Mican Japanese Resturant

Came here again for the tonkatsu ramen, and again pleased! The broth could be more flavorful but otherwise still a great bowl. Realized it’s on the pricey side though — after tax and tip it’s over $ 15. But it’s fine at my going rate of once a year…

The ramen here is great. The sushi is great as long as you like wasabi. The chef’s do a great job and the food is spot on.
The service though… every time we eat here. Ugg. There are only a few tables in the entire place. It should not be an issue for two people (and maybe a back server when its busy) to comfortably manage the floor. The wait staff is nice enough, but just dont get it. Last night we had to stand up after we were seated, while the girl dragged our entire table across the dining room into the middle of the main walkway «so there was more room». When we placed order, (tempura vegetable appetizer and two bowls of ramen) we were asked if we would eat our ramen first and wait for the appetizer because the tempura took longer. Ummmmm… no, I want my appetizer first, thanks. When the appetizer came out in its very fancy serving basket, we had to ask for plates to eat off of, and I got a look like I was crazy when I asked for them. The servers really are nice, but maybe should find a different profession.
The food is good enough to continuously bring us back. Just dont go with any sort of time restraint and go with a good sense of humor about the service.

This is really a gem in charlottesville. From what I understand it’s owned and run by a japanese expat (check out their instagram its awesome), and from the flavors it clearly shows. Must orders are the pork tonkotsu and beef ton ton ramens, the sashimi 14 piece is awesome too (dont understand how the 18 piece is 10 $ more though for 4 additional pieces). My only complaint is that the waitstaff is kind of loopy sometimes, ive been given 40 minute wait times for a table only to come back in 15 min to a half empty restaurant, also tough to get the servers attention sometimes

I’ve been here twice and the service is terrible. The first time I was here, my ramen took 20+min to come out and my boyfriend’s food took 30min. We decided to give it another try tonight because it’s cold and I wanted ramen but miso sweet was closed. After waiting 25min for 2 ramen and 1 roll, we asked the waitress when our food would be out. She looked confused and said sorry but said nothing else nor gave us an answer. 5min later, she brought out two bowls of ramen to the table behind us, the table was sat after we ordered. Finally, after We’ve been waiting 30minutes, our one roll of sushi came out. Another 10 minutes later, still no ramen. At that point we had been waiting for our food for at least 40 minutes. The three tables sat after us all had their food. Finally, We flagged down a different waiter and all he said was «oh our kitchen was backed up today» and offered nothing else. Then 5 minutes after that, so 45 minutes after we ordered, he brought out our check for ONE roll and said «we didn’t charge you for the ramen but you are welcome to keep waiting for the ramen.» I have never been more angry at a restaurant. If you forgot to put in our order or fucked up somehow, own up to it. Don’t just stand there and feed me bullshit excuses and then bring out the fucking check after I have not gotten the food I ordered, then act like you’re doing me a favor by not charging me for the food I have NOT gotten.

Certainly don’t recommend Nabeyaki udon. It was so plain that I even put some soy sauce in it. There was only udon and 2 shrimp tempura. Now&Zen’s Nabeyaki is way better.

Atrocious. Service was wanting throughout the experience. While we were sitting for a few minutes they came to take our drink orders, which was fine … Then things went downhill. Once we ordered a very simple meal, they screwed up the orders for sashimi, nigiri, and rolls, never brought us soy sauce or chopsticks until asked, and the miso soup showed up after both the edamame and the first round of incorrect sushi. Then they claimed to remove the wrong sushi and left it on the bill … We will never go back despite regular visits to the city.

The restaurant is tucked a bit back past Marco & Luca’s and GRIT and has a really neat atmosphere! It took a really long time to place our order with the waitress, given, she was the only one on the floor that day with quite a few tables and I know how that goes. She was very friendly and was doing the best she could. She did seem to favor some tables over others but she may have just had a lot going on.
Now about the sushi… IT WAS SO GREAT! I had the rainbow roll and a shrimp tempura roll. Both were incredibly delicious. The sushi was fresh and the presentation was beautiful. The rainbow roll looked nothing like I’d seen before with large chunks of fish on top of the sushi that was on it’s side. Wow it was so good.
I recommend going here for sure, though I would suggest not going right at 12:00pm on a weekday.

Fantastic tonkatsu ramen. Sushi is better than average and fresh but came up a bit short in the ‘fully satisfying’ department. The ramen here is really the winner. Broth is rich and flavorful without being too salty or thick. Best roast pork slices Ive ever had… soft boiled egg was PERFECT. Noodles were the weakest part of the bowl but still decent… they could just use more chew.

