Koiso Japanese Restaurant

Having lived in Japan for many years, it was such a relief to finally find a Japanese restaurant that is owned an operated by a Japanese couple. The food is authentic, made from scratch and delicious. Kyoko, who serves, and Mitsumori San, who is the sushi chef, are dedicated to quality and a true family experience. They even have toys for the young children to play with. It is a small place, so is crowded on the weekends. My husband and I highly recommend Koiso if you are interested in having an authentic Japanese food experience.

45 minutes after placing our orders for a party of 8, all we had received was the miso soup. a bit later, 2 of the non-​sushi dishes came, and then two of us finally got our salad. Half hour later, we asked about our sushi orders (@ $ 20 each) and they said they were going to get started on it soon. I said never mind, cancel the order and we left. The 2 dishes that were served were good. Miso soup was made from powdered miso mix, salad was terrible. Altogether, we were there over an hour and a half, disappointed. Can’t give a good review.

If zero stars was an option I would give it. Food worst sushi ever. Dont’t know what all the rave is about. Very fishy sushi rolls. The tuna’s color was clearly not fresh. Will not be returning back ever to this restaurant. The only positive was toys for kids to play with.

I come here every time when my wife shopping at Roosevelt. Is a small family restaurant run by Japanese. When you know is run by Japanese, you should know is not cheap. Service and food quality, is five star.

Best sushi on LI by far. I found this restaurant through Unilocal and was so so so happy with the food! The sushi was so fresh and tasty I felt like I was in Japan. The owners are so sweet which made the customer service wonderful. I would drive form Manhattan to eat here and will def be back!

My go to… Hidden gem. Never too crowded. Everything is outstanding. Love rhis place!

This place deserves a 3.8. Service was a bit slow but when they come to you, they are friendly and try their best to be very engaging. But deinitely come here if you have a lot of time to spare in case of anything. This is indeed a authentic Japanese place; they have the traditional floor seating experience that you can try. It was quite comfortable and feels like home. I ordered the omakase and after some recommendations, we did the $ 50 per person version. Although we received some delicious appetizers with it, it doesn’t seem to be worth the price. The sushi freshness was just so-​so and not something I would order again but there are two kinds that are totally fresh and delicious and they were the sea urchin (uni) and the fatty tuna here. The sea urchin was super fresh and sweet but I guess that is why it’s $ 8 per piece. On a side note– the egg yolk does not come with the sea urchin and you would have to ask for it — and pay a dollar extra. Overall it was worth the experience and I’ll definitely come back for other dishes and the sea urchin!

We were looking forward to eating here. But a long wait to be served and the sub par food was disappointing. They also charge for soda refills and the sushi was heavy on the wasabi and not that good. We will not be back.

Texture is everything to me. This was fantastic. I had the spicy yellowtail roll and Alaskan roll. It was great and I will be back.

Tempura here is good. Sushi and sashimi is ok. I come here many times. And the best thing is that you can order things not on menu. XD If you have some Japanese home style dishes want to have, just ask.
Have fun! Haha!

pork tonkatsu a little tough. but the beef teriyaki is nice :)
yummy ramen
a bit pricey restaurant

