins), a sushi bar/counter with one sushi chef, one large communal table w/ a long comfy bench (you have to pull your foot over in order to get in/out), a kitchen w/ a window in which you can watch the chef prepare the dishes, and a men's & women's bathroom which was very clean & still had a nice vibe & atmosphere with the low-lighting & japanese decorations.
customer service was very friendly and nice. there was a total of three waiters (they all look young & a little off topic, but i couldn't help, but notice how cute they were) & one waitress who was nice&attentive.
my friend & i came in early to avoid a wait (exactly 6 pm). we were seated at one of the tables & given a menu. it was difficult to decide what to order because every dish was so appealing, but we eventually decided on the buta kimchee, yaki udon & lobster roll w/ some hot green tea.
one downside of our meal was that the dishes took literally twenty minutes until they arrived! we can understand if the long wait was because of all the customers, but since we came in early, there were only two tables full (one being our table)! i guess they felt that the preparation time was ridiculously long too so they brought over a free appetizer to apologize! yay! the appetizer was the Kabocha Squash Dip that came with some saltine crackers. it looked rather ordinary, but oh, the taste was something else! the cold, yellow dip was so creamy, it melted in my mouth! when we ran out of crackers, we were given more! it was so delicious!
our orders finally came:
- the buta kimchee: tender slices of pork w/ mushrooms, kimchee, in soy sauce & sesame oil accompanied by a dollop of mayonaisse. every bite was so memorable w/ a kick of spiciness from the kimchee!
- the yaki udon: my favorite of the night! it was a generous portion of udon, different kinds of mushrooms, scallions, pork slices, ginger, seaweed & preserved greens. ohhh, it was heavenly! the best part was the texture of the noodles, it was soft on the outside & had a firmness in the core. how do they do it?? how did they make it so delicious that i've become addicted to this dish? EAT AT YOUR OWN RISK. it will become an untamed obsession.
- the lobster roll: disappointing. the lobster roll came out to be 6 tiny rolls of lobster, cucumber & avocado wrapped in a soy paper with some sesame seeds. the lobster was bland, the soy paper was too thick & hard for my liking & all i tasted was wasabi (you can't see it, but they put it in the roll!) definitely not worth the $7.
in total of three entrees, a drink, & a FREE appetizer, the bill came out to be around $27. i thought every cent was well worth it! (except the lobster roll...)
my STRONG recommendations: the Kabocha Squash Dip! the YAKI UDON! & the BUTA KIMCHEE!
avoid: the lobster roll.. (since every dish was beyond superb, the lobster roll will not be part of my rating for Musha)
during our meal, there was a haze of smoke (from the grill at other tables) that completely filled the room. the strong, delicious smell of the grilled meat was soooooo good! that will definitely be a dish to try for our next visit! which will be very very soon!
**reservations are highly recommended unless if you arrive when the minute they open (6 pm)!
---edit//
i found out that Musha's "specialty dish" is their takotama: "like a noodle omelette, it includes eggs & flour mixed with octopus, red ginger, shiitake mushrooms, and green onions with pan fried noodles in between"! wow, another dish i must try! i can't wait!
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Ebi Mayo Mayo. Order it. Enjoy it. Never look back or more importantly, never look at your waistline again.
This is izakaya at its finest. You have cold drinks, hot sake and plenty of good food. To be clear, izakaya is to the Japanese what tapas are to the Spaniards. Small appetizers to enjoy while you eat. Located near all the Japanese corporate offices this place is perfect for the workers who are relocated for their job. Izakaya is there to serve as a place to go after work to get some drinks and get some food. Unwind before you have to go home to work.
It's very fortunate that we get to enjoy this sort of place and use it for more than just a snack and drink before you go home to the misses.
First up, as stated. The Ebi Mayo Mayo. Get yourself started with that and you will be in heaven. It's tempura shrimp covered with this sauce that will have you ready to die. But be warned not to off yourself just yet. There's so much more ont he menu to bask in.
