Kokoro Sushi & Noodle Bar

I really like this place and I come here regularly since I work downtown. The food is very good and the sushi is very fresh. At one time the man I presumed to be the owner recognized me each time I visited.
Lately I haven’t seen him and something is off. Today they were busy and the staff was really hustling. There were 2 cooks and the sushi chef and the cashier. The cashier was really working hard but couldn’t keep up with the dirty tables. When my dish was ready there was nowhere to sit at a clean table. The staff is working hard, this is a management issue. I hope they pull it together.

I’ve eaten here twice now and tried both the sushi and the udon. The sushi was pretty good for Arizona and the specialty rolls were worth the premium price because they offered unique flavor combinations and they didn’t skimp on portions.
The udon however leaves something to be desired, like noodles. There was plenty of broth, but not many udon noodles and while it stayed my craving, I can’t say that I’ll be coming back for udon anytime soon. The basic flavors were there, but the price seemed kinda steep. I would have preferred less broth for a smaller bill, or an option to add more noodles.
On the bright side if you check out a movie at the 24 theater AMC and bring your ticket with a student ID you get 20% percent off your entire order!

Decient sushi. The restaurant lacks any sort of distinct décor and looks to be mostly for takeout. Prices are fair, not cheap. Great lunch spot. I’d go elsewhere for dinner.

I wanted to give this place a second try on its food and service which might just be my last. You either get a really upbeat and nice waitress or you get one that is apparently too good to work there. Lucky for me I got the snobby waitress. I wanted a simple salmon roll (which wasn’t too big in its taste) and asking for takeout was apparently a dumb question because there was a «A small sign» that says take out orders here? It was so small I seriously could not see it up close. The food is mediocre and there’s no real blast of flavor that Japanese food should bring.

To start with, check your receipt carefully. They tried to charge us $ 12.95 per soda instead of $ 2.95 and the very disinterested and unpleasant cashier just said «oh, it does that sometimes» AFTER she ran our card. Gave us cash back for the difference. But we would not have gotten it back if we hadn’t noticed it.
Half the menu was «out», so my first two choices of meal were not available. Ice machine for sodas was out of ice.
Friend had pad Thai and I tried some. Was a bit bland in my opinion but not horrible. Salad was just greens with dressing, nothing to rave about.
My food was about ten minutes behind my friends and they tried to say our order was done without my food being out. Got it finally. Had pork tonkatsu.
The cutlet was dry and overcooked, pieces of it too burnt to eat. Rice was possibly the worst white rice I’ve ever had and that’s hard to mess up. On the other hand, it was so burnt, I’m pretty sure it can’t give me food poisoning.
I was afraid to eat the sushi we ordered, but had one piece and it was maybe mediocre. Seaweed definitely stale and chewy and ingredients not fresh.
The doors were locked while we were in the patio and we could not get refills and no one checked in on us. They had a random patron doing the doors for them to let people out. Unacceptable treatment.
I’d give it a 0 if I could. Don’t bother even trying.

My parents and I went to this place for a quick lunch before watching a movie. We ordered the spicy Champong noodles which were pretty bland. Did not taste anything like Korean and the shrimp was undercooked hence the grayish color. So I left the shrimp inside the soup to cook more thoroughly. The shrimp pad Thai was good. And the Arizona roll was amazing! So I would highly recommend the sushi here.

For a quick sushi meal, this place really isn’t bad. Their menus have different choices in sushi rolls, noodles and combos. However, it is a big pricy.

Sushi is all about the interplay of textures, temperature, and art (presentation). Therefore one should evaluate all sushi places by those criteria. The reviews on this place are pretty spot on– this is a solid three-​star place serving average sushi.
The service is polite and moderately efficient (completely forgot my seaweed salad) but my server was charming. My presence was acknowledged with an enthusiastic greeting upon entering and I was told to sit anywhere I pleased in this small establishment with about a seven tables inside and about five outside.
Now on to the food: the rice was mediocre and reminiscent of Minute Rice. Cold and a little too hard and not seasoned in a manner consistent with tastiness. The fish was meh, the miso soup had plenty of sodium but not enough flavor. More like beige, cloudy hot water with the green onions providing the only identifiable flavor. The Rattlesnake Roll sounded delicious, but was shockingly devoid of the flavors one would associate with the ingredients.
Not terrible, but not great either. It’s ok. Bottom line– good enough for a quick lunch during the week, but if your goal is make it a special night with great sushi… Then no.

