totoraku.

totoraku. where to start.

i had been curious about this hard to book, invite only, japanese bbq for a while, and was looking forward to dining here when my friends husband, who was invited back, booked for us. i knew i wanted to try it to see what it was all about, but didn’t know what to expect. i was a bit unsure if the quality would match the steep (our dinner came out to 280/pp) prices.

i dined with a group of 5, and we brought champagne and a few reds. the restaurant is quite small, on a strip mall off pico.

the first thing that was brought to our table was this plate of little amuse bouche bites. very teeny but delicate and flavorful bites.

nice presentation, a good tone to start off the meal. the waiter went over every one in detail.. which i will not repeat, but the scallop and the sesame tofu, were especially memorable.

then we went into 3 courses of raw beef.

tataki, in a light sort of ponzu and scallion.

beef throat ( in the glass) and seared beef. when this was served the waiter stated that the throat was a rare cut of beef, and this is as much as you can get from one cow. i found it a bit chewy, and.. for lack of a better word, slimy.. i didn’t really enjoy it.

this one was my favorite, mixed with raw quail egg, apple + asian pear. i like the sweet fruit pairing.

onto the hibachi. i was surprised that the chef had us cook the meat ourselves. usually at better restaurants, they have a waiter or chef to cook most of the meat for you at your table… that way they can ensure that its done correctly, and give you the proper dining experience. we were instructed how long to grill each meat that came to our table.. and off we went onto 6 courses of grilled beef.

tongue to start. delicious, soft and fatty. a thicker cut than other restaurants.

filet mignon. lightly seasoned. this was probably my favorite cooked meat, because it required the least amount of grilling. we had it very rare, and it was tender and juicy. i don’t usually order filet, because i like some fat content, but the way this was prepared was to my liking.

after that.. top cap sirloin.

short rib. after this everything was about the same.. the short rib needed to be cooked more to medium/char for better texture.

seasoned bottom cap.

blurry pic, but was quite good. delicious skinned  and seasoned japanese tomato.

a side of veggies, soybean paste. to cut through the meat.

the last steak to be grilled, good, but sO. much. meat.

we didn’t ask for it upon booking, but our friend asked the waiter if they had the add on seafood soup, and when he checked with the chef they were able to accommodate. spicy king crab udon soup. yUM. the udon noodles had a great chewy texture, and the soup was just slightly spicy, so i was able to enjoy it.

overall a good dining experience. great service, but i do think we were paying a bit extra for the exclusivity of the restaurant. i’ve had good japanese bbq in japan, where there was A5 wagyu and kobe, cooked for you, and lower in pricing. its aLOT of red meat in one meal, so the wine was definitely needed.

the waiter told us that chef kaz was quite busy, as it was a friday night, so we didn’t really get to speak with him during the meal. we sent a few glasses of bordeaux back to him, but sadly he did not come out to drink with us. towards the end of the meal, chef kaz brought out the above soup to the table and said hello. we asked to take a picture with him at the end of the night, and he was very accommodating.

 

xx