Kagura El Segundo

The portions are nice size and the food is good overall. The quality of the steak could have been better. Sushi place with no sushi bar.

I’ve never been to this part of El Segundo until tonight. Kagura El Segundo is nestled in the heart of Old El Segundo. This one has been open since November of 2015.
The food and service were consistent with Kagura in Old Torrance. I had the Black Cod dinner set which came with tempura, sashimi, soba, tonkatsu, choice of white or brown rice and side dishes. Everything was perfect in every way!

The food was delicious! The presentation was amazing! The atmosphere was modern and very calming the staff were also very friendly and attentive

Good gozen combinations for a good price, but the katsu is not nearly as good and authentic as the Torrance location. The breading is not as light and flaky, nor is the meat as tender. The filet was thin, and the loin was not noticeably more marbled. This location has easy parking and no wait, but is not a substitute for the Torrance location. Don’t come here as a tonkatsu destination. Stick with the Torrance location for that.

TL;DR Didn’t like their Steak Gozen. Everything about this dish was bland. The Chicken Gozen is better, but with such bland sides I wouldn’t come back for it.
Pros:
+ Big private booths
+ Professional, attentive staff
+ Jazz playing in the background
Cons:
— Steak was underseasoned
— Rice was plain
— Tofu was bland and had a soggy texture
— Other sides were bland as well
— Prices aren’t justified by food preparation
— Steak portion was tiny
— Sides were small
I really wanted to like this place considering I work very close by, but thought it was incredibly underwhelming. I ordered the Steak Gozen which came with a bunch of sides, all of which had no taste to them and shouldn’t really be considered sides due to how miniscule they are. The edamame was the only thing that was fine, but that’s mostly because you don’t have to do anything besides cook it. The tofu, rice, steak, soup, and the rest of the subsides I don’t know the name of, were forgettable and tasteless. I did try a piece of chicken from a buddy of mine and that was tasty. Actually had flavor to it. Unfortunately it comes with the same bland sides, so I don’t see myself ever returning for it. I will say that the location is very nice. They have big private booths and have relaxing Jazz playing in the background. The staff is very professional. Just wish they seasoned their food properly because the quality of their items seemed good.

Lunch on Tuesday, it’s quiet here, probably a good relax meal location.
I’ve been to the Torrance location and enjoyed much, so I gave a try here.
Order gozen lunch with my friends, cuz we really like to try those little dishes come with it.
Both katsu pork loin and fillet are decent, but fall short comparing with Torrance location. Meat is less juicy.
Steak comes sizzling on iron plate, smells goodd but a little bit overcooked. And small I think.
All the side dishes are average and too little to taste. It’s more like a decoration to the lunch set than playing a real supporting role.
Thou the lunch set wouldn’t leave you hungry, but we left not as satisfied as having a meal at Torrance location.

Seriously good food. Great prices. Wonderful service and beautiful décor.
We are lucky to have this lovely restaurant in ES!

Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars… I had high hopes for this place but maybe my expectations were too high.
Hubs and I went here for lunch during the week.
He had Chicken Katsu Don ($ 16.50) — They did a great job on the Chicken Katsu part but the rice bowl itself was not the best. I thought there was way too much liquid in the bowl, which made the rice very soggy. I know it’s served with mini side dishes, but still $ 16.50 is a little on the high side, I thought.
I was thinking about getting the Pork Katsu Gozen, but I thought it might be too much food for lunch time (would put me to sleep at work in the afternoon), so I opted for Tororo Soba (cold soba topped with fresh grated Japanese yam, $ 11.50). It was pretty good, but not great.
The menu says the noodle dishes come with Inari but they actually serve it with 2 pieces of California roll (they were delicious!). If you’re a vegetarian, you might want to ask if they can substitute.
All in all, it’s too expensive for everyday lunch, but it’s ok for once in a while. I need to try a few more things to make a better judgement. I shall return…