The previous reviews seem to be very accurate. It seems like when you walk in you know that what you’re getting might not be the most consistent on a day to day basis. The prices are super cheap for their lunch specials which is what attracted me.
It’s also the closest sushi place to where I work so that was important to me being a gluten free and dairy free person. You’d be surprised how difficult that is.
The seaweed used to wrap the sushi is kinda stale. The ingredients aren’t the freshest. I wish they displayed what was in their sushi… instead of me guessing.
I wasn’t impressed. I was looking for a steal in sushi, but I paid for what I recieved, cheap prices, cheap sushi.
ALSO THEY FORGOT PART OF MY ORDER???
I had to go back and get my food…

This was how my chicken phở turn out. I asked for the vegetables instead of chicken and the waitress said yes. She brought the phở for me and me like what the h*. Where are vegetables??? I came and asked the lady she said the vegetable in the side we didn’t put them together. I came back my seat and look at the phở … Oh… Come on the sprout always go with phở. I tasted the soup… Feel like I never wanna eat soup again. I didn’t even get second spoon and left. $ 9 something for nothing. Never ever go here again.

Good effort by the sushi chef in an otherwise uneventful dining experience.
Full disclaimer, I live in coastal California, blessed with fresh fish and sushi options, so I apologize if I’m being too hard on Kokoro.
The good:
a) Sushi chef and the waitress was very friendly and efficient
b) Decent selection of seafood, even thought they did not have tobiko/​ikura
The improvement areas:
a) I didn’t order any kitchen food, but was a witness to how they prepared one of their noodle dishes. It was based on a packaged ramen that I don’t even use since there are better brands. Maybe I’m a snob, but I expect better quality ingredients used at a restaurant
b) Price was not cheap, dinner for one totaling about $ 45 (with tip). However, perhaps fresh fish isn’t cheap in a landlocked city.

I love sushi, but don’t do shellfish. Virtually all of their fancy rolls have shell fish so I asked the itamae (chef) for something custom. He asked me what I like and made me a custom roll with salmon and tuna. Bonus star for great service.
We got there just before they closed. Arizona Center is a ghost town at 9 PM with the Colleges on break. Parking can be a hastle, but if you like sushi and are at AZ Center, give Kokoro a try.

Place is a bit crowded in seating but the food is top notch. Service was fair and prompt. The Korean Spicy Noodle Soup was fantastic and the sushi sashimi plate was incredible. The fish was very fresh and preparation was perfect. The sushi rice was a bit too sweet for my taste but that is a very slight criticism. Pricing extremely competitive. Would highly recommend!

Not very good at all. Zero ambiance (loud pop music), mushy rolls, seaweed salad that is mostly lettuce. There has to be better.

I really want to give the place 5 stars. This is where I first had sushi, and I’ve never had anything but really, really great sushi here.
They have a big menu, and while exploring the menu on subsequent trips, you can find things that aren’t too great. It’s a common problem with restaurants. However, never was the food bad, or anything bad! This is why I can’t give 5 stars. You can order something deep in the menu and make a mistake.
When I want sushi, I come here. I love their sushi.

Not a bad place for a quick lunch fix. Hey have great lunch specials. I always order their fried rice, sushi rolls, and I really like their crispy egg rolls. This is not my favorite go-​to sushi joint but it definitely does the job since my office is close to this location.

First time trying Kokoro and the last time. I wanted some ramen and who can mess that up? I had the shrimp ramen and it just didn’t taste right, the shrimp seemed off. I didn’t eat more than the first, but stuck to just the noodles. I won’t get too detailed, but very soon after eating I knew for sure that something was wrong with what I had eaten. I will not be going back.

I have eaten the Udon Tempura dish before; however, suddenly the portion has changed.
It now has 1 shrimp and fewer vegetable tempuras.
When I inquired I received attitude and the suggestion that perhaps the last few times I ordered extra shrimp, which I did not.
I don’t appreciate being ripped off — I would have returned it but I was hungry and it is a fairly good dish, although the broth seemed more fishy than normal this time

First time at KoKoRo tonight with friends.
Arrived at 7:30 on a Thursday eve and there were three of the eight tables full, a good sign. We were grabbing a bite before a movie so we kept it simple: three orders of the 2-​roll specials, while I ordered a Sunset Roll, since I wasn’t too hungry.
The orders took a lot longer than they should’ve, considering the small crowd and small order. What should’ve taken 15 minutes actually took 30. We weren’t pressed for our movie, we were just hungry.
Perhaps they had the ‘B’ team that night?
The sushi was good tho: fresh, cool and flavorful. Next time we might go next door tho.

I feel like I can’t entirely judge this place to the fullest. However, based on my first lunch here, I ordered the lunch «special»! 2 selected rolls for $ 9! Well turns out you get the lunch portion. On the plus side, the service and staff were nice and quick!