Musha Restaurant

I’ve been coming to Musha every 7 or so years, starting probably 20 years ago, when I was still living in LA. After I moved away to NYC I’ve gone back a couple more times, just because it’s a fairly consistent izakaya with the occasional interesting creative dish that makes you go hmm.
I stopped by a couple of weeks ago, when visiting family in Torrance, and I brought a few visiting New Yorkers as well. I’d say we were on the whole, pretty satisfied with our meal.
In no particular order, we had:
–a variety of shochu cocktails (refreshing and good)
–Takotama — hmmm… NO. Okonomiyaki inspired, but a bit of a hot mess (literally) for me. Too much going on within one dish. I would have liked an okonomiyaki much better.
— Tuna Poke with rice crispy wafers. — Perfectly seasoned, very good
–Yaki onigiri — simple and a wonderful closer.
–Yuba shinjo — shrimp dumplings with Yuba skin — just ok, while theoretically it should have been amazing.
–Hamachi sashimi — I’m not a huge fan of Hamachi, like most Japanese, but my friend declared it the best she’s ever had.
— dried squid over binchotan coal grill — awesome interactive activity; delicious.
Some misses, but on the whole pretty good. I’d avoid the corner table near the blower. When on, the machine blasted us with a good breeze and it was noisy.

Very yummy Japanese restaurant with lots more to offer on the menu. Really great pork belly, garlic noodle soup, sausage, edamame, and so many other thing I should not forget. All the food was great!

I came here with Gardenia H. and KW for a birthday dinner earlier this year. The restaurant is located in a large plaza so parking is plentiful. We got lucky and found a spot right in front of the restaurant. We had a reservation so we were quickly seated.
We shared the following:
– TUNA POKE: Hawaiian style sashimi diced ahi tuna marinated with seaweed, garlic, sesame oil, citrus, wasabi, and soy sauce served with rice crackers
I do not eat raw fish, so I did not partake of this dish. Both Gardenia and KW liked it.
– MUSHA’S FRIED CHICKEN: Chicken marinated with sake, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. Served with spicy grated daikon and ponzu sauce.
This did not look like what I thought it would look like. It looked more like chicken cutlet. The ponzu sauce was good but overall this dish was just okay. I wish they would rename this dish so people would have more realistic expectations (look at the picture. That is not what normal fried chicken looks like)
– UDON VONGOLE: Asari (manilla clams) and assorted mushrooms sauteed with garlic, butter, sake and soy sauce. One of our East meets West dishes.
I have to say, based on the appearance I did not think I would care for this dish very much. So I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it. One complaint however is that the garlic flavour was very subtle (I love garlic and was hoping for a stronger flavour in this dish).
– EBI MAYO MAYO: Spicy mayo glazed shrimp. Bite-​size fried shrimp glazed with Musha’s original sweet & spicy mayo sauce. With a texture and taste that will make you say «ahh~»
This was similar to the honey walnut shrimp you can get at Chinese restaurants. I really liked this dish – I love shrimp and it was prepared to be quite delicious here. It was served on a bed of salad, which I appreciated in this case because it helped offset all the mayo. Probably my favourite dish of the night.
– MUSHA’S CHEESE RISOTTO: Italian dish with Japanese creation. Japanese grain brown rice cooked with chicken broth. Then panfried with bacon, onion, and a touch of heavy cream. Served in a whole cheese bowl to your table.
It is pretty cool that they bring out the risotto in a block of cheese, although it would have been even cooler if that is how they served it to us (the server scoops it into a bowl for the table). It was interesting since it was not the typical risotto rice used; it was also not as soft as I would like, but it was still good. However, would I get it again? Probably not.
– BLACK SESAME ICE CREAM WITH BLACK HONEY AND SOY POWDER
This was a very interesting flavour. There was a crunchy topping which was nice… I’m glad we tried this out but I would probably not get it again.
– CREAM BRULEE
I am not sure if the menu calling it «cream brulee» is a typo or not, because the dessert is very creamy so perhaps they were trying to be clever? I always love watching servers torch crème brûlée at the table; crème brûlée is my favourite dessert and I enjoyed it here. Always a wonderful way to end a meal.
Overall we enjoyed most of the food here and had a great time with good company. If you are in the area and the food I described sounds appealing, stop on by!

