This place offers tasty and delicious food. The ambience was great and is a great place to take a date. Most people order Gyoza and Ramen.
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.
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!
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