If there's one genre of Japanese food that is in dire lacking in OC and that I always go to the South Bay for, besides okonomiyaki as well, it's kissaten style food, the Western variation of Japanese cuisine. Think wafu pastas and the like. This was my first time coming to this restaurant, and the vibes were absolutely immaculate. You were greeted immediately with Japanese, and I admittedly fumbled and spoke in English instead, but you definitely feel welcome with that sort of Japanese hospitality you've come to expect. The restaurant is pretty much filled with members of the Japanese community right at opening, so you can tell this is one of the places to be. I had the hamburg steak, and the flavor of the demiglace sauce was very delicious. Admittedly the texture took me by surprise since it was more of a meatloaf than what I would have expected, but that seems to be more of a house style more than anything. It wasn't my favorite, but that was more of just a misaligned expectations more than anything. I am really looking forward to exploring their rather expansive menu. As a kissaten, I'm sure their coffee is fantastic, which I will surely sample the next time I'm not just dropping by for a quick meal. This place is a real gem, and I look forward to coming back. TIP: Honestly, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu - they're all bonafide classics of kissaten style food.

First off, hubby & I both love the food here and that gets 5 stars! Why the 4 star rating? There's this little clause at the bottom of one of the menu pages that says, "Minimum Order $14 per Person". What they really want is for us each to order individual meals. We've been told that they won't accept the two of us to sharing a meal with extra sides that brings the cost above and beyond the $14 x 2 ($28). ( https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/akane-chaya-gardena?select=7TBbRY3fkP9KYJOg5FQMyA ) We usually share the Super Combo which adds a small plate of Curry with Rice and costs $28.60. We also added hot tea and another item to more than meet their minimum order requirement. We have no problem meeting the minimum dollar amount, but they really need to change the working on their menu to reflect exactly what their requirement is! That said, our Go-To meal has always been the Super Combo. The food has always been so good! We shared Combination A that comes with the Signature Hamburger Steak, Soup, Salad, Rice or Bread... then we added the Super Combo which basically just adds a small plate of rice & curry. The total meal was more than we needed to eat, but we loved it all so we ordered it every time. The service is sometimes good, sometimes nonchalant. Depends on who the server is. The interior is quaint. There are a couple of tables set up for larger groups and the rest are two and four tops. I love the kitty cat figurines! We had been going to Spoon House across Redondo Beach Blvd because hubby prefers noodles to rice. We were happy they serve noodles here! Hubby really liked that he could get noodles here, too! Like Spoon House, it is a Japanese Italian Restaurant. Maybe we need to alternate between the two places. Not sure how we'll order to get what we want the next time we go. We'll see how this pans out for us, but we will have to change up our ordering style.

Exquisite al dente pasta, cooked with care and with a sense of pride. The service was also great and welcoming. I highly recommend this Italian bistro with a Japanese twist.

The best Japanese spaghetti place ever!! I have been going here since I was a little girl & I absolutely love this place.This is a family owned place & their service is always so nice & so fast. The standouts for me is their fresh bread rolls which is made everyday & the beautiful unique Japanese pastas. Nothing compares to this place- it is my go to spot with my boyfriend & they even have a large portion (my boyfriends favorite) you can opt for if you are alittle hungrier that day!

Very delicious hamburg steak and seafood pasta. Plenty of parking Good service Food was made to order Everythjnf was delicious Hamburg steak was flavorful and very tender Akane style Sauce was amazing I loved thr seafood cream pasta - very light and delicate tasting So much seafood flavor Will definitely be back

Another wonderful, showa-era vibe family restaurant in Gardena. The staff is friendly and attentive, the food delicious, and portions are massive! Our favorite pastas were the Tarako and Asari Kinoko Cream Sauce.

I have been wanting to try this place for soooooo long! So I came by a few months ago, and with my luck: they were closed! (Temporarily at the time, but still!) But there's a reason for everything, right? The 2nd attempt was better given I had company: Hubbers, Mom and Big Bro! We came through around 7pm-ish on a random week. Not busy, so we were seated immediately. The menu is EXTENSIVE, so if you happen not to find anything you like, you're the problem. Hehehe.... But for real, though. However! I had plenty of time to screen through it before coming through, so I knew what I wanted: Combination B [Signature Hamburger Steak (9oz) with Akane Special Demi-Glace Sauce (Brown Sauce) AND Spaghetti of Asari Kinoko Cream Sauce (Chopped Clams and White & King Mushrooms with Cream Sauce)]. Came with a side of soup, salad and white rice. No apps needed. (I'm not even sure if they had any!) Everything is on this plate! And since it wasn't that busy, we all got our meals pretty fast. I wasn't sure what kind of soup I got with my meal - didn't bother asking, I was hungry (might be a sort of corn chowder with mirepoix). Needed a bit of seasoning, so fresh crushed black pepper fixed that. Whatever kinda soup it was, it wasn't bad. The salad was fresh and came with a slightly tangy dressing. The hamburger steak was seasoned well. Not sure about the demi-glacé sauce, it didn't really work for me, but it wasn't bad. The pasta was a good al dente but it's the sauce that makes it. The potato salad was a good palate cleanser! FOOD: 4. SERVICE: 4. VALUE: 4. Quality and quantity. We had enough for a 2nd meal. PARKING: Private lot shared with lotsa others. Not an issue up in these digs. OVERALL: 4. WARNING: Tons of food with the combos - maybe even enough to share with another. So, come hungry! There are way too many interesting plates I wanna try, so there will be future visits!

Food: this is one of my all time favorite pasta place, very comparable to the spoon house that's across the street in my very personal opinion. They give complimentary bread roll and salad prior to the main dish. The bread is soft and warm, great with a bit of balsamic, and salad is fresh and crunchy with mild dressing that is not too overpowering. And the pasta itself, wow, it's sheer perfection, cooked al dente every time so consistently. The harmony of ingredients and noodles and sauce are just fantastic, light and not too heavy. I am especially in love with their tarako cod roe pasta variety, but have tried bites from other dishes, which were just as great. Price: around $15 per pasta dish, which is very very reasonable given that they all come with salad and bread, and portion of the pasta is enough to make me full and satisfied. Ambiance: nice japanese casual vibe, it can get a little bit busy, I waited about 20 minutes prior to being seated before, but well worth the wait. There are about 10 ish individual tables inside. Great to come with family or friends for lunch or dinner. Service: overall just okay. My previous experience was muddled with poor service from a waitress, who brought us to a sticky table, didn't get us utensils, denied us bread that came with combo plate, and told us that they were out of hamburg steak while others were getting them served. But when I went back again with other friends, we had no big issues, they just forgot to offer us parmesan cheese with our pasta. Parking: restaurant is part of a large mall that also has tokyo central market, there is amble amount of parking spaces, no trouble finding a spot