Inaba Restaurant

GOBO-​Salad is very delicious!!!
You must order it!

Horrible service. The waitress ignores the customer waiting. No respond on seating customer even have whole Shshi bar empty. I don’t care how good of your food, I won’t come back with poor customer service. FYI I left the restaurant angry and hungry after waiting for 10 mins with no respond from those waitresses

Restaurant is located in a strip mall next to a car dealership. Most customers were Japanese so that’s a good sign. Good place for tempura and soba (highly recommended). Very authentic and reasonably priced. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find a joint like Inaba here in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Beautiful authentic and intimate Japanese dining experience.
Came in here last night with a few friends. I think we were the loudest in there and for that I apologize.
Love the tempura bar and sushi bar, both separated from the main dining room.
Very traditional Japanese interior décor, simple lines and angles, absolutely spotless.
We ordered a lot of beer, sashimi, sushi, and cut rolls.
Personal favorites:
— negi toro cut roll
— scallop sashimi
— tako (octopus) sashimi (nice and tender here)
— ikura sushi (fresh and flavorful)
— black cod
— alllll the tempura
The tempura here is so fresh and incredible. It’s a must-​try if it’s your first time here.
Presentation is absolutely beautiful. Wish I took some pictures.
Not much curb appeal outside, but step inside, and you are transferred to a very proper and traditional Japanese restaurant. Attire is casual though, so no worries!

Unilocal challenge 2016 (³⁷⁄₁₀₀)
A nice authentic Japanese restaurant located on Hawthorne Blvd. They have a tempura bar and sushi, as well as other great Japanese dishes. I got the Tempura and Noodle set, which comes with hot or cold udon or soba, tempura, and a small tuna bowl (your choice). It’s pretty pricey here but you get a lot of food. I also tried the Black Cod, which was delicious and had so much flavor. You can also tell the tempura is really fresh. The menu is pretty pricey, but it’s worth it!

I really like their lunch menu! Fresh, delicious, and affordable. The last few times I’ve eaten there, I always ordered the tempura sashimi bento $ 15.50. Sashimi is super fresh (6 pcs — I was served 3 pcs tuna, 1 salmon, 1 hamachi, and 1 red snapper), and tempura is done just perfect in size and texture. Batter was fragrant with a right amount of crunch. I asked for all veggie tempura with my combo and it was even better than the regular tempura with shrimp.
The menu is quite extensive, there are many udon and soba options as well.
Service has been excellent every time I go. The lunch bento is only a few dollars more than one of my other favorite Japanese bento places, Sushi Island, so try to sneak out of work and come here for lunch at 11:30, when there is no line yet.

I-​naba Restaurant is tucked away in a pretty rundown strip mall and honestly I would never discover this place without using Unilocal.Later I learned that both I-​naba Restaurant and Ichimi Ann Bamboo Garden (one in Old Torrance and another one in Rolling Hills Plaza) belong to the same business group — so the quality of homemade soba (aka buckwheat, made fresh everyday and shipped directly from Nagano, Japan) at I-​naba is just as good as soba from Ichimi Ann Bamboo Garden.
Unlike Ichimi Ann Bamboo Garden (which only sells soba + udon + rice bowls), I-​naba also specializes in tempura (if you sit at the tempura bar, there are tempura order sheets right next to condiments and you write down what you want).
The menu offers a good variety of combinations such as soba OR udon + bowl (from $ 11.5 to $ 21), plate lunch (pick a meat + salad + rice + miso soup — from $ 9 to $ 11), combination plate (sashimi OR tempura + pick a meat + salad + rice + miso soup — from $ 12 to $ 15.5), rice box (from $ 15 to $ 16.5), deluxe tempura lunch ($ 30), sushi assortment, chirashi ($ 28), bento lunch box ($ 17.5), tempura lunch ($ 17), sushi gozen (salad + 6 pieces sushi + tempura + soba OR udon — $ 22), etc.
***
Soba and Tuna Tororo (grated yam) Bowl ($ 13.5): I regretted ordering tuna tororo and it tasted gooey and flavorless. The guy who sat next to me got a sushi set and that looked really yummy … on a brighter side, excellent soba with very clean & not-​too-​salty broth.
***
Credit cards accepted, quick service, and great dining atmosphere. Not exactly a cheap lunch option, but this is still an excellent soba restaurant and I’ll give their tempura a try upon my next visit.
P. S. — There are two types of soy sauce on the table — blue one for sushi & white one for bowl.

