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Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: West Los AngelesMon-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 6:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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Omakase lunch is as good as it gets.
I'm not too hot for their specialty rice. It's slightly stickier than typical sticky rice, but I've had better. The tempura and tonkatsu is the best I've had. The outside is crispy crunchy, and the inside is soft and moist. The sushi is very good. tsuki dashi is really well done, and it brings out the umami flavor special for good Japanese dishes. Somewhat pricy for typical lunch, but this was not just typical lunch for me. And lunch beer is only $1! I just came back from a trip to Japan that includes Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and Hiroshima. This restaurant brings back the memory and then some!
I was reading an article about "the perfect rice" the kind of rice that would pick you right up after a long tiring day. And it could be found in West LA. The heck you said! This would cause an up roar in Asian community; Not only here, but over sea as well. There will be a ginormous asian mob fill Pico Blvd. with torches and pitch forks in hand. all noodle shops and asian-run restaurants will be closed that day. not to mention all the liquor stores.
I have eaten my fair share of rice in my life (like it's not obvious), from Persian to Balinese, even have the pics and t-shirt to prove it. http://static2.px.yelp...
http://static4.px.yelp...
this is a ballsy claim. It's a must a must a must try.
We made a 45 min. drive to get to Tarofuku for lunch. This place has a feel of contempo modern Japan setting. It's very clean. First thing that you'll notice when you pass through the door is cast iron rice cooker. For non Asian, it means nothing. But for us Asian, it's an OOOHH ARRRR... and eventually a Kodak moment.
Their lunch menu is amazingly cheap. We ordered Marinated Kobe Beef Steak ($12) and Crispy Fried Assortment ($14) served with salad, miso soup and all you can eat Kamado rice. An 8 oz. glass of mini draft beer is a buck... yeah! that's right. a buck!
After reading the reviews here about the terrible service, I thought for sure I would get the same treatment. No. the service was great. The crew of waitresses kept asking if we need anything. Our refill rice kept appearing, our water was always filled without being asked. I don't know what other yelpers were talking about.
I got down to bizniz eat nothing but rice first. exam each grain, break it open, smell it, sniff it, taste it, let it swirl in my mouth. Almost like wine tasting except spitting part. After my vigorous examination, I was surely to find flaws. But no. it is true. It is a perfectly cooked rice. And the prosecution rested.
Kobe skirt steak was good a little heavy on sauce though. The fried assortment was amazing. Crispy, lightly, not at all oily. I gobbled everything up.
Not only Kamado rice, I'm very happy about the food and the service too. Yes, I'll be back again and I will endure the masochist 10 freeway to get here for their sushi. No torches or pitch forks this time.
Btw, park across the street. There is a meter parking lot there. One dollar for one hour. Bring quarters or a credit card.
In Westwood on business, I was driving on Pico and found Torafuku's inviting facade. I parked in the shopping center next door.
The dinner crowd was about 1/2 asian. In my book, this is a good sign.
We ordered the Omakase Combo and grilled black cod. I cook black cod myself and often judge a restaurant on its black cod entree. (the standard: Morimoto's in New York). The black cod was delicious, buttery and delicate--I could have eaten two servings. The homemade tofu was smooth and also great. I enjoyed the variety of tastes and textures of the small dishes in the Omakase Combo. Service was very attentive.
I just stumbled into this place, but next time I am in town, I will certainly try the Kobe beef and savor the Kamado rice.
Delicious Kamado Rice. Perfectly fried fish/pork cutlet. Best Furikake I have ever had in a while (Seasoning you put on top of rice to enhance of the flavor).
Location: Located on the Busy Pico Blvd in West LA. Located adjacent to the Westside Pavillion
Parking: Valet and street self parking available.
Ambiance: Definitely an interesting mix of traditional (cooking style) and modern (dining room) and the crowd around me are almost all Japanese. This is a famous place among Japanese people for its famous rice. They also advertise their water are specially filtered so it doesn't give you the typical rice flavor when we tried to cook at home.
Price: Definitely better to come during lunch. Very reasonable for West LA(Avg 12 to 15 per set depends on what you are ordering). Dinner prices are almost doubled.
Food: I ordered Halibut cutlet & Ginger pork special lunch set ($15). It comes with salad (Delicious oriental dressing), miso soup (average taste), Potato Salad. Japanese Pickles along with main courses. Halibut Cutlet is cooked to perfection. I like how FRESH their bread crumb is and their oil is clean so their cutlet is golden in color yet crispy outside, tender & juicy inside. The light tartar sauce blended perfectly with the fish (and yes, the fish is not fishy at all!) I think the rice goes so well with the fried stuff here. Their Ginger pork on another hand, is quite average. Same thing with the Kobe Beef lunch. Quite Bland.
