Shoya

🇯🇵 JAPAN
📍 1920 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Lomita, South Bay
🅿️ Ample parking in plaza
🥤 Beer, shochu, and sake

If you make your reservation right at 18:00 when Shoya opens, there could not be a more stark change as you pass through the door and escape this busy stretch of Pacific Coast Highway. The calm and quiet interior is decorated minimally and the kitchen is ready to spring into action for the night. As the evening wears on the space gets a bit more lively, as any izakaya does, but Shoya at any hour is a retreat from a busy day in California.

A two person husband and wife team take care of absolutely everything at Shoya, a place that runs like clockwork. The closed sign flips to open precisely at 18:00, and there are only nine seats so customers are asked to make reservations to allow them to prepare adequately. Your table settings will be laid out when you arrive, and any tardiness must be phoned in so that they are not forced to give away your spot.

Clockwork does not necessarily mean speed, as almost every dish is prepared by one chef. Come with a couple hours to spend and enjoy this leisurely pace as you will most likely order at least a dozen small dishes and they will come to you at a well-timed pace. Draft beer, hot and cold sake, and plenty of shochu options make this a proper izakaya, so order your favorites and settle in for a very unique experience that you will not want to ever come to an end.

Drinking culture in Japan like most of the rest of the world revolves around eating meals with friends and loved ones. The characters for izakaya (居酒屋) can be found everywhere in the country, on red lanterns, hanging doorway fabrics, or signs in the windows of businesses. Whether seen as a problem or a positive, many workers head to izakayas when they clock out and spend time eating and drinking with coworkers. At a very minimum, at least everyone is always fed very well when they go out to drink.

Despite being an izakaya, Shoya is more renowned for their food, but still offer good drinks. No matter what your reason for coming, you are bound to be satisfied by this excellent institution, which has lived here for almost ten years now. You will see most of the other customers are regulars chatting with the owners in Japanese, it almost seems like they all are old friends.

While a wonderful assortment of items are available, Shoya has a bit of a specialization in oden, which should not be missed. While oden is often served more in wintertime, Shoya has it year-round and each piece added to the soup has quite a bit of delicacy and precision. The oden itself is the lighter version enjoyed in Tokyo and the Kanto region of Japan. All dishes here are shown in the order they were presented.

Oden with shirataki (yam noodles) ($3)

Dried file fish ($8)

Oden w/ hampen ($3), chikuwa ($3), chicken ball ($5), fish ball ($5)

Cold tofu ($5)

Potato salad ($7)

Daikon salad ($6)

Miso soup ($4)

Shoya salad ($7)

Rice ball with plum ($7)

Grilled wild chicken ($11)

Pike fish ($9)

Chicken tomato stew ($13)

Dashi maki ($8)

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