Gonpachi

I came back again once they sent me a message that they had improved their menu and the meal was on them. I went many months after.
BOY their food improved. The presentation was much better and the atmoshphere as good as it always is. They have/​had many interesting dishes with great presentation.
All the food we ate was awesome. Even some kind of simple but well cooked fish. it was mouth watering. They had some japanese tacos! hmm.
I came out very impressed and know they have really upped their game.

The exterior of the building gives you no indication of what the interior of the building looks like. The courtyard has an ancient wooden gate, koi pond, and Japanese garden. They’ve really put a lot into the details of the even the rain gutters. When you go inside, the main dining area is like a Japanese temple. The ceiling looks like the night sky and you get the feeling that a Japanese schoolgirl with a samauri sword should be flying through the air.
They make their own saba noodles and the food is delicious. However, I don’t think that the sushi is any better than any other Japanese restaurant. I’ve had the best sake of my life here. The sake waiter, not the food waiter, comes to take your sake order. He’s from Japan and knows everything about sake.
This restaurant would be excellent for a romantic date or a group of friends celebrating an event. If only Maddy could go.

Came here for a private party and I had a lot of fun, first my and my bf sat down to eat.
Yakitori!!! I love it when they burn veggies, gives it a smoky taste (some reason I enjoy it)
It’s a little pricey for yakitori, runs a couple bucks more for all the dishes and with small dishes like yakitori, it adds up quickly!
Still an enjoyable time and prompt service. best with a group!

I’m biased because my friend works for Gonpachi Torrance and we used her employee discount. So disregarding my lack of concern about the price…
We came here for dineLA and got to sample some of their dishes. For appetizers, I had the kabocha miso soup, which was… true to their culture. Subtle but flavorful (at the same time??) and not bad, but I wouldn’t order it again.
Main course was kobe beef with mushrooms for me, grilled cod for my friend. Both dishes were really good. My only qualm with the beef was that the miso paste was overwhelming for the beef without a bowl of rice. I considered asking for a bowl, but was too lazy. The beef was soooo soft and soooo tasty.
Dessert was the plum wine gelee which was SO GOOD. Kind of sticky but I loved the different texture. It reminded me of this street food in China with hawthorne dipped in caramelized sugar. Yum!
Oh and we got some assorted sashimi. You can definitely tell the higher quality fish is much better tasting. It was fatty and flavorful and the slices were generous. I might come back just for the quality fish :)

Finally got to try out Gonpachi after hearing about it for so long. I love the ambiance with the koi pond out front. It’s a cute place for a date.
The menu was full of electic options, and I am definitely excited to go back and try some of their skewers. I opted for the soba and a golden gate roll — spicy tuna, cream cheese and avocado — what could be better. Food tasted great! For that I would give it a 4. Although prices were a little high.
However for service, I would give the place a 2. Our waiter was nice and enthusiastic, but service was definitely lacking. We ordered food that came with miso soup and they forgot to bring it, which would have been fine if we had been able to find someone to tell. But unfortunately after our food was delivered it was about 15 minutes before we could find someone to tell. And we had to ask for our drinks to be refilled. The worst part is the restaurant was pretty empty, so there was no reason for this to have happened.

I came here a while back bc I had an expiring Groupon to use. The place itself is very nicely designed (as it should be considering it’s in Beverly Hills) but the food was simply average. For an appetizer, we ordered the sweet potato fries ($ 6). This was probably one of the highlights of my meal (though they were yam, not sweet potato) — thinly sliced and crisp fries sprinkled with sugar. Yum!
I ordered a Bento Box ($ 35), which came with a really delicious fried shrimp ball (you can order this as an appetizer from the regular menu), a few pieces of California Roll, beef terikyaki, and shrimp/​veggie tempura. My friend ordered the hot curry soba (kinda bland — skip this one) and the Temptation Sushi platter ($ 24). This was the first time in a long time that I had a California Roll made with REAL crab. However, I didn’t like that they used ordinary rice. I don’t know if that is how authentic sushi is made, but I am used to having flavored (basically sweet vinegar flavored) rice with my sushi! It made the sushi taste incredibly bland. So thumbs down on the sushi for me. The beef teriyaki was also barely flavored with a slight hint of teriyaki flavor. Dessert was some pieces of mochi with vanilla bean ice cream. The sashimi was fresh but again, nothing spectacular.
Service was good, though towards the end, we had to wait for a very long time for our bill. Probably wouldn’t go again. Dinner came out to be a little less than $ 100 for two — so not worth the hefty price tag!!!

