At Home Kitchen

Found this cute mom and pop restaurant while my car was in the shop.
Amazing food, prices and service! Menu has a little bit of something for everyone. I especially loved the poke, agedashi tofu and salmon bento. Prices are reasonable so you can try a bit of everything, but be careful it is cash only.

I came here for lunch with my daughter and boyfriend.
We enjoyed it so much! The ladies that worked here are so nice and polite and very helpful. This was our first time so she took her time to explain the customers usuals or favorites.
I ended up getting the daily bento box. yummy! The chicken tastes so good but it has a flavor that doesn’t compare to other fried chicken. And they are in bite sized pieces. And also a price is sausage! And a piece of salmon, w/​salad and miso soup and rice. Seems very little but I am SO full.
My boyfriend got a katsu chicken with egg all over. Also rice. He LOVED it so much.
My daughter got the teriyaki chicken. She usually doesn’t like eating out, but she enjoyed this meal! I was so glad to see her enjoy her food.
I cannot forget to mention that the price here is UNBEATABLE. I spent only $ 20 for our meal. I have $ 7 tip. They were so nice and it was nice and clean here. They also have a A rating. When we finished ordering our food, she gave us water cups without us asking. I love that! Lol. It’s the simple things that people do to make the visit enjoyable.
I will definitely be a returning customer!

Minimal decoration but clean and nice. This is my first time here and it’s so nice. I would be regular here if my house is close to the restaurant. Good job guys

Since I’ve been here 3 – 4 times for lunch I thought it’s time for a review. Learned about this place through Unilocal by searching for good Japanese eats near my work. Typically I’ve done takeout but today I had ample time to sit and enjoy my lunch. I’ve had the Katsu Don and bento lunch specials. I’ve found I prefer the bento. Greater variety of food for just a little more cash. The quality, presentation, and flavor is everything one would hope for in a «homestyle» cooked meal. I’ve had bento lunches in Japan and this place can hold their own. Sure it’s got some American flare but it seems to work. Their employees are friendly and curtious. Parking seems to be an issue at noon since strip plaza is so small. I advise you come at 11am if possible. Give this place a try! I’m a fan!

Quint mom and pop restaurant! They have really good lunch specials
We ordered
Salmon with tempura
Crab and Shrimp Croquette
I love seafood, but I did NOT ilke the crab and Shrimp cream croquette. I took one bite and handed it over to the fiancé. The salmon was really good.
Nice little mom and pop shop. I wish there’s more options. Until next time!

This place is good! My boyfriend and I love to order the Chicken Katsu with Curry! And their Crab and shrimp Croquettes are so the bomb! And the prices are cheap! Sushi is great too. I always order their Crunchy Roll which is 8 pieces for only $ 7.

Quality of the food was on par to the Curry House and prices were fairly cheap. Would definitely go back for lunch or dinner.
We got the chicken katsu curry, croquet, dongbu ice cream and all were great!
Cash only, fast service, small hole in the wall restaurant. Good for a date night or small group.
They do take out too!
Great place to get in and get out quickly for cheap quality Japanese food.

For the price, we were amazed! I was pretty happy to find a Japanese place sporting the Unilocal $ sign that wasn’t some teriyaki chicken joint. This place has a lot of authentic options. And it tastes good. My husband said «This is really good» like five times throughout our meal.
Salmon collar and miso cod, with the combo added, were delicious and filling. I was surprised by how good the fish was at such a low price. Solid. As others mentioned, the poke is quite delicious.
The place is small and casual, and there was a big screen playing the Stanford versus somebody… It is also cash only, as others mentioned. They bring your food out on a tray.
Overall, it’s a super cute little place. I would definitely come back if I was in the area. Seems like a great place to catch lunch. 4.5 stars, but for the price, a bump up to 5!