It took the servers forty minutes just to even take our order, and then it took another twenty minutes to get us water — there were 3 waiters for 10 tables. It was so bad that my group and I thought you were supposed to go to the register to order and that we had been sitting there by accident. When we did go to the register to ask, the server promptly told us she would get to us later. Another twenty minutes goes by and nothing happens. Each time we waved down people, it was as if the words we said just went in one ear and out the other. The waiter who ultimately took our orders had visited two other tables with higher numbers of people multiple times, each time ignoring our attempts to flag him down. This was a trend that repeated itself with all the other waiters. In between hitting up these tables, they simply stood at the counter instead of taking our order. We were not the only table they neglected, but we were the only table that did not receive an apology. In the end, it took an hour just for the food to get to the table. I got the impression that just because we were college students, the servers didn’t want to serve us because they wanted tips from other «higher» tipping tables — if you go to UVA, do not come to this restaurant. Even when I was waiting to pay for my food, they took forever to bring me the check. Another couple sitting next to our table got so agitated that they went to the register to pay for their food. Even if the food were good, the experience as a whole was UTTERLY DISAPPOINTING. Even if the manager were to offer me free food, I would not return.
I sincerely believe that the restaurant owners are good people, but their employees need to be fired.

The sushi here is awesome. I had a tuna belly and scallion roll which was great if you like tuna belly, however the Godzilla roll was amazing! One of the best rolls I’ve ever had. It had tempura shrimp and veggies inside a lettuce wrapper, spicy tuna and avocado on top, and spicy mayo and eel sauce topped it off. I eat a lot of sushi in a variety of locations and this roll was one of the best I’ve ever had. The only reason for 4 stars is the service could be better. It’s one waitress for about 10 tables…

My family had a great dinner here last night. All the sushis were fresh and well prepared. My kids loved the noodles. The waiter was very nice. We ordered the shrimp roll for my 2 years old son and the sauce inside was spicy. They made another one for him and my son loved it. Will come back again.

Had a nice dinner at Kokoro. I have been trying to dine at this little hidden gem by the yorktown building, fortunately last night was my first and surely won’t be my last. I had takoyaki (recommended! The mayo, bonito and sprinkle seaweed made this little squid cake become a great starter), uni nigiri, petite portion of shoyu (the one with soysauce and chicken stock. Again, this was a good entrée portion especially if you order appetizer), for dessert i got mochi ice cream. Great dinner experience, def will be back.

How can I express how amazing this place is. It’s one of my favorite restaurants to take people who are just visiting I’m town. Their sushi is delicious (so much better flavored amd priced than TEN up the street) and their ramen is delicious

Let me just start this by saying this is the best sushi I’ve ever had in my life. Even though my sushi experiences have largely been limited to Korean/​Japanese fusion restaurants, Chinese buffets, and their sushi ilk, Kokoro’s sushi is enough of a huge step up from these types of establishments for me to say that this is the real deal.
I’ve had the sashimi platters, a la carte nigiri sushi, maki rolls, various apps, and the spicy miso ramen on multiple occasions, and it has always been delicious every single time. You can tell that every bit of fish, from the sashimi cuts to the tuna in their spicy tuna rolls is fresh and of high quality. Even the wasabi tastes better here. On my first visit here, one bite quickly established that. On top of that, the sushi and sashimi are always beautifully presented. The spicy miso ramen has perfectly cooked noodles and soft-​boiled egg, and is just spicy enough, AND they have a ramen taster so I can have a little bit of everything I love when I eat there without running out of stomach room. They have a good selection of sake and Japanese beers, as well as Japanese drinks like Ramune. I also love that the quality of the food is consistent, even if the service can be a little slow, though its always kind and courteous.
The restaurant is located in a very unassuming location inside York Place on the Downtown Mall. You’ll have to park somewhere around the DTM and walk to it. The ambiance inside is quiet to average, depending on how many people are in the restaurant on a given night. They also have a traditional Japanese style table setting where you kneel at a low table for the full experience.
I honestly can’t recommend this place enough, it’s quiet, unassuming, kind service, and amazing, consistent food for a great price, considering sushi. Last tip: if you go, I highly recommend you try the uni (sea urchin). I don’t know where they get their uni from but it’s cold, creamy, fresh, briny and absolutely delicious.

Oh my gosh.
Ooooh my gosh.
I got to sit on my knees in a traditional Japanese eating atmosphere. In Charlottesville. Oh. My. Gosh.
The food here is impeccable, with the vegetable rolls arriving to my table in a presentation I’ve never seen before. Beautifully arranged with sprout garnishes? Oh my gosh. My partner’s ramen was the most authentic I’ve seen in any Virginian sushi restaurant yet, and he couldn’t stop raving about it to me.
The service we received was kind an attentive, and that’s all I can ask for from any restaurant. The dishes are aptly priced, the restaurant was clean, the food was delicious beyond compare. What more could you want?
Go here! Please!

