Little Tokyo has some gems and Sawtelle has developed a rival scene on the Westside, but the most serious Japanese restaurants are undoubtedly in the South Bay. Until recently, that’s where you’d find the North American Headquarters for Nissan and Toyota. Nissan recently relocated from Gardena to Tennessee, but you’ll still find a bevy of restaurants that meet the needs of homesick Japanese autoworkers, including Torihei. The strip mall restaurant specializes in yakitori and Kyoto-style “oden” stew and was heavily hyped by Miles Clements in LA Times and Danny Chen, the Kung Food Panda. While Torihei wasn’t quite a revelation, it’s clearly one of the best Japanese specialty restaurants in the South Bay.

Clements deserves credit for researching Torihei’s back-story, noting that “[Masataka] Hirai’s family operates like-minded restaurants in Tokyo and Yokohama,” and that “Oden is the realm of chef [Masakuzu] Sasaki.” By default Yakitori is Hirai’s domain.

The space was well-lit and featured raked red walls and high ceilings. It was pleasant to sit at one of the tables, but if you have a small group, sit at the counter to watch Sasaki and Hirai in action. No matter where you sit, the menu features dozens of options. Here’s a rundown of just 14 dishes:

Beef tongue ($2.30) kushi-yaki featured a great char, but the meat was surprisingly chewy. Still, dabbed with wasabi, the beef was flavorful.

Chicken Liver ($1.80) yakitori were supple, iron-rich and practically lacquered with sauce.

Chicken thigh ($1.80) yakitori was fairly straight forward, with juicy dark meat that was pocketed with blistered chicken fat.

Thankfully, “fatty pork” ($2.30) kushi-yaki wasn’t as fatty as the name implied. The juicy meat had a winning sear and came with scallion-sprinkled daikon mash.

Since we ordered a frosty pitcher of Sapporo, it was practically pre-ordained that we had to heed the advice of the menu and add Fried Cashew Nuts ($3.50) since they’re “best much with beer!” No doubt. The hot well-salted legumes paired great with the refreshing lager.

Golf ball-sized chunks of Fried “Jidori” Chicken ($6.95) were sheathed in crispy, well-seasoned batter that preserved the juicy free-range yardbird.

“Torihei” Meat Ball ($1.80) Yakitori was a real highlight, featuring loosely packed balls of ground dark meat that were well-seasoned and oozed chicken juice.

Kyoto Style “Oden” Stew with “Mochikin” rice cake ($2.80) was a major letdown, a chewy fried tofu purse that was tied like the tail end of a hobo’s bindle and filled with oozing mochi, a single shrimp, a single ginkgo nut and a shaved mushroom.

Kyoto Style “Oden” Stew with Fuwa-Fuwa (soft) chicken ball ($2.80) was bland, especially compared to the explosively flavored grilled meatballs.

Kyoto Style “Oden” Stew with Half raw egg w/cod roe ($1.95) was stupendous, featuring a comforting broth that gained complexity with the addition of runny yolk, roe that burst with briny juice, seaweed and scallions. When all the flavors mixed, I couldn’t help but turn the bowl upside down to catch the last drop on my tongue.

Kyoto Style “Oden” Stew with Whole Tomato ($2.80) was nearly as satisfying thanks to a buttery potato broth and a juicy tomato that oozed acidic juices, cutting the broth’s richness.

Seasoned Omelet w/Grounded chicken ($5.85) was another winner, featuring moist cross-sections of nearly-ideal omelet studded with more of that flavorful ground chicken.

Special beef skewer ($3.95) lived up to the “special” moniker, especially compared to the beef tongue. These chunks featured the same sear, but juicier bites, topped with tangy yuzu pulp.

Whole Squid ($5.25) was impressive on the plate, with a great deep-purple color, but the abdomen wasn’t as tender as I’d hoped.

On each table, expect to find two wood spices boxes. In general, the skewers paired better with shichimi togarashi, the legendary seven-spice blend, than sancho, a mouth-numbing green peppercorn powder.

Overall, Torihei delivered a satisfying Japanese meal with only a few misfires. The dinner also only cost $19 apiece, we got to try 14 different dishes and we all left full.