Musha is a quaint Japanese izakaya restaurant that servers tapas style food and a variety of drinks. The best part of Musha is the atmosphere. Although it’s located in a strip mall and doesn’t look like much from the outside, the inside is nicely decorated, with long, wooden tables, much like you’d expect from a Japanese pub. The entire restaurant is pretty small with a large table in the center that is shared by multiple parties. If you can get a large enough group to reserve the center table, I guarantee you will have a great time!
The food comes in small plates, so is meant to be shared among friends. All of the dishes are unique, well thought-​out, and delicious. Some of the dishes you get to cook yourself, and they bring out a tiny, cool looking stove to your table. My particular favorites were the slow cooked pork belly and risotto in a huge cheese bowl.
For drinks, our party ordered some sake and it was delicious. It had a fruity flavor to it, which reminded me of how sake tasted while I was in Japan.
Overall, it’s a wonderful experience that I would keep coming back for when friends are in town.

Came here for dinner the other day. I’ve never really dined near the Torrance area so I was’t sure what to expect. We made reservations for dinner and I am glad we did since the restaurant was packed and had a waiting list. The place is located inside a plaza so there is plenty of parking. As soon as we got there, we were seated.
Aski — Wok Sauteed Asparagus, Mushrooms and Butter Soy Sauce: Pretty average dish. The veggies were cooked nicely but the flavor wasn’t unique and didn’t really wow us.
Takotama — Egg Omelette with Octopus, Leak, Ginger and Broth: I liked this dish although it might have been pre-​made since it came out so quick. The egg was nice and fluffy and the octopus was surprisingly tender. The broth was really flavorful.
Buta Kimchi — Pork, Kimchi, Mushrooms, Green Onion, Soy Sauce and Sesame Oil: The dish had a really nice spicy kick to it. It was also loaded with garlic which I loved.
Tanshio — Beef Tongue: About 8 thin slices of tongue (fewer than I expected). The biggest thing here is that they bring you a small charcoal grill and you get to grill the tongue yourself. The charcoal gives it a nice flavor and the dipping sauce was on point. I wish there was more tongue!
Yaki Udon — Meh. I didn’t really care for this dish. It was just Udon mixed with a few greens.
Musha’s Cheese Risotto: My favorite dish of the night and probably one of my favorite risotto’s ever! The risotto is brought to the table inside a huge cheese wedge. It is mixed and scooped on a plate right in front of you. I definitely recommend sharing one as it is super rich and heavy.
Chocolate Soufflé: The «Soufflé» was more like a cake. Pretty disappointing.
There were some dishes that were hit and some that were misses. The hits were the Cheese Risotto, Buta Kimchi and the Takotama. Everything else was not great or impressive.