Fantastic!!! Ask for Mocky (?? Spell) beautiful energy! and she’s got this great raspiness to her voice. i miss her already.
food is great! 1 gozen– good for sharing. grilled squid-​delicious. pork cutlet-​delicious.
you won’t be disappointed…

Okay, so since my first review, I’ve come here about 10 times and had the same meal — Curry Udon!
I can honestly say that I’ve decided that if I had to chose my last meal on. This would be it. I can’t explain how good this soon is in words. Try it for yourself and see.
=== first post ===
You probably can’t tell by this picture, I had the Curry Udon soup. But it’s very clear — I loved every drop.
The broth was full-​bodied, but not too filling. It was mildly spiced, and yet very rich in flavor.
The curry udon is accompanied by three or four good-​sized chunks of lightly battered chicken (dark meat), which was an experience on its own.
But above all, I enjoyed the service. The decode, presentation and demeanor of the staff, pulls this meal together and makes you feel like you are catered to personally.

Catching up on my reviews. Went to Kagura in February and have to say that the restaurant is authentic, classy, up-​scale, Gozen style Japanese dining. Diners sit in wooden booths. almost like a sauna.LOL.
Seriously…the food is excellent. All of the dishes were excellent: fish was fresh, tempura light and crunchy, egg custards were tasty. You can tell that there was a great amount of detail put into the various Gozen options that we had. Tasty, fresh, and excellent service.

I’ve been wanting to try Kagura since they announced their opening a few months ago.
We came here on a Thursday night after we finished our shopping at the farmers market.
It’s a very cute and modern restaurant with good lighting and I love the fact that they have private booths.
I was impressed with the service and the food was terrific.
We ordered the vegetable and tofu soup gozen and the curry udon. I was in shock when I saw the amount of food they brought, each tray was nicely decorated with lots of side dishes. In addition we got complimentary salad and miso soup.
I’m not sure who was my server, because everyone was serving our table and we were asked repeatedly if we needed anything. Thanks so much!
I will definitely come back.

Finally, some delicious and legit Japanese food around the beach cities. Kagura is a great new addition to Main St. If you order a gozen for your meal, you are given a little bit of everything for a set price. I seriously think this is the best option because you can try everything for an incredible deal.
PARKING:
Only street, but I was pleasantly surprised how easily I was able to come across them. Best of all, they are free.
AMBIANCE:
Very open restaurant with good lighting. They have a very tiny sushi bar (with like 3 seats), private booths, and an open counter area. I liked how spacious it was. If you are here with a larger party, I think the private booths would be a great way to interact with each other.
FOOD:
Where to begin? The menu is simple and concise with pictures of the gozens. You know what you are going to get with the images. But the hardest part is choosing what to get because everything looks so good (and I’m not even kidding).
I was torn between the steak and sashimi gozen. Thankfully, my dad was willing to share both. Both gozens come with a bowl of rice, miso soup, and salad to enjoy at first. You get your choice of either brown or white rice. The soup and salad were small portions, which was nice since I didn’t want to stuff myself before the feast began lol.
The sashimi gozen ($ 28) was a sight to see (a beautiful one I might add). The sashimi was colorful and cut thinly with tuna, salmon, fresh and sweet scallops, and white fish. The sashimi was delicious and extremely fresh. If that wasn’t enough, I was also given a small portion of tonkatsu, several tempuras, tofu with beef (very similar to a sukiyaki), cold soba, and several pickled vegetables to eat with your rice. To my surprise, I ate everything but it was all amazing. The portions weren’t overwhelming at all.
I really enjoyed the tonkatsu (deep fried pork cutlet) that lied on a bed of thinly sliced cabbage. Kagura is known for their katsu and I can tell why. The pork was still very juicy and not overly fried. The panko crumbs on the exterior still had a nice crunch to it. When I go back, I’m going to get the tonkatsu gozen just because that small portion wasn’t enough!

