Izakaya Tonchinkan 呑み屋 とんちんかん

Beautiful service. The best sashimi!!!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

incredible place. i come back as often as i can. perfect food perfect service perfect beer.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My girlfriend brought me here for my very first meal in Los Angeles, and it was truly special. Their grilled beef tongue, sashimi, negitoro rolls, and kamameshi are absolute must-orders. Everything was full of flavor and prepared with great care.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Super qualify food

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Litterally the best food everrr

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This was one of the most memorable, delicious meals I’ve had. The quality of fish was impeccable, the service was a delight, and every bit of food was perfect. I don’t live in LA, and I already want to plan a return trip to go back here.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

A great experience dining with Chef Tatsu, very welcoming and chatting with us as an old neighbor, making us feel like home. All the ingredients are so fresh, lightly seasoned to enjoy its own flavor. The saki was a great accompaniment to the food. Will definitely come back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Comfortable and cozy interior
Service is impeccable, kind, and gave us food recommendations. Will love to come back again
Thank you for hospitality 🫶🏻

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

What a great time here. Almost feels like an updated Cheers experience Japanese style. Meet friends, everyone is friendly and all having a good time. Food is superb and the beverage choices are impeccable.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

$45 for a whole tray of fresh uni? Count me in! Uni, barricuda, scallops, baby sardine were great. Grilled beef tongue above average but I had better, ankimo was as expected, only thing I didn't like was the grilled stewed octopus. Service was attentive.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Tatsu san the best, do enjoy the food and drinks there.

This is, without a doubt, one of the liveliest izakayas in Los Angeles — boasting an impressively long menu and one of the most extensive selections of premium sake in the city. The atmosphere is intimate, and Itamae Chef Tatsu-san is as enthusiastic and entertaining as they come, blending humor with genuine hospitality. On our last visit, he shared that the producer for Lisa from Blackpink had dined here, and that the son of the guitarist from the rock duo B’z is a frequent guest — a testament to the restaurant’s popularity, particularly within the Japanese community.

The food is authentic, straightforward, and rooted in the fundamentals of Japanese cuisine — nothing overly ornate, but deeply satisfying and heartwarming. Many dishes are designed for sharing, with several donabe options to end the meal. The sashimi is expertly prepared: we enjoyed abalone freshly sliced while still alive, along with amaebi and shiroebi that were refreshingly sweet — ideal sake companions, especially on a warm summer evening.

Some of my personal favorites include okizuke (marinated firefly squid), ankimo (monkfish liver with ponzu), and 甲州煮 (chicken liver, heart, and gizzard simmered in sweet soy sauce). Each makes for an excellent otsumami, perfectly suited for pairing with drinks.

From time to time, the restaurant also hosts special events, such as Dassai Sake Night and Nankai Shochu Night, further cementing its reputation as not only a dining destination but also a cultural hub for Japanese food and drink in Los Angeles. The only downside is that it’s so far from where I live that I couldn’t visit more often, but I suppose that’s entirely my fault.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Staff friendly, warm and inviting atmosphere. Good selection of rare alcohol, if you want; generally fairly priced even after restaurant markup! Make sure to get the panna cotta! The boss's wife makes them herself in limited quantities daily!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Ever watch an old school samurai movie where the main protagonist rises up from the streets as a poor orphaned kid who has dreams of saving the love of his life and liberating his village from the evil empire and slays godzilla? This place is exactly like that! Except a lot more drinking, tons more delicious food and of course beautiful women and men for people of all flavors and kind! Oh and the evil empire is just closing time... because that's the only downside ... 😞 make sure you offer drinks to the staff or ur food will be unlucky too... and no one wants unlucky food! They have DJs on the 5th weekend of every month and security is really chill but make sure you bring a good fake ID cus he can tell 😉

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This place is more than just dinner—it’s an experience. The energy is warm and communal, with friendly conversations flowing easily between staff and guests. It feels like a local hangout—the kind of spot you stumble into and end up staying longer than planned, or eventually become a regular.

We ordered a well-rounded spread: Japanese seaweed with dashi vinaigrette, a sake-friendly trio of firefly squid, takowasabi, and white fish with ponzu, plus torotaku tsumami, clams sautéed with asparagus, beef tongue, slow-cooked beef with yuzu kosho, and the donabe rice topped with salmon and ikura.

my favs were seaweed with dashi, slow cooked beef with yuzu kosho and donabe rice with ikura but i would recommend all of it.

I’ll be back. Make reservations if you don’t want to risk it!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5