Beni Tora

Looking to eat on Sawtelle but trying to find a restaurant that doesn’t have a ridiculous wait time? Look no further than Beni Tora. Known for their gyoza, they also have ramen which is pretty darn good too! We were dying for some ramen and didn’t feel like waiting for Tsuijta, Daikokuya or any of the other spots so we stumbled upon this hidden gem. Located on the Northern end of Sawtelle, Beni Tora is a great spot.
To start, we got an order of Benitora big gyoza and it was DELICIOUS. They weren’t joking when they said it was «big.» The bottom of the dumpling was crispy and the meat inside was super flavorful. Make sure you dip it in the gyoza sauce they provide for a little more flavor. Not to mention, the dumpling was super juicy too. We also got an order of the Benitora fried rice and it was pretty good. I feel like you can’t really mess up fried rice!
I got an order of the red dan dan noodles and I was pretty satisfied. Super flavorful. I don’t really do too spicy so I was a little skeptical about all of the chili peppers next to the name on the menu but it wasn’t really that spicy. If you can handle a little kick, you can definitely handle this bowl of ramen. The noodles were perfectly cooked but I just wish there was more stuff in my bowl. Looking at a table nearby, I should’ve ordered the special white dan dan noodles since it comes with an egg and possibly more ingredients as well. Good thing there’s always next time!
The service is really friendly and I’m glad I tried this place. Now I know where to go when all of the other ramen spots on Sawtelle are too packed and I’m dying of hunger.

Honestly, this place is really different in terms of flavor. I think it’s Taiwanese. And from what I’ve noticed about Taiwanese food is that it’s extremely flavorful and uses lots of different types of spices.
Their black dan dan noodles and their chili sauce which they put in it is amazing. The chili flavor is so savory and hits the spot. The problem? Its a chili oil sauce. Lots and lots of oil. Its insanely heavy. I can’t get it all the time, but man if I don’t crave it at times.
Their white noodles are a crushed sesame thick sauce. It is also insanely heavy. Heavy heavy heavy. But it definitely fits the palate of some people.
They have other things like the mapo tofu and chili big a** dumplings. These are all bomb.
I ate a lot. And I felt heavy. But they do it right. This is the food that they advertise they sell and I give them kudos for doing it right. So just be aware of what you want when you come here and you’ll be satisfied.

decent little spot located near the corner at the end of Sawtelle that specializes in gyoza dumplings and dan dan noodles. they have many different varieties of gyoza from benitora big, spicy, cilatro, shrimp, boiled, asakusa carnival, gratin, veggie, and deep fried.
i ordered a few of the gyoza and liked the spicy and benitora big gyoza the best… although they also had one with bonito flakes on it, which i liked a lot. didn’t get a chance to try out their dan dan noodles or ramen, but will definitely be back if i’m in the area and looking for a tasty and casual lunch.
be warned that they do close at 3pm for lunch and then reopen at 5:30pm for dinner. so plan accordingly!

walking up and down the street, my friends and I stumped upon this small store because we didn’t want to wait (we were hangry). we got seated right away.
I got the white Dan Dan Men and thought it was very tasty. the broth is very flavorful and creamy, just how I like my Ramen. and with extra green onions included too please. the noodles had a great bite it too.
notes: the big gyozas is really a big portion!

A small shop that serves noodles and dumplings, with a more Chinese/​Japanese feel than the rest on Sawtelle. Parking may be difficult, but we were lucky enough to find street parking.
Honestly, not that sure why there are such great reviews, but you can tell that there are many restaurants nearly packed on a Saturday night, whereas this one did not. Nonetheless, I decided to give this place a try and see what the Dan Dan men was all about.
With my family, we ordered spicy gyoza, White Dan Dan Men, Black Dan Dan Men, and Red Dan Dan Men.
Spicy gyoza: I think they were going for something similar to spicy wontons at Chinese restaurants. However, the flavor was lacking. It tasted spicy, but other than that, not much flavor. The dumplings are pretty typical too, and I wonder if they’re just store bought.
White Dan Dan Men: definitely the most decent dish that we had here. The noodles themselves are great – very chewy and delightful to eat. The sauce for this dish is creamy, almost like tonkatsu ramen, but instead of soup, it’s more like a thick sauce.
Black Dan Dan Men: has a bitter taste in comparison. I needed to mix some of the white to neutralize it. Again, noodles were great, but unfortunately the flavor for this one was lacking. Think they were trying to go for a sesame base, but perhaps needed a bit of something else to help with the bitterness.
Red Dan Dan Men: again, spicy flavor, though I think better than the gyoza. There was slightly more flavor in this but nothing that I would crave or desire to eat. Perhaps if you mixed it with the white, you could add some of the creaminess to make it stand out a bit more.
It’s unfortunate that a place with such good noodles just lacks in the flavor. Hopefully they’ll be able to make adjustments because I think the noodles are definitely one of the hardest to master. Probably won’t be back, but I wish them the best of luck.

