Kokoro Sushi

First time dining here and I was surprised and glad at how much portions I got from my meal and how excellent it tasted. I’ve traveled to Japan and have had pork Tonkatsu and this was so delicious. Rivals that for sure. And the price wasn’t bad. 16 dollars or so for this entire meal. The atmosphere was nice as well, you have local soccer teams being played on the television sets and it was nicely furnished. Staff working was A++++

Kokoro is one of my favorite restaurants in Salinas! I've only had great experiences here as the wait staff is always friendly and attentive. My favorite is chicken katsu and the California roll but honestly, you can't go wrong with anything on their menu.

This is one of my favorite sushi restaurants in Monterey County! They have great benito lunch boxes, but I had to have this yesterday, the spider roll. So good!!

We’ve ordered from here during the pandemic and the food is great. Went into the restaurant for the first time about a month ago and was extremely surprised. It was even better! Needless to say, we went back again 3 days ago. Excellent. The service and the food. My ONLY issue is the tiny amount of wasabi we were given. Even when I asked for extra it was a small amount. Not a big deal and I understand a lot of people probably won’t use what’s given. I’ve learned now to always ask for extra wasabi when I order.I love this place.

Pleasantly surprised with the quality of fish here. They had a lot of the classic rolls along with some creative spins on rolls. The garlic edamame was absolutely delicious! Service was great also. I would come back.

Passing through and googled some sushi spots picked this place because of the reviews and pics and it didn’t disappoint. I got the crispy rice and rainbow roll and my friend got the sashimi salad and it was all 10/10. Sushi is melt in your mouth and so fresh.

We were recommended this place for their food and decor. We were too distracted to notice the decor when we went here. We had indoor dining dinner. The food was good but the price is high. We got Agedashi Tofu, Super California Roll, and Nigari sushi. I would skip the tofu. The nigari was really good with the fresh seafood. There was one fish that was really soft and sweet but we couldn't tell what fish it was... It was a good try and experience.

Service was good as well as quick. Food was good and perfunctory, but nothing out of this world. Docking a point because if you order the veggie set lunch which comes with agedashi tofu, you only get age tofu, no dashi. Was served on a bed of cabbage, which though I understand where that is coming from, definitely made it weirder. I did really enjoy the tsukemono though! Note about the photo: not a full serving; I'd already eaten a few pieces at that point.

Yummy and Quick service staff was wonderful had no problem ordering and all my questions were answered politely !

One of the better sushi stops in Salinas. I highly recommend the Green Dragon! The teriyaki chicken box is a great deal and deliciously filling!

We visited on a weekday. The rolls were nothing special. We ordered potstickers and they were still frozen cold in the middle. The spicy edamame on the other had is FIRE. Both literally and figuratively. It's spicy but so addictive. If I were to visit this restaurant again it would only be to get the spicy edamame.

Kokoro Sushi has good food. Nice for a casual lunch or dinner or quick sushi craving satisfaction. Rudy's roll is my fav. Probably because it's one of the few super tasty rolls on their menu. Yaki soba noodles are also a nice dish.

Sushi is good. Ambiance and service is decent. There is long wait times sometimes and there is not much space inside for those needing to wait to be seated.

I had loved to come here until my two bad experiences with the restaurant. The first one was when my husband and I sat down to eat lunch. My husband ordered the tempura udon, after eating some noodles he noticed something odd in the soup. He pulled it out and we realized it was a brown paper napkin. Disgusting! The second time I ordered to go... veggie undon. Everything was fine until I got to the very bottom of the to go container and felt something hard in my mouth..... When I pulled it out and looked i realized it was a fingernail!! I will never eat here again!!! so disgusting!

We had the worst server she took almost 30 min to get our order if my wife wasn't hungry we would have left do not recommend this place at all. I gave one star because the beer was good.

Me and my boyfriend absolutely love this place , favorite place from all the sushi places we went to ! I got the fire dragon 10/10. He got the Sean, a bit spicy but so good ! The mochi there a really good as well. We loved our server for giving it to us for free !! definitely recommend this place never had a bad experience.

