Torimatsu

Outside of Japan you will be hard pressed to find as original and wonderful Yakitori-​ya as Torimatsu. The master has perfected his craft and for well over a decade I have been enjoying his delicious yakitori. The chicken is fresh, cut to perfection and grilled over Kisu Binchotan from Wakayama. Super good. No other restaurant even comes close.

I love how they use coals from Japan. Had tsukune (meatballs — VERY good), kawa (skin), neginiku (with green onions), eggs, grilled scallops (ok), and grilled rice balls (filling could be more — very little filling but what counts is the grilled part and it was good). Overall, it was good eats and would like to come back soon to try raw chicken (didn’t have guts to try last time).

The best yakitori in LA. Excellent chicken skewers. Love the charcoal essence. They use the best rice.

This is the legitimate Japanese yakitori place! Everything we ordered was so good without exception! They use charcoal from Japan! (Kishu binchotan)
All yakitoris are cooked by one chef where you can watch him. So you know that your yakitoris are cooked by master chef, not other regular chef.
Yakionigiri takes 30−40min, so make sure you order in advance.
The place is pretty small.

This place is heaven! Nothing more to say. Make sure to make a reservation because everyone knows how good this place is.

My go to Yakitori restaurant in the LA area is Torimatsu. If you’re looking for a variety of foods and not just chicken then you should go elseware because Torimatsu is all about their Chicken. It starts with their charcoal imported from Japan. It’s heavy, dense, and provides an even level of heat for a longer period of time than just ordinary Charcoal. The Charcoal imparts a very slight smoky taste to the chicken and because it provides even heat, the chicken is cooked perfectly. Juicy and not overcooked.
There are a lot of skewered Chicken sticks to choose from and they are all good. The chef will choose to use their sauce or serve the chicken with salt and lemon depending on the cut. The restaurant is fairly clean yet small so make a reservation to avoid long wait times. I am Japanese, lived in Japan, have eaten at countless restaurants and even by Tokyo standards, Torimatsu is pretty good. My benchmark though, is small restaurant in Ginza called Marukatsu for they serve the best chicken I have ever had. But that is another story for another time.

I think this is my favorite yakitori restaurant!
Owner who does yakitori shoji-​san is always sincere for his work and do best for his customers
Food is fresh and if you like chikin you will love all his foods.
This is very JAPANESE style restaurant and you can taste japanese food yakitori for sure
Menu they have couse including 10 yakitori with salad desert so on
It is better take reservations it is always busy
I am sure you will love Toriatsu.

Went there on 12÷31÷15 for dinner, we had ordered so much that our bill came out to be over $ 100 for just two people. Service was great until we had additional food to go and asked for their special spicy green sauce, there were two look alike serving ladies and one told us she will give it to us for free and smiled. Then there was the other lady demanded us to pay $ 1.25 for that sauce. I told her that the other lady did not charge us and we wanted to buy extra, she took our money and did not give it back nor the sauce. We’ve waited little bit hoping that they will give us another sauce but they did not, it was such a terrible experience on a last day of the year dinner and I will definitely not go back there!

This is a very good yakitori place. I’ve always been partial to Kokkekkokko, but now that Tomo has retired, I may have to lean towards Torimatsu. The food here speaks for itself, it’s no frills and not fancy, just prepared and executed well. Make sure to call for a reservation because it’s always crowded.

Best Yakitori in LA area. Believe me, I am dating a Japanese girl, and she knows her food hard core.

This place is mostly chicken and the first place in L.A. I found that you can try rare chicken breast which is popular in Japan. Think chicken sashimi. it is actually tasty and as of this writing, I am still alive and havent had my intestines explode.
Although I’m an avid fan of Nanbakan in WLA, this place’s chicken dishes were more moist and tastier. I will definitely return to try everything else they have on the menu.

Love me some yakitori!
You can get anything you want here, as long as you only want chicken. This place focuses on pretty much just that: chicken skewers over charcoal. There is no meat, and very little seafood (there is a charcoal smoked rice ball with a teaspoon of fish in it that we liked). But if you like chicken in most any form (as long as that form is on skewers) this is a great good place, and very reasonably priced. Loved the chicken meatballs!
BTW: Make a reservation, because it’s a small place and fills up fast.

We loved this place! Impulsively stumbled upon it the other night and couldn’t get a seat. We noticed the place was packed, checked the Unilocal reviews and immediately made a reservation for tonight. Wow, what a great place for yakitori and chicken and vegetable robata that runs about $ 2.50-$ 3.50 each. I’ve been going to a well known fancy robata place in West Hollywood where I’ve paid 3x as much for what we had tonight. Really loved the varieties of chicken skewers that were tasty and moist. Stuffed mushroom, okra and bell pepper robata was also well done. We ordered the combination special for $ 22 which includes 7 selected robata, salad, soup and dessert (a unique black sesame ice-​cream!). We also really enjoyed the side musubis filled with salmon and pickled plum. Service is extremely friendly and prompt and it was fun sitting up at the yakitori bar. We’ve found another favorite place and will definitely be back soon!