Bentos!!! I love me some bentos. I’m always on the search for a good bento. There’s just something about that rectangular box of goodies with all sorts of little bits of tasty items inside. I’m always up for eating a bento and am constantly on the search for another place that will serve it up. I’m officially liking At Home Kitchen a lot and am planning on coming back here for sure already!
At Home Kitchen is tucked away into an unassuming plaza. Like many great small one off restaurants it’s where you find a lot of good food! The décor is pretty much functional with some art work hanging on the walls. Ordering is simple with the counter method. It took a bit to get our food but I think it was due to the fact that we had the extraordinary luck of ordering right after a big takeout order!
There weren’t a ton of people working and they make everything fresh here! Which is absolutely wonderful when it comes to bentos as many places can make items ahead of time and then slop it into the box. Some items like the salad were probably made ahead of time of course but the hot items were made to order for sure! The prices were pretty darn cheap, the portions plentiful, and I’d say it was pretty darn good.
SPECIAL BENTO
Fried mackerel, chicken with vegetable, soba noodle salad and rice and miso soup were all included for under $ 10! This was the special of the day and I got sucked in because of the fried mackerel! It wasn’t what I expected and turned out to be a tempura style fried mackerel which I thoroughly enjoyed. The chicken and vegetable was just passé but the soba noodle salad was suprisingly enjoyable. It had a creamy sauce with it that I wasn’t sure about at first but after trying it I found that I liked it.
HUBBY’S BENTO
My husband got one with pork katsu and tempura which I readily sampled. Both were made to order and really quite tasty! The tempura and katsu were both nicely crunchy but not too oily. I definitely didn’t expect those items to be really good here.
A new bento place for me to go to!!! Whee!

At Home was one of my very favorite places to go to for lunch when i worked in Gardena. Now, I have to stop there for my favorite lunch when I’m in the area. Granted I always order the same thing (the amazing grilled salmon set w/​a simple yet yummy green salad, delicious potato salad, steamed rice, miso soup, and a choice between a California roll, spicy tuna roll or poke), it is always a great lunching experience. The staff is really great, always friendly and welcoming. The place is always clean, and though its small, its comfortable and cozy and perfect for an intimate meal.
The only thing I wish was different is that they accepted debit and credit cards… Its CASH ONLY folks, so go prepared! Also, the parking situation can get a little hectic during lunch hours because they share a small lot w other business in the little center so parking in the residential areas may be necessary. The best times for a peaceful lunch would be before noon and around 1:30pm!

Bare bones mini strip mall eatery manned by all men in & out of the kitchen at least on the day we were there. It’s a clean, functional, form-​follows-​function sort of place. Definitely not a date place, but ideal for families, friends, or single diners who want a casual come-​as-​you-​are kind of ambiance.
A convenient basic building block is to order «The Set» and go on from there although there is also a la carte ordering. The set includes steamed rice, Miso soup, @Home salad that includes Japanese style potato salad that is fortified w/​more mayonnaise & semi pureed for $ 3.80. You can choose: mixed Tempura; Poke (poh keh) Sashimi; Sushi Roll. Belly up to the f front counter to order & pay, & the staff will hunt you down & put down the food.
1) The Poke: small chunks of raw salmon & tuna w/​slices of cucumber, Wakame/​dark green seaweed, tomato, onion in slightly acidic vinegar, Sho-​yu/​soy sauce, possibly Ra-​yu/​red chile oil & a sprinkling of black sesame seeds.
We also ordered:
2) Chicken Kara’age (kah rah ah geh) which was not pre-​marinated in a Sho-​yu, garlic-​ginger marinade. There may have been just a sprinkling of salt & mélange of hot spices & then thrown into the oil. Unfortunately because the pieces were of varied sizes, the larger pieces came out moist inside & a bit crispy outside, but the smaller pieces all were over cooked to the point of extremely dry chewiness. $ 3.60.
3) Mixed Tempura had 3 shrimps & a mélange of vegetables such as Kabocha/​Japanese squash, Hasu/​renkon which is lotus root, button mushroom, okra, sweet potato, carrot, zucchini, yam, green bell pepper. The Tempura batter was a thin crispy coating signaling a finer touch to the art of Tempura w/​the use of fresh oil which added a subtle sweetness.
1−3a) Ryoku Cha/​Japanese green tea for $ 1.00 paired w/​the food. There are no alcoholic drinks.
Except for the Mixed Tempura which was quite excellent no matter where, the rest of the food here is good, but the price point is what may attract the majority of the customers. All the above came to less than $ 20 including tax. @Home Kitchen is an absolute deal. And for that, I will rate it 4– Unilocal stars. CASH ONLY

This place has a great lunch deal and really delicious poke! Just be aware that they only accept cash and unfortunately, they do not deliver so it usually isn’t my office’s first choice when it comes to ordering lunch. If they could just do that, I would give them 5 stars! And I would probably order lunch from here way more often!

