Kokoro Sushi

PLEASE NOTE: This restaurant is now closed for business. They have a sign up thanking their patrons for their support over the years. Too bad, maybe an opportunity for a new entrepreneur…

Happy to have this place in this area, but I wish it was a notch better, especially given the prices. I’d give it 3.5 stars right now, but I will round up because overall in the 4 years we’ve lived in this neighborhood it has been good 80% of the time. We go about once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less.
Whether sushi grade fish or not, I can’t say, but everything I’ve had here has been good and tasted fresh. There was a short time when the chicken teriyaki the kids would get was chewy and drowned in a concentrated sauce, but that seems to have been a phase because they’ve redeemed themselves in recent months.
As for service, sushi man is really friendly when he’s not super focused doing his thing. The woman (his wife?) is sometimes friendly sometimes not. I really don’t care as long as she services our table when we need it and she’s always done that, even though sometimes she has a little bit of an attitude and a frowny face. Cheer up, girl! Friday and Saturday nights have been hopping for this neighborhood spot lately. That’s a good thing, right?

Not bad for eating Sushi to Sashimi here. Great quality and great service. Looking forward to this place! Highly recommend!

Chirashi bowl had mediocre quality fish, the tuna was very dry seeming. Quantity seems pretty small for the price. What is with all these sushi places dumping sesame seeds all over everything? The gentleman inside was extremely nice and welcoming, very good service.

If you’re looking for a good sushi spot-​any good food place really-​everyone knows to look for the «hole-​in-​the-​wall» places right?
Well THIS sushi place? OH. MY. GOODNESS.
The first time I ever went here was after a track meet in somewhere in Pleasington. At this point in time (a few years ago) I was pretty finicky with sushi; I never ate anything but uncooked rolls. As soon as my team and I sat down in this little yet roomy restaurant, I immediately fell in love. The family who runs this place is SO welcoming and kind. The older man who makes most of the sushi was practically ordering for my group and, not only was that hilarious and family-​like, every single thing he placed on our table was HEAVEN… Both raw and cooked. Everything is always fresh/​cooked just right, the service and wait time is very suitable to the place, and the lighting and artwork inside is unique too.
The people who live right across the street from this place are luckier than they probably even know. #1 sushi spot I’ve ever been to… and boy have I been around the block.

This time the food wasn’t fresh and they seem to be cutting corners. Daughter returned her beef dish but was replaced by a good chicken substitute. My Saba seemed a little dry and older too. Disappointed as this place used to be better.

UnilocalERS, YOU HAVE LET ME DOWN!!! This please does not deserve, 2 or even 3 stars. One star for the fact that I know they mean well, but the rolls are unoriginal, the fish is sub par, and the ambiance is blah.
If you look at their menu, 70% of it is cooked fish which means what? A: fish is not sushi grade. B: unused sushi fish is now in cooked fish rolls c: everything is covered by the cooked taste. On top of it, everything is drenched in some form of sauce not allowing the taste of the fish to shine through.
I am on to you Kokoro and your fish cheating ways!!! Not everyone wants california rolls topped with fish nor do they want tempura in their rolls. Man up and get some real items on your menu!
Btw, we tried looking at their sashimi menu. a, b, or c. different price points with NO DESCRIPTION. How much fish do i get, what kind? Nada.
Definitely will not be back.

I drove up to this place because I had a bet with my friends and I WON… it was delicious. I think this hole in the wall deserves more props. Take a nice drive and visit then go see a movie at the REGAL.

Great rolls and their service is very friendly and welcoming. I don’t find many establishments that I want to support because I like the people but this is definitely one of them.

This place is absolutely the best sushi restaurant in Pleasanton. Fresh fish, fast service, amazing food presentation, and a calm atmosphere make this a definite destination for a nice lunch or dinner out.

One of the best Japanese restaurants I have been to in a long time! Food is delicious and delectable. I’ve had several of the specials, and the Tiger Roll sushi is fantastic!
It’s a bit far from my usual go-​to dining places, but it is totally worth the drive, great food and service, I highly recommend Kokoro to anyone looking for yummy sushi. The art on the walls is a wonderful touch, too! :)

Love this place! We have been coming here for years. The owners are so nice and accommodating. Fresh fish and creative rolls, along with popular classics.
DEFINITELY try the monkey brains, they are a game changer. Avocado, spicy tuna, crab, all deep fried and drizzled with a special sauce! Sooo good.
My family and I usually come during early dinner hours and the service is great. I know some of the other reviews say it’s slow and not a lot of attention, but we have never experienced that.
Also really good for take-​out, but I wish they had an online menu somewhere. It’s better to call ahead so you don’t have to wait, but the wait is never too long.

