Alas by the title of this thread, I thought we were getting a tempura restaurant. Maybe it’s a tempura restaurant in Japan? The actual name of the restaurant in the U.S. is apparently Tonkatsu Ten No Meshi and we got a tonkatsu restaurant.
I’m not a tonkatsu person so I won’t be trying it. From what I have read, it also seems very gimmicky and influencer oriented. A “concept” so to speak and concept restaurants are not my cup of sencha so to speak.
in Kyoto, Ten No Meshi is a tempura chain by Kushikatsu Tanaka, which itself is a chain from Osaka with a lot of outposts throughout Japan. i believe that Kushikatsu Tanaka once had a location on Sawtelle. i think maybe they have different fried focuses - in Kyoto, it’s tempura (as indicated by the name), in Osaka, they do kushikatsu, and here in LA, it seems to be focused on tonkatsu/gyukatsu. i won’t get into pricing differences between Japan vs LA, because there are a lot of factors.
They indeed did. Possibly in the same spot (or one of the neighboring units)! I really liked that place.
I’m open to trying this place (partner already uses the Yelp app), but I think I’m going to wait to read some reviews from others here b/f forking over the $…
i went last Friday at 2PM and they, apparently, acquired a communal tablet. the wait was around 30 minutes. estimated time was about 50min, but it’s obvious a lot of other people (wiser than me) abandoned the line. i imagine it’s still a fucking nightmare on weekends and/or evenings.
they were kind enough to give us last seating at closing time, but they’re very strict FIFO in clearing the queue, so they’ll do things like… seat a party of 2 at the only 6 top in the restaurant. or put 2 at a 4 top instead of waiting 5ish minutes for counter spaces, so 2+4 can sit down simultaneously.
went with a couple people to try as much as possible.
the included tempura scallop was fantastic.
gyukatsu isn’t my bag, but i could certainly tell a difference between the american and A5 wagyu. i preferred the american because it has a little more chew and less fat to it–like dealing with the weight of eating a whole plate of buttery meat.
if you pay the additional $9 for ikura, you get an appropriate amount vs what you could buy at a market these days. however, the absolute worst part of the meal was that they asked if we wanted to film them putting ikura on things and yelling YOISHO!
i understand that’s a great way to market and get them on social media, but being asked if i want to film something at a restaurant always rubs me the wrong way. at the end, the waitress (entire staff is INCREDIBLY nice and attentive, btw) asked if we wanted her to yell or just wanted the ikura. it seemed that she was already over having to do it.
the katsudon there is a little confusing, but i’m not big on katsudon in general (don’t sog up my katsu). we didn’t do the a la carte shrimp tempura. it’s slightly amusing the restaurant’s name doesn’t carry the same wordplay when their signature dish at this location isn’t tempura.
the tonkatsu was very good. it was a quality meal. does it justify waiting in line for an hour? idk, but that will die down.
does it punch above Kagura at all, though? i don’t think so. Kagura rings in for less $ and has more variety. both compare to some of the places i’ve had in Japan, so for me it comes down to economics. Kagura also isn’t performative/influencer dining, and you can pretty much walk in whenever.
anyway, i wish them well. they have a very good location and will probably survive for a while.
Thank you for answering what I was fundamentally wondering.
I was wondering if the type of dishes being served are a bit of, um, misapplication for such premium ingredients (let alone if the difference in taste would be worth the cost)…
Hey, they listened to my feedback! Good on them…
I was wondering if the type of dishes being served are a bit of, um, misapplication for such premium ingredients
again, i’ve never been a fan of gyukatsu, personally, so i don’t feel like i should weigh in too much here. i’m definitely curious if any gyukatsu lovers go there and what their opinions are!
it’s kinda interesting that gyukatsu spots give you a stone and let you–with no instruction–completely cook A5 wagyu to shit if you want to.
PS i went back to Kagura in Old Torrance on Friday, shortly after i posted, just to be sure. my comment there still stands. they had a braised vegetable dish + sashimi to accompany their lunch special–and everything else you’d get, standard, from a katsu joint–for ~$22. also $3 draft beer. the tsukemono selection, which comes included, is quite good.
Came across a Reddit review with pictures and the name sounded familiar. Put one and one together:
https://www.reddit.com/r/FoodLosAngeles/s/krK7OOMXDz
Long story short don’t think I’d pay those prices for that meal
Had a great lunch here last week. Don’t know the line situation at night, but at 12:30 two of us walked in and got seated right away.
We shared an American wagyu set ($44) and tonkatsu combo set ($35), which comes with an entire rosu (pork loin) katsu + one piece of hire (pork tenderloin/filet) katsu. Like @hamburgertuesday’s earlier review, I also loved the scallop tempura w/ ikura appetizer, included with the tonkatsu sets. No pressure to take photos thankfully 
Of all the meats, the rosu was my favorite. Juicy, meaty, crispy. Prob the best tonkatsu I’ve had in LA, a cut above Kagura’s for meat quality and a slightly lighter fry. The hire was solid but not as flavorful, not surprising I guess. (I still dream of the hire katsu at Narikura in Tokyo…)
The American wagyu was super tender, good fry, but not as flavorful as the rosu pork. Next time, I’ll get just the rosu tonkatsu set, which is pricier than Kagura at $32, but between the scallop appetizer, the free refills of soup/cabbage/rice, and the meat quality, a solid value for the Westside.
Scallop tempura + ikura
tonkatsu combo - rosu katsu + 1 piece of hire katsu
American wagyu set
I went tonight around 7:30 pm for a party of 3. 60 minutes was the time noted on signup but we got seated in 40 minutes. Hanging around the tablet can get you in sooner from my experience.
We got the A5 wagyu set, american wagyu set, and the tonkatsu combo set. The best thing was the scallop tempura with ikura. I kinda wish I ordered the ebi tenpura since the tempura batter was really good. The main meats though weren’t flavorful compared to other places. The coating was good but the meats on their own was bland. I had to rely on the sauces. My daughter who loves everything wagyu especially A5 said she would not come back. For gyukatsu in Southern CA, I prefer Kobe Gyukatsu over Ten No Meshi.