Will be coming back as often as I can. The story of how I accidentally got here is sort of funny – my two year old daughter has been asking for «I-​ku-​wah!» (Ikura, or salmon roe) for the last two days. It’s one of her favorite meals, having it on top of steamed rice, with miso soup on the side. It’s one of the things, no matter how picky she is that day, that she will wolf down without a second thought. So since I had some time to spare before dropping off to my husband who was watching her while I went to night classes, I decided to look for the closest (and open) restaurant near his work I could find. I was expecting a generic sushi restaurant, but it’s anything but.
The price is a little bit more expensive than what I’m used to, but for the quality I felt was worth it. Truly «home made.» What impressed me the most was that when I asked for Ikura and a bowl of rice, and offhandedly mentioned it was for my daughter, the wife immediately asked if I would like it over the bowl of rice (of course, I said yes!) and she mentioned how her granddaughter is exactly the same way and that she loves ikura for some reason too. Now, even that’s not that interesting if not for the fact that my daughter’s meal came with my soup and salad (I ordered the Chirashi). Does anyone else other than a long time mother and grandmother know what it’s like to try and enjoy a meal and feed yourself while also trying to feed a two year old? I found a kindred spirit who knew to care enough about her patron to bring out the child’s meal while waiting for the mother’s so that mama can eat her meal in peace. There was only one other restaurant that I’ve been to who paid attention to this small detail, and that was Shiki in Babylon, which had closed down. Especially since, once I was mostly done with feeding my daughter, she ambled over to the tatami corner that had a bunch of toys in the toy box, and played while I ate my meal, probably for the first time without having to chase after her.
The miso soup’s base had something else in it that I can’t quite put my finger on. Perhaps they use actual shaved bonito in the stock instead of just using powdered dashi, because the flavor was more savory.
I almost died and went to heaven when I had a bit of my daughter’s ikura – it was seasoned perfectly so either they season it themselves, or whoever their supplier is KNOWS HIS STUFF.
The chirashi was something powerfully nostalgic (spent half our honeymoon in Japan’s mountainous countryside – mostly for a yearly seminar but had some time to sample the local fare), the fish sliced thinner than sashimi but each piece was absolutely delicious and the rice was seasoned perfectly – I felt the need to mention the thin slices because often, Chirashi is served with sashimi thick slices but that’s not actually how Chirashi was originally done. There was also a scaled piece that I have not seen since I was a kid, but I forgot to ask what fish it was because it was delicious! (When you are so used to just tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and red snapper, anything out of the ordinary, species wise, becomes an adventure!)
I bought take out for the husband-​unit, sushi regular, and we were pleasantly surprised to find a dab of wasabi under each nigiri fish piece – also something I had not seen since I was a little kid, at least in the US, but it’s the way nigiri pieces are «supposed» to be made. However, because sushi in the US has become so westernized, and not many people enjoy wasabi like that, it’s been taken out. His tuna roll was actually made with a fattier piece of tuna, which is always appreciated than just the dark red pieces.
I was so excited I told my husband we are going back to have the omakase at the actual sushi bar because I want to see how the chef organizes the order in which the fish comes out, because I’m sure he is going to create a wonderful experience for us.
Also, I don’t know how important this is to anyone but halfway through my meal I also realized the attention to detail on the screens between each tatami booth – there’s a strip of screen on top, just blocking the faces of the patrons on the next table, and a wider strip of screen below it blocking out their bodies. But that one five inch space between them perfectly frames the food that’s on their table so one, you don’t feel awkward seeing what they’re eating, and two, it’s like looking at artwork while you eat.
(P.S. A long time patron dropped in and sat at the counter – we were at the tatami mats – and the way the chef interacted with him reminded me of a bartender – the listener who occasionally gave some small insight, but was mostly there for therapeutic purposes while serving him food. Felt like I dropped into a movie, especially with the hum of the the Japanese television in the back and the rain out in the sidewalk.)

10 STARS. I went there for lunch today. What a delight. HUSBAND AND WIFE are genuine, kind and very generous. Not to mention, the DELICIOUS, FRESH FISH. Outstanding squid w garlic and scallions. FANTASTIC eggplant eith ginger. Amazing, I cannot wait to go back.

This place is incredibly authentic and run by a nice Japanese couple. There were tatami’s available but we decided to use old-​fashioned chairs. We decided on the omakase and it is now our gold standard for good sushi and sashimi. I’m not saying I’m some sushi expert but it was the freshest and most flavorful fish I’ve ever had. All in all, amazing place and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a quiet evening of authentic Japanese cuisine.

Staff was warm and friendly. And the food is slammin. I couldn’t ask for much more.

