Nanbankan

The duck was on the chalkboard menu and it was our absolute favorite! Miso black cod was also on the chalkboard menu and delicious too! The skewers have such an amazing flavor and the staff was extremely attentive -- switching out my plate 3 times and my water cup was never empty.
Call ahead to make reservations, and parking is easy a couple blocks south.

Rumors are swirling that this was Nobuyuki Matsuhisa goto spot for a relaxed dinner before he dropped the "uyuki Matsuhisa" and became known as just "Nobu." Being known by only 4 letters is such a power move ahahaha...
I think I'm gonna start going by… "John." Walking into Nanban-Kan is like entering a wormhole in the sense that you walk right off of the trash littered high traffic street that is Santa Monica Blvd, and enter into an authentic Yakitori restaurant in the heart of Shinjuku.
The waiting room is separated from the dining area by a short white curtain with Japanese script, and a small, maybe 10 inch, TV that has likely been hanging in that very spot since the early 90s. As I was taking in the ambiance, surrounded by traditional Japanese art and framed light flexes of Nanban-Kan being mentioned in magazines and articles, a well dressed Japanese man came and greeted us.
His suit jacket fit so perfectly, that thing was DEFINITELY tailored.
Don't ever mess with someone in a tailored suit you know they mean business ahahaa.
He was working that room so crazy too ahahaha, just talking to all the customers, having them laughing a little too hard, checking in on everybody every so often, etc.
You can tell he BEEN doing this. We were seated at the bar in the middle of the room that wraps around the open kitchen concept where you can see them grilling your skewers right in front of you.
Lol I said "open kitchen." The Japanese invented the open kitchen, it really should be called the "Japanese Kitchen." The front page of the laminated menu read "Yakitori and other good things," and idk why that made me laugh, but they are NOT lyin. I came with one of my best friends, who doesn't post me on social media anymore because I don't have enough clout, as he LOVES this place with all his soul. He asked "You cool if I just order for us?" Honestly, I always say yes to anyone who asks this question because how could I not respect that level of confidence? And to be fair he does have impeccable food taste, even though he wont post me. All in all, we got shishito peppers, hot dog, bacon wrapped asparagus, eggplant, dark meat chicken, white meat chicken, NY steak, chicken leg, shrimp, fish, chicken liver, and mushrooms. I've been trying to string together some glowing adjectives intertwined with some sly metaphors and similes that will make you laugh and then cry in the same thought loop to get across how delicious this food was, but I'm just gonna leave you with this: I get why Chef Nobu was an alleged regular here. I often see restaurants that were once amazing start to go through the motions after a certain amount of time.
To be in business 40+ years like Nanban-Kan has and still have this level of care and attention to detail defies the known laws of physics….they must be operating in the quantum physics realm…. Eternally grateful that my friend showed me this place, even though he won’t post me haha :( -John IG @jnov_ Tiktok @jnov__reviews

Rudest restaurant in west LA.
The owner with white hair is very condescending and rude.
I’ve never had someone mistakenly understand reservation hour and accuse their customer of speaking incorrectly, then proceed to rudely telling them to go away and return later when restaurant was more than half empty.
We were 15 min “too”early.
After we got kicked out for 15 min, we were seated in the same open seat that was available before he kicked us out.
Not one person has entered since, which means he just wanted us to wait outside because he was annoyed at us, not because restaurant was busy or packed.
Food was okay tho