Nestled in the heart of Japantown, Kaminari Gyoza has a nice vibe--cozy interior, good music, and an overall welcoming atmosphere. The service is friendly and attentive, which makes it a good spot to unwind. That said, the food is just okay. The dumplings are fine but nothing to write home about--definitely not mind-blowing. It's more of a place to grab drinks, snack on some gyoza, and catch up with friends than a spot you go to for an unforgettable meal. If you're in the area and looking for a chill hangout, it does the job. Just don't expect culinary fireworks.

Gyoza Bar is an interesting concept and I happened to be in the area. Definitely order the Shrimp Gyoza, it was the highlight of my meal. I enjoyed the quality vinegar and soy sauce. $20 The Pork Gyoza was alright and the side dishes reminded me of takeout meals from Japanese Market.

Food was amazing. Definitely going back. My favorite were the shrimp gyoza. Service was really great and they were very attentive.

Located in the Little Tokyo area of DTLA, Kaminari Gyoza serves a very focused menu of Japanese style dumplings. We stopped in for Sunday lunch, and found the dumplings to be delicious, though not the best value for the price. We put our name down for dine-in for three, and got lucky that a table opened up right then (there isn't that much seating, being that the dining area is long and narrow, only having width for one table and space to walk through). Our server (Pear) was great, friendly in the beginning and attentive to check up on us throughout. We ended up ordering dumplings to share. Drinks were water and a Mexican coke ($4.50), along with some good edamame ($4.00), clear pork soup ($2.50), and white rice bowl ($2.50). In terms of the main course, we got 3 sets of 6, pan-fried with the three different fillings (shrimp $10.5, pork $9.5, chicken $9.5). As it usually ends up with me, the pork tasted the best, but I appreciated the large chunks of whole shrimp (instead of the ground version that was the chicken and pork). They LOOKED great, with the skirt going around the set. Payment is done tableside, and if one really wants, can be in-and-out pretty quick. The portions were small enough that there were no chance for leftovers, with plenty of space in our stomachs for ice cream dessert at the neighboring shops. I have to admit I can't tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese, or Korean style dumplings based on the meat fillings or thickness/taste of the wrapper...which kinda makes sense since most believe all of it originated from mainland China anyway. The sauces can be different however, and Kaminari does have optional sauces you can order beyond the soy sauce and vinegar. Will need to try that next time.

The gyoza come three ways, all excellent: pan-fried/steamed (yaki), deep-fried (age), and boiled in soup (sui). The bento boxes are a great value and a good portion size for lunch. Maybe add on another 6pc gyoza if you're especially hungry.

Gyoza is one of my favorite Japanese dishes. I grew up eating my mom's delicious gyoza & I can make a decent gyoza but it's so much work, I prefer to eat it when I'm out. I've been looking for my favorite gyoza in LA for some time & Kaminari might be the one. Wanna know something interesting? I ended up liking the shrimp gyoza the most, not to say the pork wasn't good. Both were delicious but I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed my first ever experience eating shrimp gyoza. I ordered takeout and the food was ready on time. The team was friendly and pick up was easy. The interior was so cute, very authentic Japanese. I definitely want to eat in person next time. Gyoza is allays best fresh. If you want to impress a date who's enjoys Japanese cuisine...skip the typical sushi, came it up and try a gyoza date night instead.

I was staying at the Miyako Hotel across the street and ordered some food to go. The place is situated on the north side of 1st St. next to the popular Daikokuya (ramen) and Marugame Monzo (udon). For those eating in, there are a few communal high-top tables with non-movable stools in the front, with some cozy booths further back alongside the kitchen. The gyoza are prepared in 3 ways: yaki (pan-fried), age Ideep fried) or sui (boiled, served in a pork broth). There are pork, chicken, shrimp and vegan filling options, with 2 serving sizes for yaki gyoza. There are a few side dishes and sauces. I ordered the bento box, which comes with 6 gyoza, rice, pasta, cabbage, spring roll, edamame, pickles. Yelp photos show the box used to come with soup and a side dish. The pork gyoza were very good with a crisp bottom, and the spring roll was tasty too. The pasta was very lightly sauced with a tomato sauce. Good place for a light bite.

I'm a little obsessed with gyoza, so when we stumbled on a gyoza-focused restaurant while wandering around Little Tokyo back in September, our lunch plans were instantly decided for us. There was one couple ahead of us waiting for the doors to open, so we were seated right away. There are three different types of gyoza -- yaki (pan fried), age (deep fried), and sui (boiled and served in a clear pork broth) -- all available in either pork, chicken, or shrimp. You can get either six or 12 to an order of yaki, while the age come six to an order. The sui gyoza are limited to five per order. There are also a number of sides and side sauces to choose from. We went with six pieces of yaki, an order of age, one order of the sui, and the cilantro chili, yuzu kosho, and spicy miso sauces. Since the sui is already in a pork broth, we got pork gyoza with that dish. For one of the other gyoza types we ordered chicken and for the other we got pork, but I don't remember which. Not that it really matters, because everything was outstanding. This was such a delicious meal. Every type of gyoza were so good, flavorful, and went very well with the sauces we ordered. While all of the sauces were good, the yuzu was the star of the table. I couldn't get enough of it. It was bright and citrusy without being tart. The age were crispy, not oily, and the broth of the sui was light and gentle. Everything was pretty reasonably priced, too. At the time, the pork and chicken yaki were $9.50 for an order of six, the pork and chicken age were $9.50, and the pork and chicken sui were $9.50. I wish we had KAMINARI or something like it here in the Bay Area. I'd be going there all the time. I'd 100% come back here on my next trip to Little Tokyo.

Came here with a group of 5 with no reservation and got seated immediately - tons of space inside. Good: - Amazing value for buck - we got a ton of stuff with the pork dumpling bento set - it came with salad, spaghetti, soup, banchan and gyoza and rice. - The soup was one of my favorites - it was so savory and flavorful - The staff were incredibly nice and kind! They took our order patiently and gave us water constantly Bad: - Pretty casual diner vibes - The gyoza was pretty average compared to others I've had Overall this place was a great find and fun gem! Don't know if I'd come again but would come for a cheap meal.

Kind servers and amazing food for a good price! On a Saturday around 12:30pm, there was also no wait. I got the pan-fried vegan gyoza set meal. It comes with 6 pieces of gyoza, rice, soup, spaghetti and some side veggies. This whole meal was under $15! The gyoza uses impossible meat and also had cabbage and mushrooms. They're tasty and good dipped in the soup. The soup seemed to be a pretty standard soy sauce based soup with some green onions, a little salty on its own but still very good. Rice was cooked well and dusted with some sour plum. It paired well with the veggies (carrots, mushrooms, greens) which seemed to be sautéed with some seasoned oil, very tasty! The spaghetti wasn't heavily sauced and it was a little on the sweeter side. A very filling and relatively healthy meal! Probably one of my favorite places to eat in little Tokyo, especially considering the price!