My boyfriend and I stumbled on this little restaurant one night when we were driving back to Torrance from Mountain High. We spent a few hours in the mountain but about four hours in traffic both ways so easy to say we were starving. The experience we had at Beni Tora may have been slightly tainted by our hunger but we thought it was pretty amazing. It’s towards the north part of Sawtelle and originally we came here to Sawtelle to eat ramen but everywhere was so busy. We walked around until we found this place and decided to give it a try. I think it’s looked over quite often because of the big name places on this street but definitely worth the try!
We ordered the big gyoza to start and they were so tasty! The bottom was nicely crisp and the filling was very flavorful! Probably some of the best gyoza I’ve had since coming to LA. I ordered the original dan dan, which is more of dry noodle mixed with the meat and veggies. I love dry noodles so I really enjoyed the flavors here, but it was a little too spicy for my taste. They do have warning chili peppers on the menu though but I was trying to be adventurous. The original noodles reminded me of jya jya myun! My boyfriend ordered the white sesame dan dan noodles as a combo with the fried rice and salad. The fried rice was so AMAZING! We love fried rice at Chinese restaurants and this one was definitely on point. I probably could’ve gotten an order of that with the gyoza and been so satisfied. Must try this when you go and it’s cheap to add it as a combo to your noodles if you want both!
Overall, the food was really tasty and was decently priced. We were so happy we traveled out of our comfort zone to try this place.

Really? Why is this place considered good? Now I almost understand why this place was nearly empty on a Thursday night.
Ordered the spicy gyoza. hmmmm… I don’t know what makes it spicy except the sauce they put on top of boiled dumplings. I can make this myself.
As for the dan dan noodles… I had the red dan dan noodles… I guess I am not really that into the soup. Not spicy really. and I guess it didn’t taste that hot… it was more like luke warm.
I also ordered the eggplant which was okay but super saucy… and it took almost half an hour to arrive. But they did take it off the bill… still…

This place is just flat out horrible. Eat here at your own peril. My girlfriend and I ordered the white Dan Dan noodles, black dan Dan noodles, big gyoza and small gyoza. They all sucked. Dumplings were soggy and store bought. They have a lot of balls selling this crap on sawtelle of all places. White dan Dan noodles were okay. The black ones were gross. It’s like burnt sesame oil mixed up with some broth. How the hell could somebody eat that.
There’s too many restaurants and noodle houses to waste your money on over this joint.

Sometimes you find yourself walking into what could become one of your favorite restaurants. This is one of those times. You must try the dumplings the noodles are to die for they really give a lot of portions and I love the way they prepare the ginger. ENJOY YOUR LIFE, as you dive your teeth into their deep fried chicken. I just loved this place, coming back for sure.

What a find! It’s been awhile since I gave any restaurant 5 stars. I wanted to eat something different and satisfy my cravings for noodles and broth. I know ramen will always be my number one but boy oh, boy this place converted me. I fell in love with their Dan Dan Men! I ordered the Special Black Dan Dan Men made with chicken broth, served with chili marinated minced pork, seasoned boiled egg, pea sprouts, beans sprouts, green onions, and pork chashu. Yummy to the max!!! After eating this big bowl of «yummyness» I just want to sleep. It’s not heavy. It’s not greasy. It’s very tasty. If I’m not full I would have finished the whole thing. I’m officially a Dan Dan Men girl!
They are known for their Dan Dan Men so if u want to have a bowl of ramen go somewhere else even if they have it because this is not going to be as good as their Dan Dan Men.
When you walk in look to your left you will see all their Dan Dan Men selection. When you open their menu skip all the pages and go straight to their Dan Dan Men and look for the ones that are marked «Special.» You should try their Gyoza as well. I’ll try the Cilantro Gyoza next time. Oh yeah! They’re huge!!! Hmm… I think I mentioned Dan Dan Men gazillion times!!!