The presentation in half of the dishes is half of the fun. Cheese Risotto comes in a big Risotto wheel and the taste is amazing. The oily fish comes out and then gets blow torched. Something about fresh sashimi that just looks amazing and then torched in your face just screams out presentation. You can really get filled with a couple of plates but if you keep the sake coming you'll love the endless list of food they offer to keep your alcohol to food ratio happy enough.
Every time I've been here there has been a birthday party going on. I can't blame them. The chefs are very friendly, helpful and comical in every way. The food is beyond excellent. The seating is great and even if you're a socially inept person like myself, you'll always find a way to converse with the people around you about the place. It just brings out a great vibe.
My only complaint is that it is in Torrance. It makes it so that I can't go full out on the sake experience or I'll be, as Nader put it, "Unsafe at any speed"
Musha is a place where you have to go at least once. It is that damn good. You will not regret it.
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Awesome place to dine with friends and get drunk. We got butakakuni, yaki udon, some sort of ponzu duck dish, and a grilled beef dish. The butakakuni was soft and flavorful, yaki udon was a good filler dish, and the grilled beef was so soft, I didn't know if it was beef or tuna. The duck, however, was forgetable. The bill was $60 with a pitcher of Kirin.
Service was good; the waitress was friendly and attentive. It was fun to sit at the big table in the middle of the restaurant with other parties. There was a girl who loved to drop the f-bomb on every other sentence. It was kinda hot.
The only warning I have is it that the place does not have good ventilation and it gets real smokey. You'll probably end up smelling like food at the end of the night.
My favorite izakaya in So Cali! The grill chicken yuzu is delicious, the cheese risotto is the perfect richness, and the butakakuni will melt in your mouth! Eating wonderful food with some Kuronama to wash everything down can't get any better. Not to mention the almost all of the desserts are fabulous, especially the tiramisu which is tailored for a Japanese palette.
If you want to go out with a group of friends to get some drinks, and some good food, don't forget to check out Musha!
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Amazing place! It's my default restaurant for great food and atmosphere. The most distinctive feature of the restaurant is the huge communal table in the middle of the restaurant. For some odd reason, it makes the place seem cozier.
The people are friendly. Food is served fast. Wait staff are attentive. They seem nicer than the staff at the other Musha restaurant in Santa Monica.
If you've had a long day, order the pitcher of beer to share with at least one other person. The beer is served in a large pitcher with an encased block of ice in the center to keep the beer chilled, so you won't feel obligated to chug it down so quickly.
Every single time I've been there, I always get the pork belly. Yuuuummmmmm. Everything else on the menu is great, so whatever you get, you won't be disappointed. Portions are generous for this type of dining. It's Japanese soul food that can make you feel better instantly.
Make reservations if you don't want to wait! For the slackers and non-planners without reservations on Fri or Sat nights, you have to show up when the place opens. Last time we went, there were 5 couples that showed up before the place opened, so we almost didn't get seated.
I love love love Musha! Like all great restaurants, the wait time is insane and a little discouraging if you're impatient and hungry (aka: me) but I can assure you that it's definitely worth it!
You've got to try the pork belly (melts in your mouth) and the tuna poke (better than my dad's!). Everyone always raves about the cheese risotto but I wasn't terribly impressed with the flavor - presentation, however, is pretty cool. I have yet to try their desserts but I've heard they're just as delicious as their dinner dishes.
Service is expectedly hit or miss. Some nights it's on other times, they seem understaffed. Most people don't care one way or the other because the food makes up for any small deficit.
Watch your wallet there, though. With me, there are so many awesome dishes to try that my stomach can't keep up with my eyes and I end up with a ton of leftovers and a truly tear-worthy bill.
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I met up with my friend after work and just managed to beat the dinner traffic. If you get there right after opening( 6-630pm) on a weekday except maybe Fridays, you should be fine, but always make reservations beforehand.
For starters, get the pork belly and grilled chicken. We ordered the grilled steak and something fried. The total for the 2 of us came out to about ~$35 bucks.
