Popular Japanese Yakitori Restaurant Torikizoku Just Opened in Torrance newsthirst.

Torikizoku, a yakitori chain with more than 600 locations in Japan, opened its first U.S. location in Torrance on January 24, 2025. Torikizoku is best known in Japan for its affordable flame-licked chicken skewers grilled over binchotan charcoal, served in a boisterous dining room alongside beer and sake.

The first Torikizoku opened in Osaka in 1985. In the 40 years since, the restaurant has grown into one of Japan’s most popular izakaya chains. Locations in Japan offer plates of skewers, sides, and more at a set price of 308 yen, which is a little over $2 apiece. In addition to its expansion into the U.S., Torikizoku has also opened locations in Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.

Torikizoku offers a simple menu in Torrance with a wide variety of kushiyaki (any kind of skewered food), including yakitori (specifically skewered chicken). The chicken options include kizoku yaki (jumbo yakitori), momo (thigh), teba (wings), tsukune (meatballs), hatsu (heart), sunagimo (gizzard), and yagen (cartilage). Hotate (scallop), ebi (shrimp), uzura (quail eggs), tomato, shishito, and harami beef are also available. To round out meals, Torikizoku serves sides like edamame, cucumber salad, yaki onigiri, and rice. Orders of karaage (fried chicken), takoyaki, agedashi tofu, and okonomiyaki pair well with the Suntory lager on draft, while yuzu shio ramen and soboro don (ground chicken rice bowl) are on deck as small main dishes. Each plate is offered at a set price of either $4 or $8.

Alongside the skewers, Torikizoku serves alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage options, including a yuzu sour, grape Ramune soda, hot green tea, sake, and umeshu. Bottles of wine, sake, and shochu are also on the menu.

The interior of Torrance’s Torikizoku is reminiscent of its locations in Japan but with a more upscale minimalist design and light wood. A semi-enclosed host stand greets guests; parallel wood beams form a slanted ceiling over it. Carefully arranged bottles of sake and wine, along with cookbooks and pottery, sit on the shelves behind the counter. A U-shaped wooden bar takes up the center of the dining room, looking into a glass-enclosed extension of the kitchen where chefs grill kushiyaki over binchotan. A few rustic wood tables are arranged throughout the space. Circular Noguchi-style paper lamps hang overhead, casting a soft light on the gray lime-washed walls and concrete floors.

Torikizoku joins an already outstanding lineup of yakitori restaurants in the Southland, including Shin Sen Gumi, Koshiji, and Torimatsu, as well as izakayas like Ototo and Izakaya Hachi. Its arrival, coupled with the recent opening and immediate popularity of Japanese bakery Bread, Espresso, & in Redondo Beach, could mark the beginning of a new wave of Japan-based restaurants expanding into Los Angeles. If Zoku’s success in the South Bay is any indication, Torikizoku is sure to make its mark on the region.

Torikizoku is located at 21839 Hawthorne Boulevard, Torrance, CA 90503, and is open from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.