I admit that I was afraid after I read about everyone else’s hellish experiences at Gonpachi. But my Groupon was about the expire and the Asian in me wasn’t going to let it go to waste. I took my unsuspecting victim, Mom, to dinner with me last night.
I had very low expectations but I tried not to let her see how worried I was. My first impression upon entering Gonpachi was «wow.» The décor is fabulous. The garden and the interior setup are beautiful. I even love the trickling water sound you hear when you turn on the faucet in the bathroom. It’s also cool to be able to watch soba-man’s highly impressive skills.
The service was a bit slow but I’ve experienced much worse. And while the food wasn’t amazing, it wasn’t bad either. We ordered the robata sampler with 8 skewers. It was no Nanbankan quality but it was decent. We also ordered the gindara and it was one of the weakest Japanese black cod dishes I’ve ever had. Even still, it was ok. In addition, we ordered 2 bowls of soba — hot soba with tempura and cold soba. The tempura was fine but the dipping sauce was a bit on the heavy side. Although I found the soba noodles to be expertly made, I couldn’t really taste the difference between fresh soba and whatever I get at other restaurants.
For some reason, the prices listed on the menus are higher than the actual prices we were charged. Our total came out to $ 69.14 ($ 63+tax). Usually, restaurants will just deduct the pre-​tax portion from the Groupon but they allowed us to apply tax toward it as well. It was perfect as all we had to pay was tip. Groupon+tip+valet = $ 50, a fantastic value for such a bountiful and beautiful dining experience. I was thoroughly impressed.
It was also cool to know that Jay Chou had gone to the same restaurant as me (for a scene in The Green Hornet. And yes, I only watched that movie because it was free.)

We had a great experience here. There were 4 of us and we had the following:
kumamoto oysters
yellowtail jalapeño with ponzu
tuna tataki salad
popcorn shrimp
sushi combination (temptation)
sushi combination (luxury edomae)
spider roll
sushi — abacore tuna, unagi, spanish mackerel, amaebi, halibut
2 bottles of hot sake
chocolate lava cake
fried futomaki with green tea ice cream
We left comfortably full. Not stuffed but definitely not hungry.
The kumamoto oysters were superb.
The yellowtail japapeno was similar to that across the street at matsuhisa but gonpachi actually uses jalapeño (as opposed to serrano peppers at matsuhisa).
The tuna tataki salad was good quality tuna and very fresh.
Popcorn shrimp came in a nice fried bowl. We got the sauce on the side.
The sushi combinations were both very good with a nice selection of sushi and rolls.
The spider roll had a nicely sized soft shell crab. The mayo type sauce on it was a bit overpowering but I tend to not like things with too much sauce (I eat my salads with minimal to no dressing, etc.).
All of the sushi was very good. The amaebi was especially fresh with a nice dash of yuzu. The fried heads were fairly typical.
The hot sake was nice and each small bottle held about 3 shots each for the 3 of us that were drinking.
The chocolate lava cake was excellent and came with a side of vanilla ice cream.
The futomaki fried green tea roll was very interesting and unique. It was a winner.
I only knocked off 1 star because it is a bit pricey. But if you go during happy hour, etc… that will definitely help your wallet.
Overall, the restaurant is beautiful, service was excellent (Michael was our server), and the food was top notch. Gonpachi is a nice and romantic place to go for a night out!