A group of us went to nearby Torihei at Carson & Western in Torrance, and someone mentioned that I must try Musha also. BTW, this corner contains so many good eateries like Nozomi, Matsui, Torihei and now Musha (left Bistro Beaux off the list because it was only 3 Stars). Musha offers Japanese fuzn, izakaya style cuisine.
We ordered Musha Fried Chicken ($ 7.50), fried oysters ($ 7.80), clams ($ 11.80), Kakuni pork belly ($ 10.50), black pork sausages ($ 8.30), cheese risotto ($ 8.80), and filet mignon ($ 14.50). The sausages & filet you cook yourself on a hibachi. To wash it down, we had a pitcher of Sappporo ($ 9/​HH).
First of all, the chicken was very good. It was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. In addition, it was not greasy: 4 Stars. Secondarily, the oysters were also really good. They were nicely battered, and warm on the inside: 4 Stars. The third item, the clams were a bit disappointing. They were small, and the broth was not heavily infused, despite being laden w/​garlic: 2 Stars.
Fourthly, the kakuni pork was freakin dank! The high quality pork was super moist, and nicely seasoned. It was the star of the evening: 5 Stars. The next item, the sausage was very good. It was made of high quality black pork, and you can tell the difference: 4 Stars. Sixthly, the cheese risotto was a unique item. It was rich and creamy: 4 Stars. Lastly, the beef was excellent. The meat was super tender, and cooking on the hibachi allowed you to control how you liked it cooked: 5 Stars.
Regarding the ambiance, it is typical izakaya. There is a bar, a few tables, and a communal table. However, the place felt more spacious compared to Torihei because of the layout. Additionally, the ventilation is better: 4 Stars. Likewise, the service was really good. The waitress and the rest of the team were super nice and attentive. The only downside was the risotto server wouldn’t let me take a clean pic of the risotto in the cheese apparatus. He kept on stirring when I asked him to stop. Don’t you know I’m a Unilocaler?! (LOL): 4 Stars.
I actually like Musha more compared to Torihei across the parking lot, although I rated both 4 Stars. The food was better, as was the ventilation and service. Nonetheless, both are better compared to OC izakayas, Honda Ya and Kappo Honda.

When my friends wanted to eat Japanese food for dinner, I thought. .okay. .we have that in Hawaii, but I’ll go anywhere for great company. Boy… was I wrong…
This is not the typical Japanese food that I’m used to. This is OUTSTANDING Japanese cuisine! I was blown away!
We chose:
Udon Vongole — wow… The sauce with sake enhanced the clams and chewy udon. .mmm!
Fried Oysters — crunchy outside and tender, moist and flavorful inside!
Pork Belly — melted in the mouth! The potato and soft boiled egg absorbed the sauce well!
Cheese Risotto — I never saw it mixed in a block of cheese at the table before! Amazing!
Pumpkin Croquette — we were served meat and potato croquette because pumpkin wasn’t available. They didn’t tell us. We had to ask because the color didn’t look like pumpkin. Served with katsu sauce. .yum!
Service was questionable. We had to flag down staff for various reasons. We understand that it was a busy night. However, my card was charged twice when there were 2 cards to be charged. Luckily, my friend had cash so that the transaction didn’t have to be reversed.
Restroom was convenient. Parking was free and convenient. Décor was cute and appropriate. Music seemed to not match. .sounded like Mexican tunes? I could smell the frying odors from the kitchen which probably landed on my hair and clothing.
Overall, it was a fun eating experience because we all enjoyed the flavors and presentation. Excellent food! We would return! Mahalo!

Gets busy so try to make a reservation!
I love this place. This is my favorite Japanese restaurant and I’m Japanese and have been to several. The food is good. Their sauces are yummy.
Must get: buta kakuni and udon vongole.
The pork in the buta kakuni is perfectly moist, tender, and filled with flavor.
My favorite is their udon clams, udon vongole! It is the best clams pasta Ive ever had any where and I am picky. This beats any linguini and clams I have ever had and I always order that when I eat Italian. The udon is good, clams fresh, and the sauce is really delicious. I drink the sauce by itself!
Their fried chicken! Perfectly crispy, seasoned on the outside and moist in the inside.
buta kimchi is not as good as the buta kakuni. I would skip this.
I didn’t like the takotama. It was okay.
Garlic clams is good. Their sauce is good as always and clams fresh. I would get the udon vongole instead though.
The fried shrimp is battered nicely.
Their green salad is good and nicely presented. Plenty of avocados and good dressing.
For 2 people I order 3 dishes and for 3 people, 4 dishes.
Great place for a birthday. They turn off the lights and everyone sings happy bday. Then they use a torch in the kitchen for a quick fire display. My mom loved it.
Service is good as well! My water was always filled and I drink a lot! I like the kettle they give you for tea.

