Irori Japanese Restaurant
4371 Glencoe Ave # B-4 (Cross Street: Mindanao)
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292

I like taking my shoes off while eating.
Is that weird? I only do this at home, then again we have a "no shoes in the apartment" rule. (Don't disrespect the dojo, man!). It just feels more comfortable, relaxed...it just feels more chill and makes the food taste all the better. Irori is special because it has the same policy I do - shoes off! The tables here suspended just slightly off the ground, and the seats are situated lower so it's like you're eating at a picnic table...below ground level. It's really fun.

But atmosphere aside (I can't eat atmosphere! It has no calories!)...let's go to the food!

The usual starter to most Japanese meals: rabbit food, aka salad. This salad was pretty decent though, as it was mixed greens instead of the browning iceburg lettuce like at many other restaurants I've been to. Good sharp tangy dressing to bring it all home. Hellooooo Lobster tempura rolls! These were really good - meaty tender pieces of lobster, battered and deep fried tempura coating, rolled up with some avocado, rice, seaweed and sesame seeds. These were devoured in no time. Succulent Toro rolls. Soooo good. Melt in your mouth good, where the fish dissipates into pure joyous flavor once it makes contact with your tongue. Amazing quality fish. Amber and I shared this and were equally impressed.
Bryan just had a plate of raw tuna. He was in a carnivorous mood..even the sushi chef was like, "what?? that's all you're eating?" These tuna chunks were so pretty - a perfect pink color!
I got a delicious salmon teriyaki. Great presentation on the leaf. They gave me a fairly big portion, so i was pretty happy with that. It was cooked perfectly, not too dry, not undercooked.

Here's the close up, which ended up being a little blurry, but you can see that awesome crispy skin. Some people don't like eating salmon skin - I am not one of those people, as long as there are no scales.

Irori is a must try for their different style of eating, fresh fish and good eats. Take off your shoes and stay awhile!