On eve of Christmas Eve, I ended up here for a late dinner. I hadn’t heard anything about this place nor did I look it up on Unilocal.I parked and I pretty much ate at the first place I walked up to that didn’t have a line.
If you’ve never been to the area, good luck with parking. The odds of finding parking isn’t as bad as hitting the Power Ball lottery but it can be challenging unless you don’t mind walking. I don’t mind so I park a few streets over and hoof it over to Sawtelle.
Service here was good. I would expect it to be considering there were less than a half dozen tables of customers. Servers were attentive and friendly — even packed up my leftovers for me as opposed to having me do it myself. I always appreciate it when servers do that for me.
For food, here’s what I ordered: Spicy Gyoza, the Special Red Dan Dan and an order of the Beef Spicy Fried Rice.
For an Asian restaurant to tout that a dish is spicy, I expected my lips to tingle some, but there was nothing; good thing each dish was full of flavor. The Gyoza was full of meat and the ingredients were fresh as you could taste it in every bite. A little too much sesame for my liking though. (see pic). I really liked the Red Dan Dan. Looks spicy but the looks are deceiving. I added a little sauce for some kick but again, that’s to my liking. Even without the spicy sauce, I would have enjoyed it.
I couldn’t eat all the rice — I ended up taking most of the dish for leftovers. Definitely a nice flavor — nothing too overpowering. The consistency of the rice wasn’t bad even after warming up the next day.
I’m glad I stopped in and I’ll definitely be back to try other things on their menu.

I was really curious to try a Japanese Dan Dan noodle place as I am from the hometown of Dan Dan noodle. And I think they passed the test with flying colors :-)
Big Gyoza were pretty good, lots of pork with thin skin and good flavor. I can taste the fresh ginger in there. Bean sprouts was a little salty and not spicy at all. It was an Okay appetizer.
My boyfriend ordered super spicy Dan Dan noodle. As a top level spicy food eater, his face actually turned red and started to sweat and he told me «oh wow this would be deadly for a lot of people!». And I totally agreed with him after one bite. Oh dear oh boy! Water please!
I had special red Dan Dan noodle and I’m pleased that they use Sichuan pepper in the soup, which is very authentic.
As much as the spiciness did some damage to our stomachs, we were still pleased with the food and would like to come back again! Actually the truth is that my boyfriend would come back just because of the damaging spicy noodle :-D

If you love gyoza (pot stickers), you have to try the giant ones here. SO meaty, and juicy, and so filling. Not only that, the cuisine here is a bit unique. It’s Sino Japanese cuisine, as they advertise it. I really enjoyed the black sesame Tan tan men. It was really flavor packed with herbs and the black sesame sauce/​broth was so addicting!
Also it’s nice that it’s never too busy here.

Beni Tora adds to the small, but growing, list of places where you can get a verifiable vegan or vegetarian meal on Sawtelle (the other spots being Tatsu Ramen and Sonoritas Prime).
I got the vegetarian miso ramen ($ 8.90 + $ 1 for tofu) and the pan fried noodles with vegetables ($ 8.90). All vegetarian dishes are labeled on the menu, and most of them appear to be vegan by default.
The ramen was tasty but doesn’t match the flavors you’d find at Tatsu, Chibiscus (West Hollywood) or Shojin (Little Tokyo). Also, I was hoping they’d fry the tofu, but instead you get some blocks of uncooked silken tofu. Go the extra mile and pan-​fry the tofu with some seasoning; it would add so much flavor, Beni Tora!
The pan fried noodles were tasty and came in a huge portion. Definitely a great value. They’d be even better if they, you guessed it, added fried tofu (or seitan) to this dish.
The service was friendly and fast; this, despite the fact that there seems to be only one guy doing all the cooking, right in front of all the diners (a bespectacled and disgruntled fellow who admonished his waitress on more than a few occasions). He had a gruff air but you could tell he has a heart of gold underneath.
All told, Beni Tora is solid. Large portions and tasty food. I’d like to try their other vegan dishes, namely the gyoza and mapo tofu. Oh, Beni Tora would also get an extra star if it added brown rice to the menu. Who eats white rice these days?