Good, fun, place to bring a date, sit next to strangers at the huge communal table in the center of the restaurant, eat, and drink.
It's out of the ordinary... it's a good thing.
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Service here sucks. The food is good, but it doesn't make up for the customer service. I want to waited on like I was the Shogun Hideyoshi, not like Sato the Mechanic. It seems the waiters (yeah, where are all the cute waitresses?) here only know how to do three things: take orders, bring food/drink, and give you the check. Wam bam, no thank you ma'am.
My favorite restaurant at this moment.
Recommended dishes:
Braised Pork Belly (order a bowl of steam rice to go with it)
Mackerel Sushimi
Stir fried asparagus & assorted mushroom
Charcoal Grilled Beef Tongue/Tenderloin
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Personally, I don't really get all the hype about this place. Granted, it's a cool joint that serves Japanese tapas types of dishes which goes great with the pitchers of beer they serve here. Also, if you do decide to try out Musha, try the charcoal grill items that you grill yourself, that's probably the highlight of our meal. In the end, I just don't think this experience was worth the hype or price. Will I come back? Probably, but I'd doubt I would ever suggest this place as the place to eat around Torrance.
I don't get what the big deal is about this place. I was led to believe it was one of the best izakaya places in Socal but I found it to be just......BLAH.
First off, I really love Kappo Honda in Fountain Valley and maybe that's part of the problem. Musha has maybe a fourth of the menu items that Kappo Honda has and none of it sounded particularly mouth watering. The server had to come back 5 times to ask what we wanted because we just couldn't make up our minds.
Finally we got:
Smoked Salmon Salad
Gyu Hire Ponzu (meat that you cook yourself on a charcoal grill and dip into a ponzu/daikon/wasabi/green onion sauce)
A fried Somen dish
Musha's Fried Chicken
Oshinko
Ok, none of the stuff is what was recommended here on Yelp but to be honest I don't care for Pork belly, Poke, or Risotto. Besides, I still expect the other food to be at least good, even if isn't great. Don't get me wrong, the food wasn't crap but it wasn't better than ordinary. The only thing that kind of stood out was the fried chicken which had a really nice crispy gingery outside. The Gyu Hire Ponzu meat was also really tender but I didn't care much for the sauce and honestly I think I've had better at Gyu Kaku/Anjin/Tsuruhashi/ShinSenGumi's. The fried somen just tasted like they threw it into a pan with some sesame oil then swished it back for a few minutes and threw it onto a plate.
The reason this place is getting two stars instead of one is because the Shochu Pomegranate I had to drink was AWESOME!!! That is truly one of the best drinks I've had in a looooooong time. The last time I thought a drink was that good was when I had a Shochu Mojito.
I'm not coming back here again. Prices are waaaaaay too high for such average food: with tip our bill came out to $75. I don't mind paying much more for dinner but only if it's GOOD!! If I'm in the area, I'd even rather go to Iccho (which normally I don't care for).
If you've never been to Musha, and love Japanese food, you're definitely missing out! They're food is awesome! The people are cool! The atmosphere is comfortable!
Every person I've taken there has loved it and always wants to go back. Heck my 7 yr old nephew loves that place (i'm not lying)!!
Mush is definitely one of my favorite places to eat. You should make a reservation if you want to go early. If you don't you'll wait for 2 hours (seriously)...though the food is definitely worth the wait!!
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Since Japanese is my favorite cuisine, my friend took me here to introduce me to some unique and new dishes.
First of all, making reservations is a must. If you want to sit and share a big table with other people, you can just walk in but there's usually a wait. The risotto is a must... They put rice in this big cheese block and the heat of the rice melts the cheese and they keep stiring it in the cheese until it becomes risotto. I fell in love with it the first time I ate it!
The chicken leg is also a good dish also. It's juicy and tender! It was perfect! The staff here are so nice. There are a lot more dishes you should try also cuz I don't remember what else I ate! So grab a few friends and come here to enjoy the good food! You can order a bunch of dishes and share them with your friends! (their dishes are like tapas, decent size but if you share, you have more variety!)