Years later, or decades later, we make it back to Inaba for dinner. It had remained a popular restaurant among the local Japanese.
Without a reservation, we were seated at the counter where the chef fried tempura. It was an amusing experience to watch him in action, especially for the kids.
We ordered a range of appetizers and entrees: edamame, natto maguro, ikura and sake don, grilled beef, green salad, hot beef soba, egg omelet, and yaki nasu. All were good, except the egg was unbelievably salty. I suspected that whoever cooked it had mixed up salt with sugar. (We asked the waitress, but she had no clue.) We also preferred the edamame to be cooked a bit longer as they were harder than we’d hoped, and the noodles to be slightly firmer.
We had some house sake, which was surprisingly served luke warm (not hot), but it still made the meal more enjoyable.
Prices are fair, and they are quite generous with the portions. They have «set» dinner options that are pretty good deals. Service was friendly, but the girls seemed overwhelmed by the number of tables being served.
For a place in Torrance, it was a disappointment. There are countless Japanese restaurants in this neighborhood, some being superior, so we’ll try some place different next time.

Had the Sushi Gozen which consisted of salad, 6 piece of sushi, tempura and udon (or soba if you prefer). They also have a la carte tempura ranging shrimp to squid, uni, and importer fish from Japan like sea eel, kisu and megochi.
Salad was regular side salad with a creamy dressing with some sesame flavor. The sushi was slightly smaller in size than some other place but tasted good overall. The tempura was okay. The udon had small sized noodles. I didn’t really care for the soup flavor.
Service was very good as expected in most nice Japanese restaurants.

Here’s a popular Japanese restaurant in Torrance that serves up everything from sushi to tempura. I ordered the beef teriyaki and tempura combo plate.
The beef was a bit tough, but the tempura was pretty good. Others in my party enjoyed their meals.
The wait is pretty crazy during lunch, unless you have a reservation. Only turn off was that we felt a bit rushed so they can turn tables. I may give this place another try for dinner and see how that goes.

Just finished another great dinner at Inaba tonight. This has been my go to Tempura restaurant in Southern California for many years (especially after the original Komatsu closed several years ago). 4 of us had the Tempura Kaiseki Dinner for $ 45 each. Absolutely stuffed when we were done. 5 courses plus ice cream desert.
Typo in the text accompanying one of the pictures. Should be Anago and not Unagi.

Tempura at its best! We got there a little after opening. It was packed!
I ordered the sashimi with tempura combo. The tempura was perfectly cooked and the sashimi was very fresh. Meals comes with rice ‚(white or multi-​grain), miso soup, and salad (potato and green).
Pro tip! Get there early and be sure to have your whole party there before you check in.

Inaba is one of our favorite lunch spots when it comes to Japanese food when going out to eat. I come here with my family at least once a week, and we are never disappointed with the food or service.
All the sushi/​sashimi is fairly good here and always tastes fresh. There are a variety of combination plates you can get that come with a mix of sushi, tempura, soba noodles, and other goodies. Dinner is fairly expensive ($ 20 – 30), but lunch is relatively affordable for the quality of the food you get ($ 10 – 15).
Overall, very tasty!

We found a great Japanese restaurant for sushi bar dining in this area, the two sushi bar areas are so private and quiet, perfect for couples. In fact I only saw couples were occupying sushi bars, glad we made a reservation earlier, all the seats were reserved at that point!
This place is for fresh sashimi and sushi mostly, as well as Omakase, I would have tried the seasonal Omakase menu but I didn’t want to stuff myself that evening, so we went for some of our favorite raw fish and small plates.
Bottle of 759ml cold sake, it was sweet and refreshing, so tasty.
The raw:
Oysters on half shell, Seabass, halibut, uni sushi, mackerel box sushi, Toro, Red snapper & Tuna nigiri sushi.
They were fresh, especially uni and mackerel, oysters were too big for our taste, halibut was a little too thick too. But mostly they were still very tasty. It was interesting to watch sushi chef make mackerel box sushi. And the sushi rice was one of the best I have ever tasted!
Small plates:
Cold spinach with fish flakes, Steamed rice with miso soup, housemade pickles and raw egg, it came with spicy sauce, soy sauce, green onions and dry fish flakes too.
Spinach dish is my favorite Japanese apptizer, so yummy. The rice dish was amazing, I have never seen anything like that, another dish we can only find in Torrance I guess. It was so comforting, I loved the miso soup.
Food was just enough for us, everything tasted so good. Service was very friendly and attentive. Definitely a very pleasant sushi bar dining experience, we will be back real soon!

