FuRaiBo

The Sawtelle Furaibo is just as good as the Gardena one I reviewed earlier, entitled “the lesser known side of japanese food”. Please see that review for details.

Parking on Sawtelle can be quite tough during busy times, but there is a free parking lot behind the restaurant that employs stacked parking.

Are you looking for tapas but feel like japanese? Maybe you’d like some tapanese!

Growing up in Calfornia, I thought I knew what japanese food was. But Furaibo takes you to a whole other world. It is an izakaya style restaurant.

Many of the dishes are served in tapas-like proportions. Instead of sushi or noodles or chicken teriyaki (shudder), you’ll find tasty dishes of chicken wings, mushrooms in sauce, tofu, etc. All very tasty and interesting!

Furaibo
We had 15 people in our group. When we arrived we were taken into a private Japanese-style tatami mat dining room. Our table was set up for us once we were seated so after that there is no moving around. Furaibo is known for their yakitori which is skewered chicken, pork, beef, seafood and vegetables grilled over flames. It was fun sitting on the floor eating but I felt bad for the people who had long legs as it was a bit uncomfortable for them. They also offer some small dishes not from the grill. The menu is quite extensive, so you’ll likely find something that peaks your interest. Their house special is tebasaki wings which I ordered spicy. Turns out that really didn’t mean anything because the spice didn’t even tickle my tongue.
This is a good place to try new things and a lot of their items are definitely worth having. The squid and scallops were cooked perfectly. Overall, I would recommend this place for a friendly get-together.