The Rice: Kamado rice is the signature item for this restaurant. Its cooked in the traditional iron pot with special filtered "pi" water to removed the chemical flavor in our tap water; rice is refillable. Usually people will at least try to refill their rice once. Luckily since my lunch special comes with the seasonal shitake rice and when I refilled my rice, I got the white kamado rice so I get to try both flavors. Shitake rice is definitely Japanese Autumn Favorites. However, it did not work for me, I much preferred White rice with their Katsuo Furikake Seasoning! So Delicious I wish I can just eat several more bowls of it.
Service: I saw several waitress/waiters floating around but still the service is quite slow for the restaurant at this caliber. They definitely needs to speed up a little!
Overall: I will definitely return for their delicious rice soon! That rice taste lingered in my taste bud for some time after I left the restaurant, that's how good it was. Hopefully they will improve the service speed next time when I return!
This place never fails! I have been there so many times. From Tapas to sake, sushi, tempura, dessert... Very authentic japanese food! (I'm from Tokyo by the way...)
This restaurant is in Tokyo, too. They are famous for their traditionally cooked rice using pi water. Fish is very fresh and great sushi and sashimi as wel as cod fish saikyo yaki which is also wonderful.
Great to just grab a great meal, for a date or a get-together.
They have seasonal stuff on today's special menu which is always tempting... I just had matsutake gozen which comes with matsutake rice, matsutake soup, side dish and pickles and only for $8!!!!
A couple of my buddies and I were looking for a place to grab a quick dinner on Saturday night and as we drove by Torafuku, we decided to swing by.
It had the potential to be one of those great small Japanese restaurants.
Key word there was potential...lol...
So here's how it played out...
The Food:
Amazing hand rolls. Stick with the classics - spicy tuna, hamachi - your taste buds will thank you for it!
The Hamachi Kama (grilled) is really tender and fresh - the portion is huge too! It was a huge appetizer for four of us.
The main dishes like the stewed pork, kobe beef stiry fry and tofu were average - I wouldn't recommend it.
Decor:
Small, cozy, but not quite a winner. It could use a little redecorating to live up the place. I wouldn't bring a date here.
Bottom line:
Great hand rolls and hamachi kama, mediocre non-sushi dishes, and middle of the road decor
Just "eh" sushi. In an area that has so many Japanese/sushi places that are truly exceptional, it really is a shame to end up somewhere mediocre. Not enough Japanese people in the kitchen, never a good sign. It was pretty expensive too. They also tried to charge us twice for the same roll, whether deliberately or not I don't know. The menu listed the shrimp tempura roll as being rolls made with 2 tempura shrimps. So one order is actually served as 2 rolls. Do they just not know what their own menu says? The service was good otherwise and they were pleasant enough, but I wouldn't bother going back.
I really like this place. I disagree with one of the reviewer here saying the food isn't fresh. A Japanese friend once told me, sushi & sashimi rice are traditionally supposed to be a bit warm - you need to eat it quickly. The salad is always freshly prepared and seasoned just right, and the a-la-cart lunch portion is generous; the rice itself is yummy and the food is just delicious!! The only down side is yes, the service could be a bit slow sometimes, but it's never too bad the over 10 time I was there.
I'll definitely go back.
I discovered this place via Yelp friend Bruce L., whose judgement is usually pretty good, and I too highly recommend Torafuku for its tasteful and unusual (for a West LA Japanese restaurant) menu and high standard of preparation. I am partial to the black cod dish and recently had a raw skipjack (a sort of tuna) item which was sublime - and how many times have you seen me say that?? The seaweed salad is also worth trying if you like that sort of thing.
The service is attentive enough, and courteous.
My only cavil is the extensive and, to my unschooled eye, snooty sake menu, which is not detailed enough to help a neophyte make a selection. As a result, I default to the house sake, which is acceptable but nothing to get excited about.
They always ask when you come in whether you have a reservation but seem happy to seat you just the same.
Parking a block or two away may be necessary at peak times, since the Pico and Westwood location is nothing if not highly traveled.
If you feel like a splurge on a Japanese meal which is a cut above the usual, Torafuku is a good choice!
Me and my (born in Japan) mom came here for lunch and felt like the ultimate gaijins...the weekday lunch crowed that day was VERY Japanese. The atmosphere was a touch stuffy, but I guess some might call it serene. The lunch menu is pleasantly affordable even for an a la carte vegetarian like me!
