Izakaya Hachi (Torrance) -
Tucked in a strip mall across the street from Kagura is a tiny izakaya that bustles in the evenings to a reservation only crowd. Music is jazz covers of popular hits. It’s quaint and just a touch modern.
We came to try out the menu…and I almost wished that I had been with all the cool kids at Needle 
Shishito & Mushroom - shishito, mushroom, soy & butter (not a single spicy one in the batch but lots of great char from the cast iron)
Gobo Chips - burdock root & nori (delightfully crispy with a umami hit)
Assorted Beef Sashimi - Waygu, tongue and I forgot the last (loved shoving the onions on the beef, rolling it up, and dipping in the sauce that was spiked with garlic, wasabi & ginger)
Mentaiko potato salad - potato, egg, cucumber, spicy cod roe & mayo (not as saline or umami as I thought it would be…this could be punched up and less restrained)
Beef Tongue - robata-style (juicy, but a touch over for my tastes…it was a little chewy)
Octopus & Radish Salad - octopus, daikon, mizuna & ginger dressing
Saba Cut Roll - mackerel (from the specials board…bright chunks of saba likely leftover from their battera prep…a touch too much rice for my liking but the ginger here is really well-balanced)
Lamb Chops - robata-style (looked great, but there were 3 of us and only 2 chops…I was the unlucky one)
Pork Shabu Shabu - pork loin, pork belly, Napa cabbage, spinach, mushroom, fish cake, tonkotsu broth, ramen noodles, ponzu & goma for grating (every table ends up with a hot pot on their table and the choices are a Motsu Nabe with offal in shoyu broth or pork shabu…they conveniently give you hot ramen noodles to enjoy the rest of the delicious broth once the veg and protein are used up)
I think we got to a quarter of the menu items? We’re planning on a return trip for Motsu Nabe…apparently, it’s not widely available in our area. There are only a few places touting it on their menu.
Service was efficient and friendly.
Reservations only or takeout is offered if you just show up. Tiny parking lot but you should be able to find parking on Border St. Closed on Tuesdays due to staffing issues.
Dessert was acquired from Sidecar Doughnuts. That passionfruit pavlova creation is pretty tasty. I did notice that Sidecar runs sweeter than Oliboli.
If the vegan ice cream is this good I can’t wait to indulge in a big bowl of their ice cream, ice cream. Shhh I broke the rules and got non-vegan Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream for DIL. She loved it. Our sample bite was Harry’s Berries Strawberry Ice Cream. 
Thanks 