The food tastes very good, but the salad was far too small to pay $ 3 for, and the sushi serving size was abysmally small. The service was great, and the tastes were excellent, however. It’s just overpriced for what you get.
Fantasy l.
Place rating: 1 Brooklyn, NY
I have to preface this review by saying that I have low standards for sushi: I’ve eaten it from cheap hole-in-the-wall joints, grocery stores, bodegas and salad bars. I’m intrepid about quality, generally unconcerned about food poisoning risks and always adjust my expectations on the setting. That being said, the sushi is so terrible and overpriced at Ko-Sho that it completely overshadows any positive qualities this restaurant might otherwise posses. My date and I both had salad that is typical of Japanese restaurants– a few leaves of iceberg with a smattering of carrot shavings and a few small beet chunks and a ginger dressing. The combination was actually pretty tasty, and the salad would have been enjoyable but the number of carrots and beets were too paltry by far. My date had a couple of California rolls and a spicy tuna roll, he said the vegetables tasted fresh but the spicy tuna lacked flavor. I had the chirashi, which was a disaster from start to finish. The first thing I noticed when my bowl arrived was that it looked as if the fish had been prepared with a butter knife– all of the slices were different sizes, cut sloppily, and with the chewy connective tissue joining several pieces of what I think was halibut together. Though I’m not generally interested in any sort of elaborate presentation, the fish looked as if the chef had scraped the fish off the cutting board into the bowl the same was I scrape veggie scraps into the garbage can. The quality of the fish was also abysmal– the tuna was flavorless and a particular shade of grey, the salmon was slimy and falling apart at the striations, the mackerel was dry from being cured too long and most colorful piece of fish in the bowl was the crab stick that had been cut in half and stuck on top. I probably should have heeded the warning when walking into a restaurant at 9pm on a Saturday to find it silent and empty– not even a single takeout order called in during the hour we sat there, and it was because of pity alone for the waitress that seemed so eager to make our dinner pleasant that I politely pushed aside the fish I couldn’t finish, ate my rice and paid the bill.
Lisa A.
Place rating: 4 Highland Heights, OH
After being in Cincinnati for 3 years, I came to the conclusion that Cincinnati Japanese food is… eh. My boyfriend and I came here for dinner, almost on a whim, but I’m very glad we did! This place is a quiet, casual, and authentic Japanese restaurant. The décor is simple but nice, and the wait staff is excellent. The waiter we had, I believe the owner, was extremely helpful and brought the food in a timely manner. My boyfriend and I shared the bento box for two, and it was delightful. Their miso soup is delicious, and the salad dressing is good as well. Flavorful but not overpowering. The box came with salmon and/or chicken teriyaki, a couple rolls, tempura, and other veggie dishes. It included a kale, which i normally don’t love, but I wished there was more. The ‘bento box for two’ wasn’t a huge serving, but it was definitely adequate. The one downside is that it’s a bit pricey. However, it is quality japanese food. The place doesn’t have the jazz and flair that most sushi places do, but i much prefer the charm of this place. also, seemed like a mom and pop run restaurant, which is always a plus!
Angela B.
Place rating: 4 Las Vegas, NV
I went to this place when they were downtown, and now that they are in Northside I decided to go again. The place was empty, but I didn’t let that bother me. I saw the same chef as downtown(I think he is the owner), and figured the food would be as good. It was! I do not know how this place isn’t busy every night of the week, it is that good. This is a talented chef who is being wasted in a place that needs to advertise a bit or offer a groupon or something. My friend and I had the box dinner for 2, which is $ 35. It is a ton of food, and all of it is delicious. The only iffy thing was the potato, which didn’t seem like it should even be playing with the rest of the kids in the pool. You get a salad, soup, and three boxes of 9 different items. The chef gave us two different types of sushi, so we even got 10 different things in the boxes. All good, all cooked well. Please go and support this small local joint, as you will enjoy yourself!
Lara R.
Place rating: 4 Cincinnati, OH
My children and I love Ko-Sho. They are always very accommodating for the kids. One will eat almost everything, and the other only eats plain rice and ramune soda. We live around the corner, and love having a neighborhood Japanese restaurant. We had a lovely lunch there today. My daughter loves the kappa(cucumber) rolls, miso soup and, edamame. I love the vegan box dinner, vegan sushi platter, and the vegan curry-don lunch bowl. The service is good and not rushed.
Chris G.