I don't remember which combo my mom got, but I do remember she let me eat all the yummy tsukemono that came with her meal. My Tamago Yaki (egg omelet $8) was gigantic and delicately laced with sweet and savory flavors; and when eaten over rice from the Kamado it was perfected. The service is slow, but I'm really not in a rush to leave...
Dear Torafuku,
For SHAME ! Yes, that's right, I'm saying "shame on you".
Yes, your food is quite tasty (the rice IS as advertised!), but your prices are a bit high and the service stunk (thus, the reason for the deduction of 2 stars). When I'm dining at a Japanese restaurant, I don't expect that I'll have to flag you down every time I want a refill on my tea/water/other beverage...let alone scrounge around to find my own utensils! Ridiculous.
I did enjoy my food, but the service left a bad taste in my mouth.
3 shakas...I'd like to go back, but I'm paying for the service I'm not getting...
I went to Torafuku during my lunch hour on Friday, but I would have preferred to eat here on a day off. From work cubicle back to cubicle, the whole meal took almost 2 hours. (2 hours TOO LONG) First, we had to wait 5-10 minutes even though there were empty tables. Second, the service was slow. The waitresses were not attentive. No one ever came by to check on us. I had to flag down the waitress each time we needed something. We even got up to get our own chopsticks! For a nice looking Japanese restaurant with such high quality food, that is by no means cheap, I expected more from the wait staff.
And the main reason why I wished I had eaten at Torafuku on a non-workday is that Torafuku offers $1 mini draft beers during lunch! The dollar draft was such a tease! One dollar for a beer?! Now, that is a bargain!! But, if I drink a beer at lunch I will be out of commission at work for the rest of the day, which would be a problem.
The upside of going to lunch at Torafuku is the afforded lunch combos. There are 9 different lunch combos between $10-$22 that include salad, soup, potato salad, pickled salad, entrée and all you can eat Kamado rice. A lot of the combos sounded tasty, but I ended up ordering the Charcoal Grilled Haka. The Grilled Haka was really yummy (cooked well and nicely seasoned with enough acid and salt) and is a total steal for $11 dollars! It was the size of my hands! I also loved the Kamado rice! 3 out of 6 of us ordered extra bowls of rice during lunch! Cooking rice in a stone pot definitely made a difference! It was fluffy, yet had a good bite to it! If you normally like soft rice, then the Kamado rice is not for you.
All in all, I give Torafuku 3.5 stars. I would totally come back to Torafuku on a non-work day, so I can take in the chill environment and drink a few mini draft beers!
For the price you pay, I've had much better. In fact, I've had much better for half the price.
Don't get me wrong, the food wasn't bad or anything. But it wasn't that memorable or that unique either.
We only went to this restaurant because the place we wanted to go had a 1 hour wait.
TORO STEAK medium rare! =p
It was amazing~!!
Sadly I didn't have their komada rice, maybe next time.
Bunch of other stuff I remember having:
-hamachi sashimi with jalapeno-yums
-aji-yummy
-ankimo-ok
-amaebi-(they called this something else, i can't remember)-eh~
-tofu thingy-ok
-chicken thigh-yums
-sake =)
I've concluded that I like going to Japanese places with a Japanese person.
I feel special =)
But Honestly, I think this place is very overpriced. But good food.
I would have upped a star if it was $$.
And they close way too early!
Okay, here's the thing. Their food is great...at least what I've had the 8 or so times I have been there.
Plus, their sake selection is wonderful. They have sake from Yamagata that I can't ifnd anywhere else in LA.
BUT, their service is bad. Which has ruined several of my experiences int he past and the last time I've been there. Basically, I don't want to give a tip to the waiter whose only effort they have made the whole time is to bring the food from one side of the room to the other. I only want to give a tip to the cooks/chef who has actually made an effort, but I don't want the waiter chasing after me if I don't pay so I regretfully pay to them.
Anyways, last time I was there we went on a weekday which was fairly calm and we saw there were 4 or more empty tables and it was just my boyfriend and I. They told us to please wait a couple minutes as they prepare our table so we said sure. We sat down and they came out again and asked us if we could sign in our names and it would be about a 10 minute wait (we had two waiters telling us this).
As me and my boyfriend waited and stared at the several empy tables we chatted and 15 minutes later (more than the estimated 10) we were sat down in the very table that was sitting empy and clean for more than 15 minutes. Makes any sense? Not at all. Not only that but a couple of people showed up after us with no reservations as well and were seated immedietly. And then again right after them.
It just shows how disorganized and careless they are on their service and respecting others.
(BTW, we were dressed cleanly and properly so there shouldn't be any unfair treatment based on our looks if that was the problem)
The food was okay, the prices seemed a bit high, and we had a small service issue. Based on food and price alone I'd at least give this place three stars, but one of the servers has some issues.