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Food is great! Make sure to try the pork belly and the poke. Took a couple of friends from hawaii here and they claimed the poke is better here then hawaii. (they said it not me!)
Make sure to come when they open at 6 or go very late. Or else you would be waiting forever.
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Enter...you have been Izakaya'd to Tokyo. Musha's it...great service, tapas side dishes, just order the risotto and enjoy the show...go with friends and enjoy the pork belly, tuna poke and yada yada...so many...
Communal tables were so foreign before living in Japan...not the case anymore. Sit, eat and enjoy.
Parking is a snap, just plan to wait to experience an Izakaya in Torrance!
and non-smoking too! Did I mention the male waiters ;D
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Musha was a nice surprise. Wifey & I stopped by before an opening in Torrance. The pork belly was tasty, not the best I've had, but not the most expensive either. Sashimi was surprisingly good; the cuts of yellowtail were fresh and well-served. Tuna poke was disappointing - the greens distracted from the flavor of the tuna, and there wasn't the delicate balance of flavors I've experienced elsewhere. The baguette with cheese and scallops was tasty, if you're in the mood for cheese. Shrimp dumplings were solid as well. Overall, 4 out of 5 dishes were ones I would order again. All hot dishes were served appropriately hot, beer on tap was quickly served as well. The atmosphere is what puts Musha over the top. We got there at opening (6PM) but by the time we left (7:15) it was hoppin. Overall a good japanese restaurant with a menu that lies between traditional bar fare and that of more adventurous restaurants.
Don't come here with whiners, anti-socials, or picky eaters. It totally blows.
The wait is long. No reservations after 7PM I believe. Even for two people, we had to wait 40 minutes.
Set up/decor: the place is small. It has ONE large communal table and a bunch of small tables scattered around.
Crowd: Very diverse. The waiters are all Japanese (boys!) but you should have no problem ordering. The menu is very simple (and in english).
Food: Delish! I had the clams, the pork yakisoba, Musha Fried Chicken, Mayo Shrimp, and salad. The food took a little while but it comes out piping hot and flavorful. I had the asahi clams somewhere else and it wasn't as juicy and good. The MFC kinda disappointed me.. tasted like regular chicken katsu. The shrimp was good though. It was huge and not too "mayo-ey". The dishes are enough for 3 people I believe depending on what else you order.
oh and we had beer. and more beer.
Price: Between $6-$11 a plate. Not too bad. It should definitely be better with more people though.
Like I said, whiners will whine about the wait time. Picky eaters will tell you what they "will NEVER try". Anti-socials will complain about sitting with the crowd.
I'm only one out of the three so I'm still all good. In fact, my date was so boring I ended up chatting it up with the people around me and drank their beer too. Which of course led to the "You pay more attention to strangers than me" arguement.
Yea, my date is a bitch.
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I almost feel bad for giving a low rating since everyone seems to like this place. I didn't think their food was better than other places I've been to that serve same dishes. I have to say individualize charcoal grill is a novelty for many and quite cozy to take your date for a light tapa dishes. This is a place I'd recommend for the experience but not for the food or to satisfy hunger.
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I love this place for what it is... a great drinking spot (sake and Kirin beer on TAP!) with well executed japanese style tapas. It's a small space, and gets busy on weekends and super loud with chainsmokers smoking it up outside.
Tuna poke, yellowtail collar, and tofu salad are awesome.
Tapas meets Izakaya Iron Chef!
Just like many Sushi shops in the US have catered to the local tastes and ingredients to create fancy rolls with cream cheese, concocted mexican flavored sake shooters and the like, so have the Japanese borrowed many ideas and tried to be creative and different with many of their old stand by dishes to be different in Japan and here.
Musha, being close to the US HQ of Toyota and the ex-pat Japanese communities in the Carson-Torrance industrial area and the traditional Nissei population of Gardena, has a Japanese food base infused with popular food trends of non-Japanese roots. The formula works out pretty good for a hip, trendy, non-traditional Izakaya in a traditional setting that has captured the imagination of young foodies, both American and Japanese, who probably also like their share of Philadelphia Rolls.
