Torihei, Torrance

Do not fall for the bamboo sake gimick. I have no idea why they charge an extra $5 for the same house sake, when the only difference is the bamboo holder. Really? $5?

Besides the bamboo, I loved everthing about Torihei. There was't a miss on any of the items and the noise level wasn't as high as Shinsengumi. The skewers are just as good as Shinsengumi, if not better. Torihei might even surpass its rivalry, with its extensive oden menu.
                                                   
                                                     The infamous bamboo sake

Gizzard

Chicken Skin with Ponzu Salad

Half Cooked Egg with Roe (oden)

Seaweed (oden)

Chicken with Mentaiko

Pork

"Torihei" special meat ball

Hanpen, fish cake (oden)

Fluffy, light..eating clouds

Beef tongue- a must

Washyugu Beef

                           

The finale, ochazuke. The perfect end to wash down the palate was with some rice soup. It came with pickled radishes and marinated squid.

Remember to drink the broth that comes with the odens. It would be sacriligeous to let that flavorful soup go to waste.  All the dishes surpassed my expectations, especially the Fish Cake Oden, beef tongue, half cooked egg. But I just didn't feel the "special beef". Frankly, I had no idea I was eating beef. My only qualms were the bamboo sake and "special beef". But that won't stop Torihei from being my favorite izakaya for now.                                                                                                                                                         

     

8.5/10
Torihei
1757 W. Carson Street, #A
Torrance, CA 90501
Tel: (310) 781-9407