I’m not a sushi expert but this was one of the best sushi experiences I’ve ever had.
Starters: edamame, octopus and miso soup were v good.
Entrée: Kamatoro (blue fin tuna) was AMAZING. Perfectly flavorful and wonderfully soft yet slightly chewy texture. We also had the Blue Crab Sushi which was delicious and filled with so much crab. My friend also had the black cod which was also excellent. It had a sweet soy sauce flavor and was perfectly cooked. (It was also served with kimchi which was surprisingly great.)
Dessert: You can’t really go wrong with green tea moochi.
So I’m not giving five stars because I didn’t enjoy the ramen I had in a previous visit but I might have to try another ramen dish next time. Wish I could give 4.5 stars!
Also, the service is wonderful! They’ve always had a friendly staff and there was more than one waiter this time (which is definitely an improvement)!

Would definitely not go here if you are on a schedule. There was one waitress for the entire place and service was slow, slow, slow. I got the chirashi, which was just OK, but definitely better than another place I had chirashi. It looked nice but I still had to order more sashimi after I was done. I also have never gotten kimchi ever with chirashi, so I am guessing the owners are Korean? My friend got the yakisoba and a spicy scallop roll. She seemed pretty happy.
All in all I wouldn’t make a huge effort to go back here but it was decent enough to eat there again if I was near by.

In Charlottesville on business and in the mood for sushi. This place had 4.5 stars so «OK let’s try it.»
First, very hard to find for someone from out of town. Tried to call went straight to VM. Bad sign.
Two tables in the whole place and was seated in what felt like a broom closet. Specials? On the board (that I can’t see from my broom closet table)
Tried some tuna tataki. It was old, cold thick and flavorless. Goya, tasted like Trader Joes frozen. The negiri? Octopus was old and rubbery. The yellowtail was unrecognizable, I think the Tuna was fake and the salmon was so old it had begun the separate. I Was going to try the ramen, but had already sent half my order back and left. Didn’t want to press my luck.
As a sushi snob, it was a swing and a miss. If you truly appreciate fresh, artistically prepared sushi, don’t waste your time. Get the chicken fingers at the local drive thru. You will be less disappointed.

I make it a point of reviewing restaurants mainly on the quality of their food. Let me make it clear. Food = 5 stars but service =3.5. I bumped up the average to 5 because the food was so amazing!
Here’s the story. I went to kokoro for my birthday dinner, because I love their ramen. We ordered the tonkatsu ramen and requested it spicy. It was perfect. The creaminess from the pork bone broth and the kick of spice made it heavenly. I think the pickled ginger on top is such a nice addition too! It adds a refreshing taste to the hot soup.
Also, we ordered 2 sushi dishes: The Godzilla roll and the volcano roll. The presentation of both were excellent and I could tell that the fish was fresh. Let me tell you, the flavor combinations were brilliant and did a good job of not being too sweet or too spicy. They brought out the fish, which is very important to me!
At the end of the meal, the waiter brought out a mochi dessert for my birthday. It was a piece of strawberry mochi with layers of whipped cream and corn flakes. There were also blueberries and mint to finish the dessert.
I will definitely be coming back to Kokoro!

Ramen, real ramen! I ordered the tonkatsu, and it included a perfectly soft-​boiled half egg, a slice of seaweed and a couple pieces of tasty, tender pork. I also ordered the avocado kebab — a quarter avocado fried and on a stick. Worth it.
Not just good for Cville, this is actually good Japanese cuisine. Please don’t go away.

Normally I don’t write review, except for this time because this place is DIVINE.
I’ve been trying everything I could to find a legit Japanese place — a genuinely authentic Japanese restaurant where I can avoid inappropriately cooked sushi rice, fishy sashimi, and fast-​food-​chain-​like dining environment. I have had my eyes on this little place for so long, and despite its unpredictable hours every day, I finally paid a visit!!!
Ramen — so far the best I have ever had in the US, in Singapore and in China.
Nigiri — please FOR GOD’S SAKE, try the uni nigiri if you like sea urchin. You can thank me later.
Service — polite and responsive
Environment — they have tatami, can you believe it?
Alright I sound a little too excited, but given the efforts I’ve put into looking for a place like this in this city… hope you all like it as much as I do!

Visiting town for a couple days, my expectations of sushi in inland Virginia was low going into Kokoro. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the fish and the service.
My group was rather inexperienced with sushi, and our server did an excellent job explaining the menu and the different types of sushi. While the first round of beer was not chilled, he quickly came back to the table, asked about the beer, and brought us another round on the house. I was impressed because that’s not a mistake most servers would think to come back and fix.

I’m giving this place 5 stars because its the only Japanese place in town that actually has a real Japanese food menu. I love sushi, but nothing can beat some good ramen, takoyaki, yakisoba, and gyudon!
Agree with D that this place is a bit pricier than others, but the quality and selection is awesome. I have been missing a real Japanese restaurant in the area to fill all those urges, and Kokoro finally fills it.
Highly recommend if you want a good and quality Japanese dinner!