What bothered me was the nasty look that flashed across our servers face when my wife and I declined to purchase drinks with our meal. I don't think she meant for us to see the quick look of disgust mixed with disappointment on her face, but we saw it!
If you don't appreciate our business we will go elsewhere.
I have wanted to try this place for some time now so with great anticipation after couple of failed attempts due to one reason or another, I finally experienced Torafuku. My first impression was Torafuku is hot but not in a Randy Jackson way. The restaurant must have been over 80 degrees inside.
After adjusting ourselves to the temperature, we were ready to order our lunch. Looking around for few minutes, we finally flagged down our waitress. We ordered Marinated Kobe Beef Steak ($12.99), Sushi Combination ($14.99) and Assorted Tempura ($11.99). The food came out quickly and they were well presented. Unfortunately, the presentation was far more superior than the food.
1) The Kobe Beef Steak was a bit tough and the taste was just ordinary. They probably used a cheaper cut of meat for lunch and I really doubt it was Kobe Beef. The dish was more like teriyaki beef.
2) The Tempura was a bit too hard and the asparagus was very fibrous. I had to work hard to break the fiber down.
3) The sushi combo included scallops, salmon and couple other types of fish. Although fresh, the sushi were served at room temperature which was strange unless they were just caught from the ocean.
Overall, I was not at all impressed. The food was just average and the service was not that great. The price for our lunch was reasonable I guess but given the quality, it was not worth it. Maybe, they save the better stuff for their higher priced dinner service.
A Japanese friend of mine suggested we go here before she left back for Tokyo, so this place is very sentimental to me.
First off, the ambience of the place (we went during the dinner crowd- reservations at 7 on a saturday) was very romantic and dim. Everyone was very friendly and polite.
Torafuku is a tad pricey, but considering the food quality, I say it's totally worth it! Being non-Japanese, my friend ordered for us and I'm not really sure if this is all we ordered, but I definitely remembered most of them. We got miso soup, their tofu appetizer, sashimi assortments, tempura assortments, their grilled fish, and of course, sake!
Their kamado rice is positively amazing. I don't think I've ever had rice hit all my tantalizing taste buds at once. It is so fluffy, earthy, and yummy! As far as their sashimi, it is absolutely ambrosial! It comes out served on a huge bowl of ice and once it touches your tongue, it melts and seethes down your throat. Torafuku sold me on their sashimi and rice!
I would definitely recommend this place!! GO!
Torafuku had been on my "to-try" list for the longest time. I read about their Kamado rice on their website and was really curious about how the rice would taste different from normal rice. Dinner at Torafuku is a bit pricey. BF and I decided to try their much more affordable lunch menu first.
They offer mini draft beer for $1 during lunch. Perfect amount of beer that you'll feel refreshing, but when you go back to the office, nobody will know you had a drink.
Both of our lunch specials came with fresh salad. It had an Italian/Japanese sort of dressing. Pretty tasty.
BF ordered the Tuna Rice and Udon combo. Negi-toro Don is chopped tuna tartar and scallion on a bed of kamado rice. Our waitress asked if Dr. P wanted regular kamado rice or sushi kamado rice. He picked sushi rice. Udon noodle soup had chicken and fish broth with various vegetables. It was good. The set also came with pickle veggies and potato salad. BF made me a few "tuna tartar sushi". It was Delicious! Tuna was super fresh. The kamado sushi rice was amazingly good.
I got the fried oyster and ginger pork combo. Miso soup, pickled veggies, potato salad and ALL YOU CAN EAT kamado rice are included. 2 giant oyster was fried perfectly. The Kurobuta pork was probably the most delicious kind of pork. It was so soft and had the perfect proportion of fat and lean meat. I LOVE this combo.
Does Kamado rice taste better than regular rice? Yes, it indeed does. Every grain of rice was cooked perfectly. It wasn't too dry nor too mushy. It even had a slightly "stone" fragrant. It was really really good. Yes, I had 2 bowls. Also there were complimentary fish flake on the table. You can add as much as you want to the delicious rice.
Delicious lunch! Definitely will be back again soon.
Torafuku is home of true authentic gourmet Japanese food. Those who are looking for a benihana/panda/california roll experience best stay away. The omakase dinner dishes let you sample the best tofu, rice and fish in LA.
Best rice I've ever had!!! Their Komado rice was fluffy, yet still had a firm texture to it. It was very fragrant, and had a slightly sweet taste to it. I wish I could make like this at home!
