Beni-tora

Had two types of gyoza, fried chicken, classic Dan Dan noodle. Nothing tasted good. The gyoza flavor was meh and small. The fried chicken texture was awesome but no flavor and a bit dried. Who puts sprouts in Dan Dan noodle? It was over powering the flavor of the Dan Dan sauce which was so not authentic. It was mostly soy sauce and black bean sauce when it should be mostly peanut sauce. Service was ok. Won't be going back.

Haven't been there for at least a year since the last time visit was not that satisfied. The only thing I would recommend is Gyoza, which is Benitora really good at. I also tried noodle last time and Benitora fried rice this time. Just so so or even worse than average. I will only go there again for the Gyoza.

Love going here because it is never crowded (I assume because Sawtelle-goers are looking for ramen and sushi?) and is very satisfying. The sesame bases of the noodles is so good and rich, and I haven't come across another place with these bases. They *are rich - the broth is like the heaviness of ramen, but more of a nutty sesame thickness instead of the fat thickening it up.

The worst ramen we had. When you try and enter this small ramen shop, there is a paper on the door that reads pull hard indicating that the door is in bad shape and gets stuck. Next the service there was one of the worst i have ever had. They say "welcome sit here or there anywhere you like" that was ok but it was the attitude and the body language that said it all. Then they switched waitresses the next one was just as bad when i ordered the food her attitude was stand offish. At least have a sence to entertain the guests. Not even 2 min after ordering the ramens were at out table. No real ramen takes 2 minutes it was bad salty small portion. Taste was terrible the ramen was like store bought though i feel that might be an insult to the store bought brand. The ingredients where laughable, 1 half of a boiled egg cold abd no flavor like if it was in the fridge for days. Some bamboo also no flavor. The nori on the side lazily cut and put on the side the meat was like spare scraps. If i knew that it would be this bad i would have not ordered at all.

This is a very cute Chinese/Japanese noodle bar. Reasonably priced (in terms of West LA prices). The dishes were pretty authentic and somewhat unique. Their black sesame dan dan mein wasn't peanut-based like I'm used to, but still tasty regardless. My other favorites were the shrimp gyoza and maipo tofu. Overall this is a nice new addition to the Sawtelle restaurant scene.

We came to Benitora close to their closing time, just a little after 9pm and there were still several parties still eating, yay! FOOD: - white sesame dan dan men - yum! The broth is rich without being too oily and tastes completely different than the black sesame broth. - special black sesame dan dan men - yummy as well! This comes with thick pieces of tender chasiu and an egg. A flavorful broth without being too oily, I couldn't finish this and gave it to my friend to finish lol Noodles are a great texture! SERVICE: Super friendly! They serve mugicha!! Love it. Very accommodating and smiling :) PARKING/VENUE: We parked in the neighborhood and walked over, but if you're lucky enough to snag a street spot, the meters are free after 8pm! The place is well lit and modern, bathrooms are single stall per gender and clean. Benitora used to be Chabuya and the interior looks pretty much the same as it did before the restaurant change. I honestly didn't even know this place was here...but I'm glad I got to try it!