One of the best Japanese cuisine restautants I have been to in LA! Located on Main street in the city of El Segundo, conveniently located near LAX, and parking is free and within walking distance. I asked if they do anything special for birthdays and they said no, but they were kind enough to provide us plates for the cake I brought in myself for no extra charge. I ordered the Wagyushu steak gozen meal which was very filling and a delight for all the senses. Every gozen came with miso soup, salad, and rice. I was happy to see such beautiful presentation, with an extra large bento box of surprises to satisfy your appetite.

When I learned I need to be in the area on business, my immediate thought on food was tonkatsu from Kagura in Torrance. I haven’t had decent tonkatsu in a while and I really was craving for a good one. Unfortunately due to my schedule, driving to Torrance wasn’t my option, so I searched on Unilocal.Around that time I noticed on fellow Unilocaler’s check in at this location. I was excited about coincidence and opportunity to try Kagura’s tonkatsu close to the LAX airport.
Unilocal homepage said the lunch hour is from 11:30am but when I called they were open from 11:00. I didn’t see the official hours listed so not sure what time they open for lunch.
I really like the setting inside. They have two large community tables where you share with others, feel free to come alone or with someone. If you come with a group, they have a semi private dining area (anywhere between 3 – 6 people per semi-​enclosed area). They also have a small sushi bar in the back to seat 3 people.
Kagura is known for tonkatsu (pork cutlet). I knew what I wanted to order prior to arriving here for lunch. Kurobuta Hire Katsu Gozen (pork filet cutlet lunch box) was $ 15.75 and comes with tonkatsu, sashimi, several sides (oden, kinpira, taro potato… etc). Sashimi was very fresh, it melts in your mouth that fresh. First bite in my tonkatsu, I was in heaven. So juicy and tender, deep fried to perfection, I wish portion size was bigger… Lunch comes with choice of rice (white or brown), salad and miso soup as well. Side dishes were so authentic, I felt as if I was in Tokyo
Street parking only. It took us a while to find a spot. The restaurant staff said they have small parking in the back that we can use if available.
I saw other dishes on the menu that I wanted to try. It’s only 7 mins from LAX airport by car. If I have 3 hours layover in LAX, I think I can stop by for a quick meal and get back to the airport.
So when is my next business trip to LAX?

I’m so sad that the wine bar that used to be here is now gone. When I heard that it was turning into a Japanese place, I was so peeved. In the small town of El Segundo, why do we need ANOTHER sushi place? There’s already 2 within a few shops away. Well what makes this place stands out is that it doesn’t have sushi. And after going just the first time, I’m happy this place is here! It’s actually quite refreshing seeing a different set of menu options than a usual Japanese place around here.
Soups:
–They have soba noodles and udon noodles. Some soups are cold and some are hot, although you can select if you want one or the other.
–My husband and I have tried the duck meat soba (hot soup) and the roe and radish soba (cold soup). They’re both very flavorful and they definitely don’t skip on the meat! And the bowls are enormous. I might’ve liked the roe and radish one slightly better although it was a little odd eating cold soup at first.
–They have a lot of other options I plan on trying including the wagyu beef udons and the curry udon.
Bento Boxes:
–There are slightly different options during lunch as there are during dinner. The dinner ones are pretty large.
–So far we’ve only tried the lunch items, specifically with the salmon in some miso sauce and the sashimi (just a few pieces of tuna and yellowtail), and then one with lots more sashimi and tempura. Both are very recommended, although the salmon tasted a tad overcooked. Sashimi is so fresh, I may stick with that next time.
A bit pricey (the soups are ~$ 18 or so, and the dinner bento boxes are ~$ 25) however the amount of food you get is quite large. Every entrée (including the soups) comes with a bunch of small sides as well as a small bowl of salad and miso soup. Try all the sides, I didn’t know what they were but they’re all super tasty!
Also to note, the couple times we’ve been already the place is filled with Japanese patrons speaking Japanese. Where all these people come from beats me because it’s totally not reflective of the El Segundo population demographics, but heck that makes me feel like this place is more authentic!