The sushi from their suchi combination lunch special was pretty fresh and tasty as expected from a decent japanese restaurant. However, looking at the prices from their nigiri menu, I don't think it would have been worth the $5-7 each if ordered individually. I have to mention that the filler California rolls that came with the combo was suprisingly good though, since I would never have expected California rolls to be good anywhere.
Their tempura sushi was also excellent. I've never had such a firm tempura shrimp outside of Japan before. It tasted as if that shrimp had been alive a few minutes before it was served to me. The rest of the temupra items also tasted very fresh, and was deep fried very nicely w/o too much tempura batter coating.
Their service was really horrible though. Even though we had made reservation, when we had to wait 5-10 minutes at the door before anyone decided to come seat us. And after we were seated for 2 minutes, they decided to move us to a different table. Once all of our food arrived, our waitress never came back to check on us or refill our teacups. We had to flag someone down whenever we needed something.
I have to say that they do have good food. It's pretty traditional Japanese food BUT if I think that my mom and I can make the food taste just as good, I think they need to step it up a bit. They make their rice in a very traditional, non electrical rice cooker, so their rice is awesome but other than that, I think it's just ok. Their portions are also very small.
PROS: The place looks great and the service is awesome. You might see Ken Watanabe there! I did. =D
Pretty good fresh Japanese food. Their rice is very well made. However their food is a bit bland for my palate, and they use a bit more oil then I like on their grilled vegetables. I found their sushi to be average to good, but nothing to remember.
Overall it's a nice place for a quiet meal, the back dining room is pretty for a group if you can snag it. It's a little overpriced compared to other options with better japanese food within a 5 minute drive. "yabu comes to mind"
TORAFUCKING GOOD!
Hi! My name is Lisa Marie, and I am a Mushikamado rice-o-holic.
Torafuku's Mushikamado rice is my salvation, my crack, and my addiction. I need it, baby. Need it bad. Yes, I know this rice is a staple food, but Kamado rice taste better, different then the standard steamed rice cooker rice. Kamado rice is magical and is an ancient art of rice cooking that adds a wonderful smoked, earthy flavor to rice. No amount of Kamado Rice-O-holic Anonymous will get me to stop eating Kamado rice. Not even my sponsor, who knows nothing about the magical ceramic pots in Torafuku. No one understands my dependency on this staple food. I am going through withdrawals as I write this. Shit!
I pace myself every time I come to Torafuku for lunch. I order the charcoal grilled free-range chicken with ponzoe sauce, a house salad, miso soup, and two bowls of the infamous "Kamado rice". For $10, the lunch meal is affordable, especially for the Westside. I even order a $1 beer, which goes well with the grilled chicken. The chicken is succulent, juicy and flavorful too.
On my last visit, the waitress at Torafuku advised me to pace myself with the kamado rice. But the waitress doesn't understand my Kamado rice addiction. I come from a long ways, and I need to binge on Kamado rice to sustain me until my next visit here.
Eat well and live well, my fellow yelpers.
I liked Black Cod - Saikyo yaki. It was so tasty. I also enjoyed their "kamado" rice as well - Touban yaki was good.
One of our group members at the dinner is vegetarian, so he was enjoying Homemade Yuba Sashimi, Kimpira, and Japanese Eggplant w/Miso while the rest of us was eating sashimi, chicken, kurobuta, etc.
Both the food and the service were good, but I think this place is on an expensive side just in general. And oh boy, they have v-e-r-y pricy sake, too...
The homemade silken tofu is very soft, almost like egg custard. The negihama and negitoro and spicy tuna were typical. The albacore garlic roll (spicy tuna topped w albacore & crispy garlic) was not bad for a roll.
Kinda pricey. 51$ including tax + 18% tip. the food didnt even make a dent. Their sushi combos were ~50$. Not sure if this place is good because we ordered pretty standard stuff that you can't really mess up on.
For some reason, Tall Mexican and I have a hard time finding outstanding sushi in LA, which surprises me. We stumbled across this restaurant on Valentine's day when we A) Had party of 6 (mom, dad, sister and her bf were visiting) , B) had no reservations and C) were starving. Not a good combo for the holy day of restaurants. Anyways, we popped in to Torafuku and they could seat us in 15 minutes so we stayed.
Had I ordered a meal instead of sushi, I think my rating would improve to 4 stars. The atmosphere of the restaurant is nice and clean. Their specialty is Kamado rice, which is a white rice prepared in an earthen pot (among many other things). I ordered the Kamado rice plate, which included Kamado rice, miso soup and some Japanese style pickles. I recommend this tray to anyone - it was a good starter. My California rolls were not excellent, but were made with fresh crab which is a plus. Tall Mexican liked his roll (don't remember which one), my mom ordered the Udon which was very good. Dad ordered the pork, which was way too chewy for my taste.