Although their $ 3.50 poke bowl (comes.with miso soup too!)special ended last month, it is still available at $ 5.50.
It is still great deal compared to other poke places…
Of course, all other dishes are so delicious here too!

So many choices! Most of the choices are appetizers and you can add the meal set that comes with miso, salad, rice and your choice of poke, tempura or california rolls. I ended up getting Pork katsu don with poke, miso and 2 salads since I didn’t need any more rice. It was plenty of food for leftovers the next day!
The katsu don was pretty good, moist and flavorful. I find that most of them are dry and need soy sauce, but this one had everything I wanted. The salad was more of some mashed potatos with lettuce and sauce which was pretty good and filling. The poke had a nice fish/​sesame sauce combo which gave it some great flavor, but the fish wasn’t the all time freshest. Ehhh what can you expect when it’s that cheap?
Overall, a great place for a quick and easy meal.

Found this place on Unilocal while looking to check out a new place to eat Japanese food in Gardena, and was sold by the stellar reviews and unbelievable prices, and this place did not disappoint! The BF and I pulled up to a small plaza with about three or four other establishments, and there was a small parking lot in the front. There was no line, but the restaurant was pretty full.
The menu was a bit confusing at first, but basically you can order what you want and add $ 3.80 to make it a set, which includes salad, rice, miso soup and your choice of poke sashimi, sushi roll, or tempura. There are so many options, it was very difficult for me to decide, but I was starving and had my mind set on tempura, poke, and chicken teri so I ended up ordering mixed tempura that I made a set with poke sashimi and a small chicken teri bowl. I know it sounds like a lot of food, but what can I say I was hungry and I love food, especially Japanese food! BF ordered beef teri with the sushi roll, which was spicy tuna that day, looks like they have a different sushi roll depending on the day, and he was also going to help me with my orders. They also have a daily bento box between $ 8-​$ 9 that also looked good. We were amazed by the quality and portions for the incredibly affordable prices! I still can’t believe the small chicken teri bowl is only $ 3.50, and it’s really not small, it’s more of a regular sized bowl, and way better than Yoshinoya and I liked it better than Flame Broiler. The tempura was good and came with around 9 pieces and there was even shitake mushroom-​which I love, but a bit oily for my taste, but what do I expect from deep fried goodness. The poke sashimi was delicious, I wonder if they serve a full order of this, I’ll have to find out next time! The beef teri was also good, I really liked their teri sauce-​so tasty! I also really enjoyed the salad that was topped with potato salad, I love potatoes! We loved and ate everything, and even ordered another spicy tuna roll (8 pieces) for $ 4, and it was delicious and had a generous amount of fresh and tasty spicy tuna.
The staff was really friendly, and helpful/​understanding of my indecisiveness. The restaurant is also very clean. CASH ONLY!
Can’t wait to come back! I definitely plan to be a regular here! :)

You must get the MISO BLACK COD set with poke sashimi. Sooo delicious! You can get any item on the menu and make it a set for just $ 3 or $ 4 more while it comes with miso soup and salad and another side of your choice. There were no leftovers whatsoever! Great portion sizes in this set!
Also try to dango ice cream dessert! You can choose between red bean, black sesame or green tea ice cream.
It’s a small family owned business. It gets pretty crowded around 12pm lunch time and the parking lot is pretty small so you might need to park on the residential street.

Scene
Setting: A warm Thursday afternoon during the lunch hour. Hasn’t rained in days. Just finished a lunch meal at Home Kitchen in Gardena California.
Walking back to the car from Home Kitchen enters Stomach.
Stomach: «Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, Mmm! That was
just…wow…man. Lucky for me. Jeeze! Mmm! Just,
loving it, and so friendly. Phew, AND I still have food
leftover. Comfort. Lovely, lovely comfort. Great way to
use up my $ 1’s. Mmm! Un-​freakin-​believable.
Feeliiiiiing good. SO Rewarding. Yes yes yes yes yes.
Can’t wait for next time, sooooo delicious! Couldn’t
stop smiling.»
Me: «Yup»
End Scene