In Gonpachi’s case, service really CAN make your meal.
All you foodies, if you want a good meal at Gonpachi, you mustmustmust MUST be served by the ever-​flirtacious Samuel (Sammy). He is an incredible sweetheart who just so happens to be extremely knowledgeable; he knows the menu head to toe, swear. With his recommendations, and a little collaboration, my friend Angela Y. (Hey whatup girl!) and I went with:
Seiro soba: ($ 9 –Fresh, handmade soba noodles served cold with a dipping sauce)
*Surprisingly large portions, and really refreshing.
*Apparently one of Gonpachi’s specials; give it a try!
Trio of sashimi ($ 18 –Three pieces of their freshest fish!)
*Plated well, but not my favorite platter of sashimi…
*Tuna, salmon, and yellowtail — I did not like the tuna at ALL.
Double dragon roll ($ 14 –Shrimp tempura roll with baked crab on top and tempura flakes +spicy aioli)
*Absolute favorite of the night! Served warm/​hot and plated well.
*The aioli was spot on for this roll.
Gonpachi roll ($ 16 –Shrimp tempura, baked crab, spicy tuna, avocado, and tuna with raw halibut and fried shredded leeks on top + eel sauce, wasabi aioli and spicy aioli sauce)
*Fresh fish, yay!
*The leeks made it a little difficult to eat, but overall, thumbs up.
Tempura ice cream roll ($ 9 –Your choice of vanilla or green tea ice cream; a slender sheet of chocolate cake rolled around ice cream, lightly fried with tempura batter and dusted off with powdered sugar. Served with a side of caramel sauce and green tea mochi)
–We nearly left without dessert because we were pretty satisfied, but decided to give it a try. We had to wait a lot longer than expected, but in the end, this was SO WORTH IT. We killed our plate in literally 2 minutes, if not less. The caramel sauce was sweet but not overpowering, and the more bitter taste of the green tea mochi (though a bit random on the side) helped balance the flavors. The heavenly concoction that is this hand cut roll of fried ice cream-​chocolate-​cake will blow your mind. Angela Y. and I talked about this dessert for a good amount of time after dinner. It’s that good.
Gonpachi, you can thank Sammi for this update, as well as one of the kind waiters who kept refilling our waters — service like this is impeccable, and they really helped make our already delicious dinner AMAZING.
A few remaining ehh’s:
*Tables on the lowest level are kind of inconvenient when your plates arrive (They’re huge!) and don’t fit on the table! :(
*We spotted our server from our DineLA experience, and he was the same to his patrons as he was to us. Slow and drone-​like. Cheer up, man!

Yay! I’m a fan!
I returned to Gonpachi mostly due to a Groupon that my friend gave me as he departed for New York. Normally, I would think that bringing a Groupon would lessen the experience simply due to the sentiments that come with it. On the contrary, I had an amazing dining experience.
First, I’d like to thank Samuel (Sammy) our server. My fellow Unilocaler, Colleen M., accompanied me and she agreed, he definitely made our meal. Sammy explained the entire menu to us with great detail, giving us amazing recommendations.
What we ordered:
— Trio of Sashimi: An order of their three finest catches of the day. Our catches were a tuna, salmon and yellowtail sashimi. My favorites of the three were the salmon and yellowtail. I wasn’t a particular fan of the tuna. Overall, good and fresh.
— Double Dragon Roll: A shrimp tempura roll, baked crab on top, tempura flakes with spicy aioli. This was probably the favorite of the table. This is a warm sushi roll, absolutely delectable. Loved loved loved the tempura flakes with spicy aioli. It made the dish. Definite recommendation!
— Gonpachi Roll: A shrimp tempura roll with baked crab, spicy tuna, avocado, tuna, halibut on top, fried leek, with eel sauce, wasabi aioli, spicy aioli sauce. Also very good. I liked it overall, but the deliciousness of the double dragon roll overshadowed it a bit. Still good!
— Seiro: We each ordered a plate of the seiro soba. It was just plan soba with the sauce. It was very good, tasted amazing. Gonpachi is apparently known for their soba and they did it well.
— Ice cream rolled in tempura: This was possibly the most amazing thing ever. We ordered it with vanilla ice cream (also comes with green tea ice cream) rolled in a light chocolate cake fried with light tempura batter. It came with a thick, delicious caramel sauce. There were also pieces of green tea mochi on the side. Honestly, I would just come to Gonpachi for this.
Overall, great experience, MUCH MUCH better than my dineLA experience. I’m glad I gave Gonpachi another chance.
Also, thanks to our water guy who came by and always refilled our glass. I forgot to ask his name…

