Kotohira Restaurant

First time here, and I had -
Nabeyaki udon: yummy with a lovely presentation!
and
Geso Age (fried squid legs) with a lovely ginger sauce. (Next time I think I will get it lightly fried, so there's not quite so much breading, but it was REALLY good!)
Ambiance: Sweet and Traditional, and Grandmother painted the art on the walls!
Service: Helpful, knowledgeable, caring service by Tom; his Mother is the owner. Family business!
I will be back!

The sweetest server; the best udon and soup; the tempura was so crispy; will come back to try their shoyu udon

A+ parking lot.

5+ stars
Great and courteous service - very serene experience
I had the miso marinated black cod combo with udon - simple green salad with very light pleasant dressing. I could of drank the dressing by itself

Parking in strip center

Even better draft Asahi in a cold mug

I will definitely be back

Great Japanese food with the nicest server!
Was in the area for some nurseries and stumbled upon this hole in the wall GEM!!! The authentic Japanese menu was so delicious and I wanted to order everything. It is located inside a huge strip mall, tucked away in the corner. The inside is filled with the owner's mother's paintings on the walls which adds a funky touch with the oldies music playing along. We were so pleased to have gotten some of the most delicious and warm home-cooked Japanese meals on such a gloomy day. We started with some mixed tempura and tofu agedashi. Followed by miso yaki cod set and saba set. Both came with a big portion of delicious udon soup, rice, pickles and salad. Will definitely come back for more!

Cute little home style Japanese restaurant in Gardena! This restaurant had all your classic Japanese foods. The menu had a lot of options with pictures which was really nice to see how it will come out. We had the bento box and the unagi don and udon combo. Portion size was a bit on the smaller side but the food tasted okay/decent. None of the foods really stood out or tasted anything special.

We don't visit Gardena that often, but we were looking for some authentic Japanese food in the area. I found this place on Yelp and we decided to go! The parking lot is filled with many good eateries that the parking lot is really packed! The parking lot is also tight, so there's not a lot of space to back out and maneuver around. Kotohira is located right at the corner, it's a small shop so it may be hard to miss!

We walked in for lunch on a Sunday afternoon, and it was really quiet in there. The restaurant is small with a few tables here and there so we were the only other party besides another at that time. Based from their menu, there was so many good items to choose from! It seems like the most popular choices were one of their udon sets or the bento set that comes with everything. We ended up trying both since we wanted try a little bit of everything.

After we ordered, they offered us these potato salads, it was a great start! The potato salad was sooo smooth. Then it didn't take too long for our sets to come in. I got the udon unagi set and my bf got the bento set. Trying my udon first, this was honestly really good! I'm really used to having marugame udon and sometimes marugame is too salty for me, but the udon here was really nice! The noodle textures were nice and chewy and the broth was really good! I really drank a lot of the broth. Even finishing the bowl, I already felt so full to have the unagidon. Although, the unagi was also really good!! The unagi was really soft and smooth, I really enjoyed the eel sauce they had too. I didn't get to finish more of the rice with the unagi, but I wish I could have since it tasted so good with it!

Trying some of my bf's bento, he gave me his shrimp tempura since he's allergic to shrimp, but that was really good! The batter was really nice and crispy, and the shrimp was surprisingly really juicy. I also tried his tuna which was really smooth as well. The chicken was pretty decent as well.

We really enjoyed this place! Such a small cozy and authentic Japanese joint, it honestly feels very reminiscent to our Japan travels. There's mainly two waitresses in store and they were both very kind.

The lady working here is the SWEETEST and so hardworking - she offered potato salad on the house even despite it being a busy night. The food is prepared with detail and tastes so comforting and nourishing.

There's a dish for everyone - from udon, fish, katsu to chirashi bowls. Definitely a homey spot for quality Japanese food.

I came upon this restaurant by chance, and I'm so glad that I did. The food was very tasty and authentic. It's not a big restaurant. It has both booths and tables which could perhaps be pushed together for bigger groups. The restaurant is tucked away in a corner of an extremely busy restaurant filled plaza. So definitely come during non peak times, or be prepared to drive around a lot looking for a parking spot.

We started with mixed tempura. It was light, crunchy, and not as greasy as it is in other restaurants. They serve it with a dipping sauce and shaved daikon - which is a unique (to me) touch that works. We also tried the sukiyakidon, one of the popular dishes, and pork belly udon. The sukiyakidon was so delicious - that sweet broth yum. The udon was good but I've never had noodle soup with pork belly that wasn't grilled. While the meat was good, I'm not a fan of the soft fat. I prefer it charred. I really wanted to try the soba with pork belly but they were out. Next time for sure!!

A casual restaurant serving up comforting udon and soba set meals. The food is always consistently good and they have managed to keep their prices relatively affordable through the years. You can't go wrong with anything there, from the udon with tempura, to the grilled fish sets. I especially enjoyed the misoyaki butterfish set. Not many places in LA serve this fish and they do it so well. I recently tried their Okinawan soba and it was so satisfying. The pork broth is so flavorful and the noodles remind me more of thicker Chinese style noodle than Japanese udon.

Kotohira is one of those Japanese restaurants that has been in the tozai plaza for decades.

If you're looking for a traditional Japanese meal this is the spot. I got the udon and tempura set and they do the tempura batter SO well!!!
It's super crispy and no matter how much time passes the crunch doesn't change.

They have so much on the menu but these sets are perfect for someone who wants it all