Great food and atmosphere! Service was also great would definitely come back with family or for a private meal

Always great sushi. Anything and everything is delish! Great for lunch! Please note closing hours between lunch and dinner service

My first and last time to dine there. It was lunchtime (1:15) and I ordered a simple bento - teriyaki beef, sashimi, sushi, salad, rice, miso soup. The first hint things would go sideways was when the server brought the miso soup - WITH A SPOON STICKING OUT OF IT. A.) never serve miso soup with a spoon, ask the customer if they want one and B.) never serve any food item with a utensil stuck in it. The worst thing? The miso was lukewarm, containing only *3* mini-cubes of tofu (1/2 the size of a sugar cube) and 2 skinny shreds of seaweed. The bento box arrived. Looked fine. Then the discoveries - the meat was not sliced through completely. I'm an expert with chopsticks (raised with them) and can get most things apart, but I ended up having to pull the pieces apart with my fingers. The meat was either a low-quality grade or just overcooked - or both. THE RICE WAS COLD. Not lukewarm - cold. I cannot find wasabi in the bento box to apply to the sashimi, and the server never comes back around so I can request some. I start on the sushi - and find the wasabi underneath the sushi. The salad was unmanageable as it's clear they are buying some kind of average bagged salad mix and the pieces of lettuce are huge. Not gonna wrestle with that with chopsticks. The server never came back asking if I wanted a tea refill (that is mandatory in an Asian restaurant!). Sayonara!

Delicious food well decorated. Service is amazing there. Servers are always polite. The place has great decor and have tvs to watch the games.

Ordered through door dash. Got the combo tempura which was super bland and the shrimp was spoiled (old) and due to the packaging , even with the two small holes at the top the veggies and shrimp were a soggy mess, no crunch at all. The tentsuyu dipping sauce basically tasted like super salty soy sauce. Next we had gotten the Katsu Donburi which was disgusting. It weighed a ton which did not make up for flavor. The meat was a hard heavy lump and was basically inedible and hard to identify it as pork, it was impossible to tell what the other ingredients were and no egg was present. It came with mediocre miso but no salad as listed ($22.50 and it went into the trash). The agedashi, usually my favorite was a big disappointment ($9.50) . It had the same super salty sauce as the tempura and was not a dashi sauce I've ever tasted before and there were zero bonita flakes on it..The tofu was fried but the outer layer was flavorless and unappealing, it's usually my favorite part. The Inari was good but stuffed in the same box as the sushi roll and they were all jumbled up and a mess. . The spicy edamame was the best dish we got. The goyza was flavorful but with that exact same dipping super salty sauce as the other dishes. The Sunomono was a big disappoint. Sunomono means vinegared and the photo shows the Cucumber with seaweed salad and lemon slices for $9.50. We got a tablespoon of super sweet cucumber, too sweet to enjoy, not bit of vinegar or lemon flavor, all sugar and no seaweed or lemon slices as pictured. Big disappointment. Finally we got the Futo Maki roll which was okay but because it had been packed with the Inari the whole box was a mixed up flop of roll and Inari with several pieces of the roll having fallen apart. Nine items via door dash $133.00 plus tip. Totally not worth it.

Food is always great. I do take out all the time. Rolls aren't that "tight" they do get loose

I called during lunch hours last week and made a reservation. Once I arrived at the time of my reservation i spoke to the hostess who was extremely rude. I was informed the reservation had not been written down. She informed me I had to wait over 45 minutes for a table. She was not helpful at all and In no way did she try resolving the issue.

Good food, great portions, friendly staff and comfortable setting. Definitely a must. Can't beat the cost. Definitely go.

we walked in, we were waiting to be seated. they weren't that busy; two girls standing in the back. finally after what we thought was a reasonable time, my husband walked up to them and they said to seat ourselves. So we did. Several minutes more went by and another group of people walked in, they walked right up, handed them menus and proceeded to while totally ignoring us. We got up and walked out.

Camryn was the most attentive and sweet waitress! They were so busy but she made time and was so nice! I heard servers share their tips but honestly she worked for and deserves 100% of her tips. 10/10 best waitress I've had here!!!

Food is good, lobster roll is fire. It's clean, nice ambiance and friendly staff. The only thing is service is only good when there's 3 tables occupied. When it's busy such as the weekends, service is horrible. I can't blame the waiters but on the weekends it looks completely under staffed. It took our waiter 15 min to even ask what we would like to drink. Again I don't blame the staff because I see that they're too busy handling togos and door dash. Just a recommendation on the consumer side, schedule someone to work solely on togos.