This place is pretty small so I highly suggest setting a reservation! I treated one of my friends here for her birthday and the service and food was amazing! If I hadn’t called ahead, we probably wouldn’t have been able to eat here since there’s only one large communal style table and bar seating. Because it was her birthday, they did a special dessert and made a whole show of it by turning the lights off and bringing out the dessert while singing happy birthday. I can’t wait to come back!

Came with a group of 15 friends to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and was seated at the communal table, a large and long table in the middle of the restaurant. Restaurant is cosy and as I look around there isn’t many tables, so I recommend you make reservations especially on weekends. Service is good and they make sure we are all well attended to.
Hire Ponzu (sliced beef tenderloin on grill) $ 14.50
~ I like the way it is presented, in a traditional charcoal grill pot.
~ Portion is pretty small and thinly sliced, not worth ordering for how much it cost.
~ Get yourself prepared to smell oily and smokey when you’re back home as the charcoal smoke is blowing from tables around that orders this dish.
~ ⁷⁄₁₀
Udon Vongole (Manila clams & assorted mushrooms sautéed with garlic, butter, sake & soy sauce) $ 13.50
~ Udon is Q and soft, gravy is really tasty but too bad it’s kinda little that I’m craving for more. Clams is very fresh! ⁸⁄₁₀

Another Japanese restaurant that opens late around here, went for a late dinner on Sunday night. A very small traditional Japanese joint, not too many seatings, one big communal table in the middle, glad we got seated at a booth table in the corner, very comfy and more private.
The menu was fun to browse, I had to read the descriptions to get to know the items, those are traditional Japanese izakaya dishes I think, I see many items that I have never seen before. Since we weren’t awfully hungry and didn’t want to get too stuffed before bed, we ordered a few small plates to share.
Marinated kale: yummy, just a little too sweet for me.
Mackerel torched at the table to make it seared fish: fresh and delicious, the torching was quite a show.
Clams and mushrooms in butter and garlic sauce: so flavorful, the sauce was bomb, loved it.
Grilled Smelt fish: not so good, they were burnt and bitter.
Miso soup with radish and carrots: not traditional miso soup, but still very tasty, I love radish.
Fried chicken: hubby loved it, perfectly cooked golden crispy skins, tender and flavorful chicken meat inside, it looked very appetizing too.
Garlic spicy chicken noodle soup: boy this noodle soup was huge, hubby loved the soup and ground chicken in it.
I was surprised hubby ordered two chicken dishes, he never likes chicken! But this two dishes were bomb!
I had a Sapporo draft, I see many dining people are drinking pitchers, we will share one next time for sure. The food was amazingly delicious, small portions, so better order rice or noodle dishes in the end.
Think this restaurant has become our go to place for late night meals or whenever we crave izakaya!

Open just for dinner.
I can count the number of times I come here on one hand. Their food is tapas style to enjoy with a nice cold beer.
The must get I always will come here is the cheese risotto. Brown rice risotto that is served in a huge parmesan wedge. But the wedge does not stay on the table.
Other things to get:
Takotama: octopus omelet
Musha’s fried chicken
Tofu nugget
Tofu salad
Beef tongue and tenderloin on the grill
Service is great, very attentive.