The traditional part is the wait and cooking staff are all young Japanese student types, led by the older and professional Saito-san, the main cook behind the counter. In the tradition of an energetic team, they shout out annoucements to each other like in many of Japan's similar type restaurants. The decor is non-descript down home Japanese. There are about 9 small tables, a counter for 8, and the community table that can seat about 20.
The food is definitely not traditional. There are no straight forward comfort dishes like donburi, udon, etc. All dishes are unique creations blending international trends into a Japanese sensibility.
The concept appears to be based on Tapas for Japanese. I think I heard Spanish disco music, definitely not J-pop playing. Each dish is creative and often presented in a more western stacked presentation. You've got to love the creativity if nothing else, and the fatty western flavors mixed with deep fried or BBQ Japanese dishes are perfect for those who like impact tastes over traditional asian harmonies.
I had the MFC - Musha Fried Chicken ($7.80) a deep fried karaage type served with Ponzu sauce and garnished with minced daikon raddish and tiny chopped chive confetti. I also tried Buta Kimchee, a stir-fried combination of button, portabello and other mushrooms mixed with Korean Kimchee ($6.80) and served with a dallop of mayonaise. Both were well prepared and good. Add 22 oz Asahi Super Dry for $6.00.
This is definitely the place to bring a group, sit at the community table, and share a lot of fun dishes and imbibe in a lot of adult beverages. If you come here on a weekday before 7pm, you will have no trouble getting a table. For you Elite Event type Yelpers, if you haven't organized an event here yet, try doing it on a Tuesday at 6:30 for 20 at the community table and have a good time!
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With a party of 3, I was glad that the restaurant took reservations on a fri night (thanks yelpers!); however when I called to let them know I was running late, they said they didn't have reservations for us but would reserve seats for us. Once we got there, they were able to seat us within 15 minutes at the big table area which was fine for the 3 of us.
We ordered:
- crackers with butternut squash spread- yummy!
- monkfish- not what I expected. It looked like mini think pork loins- ok
- risotto rice- great presentation in the cheese bowl as they made it in front of you - it was yummy but cheesy (fyi for those lactose folks like me!)
-tofu salad- this was good but did feel like it's something you could make on your own
-octopus omelette- this was yummy and savory
Overall, the food was good- a bit pricey but would come again to try some of their other stuff- saw a cool blow torch presentation with the mackerel..will have to try that next time! Service was good- the waiters are pretty cute =).
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This is a very "elementary" level of Izakaya style restaurant that I feel comfortable taking any American people to and know that the food will be appreciated. Many people here still don't know much about Japanese food, other than Sushi, Teriyaki Chicken, and noodle dishes, and I say to those, "what a shame, you are missing out, yo!!"
Here, you can get some sea food, meat, veggies, noodle, rice, even cheese risotto in the gigantic bowl made out of cheese!! It's guaranteed that you'll find something that you can eat, and there're not too many "weird" food per se. All you people who're new to Japanese "Izakaya" style food can learn how to share and eat 7 to 10 different dishes, while drinking beer, sake, plum wine, and some shochu here. The entire dinner should last about 2 hours if you were with good company.
The atmosphere is good and the servers are friendly. But most importantly, the food is quite decent. I won't say I'd go head over heels for their food, but they sure do serve some good authentic Izakaya style food that cures my food/home sick.
Remember, the rule of "Izakaya" food is "More the merrier." Go with bunch of friends so that you can order bunch of dishes.
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Had a friend's birthday dinner here. There is one long communal table at the center of the place and we eventually took over the whole thing - about 20 people.
Oddest thing ever - power died while we were there... then the emergency lights died too! That's never happened before... least not to me. The wait staff was up to the challenge - they lit the whole place up, well tried anyway, with candles. One server drove his car up to the window and tried to light up the place with the headlights - nope - too low - too bad he didn't have a Hummer... The ony thing that still had power... you guessed it... the credit card machine. Dammit! Thought we were getting a $400 meal for free.