Already it’s my go-​to Japanese restaurant. And I’ve gone only once. It left an impression so deep, so pure, and so profound, that I can no longer imagine going anywhere else.
The chef and owner is Japanese. And it’s not Manhattan. I believe that says it all. But I will elaborate.
I’ve been to many a Japanese restaurant in Queens and Long Island. And I was completely accustomed to seeing Korean or Chinese people behind the counter. Even at the highly rated ones. Even at the richly decorated ones. Especially at the buffets. So it took me 5 whole minutes to believe that this place existed.
The quaint authenticity of this little sushi shop blew my mind. The chopsticks were wrapped in thick pretty origami paper. They do have chairs but their tatami floor section did not have that extra in-​ground cut-​out space for legs. Many parts of the menu are handwritten and intentionally done so. It is not fancy. It is not trying to be. It is exactly the way it should be.
And then we tried the omakase, what the Japanese call a meal chosen and prepared by the chef as you anxiously wait to find out what it will be. And what it be was several pieces of assorted sushi and sashimi, including one mouth watering piece of ootoro (fatty tuna). They told us that we were very lucky because they don’t usually have ootoro and it usually costs $ 10/​piece but it will be included in the omakase price of $ 35. We were fortunate indeed.
All sushi and sashimi has tasted pretty much the same to me since I tried my first piece of raw tuna 19 years ago. Some did seem less fresh than others. But for the most part, I could never tell what was considered good or not.
Thanks to Koiso, I can now tell. They’ve ruined all other sushi and sashimi for me. Every sushi experience I thought was good in the past now seems like a waste of a meal.
I cannot describe the unique combination of freshness and umami that hit my tongue. The textures were perfect. The flavors were perfect.
It was perfect. Even the octopus.
We finished the meal with a beautiful fried green tea ice cream, the batter light and crispy, topped with whipped cream and fresh blueberries.

Koiso has all the right décor and affectations of a good traditional Japanese restaurant, and has all the right things on the menu to support this. The actual dining experience, however, was surprisingly mediocre.
Judging by the other reviews maybe my experience was on an off day. The waiters and others running the restaurant seemed stressed out and over-​worked, but there were not many people actually at the restaurant other than a pushy and obnoxious family with several small children, which understandably can ruin a waiter’s day. It took nearly 15 minutes for someone to take our order, and the food which was simple in nature took forever to come out. Normally I don’t care about service if the food was good, however suffice to say it was not.
We ordered the cold tofu appetizer. This was refreshing when dipped into the sort of ginger-​soba sauce it came with, but you could see the «recycle» imprint on the bottom of the tofu block that the tofu was just firm tofu from a plastic package that you could just buy at the local grocery.
Then we got the Omakase, which for $ 35 is a steal, however the sushi was sub par. There was some sort of fluke swimming in some sort of ponzu that suspiciously overwhelmed its flavor. The nigiri had so much wasabi gluing the fish on top that it was equally overwhelming and difficult to eat. The salmon was bland. The octopus was actually quite good, tender and sweet. Overall, though, the sushi was surprisingly tasteless.
The only saving grace here was likely the ramen, though I did not like it as much as my fiancée did. I generally prefer Tonkatsu or Shio ramen, and I believe this ramen was of the Shoyu type. The ramen had a good texture, the soup had a big hunk of pork belly in it, and the soup itself was pretty rich and a little briny. The pork belly was not in chashu form, but rather was unseasoned and un-​seared. The egg was over cooked and crumbled into the soup. My opinion is that if you want ramen in this area go to Torigo for lunch instead, but as ramen is hard to find in LI, I’d give this one a pass.

This review is for takeout only
This place is very yummy!
I got the sushi deluxe with the tuna roll, a natto roll and 3 eel sushi.
The sushi deluxe was so good! Very fresh and with such great flavors. The natto is more salty than I am used to but that’s fine with me!
I will definitely be back next time.
The sushi chef is the cutest man ever!

