Izakaya Hachi Torrance - Carson

There is an abundance of Japanese restaurants in Torrance, thanks for the city's hosting of the biggest Japanese carmakers in America. When I worked in Carson, I frequently drove to Torrance for some of the best Japanese food in Southern California. Fast forward to 2024, when all the carmakers moved to other states to lower cost, the number of options is dwindling, but I am very glad that Izakaya Hachi remained. It has the best Japanese food in the entire Torrance neighborhood. If you're a Japanese cuisine connoisseur, you would know about this place. Parking in this shopping center was pretty impacted. Get ready to find street parking if you're out of luck. Service was attentive, as what you typically expect at any Japanese establishment. The noise level was pretty loud, as the place was packed on a Sunday evening. The other patrons did not distract from my dining experience, as we had a pretty lively conversation of our own. My wife was having a little reunion with her college friends. There is a $60 per person option of tasting the best of what Izakaya Hachi has to offer, but we thought that was quite pricey. I shared the pork belly kimchi with my wife, and I also had their beef udon. The meat was well marinated, and the udon was served in a very unique bowl that had a wooden lid. The serving vessel was worth the menu item alone, but the content was also satisfying. The texture of the udon was perfect. This is an ideal place to celebrate a special occasion. The entire experience was a treat.

Every dish we had was so damn good! Faves were the fatty tuna sashimi, beef tongue, truffle salmon carpaccio, and egg omelette stuffed with cod roe.

I'm Japanese and whenever I crave for good Japanese food, I go to Hachi. Hands down the best authentic Japanese restaurant in South Bay. Food 10/10, service, 10/10, wine/sake selections 10/10! If you'd like good food/drink recommendations, ask for the awesome servers Shiho/Yume. They will tell you what's good for the day and you won't be disappointed!

Like many other great Japanese restaurants in Torrance, Izakaya Hachi is located in the corner of a small strip mall. We arrived late in the evening, around 8:30PM on a random Tuesday night, and the restaurant was filled with people. Granted that it was a small place (40-50 seats), but still! It was so lively on a random week night! This was my first sign that this place will be good. As soon as we entered, we were greeted by Japanese-speaking wait staff. This soon made sense, as we quickly learned that 99% of the patrons spoke Japanese. I felt like I was at an izakaya joint in Tokyo. The food is served izakaya style, perfect portion size to try a little bit of everything. We ordered the following: Grilled Oysters: seasoned with dashi shoyu. They were grilled to perfection. Juicy, tender, not over cooked. Pork Kimchi: pan fried pork belly, kimchi, bean sprouts, served on a cast iron plate. It arrived sizzling with fragrant pickled scents from the kimchi. The pork belly was thin and seared until the fat was crispy. Absolutely delicious. Beef Tongue: my favorite dish of the night. Grilled to medium rare, perfect texture and flavors. It was so tender but still had a nice bite to it. Yuzu Pork Cheek: the cheek was seasoned with simple salt and pepper but had yuzu paste on the side to add to each bite of cheek upon serving. The citrus from the yuzu added a nice, unique flavor. Chicken Thigh Skewer: great, bold flavors. A little too saucy for my taste (I enjoy simple salt/pepper seasoning to taste the natural flavors), but still very good. Saba Mackerel Pressed Sushi: served with Japanese plum. I've never had pressed sushi before, but it's essentially sashimi pressed onto a layer of sushi rice and formed into a sushi roll. The tangy Japanese plum paste complimented the fish very well. Beef Sukiyaki Udon: BBQ beef, egg, with dashi broth. This udon is presented in a cute wooden bowl with a warmer on the bottom. Presentation is so cute. The dashi broth is packed with umami flavor, and the beef is thinly sliced and tender. The egg is runny, giving the broth a nice creamy flavor as it oozes out. I still think about all the things I loved and there's so much more I want to try! I'll definitely be coming back for more!

This is a special but also authentic Japanese modern restaurant. It would be great to make reservations. Besides, the appetizers and octopus salad we also order the sashimi plate. They serve the fresh quality of all the seafood. Thus you barely taste the fish smell, instead the fresh seafood reflect the fresh sweet taste and mixed with YuZu or ponze sauce harmoniously. I feel the spicy or sauce would never overlap the original taste of food. However, I did not try their Wagyu. Thus, it might be not fair to comment all the food are light but savory. The staff were friendly and keep a nice distance to serve you. This is our first time to visit this restaurant, they explained the daily special and offer the customerized suggestion to us. I feel being take care of. However, I did not realize they charge each time of the tea. If I will visit the neighborhood, I probably will go to the restaurant again