Anyway, this is not to take away from the food... which is FANTASTIC. Even if you can't see what you're eating.
For my fellow pariahs, the smokers... yes the Japanese still smoke so they've got one table near the door where you can puff away and poison the people that enter and leave the place. You can even take your sake out there... nice!
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Musha was one of my few other Izakaya dining experiences during the past year. I came here to the Torrance location with a friend and ordered about 6 dishes, which included asari manilla clams, cheese baguette, cheese risotto, grilled fish fins, buta kakuni and the takotama.
For the most part, the food was tasty. The Japanese chefs were pretty knowledgeable on cooking the food, and the whole vibe of the food taste, along with the environment, felt like a real Japanese pub. The dishes I would recommend are takotama, grilled fish or beef slices, asari manilla clams, and the house special fried chicken.
In all, I recommend this restaurant. I didn't give it a 5 star because the food, although good, was not exactly A-league tapas material like ORRIS and WAKASAN. But I can still say that Musha is one of the better Izakaya/tapas restaurants in Torrance and all of LA. There's another location in Santa Monica as well, but from what I've heard, the Torrance one is better tasting just slightly. Give it a try.
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Great fun, alone or with coworkers or friends. I had not compaints about food except the tuna tsubugiri (diced and marinated raw tuan). It tasted slightly fishy and low grade. This may give the impression that other foods are bad but that's not the case, most are very good, albeit small portions.
The ambiance makes this place I think. It's just a fun place to go. The staff is upbeat, the place is upbeat as if close to new years day everyday. Weekdays are toned down a bit but still fun.
Yummy, yum, yum...
Musha is seriously my kind of place. I had dinner with a couple of friends there last night, and I couldn't believe that it took me SO long to finally visit this restaurant.
I loved the coziness of the restaurant. Although some of the main complaints about this place are of its tight quarters, and unbearable noise level... I actually found those two things to be the most endearing features about Musha. It's just the sort of thing that I imagined an izakaya to be like.
Only one of my friends and I ate, so we weren't able to taste too many of the dishes. However, the dishes that we did have were quite delish. We started out with the Hamasu--- Salad as our representative cold dish. I would definitely recommend this salad, as it is very flavorful. Also, the main feature of the salad were these cold noodles, which added an interesting texture to it. We also ordered the Ebi Mayo Mayo and the Baguette Gratin. Both dishes were wonderful. Although I did feel a little bit guilty about all the greasineess I had consumed, the food was just good enough to let all of that pass.
All in all, I had a wonderful experience at Musha. The staff was excellent, and a lot helpful than the staff at the last izakaya I had visited. They made some excellent suggestions, and were playful throughout the night. I was definitely sold on this place, and plan to frequent it in the future.
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This place has really good izakaya which is like japanese tapas. They bring out a little charcoal grill called shichi-rin to cook the meat. I really liked the beef tongue...they slice it so thin and it's so tender. It's a bit of a wait to get a table but worth it. They have one large communal table in the middle where several groups sit at so it's more like a fun bar experience. We had the ahi tuna salad, takotama (with octopus, egg, noodle, onion, and mushrooms...really good), yuzu chicken, ebi mayo (tempura fried shrimp with a thousand island like sauce), gyu hire ponzu (beef tenderloin), and spicy fried rice. The soju tea is pretty good and dangerous since you can't really taste the alcohol, hehe.
It's great to go with a group so you can try out more dishes. The bill came out to be about $35/person but definitely worth it.
