Torihei Yakitori Robata Dining

The pork belly was so good we ended up order 4 sticks! My husband tried the curry beef tongue rice dish. It was so good, I ended up ordering another servings. The best part was the fried shiitake mushrooms. Number #1 in my books!! They do not give you table water but offer to purchase bottled water for $1 over a cup of ice. On the outside it seems very empty and lonely but once you enter inside the unassuming restaurant was buzzing with patrons, at the tables and at the sushi bar. We squeezed ourselves at the sushi bar. Was comfortable and cozy.

It's been a while. Our last visit was pre-pandemic. Glad to see the restaurant survived and is as busy as ever. Try to make a reservation! It's a time-saver!We ordered a lot and they were all delicious! Not all items were captured. My dinner companions were fast. A new item for us was the liver pate and crackers. Good but not enough crackers! We resorted to eating the extra pate, slathered onto the cucumbers. A delicious combo! We also ordered a bottle of sake that was served WARM. Not hot. Not cold. It was easy drinking. My favorites of this evening;Liver pateGrilled liverPork bellyChicken wingsChicken tailCucumber CabbageLol! I listed almost everything. Try it! Enjoy!

Haven't tried a proper yakitori before, so I had the opportunity to have it at Torihei. Reservations are absolutely necessary for dinner (after 4:30pm), so my party and I got our place for an early dinner and started ordering to our heart's content.We tried a bunch of different skewers, including some of my favorites like tongue, chicken thigh, and chicken meatball. Some were absolutely juicy and melted in my mouth while some others were snappy and chewy. The wild card dish, however, was the beef tongue curry rice we got for a more-substantial meal; besides a lush, flavorful curry, the beef tongue was so tender that it practically dissolved in my mouth...definitely something I'd get again!Torihei has quality meats at just about any cut (including lesser-known ones like heart and gizzards). So many different textures and flavors for the ultimate sensory experience. My only gripe was that only bottled water is served, no tap, which I find is a bit of a rip-off. And some of the fish ball/vegetarian dishes were just-okay for me. Otherwise, a solid yakitori establishment worth going for some quality grilled meat!

Greasy greasy food.They are always busy and will put 1 1/2 hr time limit per table. Pretty typical of Japanese places to try to maximize revenue.Service is OK. If I had the choice, I would go to a different izakaya. But those choices are limited in the US. Perhaps Koshiji... better food, just as busy as Torihei.

They decided to make their policies not customer friendly, so here I am, an unfriendly customer. Three negative experiences within the first 5 minutes of sitting down. I considered leaving, and really should have. 1. Make a reservation. We walked in at 5:40 without a reservation when there were only 2 other parties there. The host asked if we had a reservation and from the look on his face and the hesitation, seriously considered not seating us. Told us that he needs the table back by 7:00, which I don't mind at all if he didn't make us feel so unwelcomed immediately. 2. They don't offer tap water. When the waitress came by to take drink orders, she pointed us to the menu saying that bottled water is $1. From the other comments and replies from the business on these Yelp reviews, the manager/owner has not provided any reason for this, like water quality or to enhance our dining experience with a beverage, etc. Seems like it's just their way to get a few more dollars. 3. We asked for another menu so our party can all decide on what to order instead of reading the whole menu out loud....you know, since we are going to get kicked out at 7:00. The waitress said no. Not like they ran out of menus with only two other tables in the restaurant at the time. 4. We ordered an apple juice for my daughter, and the cup it came in smelled like bleach. Good try for sanitation, but not sure if bleach is the preferred dishwashing detergent of choice. My daughter almost threw up in the cup. We obliged with the upcharge to order a beverage because no tap water, and the experience was still negative. The food was average. None of the skewers had a good char. The grilled squid was the worst of the items ordered. It was lukewarm when it arrived, and was slightly fishy with not enough seasoning. We were handed the bill promptly at 7:00. Don't worry, I won't be occupying your table in the future.