The portions was good. The decor was nice. That's the only 2 good things about Kokoro. The service was bad and the sushi was not good! They didn't take our drink orders until 30 after being seated. Kokoro in the past was authentic and good but not anymore. I rated this place the best sushi joint in salinas up until now. I don't know if it's under new management but I think it is because the rolls went from being rated a 10 to being rated a 2 for me. The sushi rice was mushy. The roll lacked flavor like the ingredients were not fresh. The wasabi was mushy. Sushi restaurants should remain authentic. Otherwise there's no point in eating it. Also when we first walked in the restaurant had an overwhelming scent of fabuloso. Don't go here. They are not good anymore! This place is a Japanese themed restaurant without the authentic Japanese sushi rolls. Sushi should have different flavors and textures. Their rolls are like one bland gooey mushy mess!

Service was mediocre none the less, they waitresses were snobby and rude . Everyone around was being serviced politely .. however we were not . The food is delicious, but service needs a lot of work . Hence the 2 stars.

Lousy seating plan. We are stuck waiting to be seated and people that can in behind us are already ordering.

MENU AND FOOD: Kokoro serves a variety of Japanese favorites such as sushi, udon and bento boxes. SERVICE AND ATMOSPHERE: Service could have been been better. I was picking up an order to go and was waiting in the front, when a waitress appeared and bluntly told me pick up orders are at the back counter and not at the front. Their indoor decor is somewhat dim and modern, but for some reason, I didn't feel like I was in a Japanese restaurant. PARKING: Located in downtown Salinas, there is street parking along with metered parking lots. IMPRESSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: I had their chirashi and a tempura appetizer, both of which were nothing special. Their fish quality is good and the chirashi does with their rice seasoned with furikake by default.

It seems that the restaurant has changed since I last ate there. The quantity has gotten smaller and I got double charged for the dinner meal. I called back to explain it and they said they were going to call me back. I think they forgot about me or just didn't care. I tried to call after a couple of hours but now nobody at the restaurant is answering me .

The food was great! The service was really good. The portions were good. I had the sashimi lunch special and I was surprised at the amount of fish I got. It was so fresh and buttery. Loved the seaweed salad, edamame and the calamari. Will def be back!

I am very impressed. Sushi rolls are not 75% rice like most places these days. The ramen is also amazing, I prefer the Shoyu kind. Ingredients are fresh. Price is fair and the dinning room is very clean. If you are fortunate you will get Kelly as your server. Kelly is attentive but not constantly bothering you while eating. She is very upbeat and friendly, the kind of server that makes you want to come back!

My favorite sushi spot in the the 831. Service is good and ambiance is very chill. Always craving this place!

The Qnagi roll and Gyoza were tasty... place is clean and modern. Servers are pleasant and helpful. My husband didn't quite like the shrimp batter however i'd give this place a 4!!!

I had the lunch bento box w chicken and tempura. The service was good and quick. The food was good for a reasonable lunch time price. I'd recommend Kokoro for lunch.

For sure you will be skipped if you are not a certain type of person. I'll leave an example here: Two people walk inside the restaurant, one of them is from salinas (latino) and the other one from Carmel. The one from salinas comes in first and sits and five minutes later the person from Carmel shows up and also sits at another table. Waiter goes directly to the person from Carmel knowing the person from salinas was first. There I said it.

What a wonderful surprise! In town for the first time with our family. Decided to have Japanese. Found Kokoro Sushi a few blocks away. Never heard of it. We decided to give it a try. The food was absolutely wonderful. We had a party at five. Each of us got something different. All of us were very pleasantly surprised at the quality, quantity, and reasonable pricing. The best part was our waitress, Alejandra. She was excellent in service and attended our numerous requests promptly.

Take your business else where. These place AND it's workers just want your money. They don't care about service or efficiency. My order for udon and a CALIFORNIA ROLL (you know the roll that actually has now raw fish in it) is taking about 130 minutes. I'm thinking they have to catch the imitation crab. Girl at the front couldn't care less. Doesn't seems like she even wants to earn her money. THIS OLACE SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN. IF YOU DONT WANNA EARN MONEY THIS WAY JUST SAY THAT. BUT DONT JUST SIT THERE AND DISH OUT SUB PAR SERVICE. DIABOLICAL!

We went here a couple days ago and the service and wait times are horrible. It took over an hour to get our food and it wasn't even busy. We had to ask our waitress how much longer the food was going to take and she had a nasty attitude. I will NEVER go here again. I definitely recommend going somewhere else....

Best sushi in gown. Some if my favorites is the Mexicali Roll, spicy edamame, Salmon Misoyaki, Beef Ribs, and the Tempura Udon.

Excited to try this place. Fresh and tasty and a good variety of sushi. Will definitely go again.