the night started off slow. i came with kat m. and another friend towards the end of happy hour. GREAT drink specials — $ 3 beer & $ 6 for the strongest martini you’ll ever have.
because it was so empty, we were seated immediately and so didn’t really get a chance to look around their garden area. the two floor dining area is spacious and well decorated, complete with lanterns and dark wood.
our waiter was extremely nice. but he was one of only two people working the floor, and after it got busy later on, he was clearly having trouble keeping up, eventually requiring the help of several busboys and the host. but it’s ok, we were in no rush.
a couple of our orders came out wrong (missing some sushi, wrong sauces, etc) but turns out that was due to communication problems in the kitchen because our bill showed every item exactly as we listed it to the waiter. and our waiter kept apologizing to us even though it clearly wasn’t his fault. service like this still makes me a happy camper. the owner just needs to hire more staff during peak hours.
i was actually quite happy with the food:
satsuma french fries — yummy sweet potato fries! spicy aioli sauce was amazing and they give you a LOT of fries: D
seiro soba — served cold with dipping sauce. you really gotta love buckwheat noodles to love this dish — but if you do, you’ll be impressed. the dipping sauce is fabulous
nigiri — yellowtail, albacore, octopus, unagi. really really fresh and huge cuts of fish. i would’ve liked to try the first 3 as sashimi, but unfortunately i’m not made of money. also, the wasabi here is QUALITY. not powdery, not clumpy, dissolves nicely in soy sauce. all to my heart’s content
dessert — i don’t remember what it was called now, but it had green tea ice cream, chocolate, tempura and some kind of fancy syrup. and it was mm-​mmm goooood.
i will most DEFINITELY be back to try their cooked food. i have my eye on you, wagyu beef!
fun fact: this restaurant was most recently used in the movie, the green hornet. YAY i heart zhou jie lun (aka jay chou)!

The thing I love the most about Gonpachi is their beautiful Japanese garden! Although small, it really is pretty especially at night time with all the lights & it’s even amazing on rainy days! Just remember to walk carefully in the garden, if you are a gal & you are wearing heels because it tends to be rather slippery…
I recommend getting their course meals, because they are nice & well priced. My favorite is the ‘Gonpachi Experience’ because I love Gonpachi’s zensai & the dessert!
To be more specific, I highly recommend you to try these:
–Ebi Shinjo (Crispy shrimp dumplings with yuzu chili sauce) which is very different yet so delicious! You can just get it from zensai mori awase which is chef’s sampling of appetizers = another reason why I think the course meal is well worth it!
–Sumiyaki sirloin which is robata grilled prime angus sirloin with garlic uni butter on steamed rice with green onion, shitake & cress. It’s so good!
–Pumpkin zenzai is definitely my favorite dessert here & I would return just for this too! It’s pumpkin custard sauce with vanilla bean ice cream and red bean paste, chilled sticky rice balls, topped with almonds
They also have great cocktails & carafe option! I have to admit that I love love love their pocket monster: drink for grown children haamonii smooth, calpico and sprite, which is actually more like a soda! I also like to just sit at their bar for some simple drinks, so even if you don’t eat there do check out their small bar!
For the price you are paying for a nice Japanese ambiance & great food, along with great service by friendly staffs, Gonpachi deserves 5 stars!