Musha is awesome! The quality of their food is consistently good and savory modern. I’ve been to many izakayas and I can always count on Musha to set the bar. Prior to dining last night, we went to Torihei but they said the wait for 15min because we didnt have a reservation. We also tried Hachi but the parking lot is too small. So i went over to Musha just to give it a shot and there was space by the bar, to our surprise. Musha has always been busy and they also take reservations as a result of it so it was nice to walk in and be seated right away.
I would suggest the buta kakuni which is braised pork belly. But if you wanna go healthy, I would suggest the green salad which comes with loads of avocados, cucumbers, tomatoes, sprouts and their light dressing is refreshingly delicious. We also got their MFC (mini fried chicken cutlet) not bad. They have lots of interesting options on their menu so i would love to come back! if it aint busy

Musha is kind of a Japanese version of a funky roadhouse with a huge communal dining table dominating the floor as well as «Sushi bar» seating & individual tables. The walls are decorated with fun, unusual paintings & graphics such as jumping whimsical stylized rabbits, or animals that could pass for cats, dogs, pigs depending how you look at them. The interior looks warm, comfortable, casual in a countrified, rural feel. Music is an interesting eclectic mix of Bossa Nova, rock, rhythm & blues. Our waitress looked cool w/​tinted blue hair, nose ring, & was helpful & thoughtful.
Ordered the Kawabe Sunrise beer which has a reddish amber brown color, nice fresh bitter hops giving a heavier body, a bit of smoky, caramelized sweetness, & the carbonation that added a bit of acidity & tingling tongue sensation.
BIG Portions:
1) Started off w/​the Musha salad: iceberg lettuce, Kaiware Daikon (kah ee wah reh dah ee kohn) micro greens, mixed salad leaves, sweet grape tomato, fully ripe, richly fatty aguacate/​avocado in a mayonnaise, sesame paste salad dressing. The huge variety of ingredients made for good flavor & texture contrasts although for me, the iceberg lettuce could have been substituted for romaine or green lettuce since iceberg contains less nutrients.
2) Roast Chicken w/​skin attached was the least interesting dish. Although it was marinated w/​possibly Sake (sah keh) to add a meaty moistness to the meat, the herbing was not very flavourful leading to a bland piece of meat. Great for people who like their food flavourless.
3) Their version of Fried Chicken in what might be a combination of batter & Panko (pahn koh) came out crunchy yet bready with wonderful earthy sage & possibly curry powder flavours. Really one of the best fried chickens that I have had since going to Woodville, Mississippi where Danny’s may have the best fried chicken flavoured in Cajun spices & chiles in all of the South.
4) Udon (oo dohn) noodles w/​Asari (ah sah ree)/Manila clams was a Japanese fusion version of the Italian, Pasta alle Vongole. The Udon seems sautéed in a Umami filled broth enriched w/​butter, Sho-​yu (show yu)/soy sauce & slivers of mild garlic. Kizami Nori/​finely julienned seaweed paper, sprigs of cilantro as garnish added more ocean Umami & green earthy herbal flavours to the mix. It was an interesting alternative to the more familiar Italian pasta dish.
We came early at 6pm on a Tuesday so the first 30 minutes or so it was wonderful dining, but as the under 35 crowd came in, the place started to get uncomfortably loud. We had the misfortune of sitting next to a young woman who had to bray & broadcast to the whole restaurant her boringly LOUD comments which made for unpleasant dining.
By the time we had finished our meal, Musha was roaring with dissonance close to what you would find at Bestia, Animal, Son of a Gun, etc. It seems that the Noise Pollution Syndrome has finally hit Japanese restaurants. Musha roughly means the Inn of Dreams, but with all the loud noise, for some it can be a nightmare. 4– Unilocal stars for the food, but 2 stars for the loud noise which is rapidly creeping into the LA restaurant scene. Bring your ear plugs if you want to avoid the grunts, squeals, screeches & shrieks.