Hands down the best yakitori I have had yet. The original spot is in Japan and the second is here! Legit. Everything is seasoned and grilled to perfection. (Although second time was significantly less well seasoned but still cooked perfectly)
Absolute favs–
Toriwasa (rare chicken): MUST TRY! Sooo good! Don’t be afraid. A little undercooked chicken never hurt anyone?
Nankotsu (cartilage): Best.Cartilage.Ever.
Shitake Mushroom: So simple yet so flavorful. Yum.
Yaki Onigiri with Salmon (grilled rice ball): Seasoned so well with a perfectly grilled outer crunch.
Other must try items–
Heart, Liver, Bonbochi, Gizzard, Chicken Skin (because isn’t the skin the best part of the chicken?), Eggplant, Shishito peppers, AND their Wasabi game on point so make sure to get a side of that!
Also, make a reservation if you can. The place is so small that it could take a while to get seated and try to get in at the bar.

We came here first time, I was surprised that this place not so crowded Saturday evening, that’s awesome. Japanese place is always nice, friendly and clean. We ordered some meat and rice soup. Amazing taste and smell, you should try this place. Not do much place inside but it worth it to try at least.

A friend has been talking about Torimatsu for the past year and says it’s her go to spot for dinner. We finally made plans to join her last night for dinner here and luckily were able to make reservations for our party of 8 at the bar.
Arrived to a really really warm restaurant
which was ok as I was in a t-​shirt and shorts and the waitress quickly came by to ask what we wanted to drink
. On the wall next to us was a poster of the Japanese charcoal which they import for the grill
. According to my friend she said this specific charcoal was one of the best.
I let her order the food since she already knew what was good. The first item to come out was the chicken and green onion yakitori
. This was where I able to really smell and taste the imported charcoal. A nice light smoky flavor which I had to agree was pretty damn good. The waitress then proceeded to bring out some sort of homemade wasabi sauce
which had just a slight kick and went perfectly with almost every yakitori item we ordered.
Perfectly grilled meatballs
. These guys were so good I ended up ordering 3 additional skewers later on. Perfectly cooked which was super juicy and flavorful.
Grilled eggplant
. A great item to order with all the meat you consume during a meal here. I added a little ginger and lemon to brighten the flavor.
I believe this was the chicken tip (chicken wing)
. Again perfectly cooked and with a little lemon and salt this yakitori item was amazing.
Soboro don
. Like most Chinese people, I need to have some sort of rice with my meal and this was another well seasoned dish.
Would recommend the grilled rice balls instead of this one though.
Chicken sashimi w/​ponzu sauce
. Not the best chicken sashimi (I just came back from Japan) I thought chicken had too much ponzu sauce poured onto the dish. Would skip this dish in the future.
Shitake mushroom yakitori
. The wife loves shroomies so these were all for her.
Chicken cartilage
. I love grilled or fried cartilage when it has some chicken meat attached. Sprinkle a little sea salt and dip into the wasabi sauce and prepare your mouth for a unique texture. Ordered another 2 skewers later on.
Stuffed lotus roots
. Was good but could’ve used more stuffing of meat on the lotus roots. Wife loved these.
Gizzards
. For some reason, the chef didn’t season these all that well and I had to dip into the salt before getting the seasoning just right. Perfectly grilled to perfection.
Last dish was potatoes served with a little butter
. Well as everyone knows, butter makes everything taste amazing!.. If I had room in my stomach, I would’ve ordered another round of this… was damn tasty!!!
Will definitely be back in the near future and recommend this place if you’re ever in the Torrance area. I don’t think I’ll ever step foot inside another Shin Sen Gumi yakitori restaurant as long as Torimatsu is open.

If someone said yakitori my first thought would be Shinsengumi? Not anymore. My husband’s coworker told me about this place. A tiny hole in the wall but the BEST place for yakitori. She was right!!! This is yakitori at its best. The grilled rice balls with ume inside is to die for. The rice ball comes with a small cup of chicken broth that was yummy. Everything on the menu was good. They even serve raw chicken. We tried the raw chicken with ponzu sauce. It was surprisingly very good. The stuffed lotus root and gingko nuts were yummy. If you like chicken you have to get the chicken and green onions and also the chicken tip. There wasn’t a single thing I ate that did not taste good. They even have this special wasabi sauce that goes well with everything.
I will definitely be back for more. This place is located in a strip mall, plenty of parking. They accept credit cards. Make sure to make reservations because this place is super tiny and gets packed! Also be ready to smell a little smokey after dinner.
Now when someone says yakitori I will have to say hands down Torimatsu!!!

The quality of the chicken here is amazing. WOW. Best I’ve probably had in the United States for yakitori.
My only apprehension is that although the quality was better here, I just like Torihei much more. There’s more on the menu over there and the «feel» is more… fun and lighter ambiance. This place feels like more adult and business meetings and coworkers hanging out.
Famous for: Tsukune and using bincyotan to cook the yakitori.