I was on the fence about writing a review for this place for a couple of reasons and mostly because it seems like it would not matter that much anyway because Koiso it seems has long time regulars that keep this place running.
Like other reviewers said it seems you may get better service and attention if you are a regular. We popped in later in the evening and directed to a table from the couple behind the sushi bar. We proceeded to wait a good 10 minutes before we even received a menu. It was another 10 minutes after we were ready to order before it was taken. It was another 50 minutes or so before we got our food with the place nearly empty. see where I am going with this. Be prepared to wait — luckily we were because we weren’t starving when we walked in although the wait helped with that.
During our wait we saw how the sushi chef and the two other women were catering to the regulars — making conversation, serving up omakase at the sushi bar, catching up with regulars that had not been there for a while. It’s not to say our service was rude — it was just not overly friendly towards us. Also everyone seemed very busy all the time — it must be said it didn’t seem like anyone was slacking just this is the pace they operate.
We ordered some sushi rolls to share and have to say this was some of the best tasting sushi we had on long island. The rolls were a little on the pricy side, but they were also made a bit larger both more fish and rice then most places make their sushi. We were pleasantly surprised at real crab in one of the special rolls we ordered — we noticed the difference immediately from the imitation crab that is prevalent at most places. The yellow tail was some of the best we ever tasted.
You can tell there is a reason this place has a long time following (seems they followed them from their old location in Port Washington, that must have been a while ago because this place looks like it has been open for a while with a lot of wear and tear.).
Besides the slow service (which was bearable) here’s what made our visit so disappointing and why we probably will not return. While a waitress was cleaning a table she took a half empty glass of water that one of the patrons did not finish and spilled it onto the table to wipe it down. This is perhaps one of the grossest things ever witnessed in a restaurant (which I am glad my wife spared telling me about until AFTER dinner). Its like why bother cleaning the table if you are just going to spread someones backwash all over it?
Like I said. this review probably doesn’t even matter because it seems they have a loyal, long time following. Even with the sushi being some of the best we had in the area there are just some things I can’t get past. Its not that I’m unrealistic — I can only imagine what goes on behind the scenes in most restaurants, but to do this out in the open like that — it’s an image my wife cant get out of her head (which means I can’t get it out of my head either. lol). If you can get past it you will be treated to some really good sushi, albeit with slow service.
The sushi and food itself gives this place 5 stars. A 1 – 2 star average for everything else, thus 3 stars.

4.5 starts.
I went there twice. Last winter and last weekend. After I went there for the first time, I was thinking to rate them 4 starts, but I decided to give them more stars after the second visit. I tried to come here few months ago, too, but they were closed because it was Sunday. Please remember that they are closed on Sunday. They have spacious parking lot in the back of the restaurant.
This is not fancy restaurant, and kind of old, but there is warm feeling like I was at home. I felt like I was visiting someone’s family in Japan. It was nostalgic feeling.
I had ramen and gyoza (dumpling) when I ate there for the first time. It was soy sauce soup ramen. It was served with my favorite ingredients, Chasu (sliced roasted pork), pickled bamboo shoot, Nori and boiled egg. It is very authentic ramen. Gyoza was just like my mother’s in Japan. My boyfriend ordered ramen at his first visit and he liked it, so he ordered it again.
When I went there for the second time, I ordered Yamakake Soba (buckwheat noodle with grated yam.) There are choice of cold or hot, so I chose hot. The noodle was in hot soy sauce soup with has a lot of Umami came from fish. I assume the broth was taken from bonito flakes. Grated yam is white and slimy, and it is supposed to be healthy food. On the soba, they sprinkled shredded nori and put a quail egg in the center. I loved this Yamakake Soba!
Today’s special food was very good. We orderede two specials from the menu. The first one was Fried Egg Plant with gingers and green onions（Nasu Shigiyakiなすしぎ焼き）. The lady who served food explained to us that eggplant was grown in their backyard. Very fresh and flavorful! The second special was Seared Bonito fish (Katsuo no Tataki鰹のたたき). It was just like the one I eat my hometown in Japan.
Since my boyfriend doesn’t understand Japanese, it was funny that wait staff ladies explain about menu in Japanese sometimes. But it made them look cute for me. I think my boyfriend doesn’t care and he seemed enjoying eating there. Actually he is the one who suggested to go back there.
They don’t accept American Express card. I leaned this because they gave us the check on the tray with Amex Logo whihc was crossed out. Haha.