I’m happy for another Japanese option that is close to work and home. We were here on Saturday for lunch and it wasn’t busy. I think they probably attract a weekday work lunch crowd, and maybe locals for dinners on weekends?
I had a set menu lunch with nigiri sushi, tempura, and all the fixings on the side. It was filling and pretty tasty. The food tasted fresh and the food came out pretty quickly. I thought the food to price value was there too.
I’ll be back with my coworkers sometime.

A very good place, especially for El Segundo. However, some of the food was off and the service left much to be desired. There are only three choices for wine, and it took 22 minutes just to order a drink. When it came, the wine pours were anemic, probably 3 oz pours instead of a standard 5 or oz. (avoid ordering white wine, as the glasses are tiny). Nobody seemed to know who was handling our table, and we had three different waitresses show up at different times (The third waitress was excellent). All told: a full 57 minutes elapsed before dinner arrived. We ordered fairly promptly and they weren’t crowded, so this is a serious ding.
We ordered the Wagyu Beef Gozen. There were definitely a lot of cute little dishes served as part of dinner, but my tempura was cold and the beef was way overcooked. However, the pork tonkatsu and the sashimi were both worth going back for. I’m guessing that they’re still working bugs out, and I do hope they fix their issues quickly.

Really good set dinners, they come out on a big giant artfully arranged tray! Feast!
I had the sashimi gozen which came with a lot of fresh cuts of fish including scallop sashimi, so good! Included was a bunch of veggie tempura and pork katsu… As if you needed more food… It also came with a bunch of side dishes such as cold soba, braided tofu, beef brisket, and seaweed. If you’re not a big eater, I think you can easily share one dinner.
I want to come back to try the shabu shabu set and the many other gozen.

Legit Tokyo Style Food
In Mayberry
No low sodium Shoyu
Kagura is very ambitious to open a legit Japanese restaurant in El Segundo, unless they know that there is some large Japanese company nearby. This is why I see it as ambitious, since no offence, the other locations are in areas where there is a large Japanese, Nikkei, and Japanese Foodie population and well El Segundo is a little too Apple Pie. So Kagura has two large wrap around counters that are really community tables, so the two Hakujin that came in after me, one was happy ordering off the menu, and the other wanted to order everything a la carte like tempura, chicken teriyaki, and sashimi. I don’t think he even looked at the menu. He asked for low sodium Shoyu and was flabbergasted that it was not available. I think that will be Kagura’s biggest challenge.
So if you have read the other reviews, yes, Kagura has these meal sets served on trays with condiments and dishes on their own little plates or boxes. It is a typical thing in a Japanese hotel or nicer restaurant in Japan, but for the life of me, my last trip to Japan in April, I don’t recall seeing the term Gozen on any menu in the hotel restaurants I dined at, I just know the term is one way to tell the time in Japan.
I ordered the Kurobuta loin set, which came with Maguro and Hamachi sashimi, katsuobushi dashi Miso soup, a salad with a light daikon and Goma Abura dressing, a small dish of prepared hijiki, seasoned shredded tuna, Kimpira, oshinko, and a hearty oden consisting of daikon, ninjin, and Inari age.
The one thing I noticed when they set the tray down was the eye for detail the chef has in the presentation. The sashimi was amazingly fresh but how it was folded over and presented on the hand cut sashimi tsuma, it was just so simply elegant. The tonkatsu although laid on a bed of shredded cabbage, was laid down like every slice was the exact same distance apart. Even the tsukemono that came with this tonkatsu was thoughtfully placed.
Service was on point, but for such a small place they had 4 servers, which is good for the clientele.
They have 3 kinds of Nama bi-​ru, Asahi, Sapporo, and Kirin, being from Hokkaido, I went with the obvious. They also have sake and I don’t know if they have hot sake, since I didn’t see it on the menu.
The tables are in semi private rooms and can easily sit up to 8 people and a large party can also take an entire community table.