If there is a next time, I would stick with the rice tray and maybe a salad. Not the place for sushi, but a decent option for a nice Japanese restaurant.
After hearing about Torafuku from my friends, I decided to go out and give it a try. I guess they had changed their menu recently because some of the dishes that my friends were telling me about were not on the menu.
We sat at one of the back corner booths, and the seating was very comfy~
Our waitress came back with couple hand towels which smelled really nice. After ordering drinks, and looking over the menus, the waitress came back to see if we were ready to order.
We ordered the Kakuni (Pork stew), DInner Combination, and couple other things. I thought the food were very authentic and very tasty. They served at a fairly good timing, and made sure if we were okay each time they came by.
I believe the service was great. They were very friendly, and very attentive. Their roasted Green Tea (Hoji Cha) was very good as well! For first timers like myself, it may take some time to look over the menus, but the server took his time to explain each and every question we had. I guess they don't work by sections like how most restaurants are.
Dinner sets are reasonable price for what you are getting. If you do order many A LA CARTES, I guess the bill can get high.
Not many people know about "Authentic Japanese Food," because they've never really tried that many restaurants that serve that kind of food. But, I think you could enjoy that at this restaurant.
We will come back definitely!
Always wanted to go for few years. Finally did.
It was nice atmosphere and great food but service was very slow.
It looks that lunch special may be better deal. I would go back often if service gets improved.
Photos from this meal: http://gourmetpigs.blo...
I haven't been back to Torafuku in a while, but when I did a few days ago I wondered why. Torafuku serves some good solid food! I guess their dishes are not something you normally crave for ... and I've been into trying new things. But we wanted tofu one night and I wasn't up for spicy soon tofu, so we went back to Torafuku. I'm glad we did!
We started with the seaweed salad. This was a good starter, with some nice texture from the seaweed.
Torafuku serves their own homemade tofu and we've always loved it. It has an amazingly smooth texture.
They had the kin me dai (japanese big eye fish) sashimi. I was surprised to see this on the menu, I never thought of Torafuku as a place that would have 'rare' fishes. I've never had this before so I had to get it. They served each slice with a thin slice of lemon.
I thought this was really good and the fish was fresh.
Torafuku also prides themselves on serving free range chicken and eggs. We got the free range eggs tamagoyaki, which was excellent! It had more color and flavor than normal tamago.
We also got the grilled free range chicken thigh.
It was a very, very juicy chicken! Without all the excess fat too. And served with yuzu, which was a very nice touch.
I got the salmon touban yaki, which is their kamado rice with salmon and an egg - served on a sizzling hot plate. The server will bring it and mix it for you on your table.
Then they top it with seaweed and salmon roe.
For dessert, get the mango kuzu! It is mango mousse served with cream.
It is my favorite dessert there, but then again I am /very/ partial to mangoes.
We also got the custard pudding (flan). I am also partial to flan ;) This was a good one, though I've had better.
I had forgotten how good the food at Torafuku is. I will definitely be back for more pretty soon.
Torafuku is probably one of the top Japanese restaurants that caters traditional Japanese cuisine in West Los Angeles aside from some of the others on Sawtelle. Besides this one time where I've encounter a lot of flies, the food there is consistently exceptional. Its seasonal dishes are quite amazing. My most recent visit was just a few weeks ago and I've had the best pork in town, considered that I had just got back from Japan few weeks prior to that.
Rather than ordering entrees, we went on to order an assortment of small dishes. From Grilled Kurobuta (Wild Boar; Black Pig; it was f'in marbalized!!!) Pork to Grilled Fatty Mackeral (Not on the English menu). From marinated-baked-scallop mixed rice (on special menu) to Octopus carpaccio. We topped if off with croquette and Spanish mackerel sashimi. The food there may be pricey at times, but they provide quality along with elegance on each plate.
When it comes to Japanese food, a lot of people out there can only think of teriyaki, sushi and tempura. There are definitely much more than that when it comes to Japanese cuisine. Torafuku can definitely show you what traditional and authenticity are all about with a touch of modern refinement to cater today's picky diners.
This restuarant is very cozy and cute. I was impressed by the quality of the food all around. Here's a rundown of the items we ordered.