I heard so much about this place from local Japanese community and wanted to try.
When I arrived, I wasn’t sure from outside but walking in it looked very nice, although I didn’t know which way to go. On my right, they had sushi counter, and on my left they had main dining area. They escorted me to the tempura bar counter next to the main dining area.
It was very interesting to watch the tempura man. It was like an art. Although he was the tempura man, he also took care of my order (besides the server). Server was good, and kept my hot tea filled, but the tempura man was standing so close to me, anything he noticed, he took care of it. As soon as he noticed I put my credit card in, he washed his hand and took care of my payment. Very attentive and courteous person.
Food was very authentic. I ordered bento lunch box, came with salad, soup, rice, grilled salmon, sashimi, tempura and some cooked in bonito broth vegetables. Some reviewers mentioned about being pricey but lunch was reasonable.
It is so close to the hotel I like to stay around here, it would be nice to try for dinner (and walk back) next time.

I’ve been a loyal customer of Inaba for many years so much so that the waitresses already pretty much know what I will order. I usually go for lunch since they do not offer similar lunch sets during dinner and the price is more expensive. Inaba is definitely one of the most authentic Japanese places I’ve been to in LA with the best soba and tempura in the south bay. It’s easy to miss since it’s located in a strip mall off of Hawthorne.
For lunch, I usually get the lunch set and change up the main dish to be either cod, grilled mackerel or miso salmon. The set comes with miso soup, a side bowl of rice, salad, tempura or sashimi, potatoe salad and bean sprouts. I usually pick the tempura which has a nice mix of shrimp and vegetables. For the side bowl of rice, they used to offer veggie rice which was my absolute FAVORITE! However, they changed management recently and have been experimenting with the side bowl of rice. They went from veggie rice to multigrain rice to edamame rice and now they offer rice with corn. I really miss the veggie rice and hope that they will bring it back! It was one of the reasons why I really like coming to Inaba as the veggie rice was super delicious.
Otherwise, the wait staff are all very nice and friendly. I definitely recommend this place for lunch!

— Locale Destination —
It’s on Hawthorne Blvd and Torrance Blvd in Torrance.
It’s in a skinny shopping center at the corner, right next to the gas station. It’s right next to a small Indian grocery/​restaurant.
Ambiance: Simple, clean, modern. Filled with Japanese clientele. The restaurant got 3 parts — sushi bar (tiny by the entrance), regular seating, and tempra bar (very tiny, too).
Service: Very friendly staff.
Parking: Strip mall has a plenty of parking. But it’s wider/​skinny and one way direction to park, so don’t go to the opposite direction! Look carefully when you get into the aisle.
RSVP: Make a reservation if you wanna eat at tempra or sushi bar! Both have very limited seating. Even regular seating was packed on Monday night.
Menu: Izakaya style. Appetizers, sashimi, tempra, soba (tempra and soba are their popular items) etc. They also have combo menu.
— Gluttony Expedition —
2 type of soy sauces at Tempra bar: both good quality — milder than usual. For sushi — it’s saltier than the one for sashimi.
Bamboo & snap pea tempra: Sorta like «kakiage». Bamboo isn’t good for tempra. Very crispy yet oily — I know it doesn’t make sense but I can’t deny the fact that I got an «oily» after taste in my mouth… I’m not a fan of tempra in general, but I had a really really really good tempra, so this isn’t my ally.
Mizuna & daikon salad: Very big portion, a little too light dressing (some sort of ponze dressing) for me. I like «Mizuna» in my hot pot, but not so much in salad (a little bitter). Meh.
Yellowtail sashimi: Awesome! They don’t have too many items for sashimi/​sushi (at Tempra bar), but great quality! The best item for the night.
Jyako potato salad: Very Japanese and homey taste. Not bad. Dressing is very light ponzu type one. They put crispy chips to add crunchiness to the salad. I’m not a fan of ice berg. Very Japanese style potato salad and jyako (baby anchovy) on the top.
Grilled beef tongue with negishio: It was almost like «deep fried», though they said it was «grilled». I guess it was too much oil «to grill», and it was too oily, made the beef tongue too tough with little flavor. Meh.
Grilled lamb: Great! Cooked well, eat with yuzu kosho (pepper). Simple yet good.
— Conqueror’s Deduction —
3.5 stars for me but they do deserve at least 4 stars in general.
Nearby areas have lots of this type of «better» upper scale izakaya — they are darn good. For this area, it was a little let down for me. I prefer «Yuzu», «Otafuku», «Torihei» etc. Even «Hirose» in Torrance is «sushi bar» but offers better appetizers than here overall. Mmmm… Tough call.
Very Japanese in flavors (very light).
Higher standards.
Very big menu — fancier «Izakaya’. The price is more expensive side.
Great quality ingredients. Sashimi was great! Good quality soy sauce.
Good place but mmm… I had a better overall satisfaction somewhere else in these areas. This is a tough call. Some high notes, for sure. The price is a lot higher than others. x100 better than «shin-​sen-​gumi» for sure. But I was excited a lot more at other izakaya nearby areas… ;p