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i went here last friday for a friend's bday and it's cool lil joint.
the staff is very friendly, the food i good (i liked the chicken leg and beef tongue on that personalized charcoal grill and LOVED the cheese rice) and the ambiance is awesome.
the only thing that keeps it from a 5 star is that it's sort of pricey for tapa'ish foods. it's basically an appetizer paradise but the lack of low cost but high quality savory dishes somewhat hinders the experience.
i mean - for 12.80 i could go to claim jumper and get a huge meal that would be the equivalent of 3 or 4 of their dishes.
anyway, besides the price it's worth a visit
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Ate here a few weeks ago with about a dozen of my L.A. Foodies (www.LAfoodies.org) and this was my first experience with a izakaya joint. A few of the dishes were delicious as Yelped such as the Ebi Mayo, cheese risotto, braised pork belly but surprisingly the Udon noodles were way overcooked and bloated. The fried rice was bland and quite small for the money. All the dishese were quite small portions but we were making a dinner out of the dishes, not here late after partying. The Kirin draft was excellent and cold a big plus. The mackerel sashimi was surprisingly good though they torched it before serving. If the Udon noodles were cooked properly, I would have given it 4 stars.
While the cheese risotto was delicious, the cheese block that it's served in looks very scary as they've probably been using that block for months or years to serve their risotto. How sanitary can that be? Price was reasonable and the place was good, but it didn't hit a home run for me, unfortunately.
If I really wanted to correctly experience an Izakaya joint, I guess I'll have to be there late and close to home but this is in Torrance and I dined here before a poker game as I wanted to try a new style of Japanese food and play poker so I could multitask and save gas.
Maybe it's me or maybe I'm overly critical, but it's tough to find a perfect meal in L.A. without spending a fortune.
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Based on the reviews describing how busy this place gets, I got there 10 minutes before they opened at 6pm and I was the first person there on a Monday night. It still hadn't gotten crazy busy when I left there at about 7:30. Maybe I just got lucky.
Anyway, pardon me if I get a little mushy about Musha. They have an extensive menu and the service is very attentive and the people are very friendly.
I ordered some of the recommendations from other yelpers such as: the takotama, lobster roll, and stingray fins.
Takotama: very interesting dish with great texture, expecially due to the firm noodles.
Lobster Roll: Wow, this was sooooooo good! One of the best ones I've ever had!
Stingray Fins: Take that stingray...I'm eating your fins. That's for Steve Irwin b*tch!! Seriously though, it was an interesting texture. I didn't truly love it at first but it kinda grew on me and I really liked it at the end. I didn't care so much for the very rich dipping sauce though. My favorite part was cooking it myself on the very hot grill (Note: do not order this if you're a clumsy spaz.) How I love dangerous food! Next time I'm gonna try the squid on the grill.
I also ordered some really good cold sake. I think the way they serve it is the best way I've seen. Yeah, I do like it when some places put the glass in the masu and pour it 'til its overflowing. I also like the little glass sake containers with the little ice compartment. I even bought one for myself, but Musha serves it in a nice little spherical sake bottle sitting on ice in a little bucket. This is my new favorite sake serving method.
To the owners and everyone who works at Musha, thanks for helping to make Torrance a great place to be!
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REF: MUSHA
Dear whom it may concern;
Plz kindly upload the pic of Ebi Mayo Mayo ASAP.
If you have any question, feel free to drop a compliment.
Thank you for your support in advance.
Best Regards,
Jamie S.
'07 Elite L.A. Yelper
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After reading about this place on Yelp for so long, I decided to venture over and try it this past weekend. I was afraid that I would have to wait hours to get seated, particularly on a Saturday night, but I walked in and promptly got 2 seats at the bar area. We ended up sitting for a good five minutes before we managed to flag a waiter down for some menus.
We ordered the three things that everyone raved about: pork belly, poke, and the risotto. Unfortunately, they were out of the risotto for the evening ( which means we'll have to come back another time to try it!). Instead, we ordered a chicken leg and fried orange roughy in soba sauce.
I really liked the poke and the orange roughy. Excellent! The pork belly had half of it really tender and juicy and the other half dry. The chicken leg was a bit salty for me, but some of it was due to the seasoning on skin. It didn't seem like anything spectacular either - just chicken.
I'm looking forward to going back and trying that risotto. Also have to try out that kimchee pork that other Yelpers have mentioned.
UPDATE: Went back last weekend with a larger group and we ordered one of each of the signature dishes. Finally got to try the risotto too. Yum!! I liked the dishes, but some I didn