Ume Shiso roll
Yellowtail w/ green onion rolls
Shitake roll
assorted sashimi
free range chicken
Tamago yaki (this is served warm, slightly sweet and fluffy - very good)
Home made tofu
All of the rolls were good. The rice and seaweed were the perfect blend. I'm picky about rice when it comes to sushi - but this place nails it =) They also offer several different dinner sets that include miso soup, assorted veggies, and either some kind of fish or meat (your choice). Dinner for two will probably run around $70-$100 ......well worth it in my opinion. The waiters and waitresses are always disorganized though. Parking is valet unless you can find street parking.
I came here unexpectedly, when fire alarms went off in the middle of a movie at the Westside Pavilion, forcing the entire mall and 20-or-whatever-plex to evacuate. Milling around outside with a couple thousand of our movie-going peers, it was pretty clear we weren't going to be seeing the end of our movie anytime soon, but like the entertainment troopers we are, we decided to make the best of it and go eat.
We wandered about 2 and a half feet down Pico and passed the entrance to Torafuku. I had read about Torafuku and decided not to try it because they specialize in rice, and I love rice and rice is a high-calorie pretty empty carb and therefore we must never be alone together. Alas. But everyone else wanted to go there so what could I do? Note for the record- I ate more rice than anyone. Sigh.
So, I have read the unenthusiastic review below and not being Japanese or really experienced with authentic Japanese food, maybe I'm making a tragic "Olive Garden" mistake, but I fully enjoyed my meal. First, LA was pretty much deserted on Saturday of Labor Day weekend, and we beat the other 2000 people from the mall over, so we were easily seated without a reservation and without a wait. The service was very friendly and attentive. Yes, actually overly attentive because as we went over the interesting and long menu no less than 5 different servers came and asked if we were ready. It's odd they have no designated tables because it was someone different each time. I guess they couldn't understand what was taking us so long. Choosing, people! Only having one thing! Very hard.
The menu has appetizers, sushi, special dishes and several combination sets where you can choose your entree.
I had a combination set which included miso, a couple different kinds of pickles and vegetables, sashimi, the famous rice and the black cod entree. Everything except the scary looking tofu pudding appetizer thing was delicious. And I just have a deep-seated fear of mushy food, soft tofu in particular - it's not their fault.
Even as a rice philistine, I could taste that the rice was very nicely done. Every grain was distinct yet it was not hard, undercooked or separated. It was soft and chewy with a very subtle taste of roastedness. I thought it was very nice and as I mentioned, ate all of it. Every last grain. The cod was delicious. The sashimi was fine but nothing special. I agree with the previous reviewer - I was a bit disappointed in the pickles which weren't that good. Now the pickles at Otafuku.... mmmm. Okay, where was I?
My sister tried the chirashi sashimi. I think she enjoyed it, but was less enthused than me. My brother in law tried an anchovy riceball (onigiri but the menu said rice ball), a many mushroom miso soup and a mixed tuna sashimi plate. One other dining companion was not feeling well and just had soup.
The service seemed odd as all three things my brother in law ordered came before mine. At the time it didn't make sense that the other two who ordered miso got theirs and I didn't, but then it became clear than mine had to be served on the combination "set" plates with a bunch of stuff served together. My soup came with the special appetizer (scary tofu) and then my whole meal arrived shortly after. The waiter apologized for the bad timing but no problem - philistines are okay with eating their soup together with their black cod and rice. I'm sure that's how they do it at the Olive Garden.
Anyway, it was a varied, warm, delicious and satisfying meal, and yet did not feel overwhelmingly heavy or unhealthy. That's the beauty of Japanese food. Different types of vegetables, soup, raw fish, cooked fish and delicate, delicious rice. What could be wrong with that?
I would definitely go back. Anytime.
yes, very good rice. and almost everything i had in their dinner combo was solid. especially the tonkatsu and ebi-fry.
i think you get what you pay for. and in this case, not in a bad way.
Torafuku is a relaxing place to dine with friends before a film or performance in Westwood. The decor is understated and minimalist chic with leather booths and nicely spaced tables. The lighting is soothing and the service quite attentive and polished.
Six of us dined and all agreed that the quality, variety and flavor were outstanding in these dishes:
YUBA UNI: a knock-out for uni lovers. Three or four creamy uni pieces laid atop silky strands of home-made tofu. This rested on a banana leaf, which imparted a subtle flavor to the tofu.The combination of textures and taste was heavenly. This dish is a must try for uni fans.
PORK KAKUNI: this was braised tenderly with onions in a slightly sweet au jus. It was not very fatty and was easy to share. Japanese soul-food.
JAKO TOH-BAN YAKI: A house specialty that resembles dol sot bibimbop in that it is rice, egg and (in this case) baby anchovies, sizzled to a crunchy texture in a hot stone pot. It paired nicely with the pork dish.
The appetizers were all delicious and went well with the icy cold mugs of beer.