After work the other night, I was just taking a different route home and when I pulled into the parking lot to take a phone call — I figured, I’d check Unilocal for where to go nearby, for Sushi. I was less than a couple football fields away from I-​naba so I figured, what the hell.
Doesn’t look like much from the outside. Inside though — it’s pretty modern and clean. Three separate areas — sushi, tempura and the main dining area. The main area was packed and full — however, I was whisked right to the tempura bar; party of one — no wait — the norm.
Service was great and I’m sure it had to do with the chef who was making tempura — I would just motion to him that I needed something and he made it happen. Several different people helped which doesn’t matter to me as long as someone is helping — and they were all equally as friendly and nice.
The food — as you can see from the pics — I had Octopus (Namatako) for an appetizer and a combination (Assorted Sashimi for 1) for my entrée. You can’t really tell how juicy the cuts of fish were — but take it from me — they melted in my mouth. It was so good I wanted to order another round. But I wanted dessert so I restrained myself and had a Sweet Potato Royal.
The restaurant stayed full the entire time I was there so I’m thinking reservations might come in handy on the weekends or if you have a large party. Plenty of parking in the lot in front.

**STRICTLY LUNCH MENU REVIEW ONLY**
Came here again for lunch today and I was reminded of why I always come back to I-​naba.
I-​naba is a traditional Japanese restaurant with fabulous soba and tempura. Everything is made in house and the quality of the food they serve is superb. As for their lunch specials, everything is so reasonably priced. You really can’t go wrong with anything that you order here.
FOOD:
They have so many lunch combinations here. You can order sushi, soba, udon, salmon teriyaki, tempura, basically anything. I got the sushi combination with tempura, salad, AND cold soba. All of this for only $ 19?!
The sushi was presented so beautifully — all tiny little and colorful pieces of fish placed on a bed of rice. ⁵⁄₅ The fish is very fresh and tasty. The rice is not too vinegary either.
You are only given a few pieces of tempura but they are crispy and not overly oily. My favorite tempura is their white fish. I highly suggest you eat this with their salt. The perfect combination of flavors. ⁵⁄₅
The soba is amazing. Cooked al dente and served with wasabi, green onions, and a tasty soba sauce. You can get your soba either hot or cold. Normally, I order the hot broth because I drink it like soup but today was a very hot day. The cold broth was just as good! Very flavorful and savory. ⁵⁄₅
I seriously cannot emphasize how great this place is! Definitely come for lunch, you will more for your buck.

I-​Naba is a small Japanese restaurant strictly serving hot and cold soba and udon. Yeah, pretty much all you need when it comes to good soba and udon noodles.
Everything here at I-​Naba is soba/​udon noodles. You can either order it plain or they serve it with a ton of other sides such as Katsu pork, chicken and egg rice, marinated tuna rice, tempura, sushi, etc. The combos are endless!
Go for great noodles, good service and delicious Japanese food. Credit cards accepted, be mindful of the lunch crunch as the restaurant is a bit smaller and does get packed.