About a block north of the busy intersection of Sawtelle and Mississippi you will find a restaurant that serves up a different type of ramen noodle. They do not have your traditional pork based broth, but uses chicken. It is a different flavor, probably not as rich, but nonetheless tasty.
It is suggested that their specialty is a Schezuan style «dan dan» mein. The concept is the same as the tradition Chinese dish, but it’s pretty different. It’s a Japanese rendition of it. Although it is not bad, I wouldn’t get it again.
What I did like was the chasu ramen, both spicy and shoyu offers a good amount of meat along with well cooked noodles and a lighter broth.
Also the garlic cucumbers are a must. Nice crunch with a good amount of garlic bits.
Services is excellent. Wait is minimal at most.

First time here. I had the shoyu chasu ramen. It was pretty good. Soup was a bit salty but there was a nice portion of fatty pork. I’ll probably get the larger bowl next time. Actually I’m gonna try the black Dan Dan noodles next time.
I had the Benitora Gyoza 3pc. Pretty darn good. Probably the best Gyoza I have ever had. Not to be confused with normal fried dumplings. But Japanese style Gyoza, best I’ve ever had.
I literally just changed my rating from a four to a five. Just thinking about how good they were.
For what I got, the price is a bit high but fair for the quality. You could easily spend $ 20 here on a meal of you got the good stuff.
Anyway, I’ll be back.

It’s ok.
I’ve walked past this place quite a few times and this past Friday night, and the restaurant was full. We weren’t greeted upon entry but no biggie they were busy so I signed in and surprisingly, we were seated in about five minutes.
I ordered sweet and sour karaage, big gyoza, white tantan men, and a sapporo.
The starters were great, especially the big gyoza! It was juicy, flavorful, and delicious!
The ramen though wasn’t very good. They use a certain spice that’s quite off putting to me personally. I’ve eaten at a few famous tantan men ramen joints in Japan and didn’t notice this spice. I asked the server and he didn’t know what it was so it must be their «secret ingredient.» It’s like peppercorn mixed with licorice.
The service here is fine. They’re not overly nice but pleasant enough. Our server didn’t seem very enthusiastic about the menu but did answer honestly about my questions about certain items.
Pretty good food, good service, nice ramen house ambiance. To me this is a ramen joint and I didn’t like their ramen so I def. won’t be back. I wish this place was a lot better since I love tan tan men!

The food here is outstanding. It’s a great place for vegetarians. They do the Dan Dan noodles vegetarian style as well and the noodles were cooked to perfection. I highly recommend the spicy tofu appetizer — hands down, it’s one of the best tofu dishes me and my wife had in our entire lives.
They also serve complementary iced barley tea which was great. Definitely coming back!

With an abundance of amazing noodle spots on Sawtelle, it’s nice to see a place stand out for it’s dumplings! Beni Tora had some of the most inventive, creative and downright yummy dumplings I’ve ever had!
Please do yourself a favor and try the cilantro dumplings. I never thought I’d describe a dumpling as «refreshing» but it is, and it’s absolutely delicious.
Knowing how hard it is to find good dan dan noodles (for some reason, most menu forego this delicious dish), I like that this place offers up a good variety of them. Noodles and dumplings? I’m a fan!

I always have trouble figuring out what to order when I’m here, but what I do know is that I will always get delicious gyoza when I’m here (jumbo…gratin…it’s all good). The dan dan men is on point here. There is parking in the back. There is rarely a wait which is amazing for a restaurant on Sawtelle. The service is courteous, and the food is decent. However, the ramen is meh.
I had the black noodles have a STRONG sesame flavor if you’re into that. The chicken ramen tastes like chicken noodle soup, the «chicken char siu» is cut up chicken breast. I thought it was going to be seasoned and soft chicken slices like pork char siu… but it isn’t.
Still a fan of the gyoza and everything else though!