Fried octopus in a light batter was a favorite, as was Kimpira, a cold lotus and burdock salad.
The seaweed salad with baby soy sprouts was large and uncommonly delicious. Japanese eggplant and grilled veggies were standard but fine.
The fun food, calm and casual-chic ambiance and the attractive, attentive staff all made our trip to Torafuku a pleasure. This is the type of place you look forward to revisiting.
Dinner total with alcohol: about $40-50 a head.
Lunch offers very economical specials.
Highly recommended.
Caveat: most dishes are small, in keeping with the style of food. They play muzak. Yep, muzak. (but you can hardly hear it)
so, this is going to be my first review ever on yelp.
I've been one of those, checking people's review but never wrote one myself.
I HAD to write a review for this place. Why? Because this place SUCKS.
SERVICE sucks, FOOD is bad...
and you know, this place gets one star only because their FURIKAKE (the flakes you eat with the rice) is good. That's it. Otherwise, this place is full of BS.
I went here for lunch with my girlfriend.
We sat, ordered and waited just like at a normal restaurant.
What was different?
The waitress didn't notice that we didn't have our napkins. Whatever, I can go without one when eating my salad. Nonetheless, we wanted our napkins so I asked for one.
Did the waitress bring it? NO. I had to ask her TWICE.
What is going on here?
The atmosphere appears to be nice. LOOKS clean..
Is it? HELL NO.
The table hasn't been wiped for what, like the last TEN GUESTS?
DIRTY indeed. Sanitation grade: F, they do not deserve an A.
Just to let you know, I'm not a hater. I've had bad experiences in my life, but I just have to write this damn review for this damn place.
Okay, so swine flu? no pork? aight. well understood. But couldn't they have posted that outside the door? I was there for the TONKATSU.
So i ordered the beef grill plate.
damn, seriously, this place is OVERRATED.
Authentic Japanese food my ass.
My girlfriend ordered the deep fry set.
haha, again, NOT TASTY. The place in Mitsuwa Food Court in Torrance, "Katsuhana" is MUCH better, although not so good.
Bad Service, unsanitary, overrated restaurant. DON'T GO. You'll regret it.
We came to Torafuku after being ignore by the hostess at Gyu-Kaku for about 10 minutes (and after noticing they messed up people's reservation, etc etc). Bf for some reason thought Torafuku serves soup noodle, so he suggested to just go across the street.
We had a tempura roll, spider roll, Black Angus skirt steak, and a dinner combination, oh and a salmon rice ball. With Hot tea and a large beer, the total came to about $65, which even it's alittle pricey, I think considered as reasonable as it located in the West side.
It took awhile to before the food were delivered. Quantity and quality of food were good, but not the best. I am not sure if the air condition was set too low or we ate too slow, the food got cold kinda fast. Cold rolls were not cool!
Ate here last night for he first time in over two years (two of us paid $55 for a big meal with sake). Things hage gone downhill a bit service-wise at Torafuku, but the food is still ok. Their tora-age (Japanese style fried chicken) is still the best in town and very reasonably priced. Our hamachi was also spot on...very fresh and tasty! Everyone gets all crazy about the rice here, but it really just tastes the same a other rice to me. I personally like the menu, which is very diverse for a Japanese restaurant. Nice sake selection, too. A meal here can be very expensive or very reasonable (they serve great $4 salmon rice balls!) It's all about what you order. The vibe is a bit staid and could use an update/slight remodel, but really the place is a solid bet for good Japanese with an authentic edge.
This place is nicer inside than it appears on the outside. The food is presented nicely and is pretty good. I'm not sure if it's worth the price as I found it pricey. A la carte items are the most expensive. We had a gift card so we didn't care though. Mon-Thu from 6-7 they have a combo deal that gives you a little bit of everything, fish, sashimi, tonkastu, shrimp, miso, and other stuff. The service seemed a little inconsistent..they were really nice but not sure if they had their act together.
Pros:Nice presentation, authentic
Cons:Pricey
Great place to go right before a movie at the Landmark.
The "famous" black cod was, in fact, pretty excellent, but the highlight of the meal was the homemade tofu. I stupidly kept trying to eat it with my chopsticks until the waiter leaned over and told me that's it's okay to eat it with a spoon.
Voila.
As for service, I'd say I agree that it's attentive bordering on overattentive, but I'd rather have it that way then keep waiting for my server and miss the first ten minutes of the movie.
$ushi $pecial!
Neighborhood: Hollywood
Happy Hour and Tapas Menu
Neighborhood: West Hollywood
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Beverly Hills
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
Category: Sushi Bars
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