— Locale Destination —
It’s on W Artesia Blvd and S Normandie Ave in Gardena.
It’s in a strip plaza that has many restaurants including «Teri Hawaii», «Curry House» and «Kanpachi» (next door) — right off the 91 freeway. I used to come to «Teri Hawaii» for shaved ice a lot, but I never noticed the place ;p The Japanese foodie customers next to me at «Hirose» (great sushi in Torrance) told me about this place for the best yakitori, so I came here.
Inside is skinny and small. Some tables and counter seating you can see the owner/​chef cooking yakitori in front of you. 6 – 10 (people) group would be the maximum — not for too big party. Make a reservation because it’s small and always busy. Décor is very simple and modern. I liked the little touch of the nice big blue plate for your yakitori at the table. The empty cup on the table is used for used sticks (after you ate the yakitori, you’ll dump the sticks to the cup). Parking is no problem. Service (by server) was kinda slow, but Yakitori came out fairly quickly.
Menu: Yakitori and some appetizers — very simple and not a big menu. Very simple. Unlike most yakitori places, the servers take orders instead of your filling out the order sheet.
— Gluttony Expedition —
*** Compliments ***
— Appetizer: bean sprouts salad — meh.
— After meal: chicken soup — it got a chicken flavor, but it was like a «Korean beef soup» (bland without sea salt). Not impressive.
— Dessert — watermelon :)
*** Yakitori *** with bincho charcoal
Hatsu: Chicken heart. AWESOME — I usually don’t like a heart, but this was good! I’m not a fan of «heart» in general, but this was very good! Must try!
Aigamo: Duck. Very light and tasty.
Negima: breast& onion. The breast was very light yet flavorful. Very simple, yet you feel the quality of chicken. Good.
Okura: Well, it’s just grill, yet tasty nonetheless.
Rotus: Stuffed meats (chicken), but it was too little portion inside of rotus holes and I couldn’t judge the flavor… But it was tasty.
Tsukune: Chicken ball. It was good. Very light and simple.
Cartridge: It had meats but the one at «Torihei» was more impressive than this.
Wings: Cooked well but lacked in flavors. The one at «Otafuku» was better.
Gizzard: I had it better. Nothing special to me (it’s my fav yakitori, yet meh here)
Egg plant: It was a bit undercooked, though the flavor by the charcoal was good.
Liver: Liver has to be fresh and well prepared not to taste the blood odor. I had an amazing one that didn’t smell the odor before in Japan, so this was too (bloody) stinky for me.
*** appetizers ***
Toriwasa: Rare chicken was flavorful and didn’t have «chicken» odor — it got to be really fresh to eat this dish. The sauce was refreshing with wasabi and «mitsuba» (Japanese herb that is often used for hot pot dishes). Good. I wish the cut were a bit bigger, not small chunks.
Dry curry: Basically chicken fried rice with curry powder, which is a homey dish in Japan. A little too salty. Ok.
— Conqueror’s Deduction —
3.5 stars. Tough call. It should be more than 3 stars, for sure.
Pretty cheap (despite of the $$$ sign) and great quality meats for Yakitori.
Appetizers are so so. Seasonings were light and subtle in general (except for dry curry) — I see the reason why almost all the customers were Japanese.
It was good, but I have a mixed feeling about this place — after I tried «Torihei».
I think the quality of meats are better here than «Torihei». «Hearts» here were amazing, and chicken balls here were better than «Torihei». But the overall satisfaction was a lot better at «Torihei» than here. «Torihei» offers not only good yakitori but also good appetizers. Here is «Yakitori» only — nothing else (they do have some appetizers but not as good as the ones at «Torihei»). Tough call.
This is definitely a better Yakitori place than others in CA, but it wasn’t as good as the ones in Japan. This is the place you simply enjoy the quality of meats — «Yakitori». If you want something light and simple, you’ll like here.

A perfect five. Two nights ago, I was able to experience pure Japanese style Yakitori here at Torimatsu. The Japanese Yakitori chef in the counter does an amazing job here. From the first appetizer ‘Otooshi” to all kinds of skewered chicken meat parts and vegetables, the grilled rice ball and finally the dry curry rice we tried, every single item gave me a full satisfaction. I tried and loved the following chicken parts and veggies.
Tebasaki (tip of a chicken wing)
Tukune (grated chicken balls)
Negi-​niku (chicken and green onion)
Bonbochi (chicken tail) — Very very good!
Nankotsu (chicken soft bone) — This makes my strong joints stronger! :)
Shiitake
Okura (okra)
Imo butter (potato)
As for drinks, I had two glasses of Robert Mondavi cabernet.
The grilled rice ball with mentaiko — excellent!
The dry curry rice — the best dry curry rice I have ever had!
I will definitely come back!