GonnnnPACHIIIIIIII!
I’m sorry, it’s just fun to say!
I have been here a couple times now, and what I love above all about this restaurant is the ambiance. After dropping your car off with the valet, and you walk through the door, you’re instantly transported to Japan. You have to walk through a gorgeous outdoor garden to get to the actual restuarant, and it’s so beautiful. The cobblestones are no buenos if you’re wearing heels though, let me just throw that out there.
Both times I’ve been here, I’ve dined in the bar area. During the summer, they open it up and it is such a lovely atmosphere. They offer an awesome happy hour, with some delicious bites for decent prices. Some of the dishes I have tried–
crispy rice with spicy tuna– love love love! Spicy tuna is my ultimate fave, and this dish is perfect.
tofu with mushroom sauce– tasty. I love mushrooms, and I really like the sauce they use in this dish. I’d say the sauce is the star, not the tofu.
skirt steak sliders– Tasty, but not too memorable. I enjoyed their sweet potato fries
chicken karage– yummy, but I’m used to having chicken karage in bite-​size pieces, and these pieces are pretty big so it’s a little harder to share
sushi– their sushi is tasty as well, but not particularly memorable either
skewers– really yummy, well marinated meat. I’ve tried a bunch of different ones, and they were all good. Small portions though
Their food is good, but like I said, I really just come because I love the décor and the ambiance. Gorgeous and romantic. Service is always great though, super friendly.

Gorgeous restaurant, over-​priced food.
Groupon deal: $ 35 for $ 70 worth of food and drinks at Gonpachi.
The ambience and décor is quite impressive.
I feel like I’ve transported to Japan – from their distinctive wood entrance and traditional outdoor garden to the expansive main dining area. There’s even a glass-​in soba noodle pounding station – where you see chefs hand-​make fresh soba. There’s also private dining rooms in the second floor loft area.
The food was good, but pricey. Sushi & Soba were good, but nothing special. It wasn’t spectacular enough for me to shell out double it’s worth. (Thank goodness we had a Groupon!) Portions were also small. We ordered a lot of food, devoured it all and was still hungry.
I actually enjoyed their rolls over their signature soba and sushi/​nigiri.
— Crispy Rice Tuna Tower, $ 14: This was tasty! Crispy rice (my favorite) topped with tuna, albacore and avocado. Presentation was so beautiful, I didn’t want to eat it (or share).
— White Lotus Roll, $ 14: This was unique enough to try. Shrimp tempura, baked crab, cucumber, avocado, albacore on the top, fried onion, with amazu– ponzu sauce. Do you see a trend? I love extravagent and unique rolls (esp. topped with fried stuff)

Mediocre food hidden under the blanket of amazing décor.
My lady and I agreed that the sushi bar setup, the garden patio, the art, the fountains, the lounge, the size, ALL of these things make up one hell of a restaurant visually. But when it comes to the most important thing about a restaurant, the food, Gonpachi gets a big unenthusiastic meh.
The staff and ambiance are a 5 star to behold, but don’t bring any true fan of Japanese cuisine here or they’ll find it lacking. On the flip side if you’ve got a date that hasn’t a clue about Japanese food and you’re looking to wow them with an amazing setup, Gonpachi certainly works. Me personally? I can’t say that I anticipate ever coming back, too many other tremendous Japanese eateries in this city.