Around 99% of the time before I eat out, I consult Unilocal so I know my next meal won’t be a complete waste of time and money. However, I hadn’t read reviews of BeniTora prior to coming here. We originally wanted Hide sushi or Tsujita, but being a Friday night, lines were way too long at both places. I’m really glad I didn’t read reviews before coming here because I had a pretty good experience here while many others on here seem to have had terrible experiences.
We walked around, and we found BeniTora. It’s located next to Mizu 212, and honestly I’m never in this block of Sawtelle except for the one time I had Sushi Tsujita. The menu looked pretty good, it’s a Japanese restaurant serving the Japanese interpretation of some Chinese dishes. We were skeptical when walking in because the restaurant was nearly empty 8:30PM on a Friday night.
The three of us ordered the stone pot beef bowl, large gyoza, the mapo tofu stone pot bowl, the cilantro gyoza, and the white sesame dan dan men.
My favorite from all the items was definitely the white sesame dan dan men. The broth was full of flavor, and there was a decent amount of meat in the noodles. The noodles were also cooked perfectly. I’ve never had dan dan men as good as this before — granted, I rarely eat dan dan men. My second favorite was the cilantro gyoza. Whoever knew cilantro and gyoza was such a good pair? The cilantro sauce and the pork gyoza went perfectly together, and I was so surprised at the flavors meshing when I first took a bite. Definitely order!
The other dishes we ordered were just okay. I didn’t really have the big gyoza but from my friends’ reaction, it was good, but nothing to rave about. The stone pot mapo tofu dish was alright — my boyfriend has been craving this dish for years, but he’s always unable to find it. I just wish there was more meat, and the mapo tofu wasn’t so saucy to a point where it completely drowned the rice. It’s definitely still a good and extremely dank dish, but they still have a lot to improve on. The beef bowl seemed good as well, but this dish I didn’t get a taste of at all.
This is a solid joint to hit up when you’re in the Sawtelle area. A lot of people complain that it’s not really «Chinese food», and I don’t think there’s anything to complain about. It’s how the Japanese interpret Chinese food, and it tastes good and works. And Japanese-​Chinese food is definitely a thing, especially in Japan if you guys were not aware of. This place is an awesome alternative to the typical ramen and sushi people line up for for hours in Sawtelle.

Dan dan men– sesame based ramen noodles swimming happily with minced pork, scallions and served either dry/​cold or brimming with soul-​warming soup. It’s a simple yet pleasing bowl to chase away hangovers or refresh you on a hot day.
Beni Tora offers a wide variety of dan dan along with ramen on their well planned menu. They are famous for their giant gyoza which is 5 times bigger than the usual fare. One small serving includes 3 pieces which is more than enough to stuff a full grown man or a very hungry little lady, like me.
On a whim I noticed they serve gyoza gratin. I asked if they make it with their giant gyoza. The waitress said no but asked the chef if he can accommodate. He agreed and I was treated to a wonderous new concoction– giant gyoza gratin! Baked in mornay goodness!!! Please do ask for this if you find yourself inclined. I asked him to name it «The Namella».
There is parking in the back!

Great lunch option in Sawtelle that accepts card and has some of the best service around.
Amanda was the best! She was so attentive, kind, and genuine. She kept checking up on me and had great recommendations. It was her great service that really made Beni Tora stand out for me.
I had the shoyu ramen and then realized in the back of the menu that you can make it a special combo +mini salad and fried chicken for $ 3.5 more.
The fried chicken was a great side order and it had the kind of crispy karaage skin I like with a tender and moist chicken meat inside.
The ramen itself was also pretty good. I like it as a change of pace after you’ve been to all the other ramen shops on Sawtelle.
Another thing I liked is the complimentary barley tea. With the savory and salty ramen and fried chicken dishes, the barley tea is the right beverage.
Again, Amanda is the absolute sweetheart and I can’t say enough about her service. She made the lunch experience that much better and I will be back to try the rest of the menu because of her!

We came to Benitora close to their closing time, just a little after 9pm and there were still several parties still eating, yay!
FOOD:
— white sesame dan dan men — yum! The broth is rich without being too oily and tastes completely different than the black sesame broth.
— special black sesame dan dan men — yummy as well! This comes with thick pieces of tender chasiu and an egg. A flavorful broth without being too oily, I couldn’t finish this and gave it to my friend to finish lol
Noodles are a great texture!
SERVICE:
Super friendly! They serve mugicha! Love it. Very accommodating and smiling :)
PARKING/​VENUE:
We parked in the neighborhood and walked over, but if you’re lucky enough to snag a street spot, the meters are free after 8pm! The place is well lit and modern, bathrooms are single stall per gender and clean. Benitora used to be Chabuya and the interior looks pretty much the same as it did before the restaurant change.
I honestly didn’t even know this place was here… but I’m glad I got to try it!