Place rating: 4 Mason, OH
We had dined at Ko Sho many times when it was downtown, but then we moved out of the area. When we came back, we had our favorite Japanese restaurant close to us and it felt like cheating to go anywhere else. We decided to give Ko Sho a try on a Saturday night, since we had been to our other place this week. It was not crowded. We did not get sushi, but had several appetizers and shabu shabu. Everything was delicious and fresh. The wait staff and owners were all friendly and knowledgeable. Yes, it is a little expensive, but good Japanese food usually is.
Jesse F.
Place rating: 4 Cincinnati, OH
I didn’t know what I was in for when deciding to go to Ko-Sho, but I’m so glad I came. Ko-Sho Japanese Restaurant is probably the most authentic sushi place in town. Complete with bento boxes and some delectably fresh sushi, the intimate atmosphere makes you feel like you’re eating at a small sushi restaurant on the coast of Japan… well, something like that. Honestly though the owners/operators are the nicest people in the world and made our dining experience just that much better. Ko-Sho is a little expensive, but as they say, you get what you pay for. If you’re looking for an authentic experience, head on over to Northside for a taste of the rising sun.
Jasmine J.
Place rating: 2 Chicago, IL
The service was friendly, and the décor was cute. Little oragami figures decorated the sushi bar, and it was quaint. Still, after looking at the prices and the selection, and finally eating our meal, I felt a bit cheated even WITH the 50% off sushi offer. They are overpriced and only one roll was truly tasty(the dragon – although maybe that was in comparison to the not so tasty rolls??) of the five or so that we selected. This is not what you want. I’m not sure what it needed… better quality fish? Different pairings? Better grade of sushi rice or seawood paper? It was just wrong, and to be honest, I probably wouldn’t eat it again even if it was free. So there you have it. Pass this place by and try the one in Clifton next to the esquire if you’re hankering for sushi and don’t want to drive too far.
Célèste B.
Place rating: 3 Cincinnati, OH
I was skeptical. After The Painted Fish was so bad… (see review here: ) .. . I just didn’t want to give another Northside Sushi place with half-off sushi several nights a week the time of day. They seam to be in some kind of price war and so I assumed the places were similar. I was wrong. Where The Painted Fish is all flash with no substance, Ko-Sho has little flash and actually good food. I wasn’t blown away, but my expectations were definitely exceeded. We had a few good rolls(the Ume, as always, being my favorite) as well as some vegetable tempura udon which was up to standard and a rice ball that was really, really good. The service was a bit slow for us, but, since we’ve only been once, I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. All in all, I wasn’t blown off my seat, but I’ll definitely be back next time I’m craving sushi. After all, it’s a short walk from my apartment, and the best sushi in Northside.
Brian M.
Place rating: 3 Cincinnati, OH
Tried this place for the first time. Sushi was pretty good– definitely no complaints there, but I ordered udon, and was given a plate of what appeared to be linguini. Who knows– maybe I’m wrong, but it didn’t look like any udon I have ever had, and it did look exactly like store-bought, boxed linguini. I will give them the benefit of the doubt– maybe they ran out of udon, but I would hope that they would at least tell their customers that if you order udon, you will not get udon. I might go back for some quick, conveniently located sushi, but I definitely won’t be trying another $ 7.50 plate of linguini.
Missy L.
Place rating: 4 Cincinnati, OH
It took me a while to decide how I really felt about Ko-Sho. The sushi was tasty, but they didn’t have too many specialty rolls and the regular rolls weren’t exactly noteworthy. That being said, I think my final verdict is… if you’re in Northside for sure check it out! Is it worth making a special trip to the area for? Not exactly. As a Northsider though I can see myself stopping by here every so often. Biggest selling point? Tuesday, Wednesday AND Thursday are all 50% off sushi. This was what actually got me in the door for the first time. I pass by here pretty much every day, but it’s not very well advertised and I didn’t even realize it was a sushi restaurant until seeing a small hand written sign in the window advertising their sushi deals. It just so happened to be Thursday and sushi sounded mighty tasty. One thing Ko-Sho has a lot of is charm. It’s a smaller restaurant(they only had one waitress and one sushi chef working on a Thursday evening). There were only 2 or 3 tables filled besides ours and they came in staggered, so it never felt like our service was impeded by the small staff size. The sushi was satisfactory and the price was great. I also enjoyed a very tasty miso soup(I would even say particularly tasty… this will be my go-to sick soup from now). Ko-Sho had several boxed dinner options as well that sounded intriguing(though weren’t quite as adorable as their sushi). Our dinner was finished with homemade«candy sushi» our server had made at home from rice krispies treats and gummy bears. It was very cute and added to the charm this quaint restaurant is brimming with. It was a satisfactory dinning experience and I left with a full belly and still in good financial standing. Can’t really ask for much more than that can ya?!