You get the feeling that you’re in an old town in Japan as you walk through the front. A small wooden bridge is portrait-​like next to the pond with Koi begging for food as you walk by them. Trees, stones, and grass are gracefully designed for a zen-​like feel.
The inside was just as rustic and beautiful. Two stories, wooden tables with booths, and rice paper walls adorning the restaurant.
I came here for the sake tasting and some sampling of their food, so this review should be updated one day if I come here to eat.
The food they did have selected was mediocre. The fish wasn’t as fresh, but I would’ve picked sashimi if I went there to dine. The staff was very formal and nice. I loved the kimonos. I don’t know if they actually wear that during regular dining hours.
5 stars for the décor and service
3 star for the food… just not as fresh to my liking… so…3.5 stars

Are you an Asian Businessman?
Do you need a place to take your «White» client out to dinner?
Do you have lots and lots of money to spend?
Do you need some space and privacy?
Do you need to find a restaurant where your waitress can actually understand «Engrish»?
Do you like mediocre Japanese food?
Do you want to impress your client by letting them dine in American Japanese Movie «Wannabe» Set?
I think we found you «JUST» The right place.
Enjoy your dining experience at
«Gonpachi» in Beverly Hills.

My breath was taken away once I stepped into the courtyard. From the outside, it looked like a typical restaurant, but the landscaping and indoor décor is absolutely amazing. It makes for a great dining experience… Highly recommended for a dinner date!
I went with a friend last week for DineLA. Your choice of appetizer, entrée, and dessert for $ 26. We had a reservation for dinner and we were running late, yet they still had a table ready for us when we arrived! Once we were seated it took a while for another waiter to come around for us to request water and then for the food to get to us too. However, the food made up for it! My friend and I ordered different appetizers and entrees so we could try each others’ items. I was really impressed with everything. The price is a bit steep for me as a student, but I can see how the price can be justified by the quality of the food and the dining experience. I definitely want to come back again some time to try their soba or other items others are raving about!

Came to Gonpachi for DineLA, was very excited that they had prefix dinner menu for $ 26.
I picked the asari clam miso soup for my appetizer. I do do do love miso especially with asari clam. The soup was full flavored and had a hint of clam — not too strong, not fishy at all.
For my main entrée, I chose the black cod. The black cod is cooked on the fire grill in a delicious miso glaze. It was simply heavenly and the fish was also perfectly cooked — tender and succulent. I don’t even like using the word succulent but that’s exactly what it was. The black cod was seated on top of a brown rice medley with hijiki (dried, processed black seaweed.) The hijiki brown rice paired well with the flavorful cod.
For dessert, of course I had to go with the pumpkin zensai as always. I have gotten it on previous visits and each time it is as delightful as the last. There is a light kabocha taste in the custard, that envelops the mochi balls and a dollop of red bean paste along with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. The flavors just blend with each other in the most harmonious way that leave my taste buds yearning for more. The perfect end to a near perfect meal.
Make a reservation on opentable since you can pick times and make sure you get a seat, and if you park in the lot, it’s $ 5.50.

AWESOME ATMOSPHERE! I love it I love it I love it!
I’ve always wanted to try Gonpachi after I heard that the place was designed after the restaurant in Kill Bill. It’s not exactly the same, but it was very nicely designed. There’s a nice little gate that lead you into this beautiful garden with a Koi pond and a little bridge. Once you enter the building there is a bar and on the other side of the bar, there is a little stair that lead you to the restaurant.
Since we came here on a Sunday night it was VERY empty. There was no one there. The service there was not as great as it should be at a nice Japanese restaurant, but it was ok. They brought someone else’s order to our table at one point, but we didn’t really care.
We ordered the Sumiyaki course set ($ 18).
The course came with an appetizer (Cabbage Salad) 5 Sumiyaki Skewers (Chicken leg, Minced Lamb and Chicken, Shrimp, Pepper and Egg Plant) Oyako Donburi (Chicken and egg over rice) and Miso Soup. We also ordered the Chicken Karaage (deep fried chicken wings)($ 8). They were all very yummy and I was very full at the end of the meal.
The ambiance was great, it was only $ 30 a person including tip and tax, the food was great, and the service was tolerable lol. I give this place 4 stars!
I would definitely come back to Gonpachi again!