Otafuku Restaurant
Japanese restaurant · Gardena
16525 S Western Ave, Gardena, CA 90247
Highlights
Fresh soba noodles, tempura, yakitori, and Japanese entrees
Fresh soba noodles, tempura, yakitori, and Japanese entrees
"Otafuku is a family-run Japanese restaurant that treats soba noodles with near scientific precision. The three kinds of soba here vary in texture, size, and taste, but all are made in-house every day with flour imported from Japan. In other words, you don’t see them elsewhere around LA. The all-white seiro is our favorite, but whatever you choose will be served cold on a bamboo plate with a tiny dish of garlic soy sauce for dipping on the side. It’s simple, fresh, and exactly what we want during a heatwave." - brant cox, nikko duren, kat hong, garrett snyder, sylvio martins
"If you’re getting a bit bored of the ol’ boxed fusilli + ketchup routine (we ran out of tomato sauce), but still want a big bowl of noodles, then it’s time to order from Otafuku. This family-run Japanese restaurant in the South Bay makes their soba in-house every day, with special buckwheat flour imported from Japan. Served with nothing but a tiny dish of garlic soy sauce for dipping, this is the kind of straightforward, simple meal that’s exactly what you need when you can’t bear to squirt Heinz onto dry pasta any more (we didn’t want to waste water). Otafuku Noodle House is available for takeout, call (310) 532-9348 to order." - kat hong
"Otafuku crafts two different types of soba noodles: the signature milky-white seiro soba and a darker kikouchi soba made of buckwheat flour. Both are served firm in a variety of cold preparations." - Matthew Kang
"It’s hard to think of the best dishes at Otafuku, easily one of the best traditional Japanese restaurants in the Los Angeles area, but the soba, made on the premises and served with 100 percent buckwheat noodles in limited quantities every day, always satisfies." - Eater Staff
" Otafuku is a quaint, family-run Japanese restaurant that treats soba noodles like science. The three kinds of soba here vary in texture, size, and taste, but all are made in-house daily with special flour imported from Japan. We prefer the all-white seiro, best ordered chilled on a bamboo mat with dipping sauce and a choice of crispy tempura. It’s simple, fresh, and exactly what we want during a heat wave. The lunch menu includes Otafuku's greatest hits (order the spanish mackerel bowl), but during dinner, the kitchen serves excellent yakitori and sashimi, too." - garrett snyder
