Izakaya Bincho: A true "Diamond in the Rough"

So my first food review is not going to be the LA restaurant with the most Michelin stars, most popular and certainly not most expensive. Instead it'll be on this little hole in the wall Japanese restaurant that was one stop of many on our crawl led by Kung Food Panda.

Located on the Redondo Beach Pier "boardwalk" section surrounded by bars and other restaurants, this little spot is very easy to miss and I hadn't even noticed it coming here a few weeks before. Walking up to the entrance of this place, I wasn't expecting much considering it didn't even have a sign or any patrons on a Saturday evening.

Exterior

Once everyone in our party had arrived, we were quickly seated and given our menus by the only waitress that seemed to work there. In fact it seemed like there was only the chef and the one waitress.

Interior

It was obvious that the true rock stars of the evening were the spicy chicken wings. I had been eying this item from the outside of items that they highlighted on a piece of paper for patrons walking by. Immediately I started reminiscing of the time I had visited my older bro(rfung) in SF and he had taken us to San Tung Chinese Restaurant for their famous chicken wings. Never did I think that I would find a place that would be up to par and do I dare say better than San Tung?

Spicy Chicken Wings

Being a tofu fan, the agedashi tofu that we ordered was perfect. Among the best I've had and was garnished with the perfect amount of green onion and radish.

Agedashi Tofu

Some other dishes we ordered were mizore sauce over Tsukune meat balls, chicken karage and pork belly(not pictured).

Meat Balls

Chicken Karage

The fact that it's location almost "hurts" their business is the sole reason I think this place is so special. Don't get me wrong, they deserve the business, but it's really rare to find a place in LA that has such good quality food and have to not wait at all for a table. I will most definitely return for their chicken wings while I'm away from Norcal. Who knows, I might even crave for them on my next trip up North.

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