Honda-Ya has a larger menu with non-yakitori items. Different Honda-Ya locations have different menus and specialties. The Honda-Ya in downtown Tustin has a good oden special in winter (served in clay pot), and the Honda-Ya in City of Industry has the jigoku tofu special (the kanji is written "jigoku (hell) tofu" but English is "demon tofu"). The serving size of the Yakitori at Honda-Ya seems a little smaller than Torimatsu, I haven't done a price comparison, but will say that I tend to spend more at Torimatsu. Don't order the sushi at Honda-Ya.
Torimatsu specializes in Yakitori, so its non-Yakitori menu is more limited. They must go through a lot of chicken at the place, their chicken soup is really good (probably cooked from all that chicken bones left over). Don't expect a lot of non-chicken yakitori meat items on the menu either -- yaki means grilled and tori means bird (chicken). Reservations is recommended. The owner-chef cooks with binch?-tan (???), you can read more about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binchōtan
Fans of Torimatsu restaurant like their tsukune (grilled chicken meatballs). Personally, I like their grilled mushrooms better. But if you like Japanese grilled chicken meatballs and don't want to drive that far, go to Kappo Hanna in Laguna Hills and order the tsukune bento to go:
http://www.kappohana.com/
Shinsengumi also does Yakitori, and they have happy hour specials from time to time. There are many Shinsengumi restaurants and quality varies. For Hakata style ramen, dine at the Shinsengumi in Fountain Valley on Brookhurst. For yakitori, go to the location in Torrance/Gardena on Western blvd near the 405 FWY exit. Unlike Torimatsu, Shinsengumi's yakitori is more "beer food" and heavily seasoned. If you prefer heavier flavor, you might like Shinsengumi's yakitori better. Plus they have good yuzu-pepper condiment.
It's also possible to go dine at the food court section of Marukai Pacific in Gardena, and try 3 different Shinsengumi restaurants together (yakitori, udon, ramen). The Yakitori place there has a very limited menu, but it's fun to place an order, go shop at the supermarket, and have the food ready when you're done. The udon place is great for a quick $3 meal, but the ramen station is sub-par.
http://www.marukai.com/pacific-en.html