I stopped by here after reading my yfs Maggie C’s and Steve S’s reviews. @ Home Kitchen is located on Vermont near 168^th in Gardena, and specializes in basic Japanese fare. For those of you that have been in the South Bay a while, it is in the same spot occupied by Bob’s Hawaiian for a 100 years. @HK has a special bento box of the day for approximately $ 8.50, and other specials like miso black cod and sake kama (salmon collar). In addition, they also have entrees priced at $ 6 to $ 9, when paired w/​a set (your choice of sashimi, tempura or poke, rice, miso soup & salad: $ 3.80 extra), you can make a bigger meal.
I ordered the grilled salmon ($ 6.60), w/​the poke set. The meal also comes with miso soup and rice. The miso and salad were basic fare, although the green salad also included a scoop of decent potato salad: 3 Stars. Secondarily, the poke was just OK. The tuna, salmon, and white fish was actually pretty good. However, it was served on top of cucumber, and there was this shoyu/​oil kinda sauce at the bottom. Don’t get me wrong. The sauce tasted good, but it was better suited to dip the fish in, and pour on your rice: 3 Stars. Lastly, the salmon was very good for the price. It was grilled very basically, and only seasoned with salt I wouldn’t mind paying a little extra for a second piece of fish: 4 Stars.
The ambiance is nothing to speak of. You walk up to the counter, order your food and someone other than the cashier brings your food: 3 Stars. On the hand, the service was just OK. The staff was friendly, but my food came out after two people who ordered after me. I hate it when the kitchen does that! 3 Stars for the staff, and 2 Stars for the kitchen.
There is a Thai place by my previous job in Ontario with the same name, and I also rated it 3 Stars. I would have a hard time coming back. First of all, of course you are going to get a set because the entrée comes with nothing. So just charge for a full meal vs charging for the entrée and the set. In addition, I felt the portions were small for the price, I was still kinda hungry afterwards, and I thought the food was just OK. But WTH do I know? LOL

Simple Japanese food done right. Best of all, prices are beyond reasonable here.
I had the spicy tuna bowl and although it wasn’t the best spicy tuna I’ve ever had, it definitely satisfied my craving. It’s very light and the fish seemed pretty fresh. They also give you plenty of tuna, so it definitely justifies the $ 9 price tag.
They have a wide variety of Japanese food on their menu, so you have your options. My friend had the katsudon and a spider roll. I had a piece of the katsu, and the pork was cooked really well. Everyone seemed to be really satisfied with their food which should be a testament to the quality of this place.
I’ll definitely be returning to At Home Kitchen the next time I feel like quick and simple Japanese food done right. As mentioned by others, make sure to bring cash.

I decided to try At Home Kitchen a couple of days ago as it showed up on the best of Unilocal in Gardena page with high ratings. At Home Kitchen is located in the corner of a strip mall on Vermont and 168^th street and I almost drove past it as it is not clearly visible from the road. There is a small parking lot for this strip mall which also hosts a coin laundry and a Thai restaurant so even on a Saturday I was able to get the last open slot, which means that on normal weekdays you would be better off parking on 168^th and walking over.
Upon entering I was not sure if it was a counter service or table service place as there were no signs, but this confusion is to be expected in Japanese restaurants. I walked over to the counter and checked out the menu and went with the crab and shrimp cream croquette ($ 5.80) and made it into a set for $ 3.80 more which gave me rice, miso soup, salad a a choice or mixed tempura, poke sashimi or sushi roll from which I selected poke sashimi as I wanted to check out the Japanese version of poke. I paid (cash only) took a seat and waited for my number to be called. The restaurant is small with around 8 tables and almost all tables were taken so it was a 10 minute wait after which the food was delivered to my table. I’ve observed that this hybrid approach is being adopted by many restaurants these days.
Taste wise everything I ate was excellent. The croquette’s were nice and crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, almost perfectly made. The salad was a fresh garden salad with a blob of mashed potato in the middle. Again absolutely fresh and a nice vinaigrette dressing. The poke sashimi had small pieces of fish and was mostly salad but that was expected considering the overall cost of the dish. The dressing on the poke sashimi was to die for. The miso soup was flavorful but not overwhelming. The rice was cooked right but could have been of a better quality. In a nutshell, I liked everything that I ate.
Overall looking at the service, quality of food and price, At Home Kitchen ticks all the check boxes and provides excellent value. I will be back to try some more stuff off their menu.