My wish came true with an amazing birthday dinner on Friday. Started with my beloved Lobster Roll. Noticed that the wasabi was a little brown and the roll was unusually cold. We were there somewhat early, 6:30. I suspect that Musha succumbed to the temptation to pre-​make a few orders of this popular item in advance :(Not what I would expect for $ 9.10.
Finally tried the cheese risotto. It was good, but a little too sweet and heavy for my taste. Almost like a dessert item. Seafood Udon was great… amazing broth. Mushroom and Asparagus Salad was amazing. Perhaps the best warm marinated mushrooms that I’ve ever had. Have yet to try the Ebi Mayo Mayo… next time! :)

i haven’t been a good japanese izakaya since i lived in japan
musha is probably the best i’ve been to in the south bay area
tanshio (beef tongue with salt) — definitely order this
MFC (musha fried chicken) — crispy yet light and flavorful
cheese risotto — literally mixed in a block of cheese at your table.
it was good but looked better than it tasted. it also got cold really fast
aburi saba (vinegar marinated mackerel torched at your table) — a must
buta kakuni (braised pork stew) — super generous portion and delicious
will definitely be back

Musha is alright.
I took my folks here for a weekend dinner last year, but nobody left raving about their experience. This is probably a better atmosphere for when you go out on a date or meet up with some friends for some tapas and beers. The food here is good. It’s not something you’ll find in your fridge or want to cook up at home therefore making its a bit more special dining here. I though for the better part of their menu was pretty good, but there wasn’t any one dish that I loved.
Musha Fried Chicken — Not bad, but it’s not something I’d order again.
Cheese Risotto — pretty good. Bowl is huge, but the serving size is small.
Yellowtail Sashimi — Very good. If it’s fresh and done right, you can’t go wrong.
Asari Garlic Butter — decent
Rib Eye Steak — I’ve had better, I don’t recommend it.
Udon Vongole — probably my favorite dish
Would I come back? Probably, but I’d cut a lot of things I ordered and maybe try and few different dishes.

Came here for dinner with a big group of friends and it was good we had a reservation because this place is busy! We ordered the buta kakuni, ebi mayo mayo, takotama, negitoro menchi katsu, aburi shimesaba, cheese risotto, and the gyu hire ponzu, and tanshio on shichirin griller.
I must say I was super impressed by the presentation on the dishes we ordered! Especially the mackerel, shichirin griller meats, and the cheese risotto. The mackerel they bring out raw and torch it in front you. The outer parts of the fish is torched but the inside remains its raw tenderness. This was a great starter dish. The shichirin griller was cool too, but I wish they had brought two of them since we had 10 people sharing 4 orders of meat with only 1 griller (which only fits about 3 – 4 pieces of meat a time). Lastly, the risotto comes out in a huge cheese block and they scoop out the insides to serve at the table. Mmmmm, ultimate cheesiness. I really enjoyed the risotto with the rich cheese flavors and chewy risotto (I don’t like them overcooked). But this dish is definitely a heavy one and it’s better for sharing among friends.
Of some of the other dishes we ordered, the buta kakuni was my favorite. It was super stewed with all the flavors and juices locked into the meat, even the potatoes sucked in all the great flavors. However, I would say this dish is on the sweeter side, so if you don’t like this kind of flavoring I would suggest picking another one.
Overall, food came out relatively fast and each of us ended up paying about 20 dollars per person, which was reasonable considering how much we ordered.

Very disappointing meal that I had here on Valentine’s night. I’ve been wanting to try this place the months and thought why not eat here on Vday.
I love anything cheesy so when I saw pictures of the cheesy risotto, I had to try it. As the waiter brought over the big cheese block with our risotto inside, I couldn’t be anymore excited. However, once I put a scoop in my mouth, I was instantly disappointed. Not only did it not have any cheese flavors, the rice was very hard. It just tasted like cream rice.
Most of the items I tried (please refers to my pictures) was not too great either.

A nice little place for family style dining. The menu is quite small and some of the portions are small and can be shared by 2 at the most, so you may have to order more.
Food:
The cheese risotto is very excellent; it actually comes out on a block of cheese, but it doesn’t have an overwhelming cheesy flavor. We really enjoyed the ebimayo and the takotama, both came out hot and flavorful.
Overall, this place is a nice find an worth checking out. The place is small and can get busy. Staff and service are nice and courteous. The portions, as mentioned, are small, so if you are heavy eaters, this may run up your bill at the end.