Along a stretch of Westwood rich in Persian restaurants and groceries, it can be easy to miss the black-painted façade of Hiroki Chiya’s five-year-old izakaya. Open the door to find its tiny room brimming nightly with a multigenerational crowd. It hews to the modern concept of the izakaya in Japan: casual and gently rowdy, a place to gather after work for eating and drinking in groups. As Chiya’s menu explains in words and illustrations, his pub’s name refers to the Hakata district in Fukuoka, Japan’s sixth-largest city. Its repertoire includes tonkotsu ramen, the pork bone broth simmered for hours. Chiya fashions an extra-intense version from pork head and knee simmered for over 24 hours; it appears frequently on his handwritten list of specials. Other favorites: teba gyoza (excellent fried chicken wings stuffed with minced chicken); cool wilted cabbage scented with yuzu; tempura such as kibinago (a small fish in the herring family that runs in the springtime); and Fukuoka-style pork belly skewers cradled in lettuce with tomato and soft herbs. Ask about seasonal sake selections; or sip Chateau Montelena Chardonnay with your tempura. — B.A.

1929 WESTWOOD BLVD., LOS ANGELES, (424) 832-3304 l INSTAGRAM.COM/HAKATA.IZAKAYA.HERO

Pork belly-wrapped chive skewers are a signature dish.