Gary I.
Yelp
Very local neighborhood Kara Okè (kah rah oh keh) bar with private separate booths for groups and singing at the main bar for drop-ins. Accommodating staff.
The clientele leans towards East Asians since Torrance has the largest population of Japanese Americans on the U.S. mainland.
Confer w/ management to determine going rates for the private Kara Okè rooms. Weekend and holiday evenings are the most expensive, and the price/person goes down depending on the number of people using the room.
Yelp lists the food served here as Traditional American. There are some rotating items that may be considered "American" such as Spaghetti & irregularly shaped Meatballs in tomatoey meat sauce, Pizza, fried potato Wedge Fries, Ratatouille, Lamb Chops, Caesar Salad, Shrimp Scampi, Crab Avocado Salad, Garlic Butter Sautéed Veggies, etc.
However, at least half of the food is Japanese bar food such as Ja Ja Tōfu, Duck Breast in Light Shōyu/soy sauce, Sashimi flavoured w/ Miso/fermented, salty soy bean paste, Shichimi dusted cucumber & Jako/dried baby sardines, Japanese Curry, etc.
Remember: Kitchen closes at 10:30pm everyday.
There is a decent list of beers, wines, Sakè (sah keh), Shōchū (show chew)/Japanese low alcohol Vodka. Since Astro only has a beer & wine license, expect Shōchū instead of vodka for their mixed cocktails.
I attended a birthday party w/ food catered by Astro. Mostly Japanese dishes w/ Pizza Margherita, Spaghetti Bolognese con Polpete w/ yucky Kraft "parmesan" for some Western slanted food.
Don't expect très haute cuisine & high end Japanese aesthetics cuz you ain't gonna git it. 3 stars for the grub. Dranks seem to be the way to go, but hard drinkin' & singin' kin raise the appetite, and Astro then starts to taste a might better.
This is not a bar to travel 50 miles for, but if your friends like Kara Okè, drink, sing and are all in the neighborhood, then Astro will be the 4- star joint de jour.