Izakaya Akatsuki - Hand-crafted Udon Soba

Made reservations for 5 & requested corner booth w/an extra chair. When we arrived, everything was exactly as requested w/a reserved sign on the table. This was our 2nd visit to this place & both times, hostess was extremely friendly. Our 2nd visit was for dinner so it was a slightly different menu than our first time lunch visit. Our waiter was very patient in taking our orders as we all studied the menu. The broth for the hot ramen noodles was very tasty & not salty at all. Side fried veggies/shrimp was not greasy & lightly battered, also delicious.
Will definitely be returning!

Best handmade udon in LA- no joke!!
If you feel like eating Udon, this is a must go to place
Server is also super friendly!

Cozy atmosphere that serves dishes packed with flavor. The seaweed was a great appetizer and the Gyoza was cooked to perfection. I got the katsu chicken curry and it had a great balance of spices. Service was a bit slow and we had to ask for drink refills a few times, but they also seemed very busy since it was mother's day.

A slight name change, New Ownership, very busy on a Sunday afternoon. Great service. I ordered the fried chicken bento. It was so busy it took awhile for the 10 of us to get served. Everything was very tasty. Gardena, Torrance is a gold mine of amazing eateries and Markets.

They definitely know how to get you in the mood ☺️. The first thing you'd noticed is the aesthetics of the place and how clean, pleasantly lit the place is. I also really like their seating arrangements: very spacious but cozy. Servers were really friendly and patient. The place was clean, restroom included.

Now, moving on to the food, I enjoyed every single dish on the menu 😋:

- Shrimp Tempura Udon: This was a very comforting dish. I had oily food for days and decided to eat something light and this udon didn't disappoint. Seasoning again was on point and the broth was very delicious (I actually finished the whole bowl). The tempura was ok, but still enough for me to enjoy it. 👍🏼Portion was huge! Loved it.

- Grilled Salmon: The portion was fair, the meat texture was perfect (tender and juicy). It was fresh and the seasoning was just right, not too salty nor oily. It was fairly priced too! I recommend this for salmon lovers!

- Chicken Kaarage: They really made this extra crispy and the meat was also very juicy (I hate dry chicken and this is not it, so woohoo! 🎉).

Overall, I would really like you to try this restaurant. You would have an amazing experience here. I am looking forward to coming back here to try the other dishes on the menu. Money well spent! 😁