This place is amazing and the staff is incredibly sweet and nice and the food is delicious.. The atmosphere is very calm not to loud ( sometimes music is so loud in some restaurants) but it was perfect in here.. Definitely I'm going to be a returning customer.. Everyone one who works there knows exactly what they're doing to make this place run so smoothly. Thank you for a great experience

I live the diversity in their menu. They have a great menu for people who don't eat fish, and I love their sushi rolls. It does take a while when you order takeout but everyone is always so nice wether it's done in or takeout. The restaurant is located in a great spot next to bars!

For me, this is the best sushi place in Salinas. Their Salinas roll is bomb. It's a deep-fried sushi with salmon, avocado, carrots, and cream cheese. Their side salad is awesome too. The dressing is tasty. The miso soup is delicious. Their Vegetable Yakisoba is very good too. They don't just put ordinary veggies. II would give 5 star for food and cleanliness. The reason why I gave four is that the service here is always very slow. Don't come here starving or hungry! To note too, they are closed between 2(i think) to 5 pm.

1. Their sushi is excellent; some of the best I have ever had. 2. Horrible service; will not return. My boyfriend and I had sat down looking forward to a very delicious meal however it did not turn out that way. They brought me my sushi almost right away and said my boyfriend's meal would be right out as well. After a 1/2 hour with no wait stuff checking us and watching many people who had arrived after us already eating and finishing their dinner we realized something was wrong. By the time we flagged someone down (as our waitress had not been by the table for over a half hour) to let them know of our situation a person FINALLY apologized. No explanation except there are new staff members. They did not in any way try to make up for the extremely long wait and error. THAT is why I will not be back for a very long time if ever.

I don't live in Salinas, but we go to Kokoro every chance we have, and when my daughter visits we always make sure we take her to her favorite Japanese restaurant.

The most affordable, kid and family friendly business tha has deliciously addictive sushi in Oldtown Salinas. They give Shogun sushi a run for their money. I will be going back there soon eager for more amazing food and beverage choices. Thank you for being open during these troubling times.

Got sushi from this location while I was visiting my family down in Salinas. Based on the food I tried and ordered, I'm a bit perplexed at the rating of this location cause it's actually really good food. The only reason why I'm a little bitter and not putting a 5 star is there high price specialty rolls are a bit small. My little cousin ordered a basic shrimp tempura roll and it was enormous and far cheaper than the Rudy Roll. If I put that issue aside I really enjoyed their sushi. I would really like to get sushi here again when I come back to visit my family again!

Best sushi ever! I go often and it's always super good, definitely recommend! The noodles and teriyaki bowls are also great! I love everything they have on their menu!

My husband and I went to this place and it was a pleasant experienced... My Husband ordered Udon soup and I ordered Ikura Salmon egg it was good***** P.S My Husband Gary really love the Udon soup here

This place rocks New decor New menu Great food Awesome service Best chefs in Salinas valley

5 stars because there wasn't a thing I was missing! The quality of the fish was excellent! I had salmon sashimi for $21.95. It came with miso, and salad with that wonderful sesame dressing. The sashimi was 1/2" thick and about 2.5" by 1.5". There were nine pieces. Just wonderful! The specialty rolls were not expensive and came in more manageable bite size pieces. The service was fabulous! Can't wait to go back!

Our first time giving this place a try, and hey we loved it. Shrimp tempura roll tasted as expected. My husband tried the dragon roll, I'd say I loved it but it was too spicy for me. We had the fried jalapenos with cream cheese and boy.....super delicious. Will be going soon for dinner. P.s this was a take out order

Piss poor customer service. We went with our kids and we got our sushi rolls after about 45 minutes, and the kids chicken teriyaki plate still didn't come out until after we finished our rolls and we asked to cancel the kids plate. After the hour and a half wait to feed my kids the chicken was cooked to a crisp and the rice was cold. Everytime i tried to get my waitress attention she completely ignored our table, it got to the point where another table had to stop her and let her know we were calling her. Also they are either incompetent or just plain careless, we asked for a sub for crab to cucumber on one roll because I have an allergy to shellfish and they filled the roll with 90% cucumber and a sliver of tuna, left out the avocado and mango. I didn't say i couldn't eat all that. We felt pretty ripped off and dissatisfied about the customer service for over an $80 dinner.

This place is on point with tasty appetizer and sushi! Ordered the Fire dragon roll and Rudy's roll. What a dance of flavors in my mouth!!! Definitely bringing my pals to try these rolls.