Paige M.
Place rating: 3 Cincinnati, OH
Tasty little Japanese bistro up the street from Shake It Records. You’ve probably seen it before, with its bright red exterior. I’m a big fan of the vegetarian Bento Box, for only $ 7.25. The options rotate, but my favorite is the eggplant served with white rice and other vegetables. The entrée comes with miso soup and salad. Ko-Sho also has sushi, most notably of the vegetarian variety. The veggie rolls were good and hearty. If you’re looking for a trendy Asian lunch spot, come to Ko-Sho. They’ll fill you up with a variety of tastes for under $ 10.00.
Carly H.
Place rating: 1 Chicago, IL
I have to say that I’ve had a hard time finding a decent place for sushi and places like Ko-Sho make it absolutely draining. Not only is Ko-sho $$ but it uses cheap grade rice and what to me was not fresh items. Tempura Shrimp had only 2 shrimps and cost ~$ 7 we had a few rolls and water and it came out to be ~50 dollars for lunch. Now, I am not saying that i broke the piggy bank, but I would have at least have liked to enjoy my meal. We had very slow service(on Sunday), the waiter was hard to get a hold off and had to be reminded to bring water after several minutes went by. So all i can say that the experience there was all around just Terrible,
Gavin D.
Place rating: 4 Yellow Springs, OH
Our last trip to Ko-Sho was a disappointment to say the least. But, seeing as they have a HUGE sign in the window about half price sushi, and we live around the corner, we figured we’d give that a shot. I’d heard the sushi was pretty good from a number of people, and everything else we ate before was such a bummer, that it almost had to improve. And thankfully, it did! We found the rolls and nigiri(I’ve been gravitating toward nigiri for a bit now) to be fresh and flavorful. Between the four of us that went, we sampled a good number of things. The raw shrimp(sweet) was particularly tasty and we enjoyed a couple of their signature rolls. Because we found the sushi to be as good as Ichiban and it is just as cheap when half-price, I think we’re likely to go back again soon. We’ll also be back to eating more sushi once the baby comes and we can all enjoy more of the menu.
Kristen B.
Place rating: 3 Columbus, OH
My Ko-Sho experience was satisfactory if not memorable. This Northside sushi spot did not do anything wrong — the service was friendly and helpful, the décor was fine and the rolls were enjoyable. Despite all of this, I just don’t see myself dying to get back to Ko-Sho. If I lived nearby or if I found myself returning again for some reason, I would be fine with that — I just have options I prefer closer to home.
Joshua C.
Place rating: 3 Rockford, IL
Stopped in for lunch on a recent Saturday. Not familiar with the area, but it seemed like a neat little restaurant. Our waitress was quite a trip but friendly. Food was decent, the tuna in our tuna roll was fantastic. Nice preparation on our bento boxes. Food was pretty average overall. I’d probably go back, but I’m sure there’s better options.
Steve P.
Place rating: 3 Miami, FL
The most impressive aspect of my visit to Ko-sho was the prompt, friendly service. The food was A-ok, not spectacular, but pretty good. I definitely recommend the spicy baby octopus. However, for dinner prices I think it is a little more expensive than it deserves.
Mike D.
Place rating: 3 Philadelphia, PA
+ The staff and service was friendly and excellent, the food was fresh and tasted good, and the beer was affordable. I really liked the miso soup and the scallop nigiri — I felt like the size of the pieces of fish in the sushi were small for the price.
Katy M.
Place rating: 5 Indianapolis, IN
This is my new favorite Japanese restaurant! I recommend going for lunch because you pay half the cost of the same portion. They also have donburi on the lunch menu that is not on the dinner menu. There are two vegan donburi(Ankake-don & curry-don), a vegan bento box and vegan sushi. I’m drooling just thinking about their food.
Zack F.
Place rating: 4 Cincinnati, OH
I like the look of this place as well as the hospitality and service. The location is great as well. The selection for vegetarians/vegans is excellent, including a sashimi sampler, and box dinner. Everything I had was well made, and well presented. I highly recommend it.