We come to this place almost every week for a dinner. The food is just great — I tried sushi, several types of rolls, teriyaki chicken — all of them fresh and very very tasty.
Excellent service, small Japanese family sushi place feel — this is a little gem hidden at vintage hills plaza.

Had lunch here today. Summer Roll was great. Chef was super nice and friendly. Highly recommended.

This place was awful — not sure why it got good reviews. Salad and miso was good — but that was about it. Expensive, small portions and fish was not that fresh.

With such good reviews I wanted to like this place, I really did.
It was around 5 O’clock when we walked in. There was no greeting or any acknowledgement upon our arrival. The both of us stood there for a good two minutes while we watched the two workers (one being the sushi chef) cater to a whopping of two tables out of maybe around 15. The place was dead and I thought we’d receive better service and attention upon entering. Finally after standing awkwardly for some time, the sushi chef made eye contact and pointed us to a table and we sat down. The waitress didn’t even greet us or ask for our drink order as she slapped down two menus in front of us before quickly walking away. I’m not sure about the complimentary miso soup or edamame everyone has been talking about but we sure did not receive any. But it did take us a very long time to receive our drinks. The selection was disappointing and minimal but I was curious and hungry so we ordered the beef teriyaki, spicy tuna crunchy roll, and old village roll (?) or old town (?) I can’t remember the name of it.
The portions were very small and unsatisfying. The beef teriyaki tasted like cheap hard store bought beef jerky, the spicy tuna crunchy roll was very bland, and the last roll was missing ingredients. I ordered the old village roll (?) because they promised cilantro but there was none to be found. Both the rolls had 8 minuscule pieces of sushi doused in sauce. The waitress came back twice to refill our drinks but didn’t bother to ask how the food was. I smiled at her and watched her walk away to cater to the two other tables again. The only time the waitress was friendly was when she dropped off the check, as if that was going to magically make all the bad service we experienced earlier disappear. Or maybe she was just glad to see us go. All in all, I’m disappointed in this place. $ 50 spent on subpar food for two… Never again.
Like I said, I wanted to like this place but everything was just so damn bad.

Hidden gem.
I came in for lunch not really knowing what to expect and was blown away by both the service and food.
I believe it was the owner serving us and he was extremely friendly and no request we made was a problem. Extremely smooth and enjoyable in this regard.
Now to the food. Extremely fresh fish that was obviously handled by a professional. I normally have bigger eyes than appetite when it comes to sushi but I couldn’t help myself and dig into a couple dishes of sashimi and sushi. It was delicious.
I definitely recommend this place and will be back for more.

When I first walked in, I was shocked that this place had such a high rating and there was no one there! I thought it was going to be another place where there’s really good rating but the food was jank cause I guess you can say I’m somewhat of a sushi snob? Not super snobby but kind of. Hah.
I guess it was because it was around three that there wasn’t anyone in there but my friend and I sat down with a very welcoming greeting from the sushi chef. We sat down and HE gave us the menu. Then while we were looking at the menu, we were like «oh my… everything is expensive!» (very different from the subpar cheap places we go to. haha) We thought, maybe it wasn’t worth it so we ordered two rolls since we were going to dinner in a bit.
The chef took our order and he gave us some tea and edamame. We ordered the Tiger roll and Philadelphia roll. The chef took awhile to make it and we were thinking… hrm. why is it taking so long? Guess what? When the plate came out, it was like a work of art. Each and every piece were sliced in the same size with the same consistency. You can tell he put effort into making his art.
The tiger roll had spicy tuna, ungai, and crab meat on/​in it. The sushi was topped with the tuna and unagi and the roll itself was crab meat and avocado. Each bite was amazing! Since each piece had consistency of taste and texture, it was amazed at how good it was! Both the rice and filling amt was perfect. The rice wasn’t spolged onto there just to «fill you up» and the filling was just about right. (if that makes sense. hah)
On to the simple Philadelphia roll. Most places I’ve been for some reason or another, their salmon mixed with the cream cheese tastes like cured ham. Not sure if other places seasoned their salmon to do so? But here, the salmon was oh so fresh! I was expecting this ham like taste but nope! Salmon and cream cheese. Amazeballs!
I can not WAIT! to go back here and try other rolls. I’m drooling just thinking about it now. The first time I stopped by here, it was closed but now I know better to not go on a Monday and everything is beyond worth it! The drive over AND the price! Although, to be fair, the price isn’t as bad as I make it out to be. Hah.

Okay… So I’ve never had an account for Unilocal but I made one just because of my experience here…
I went in yesterday for a to-​go n ordered about $ 50 worth of sushi+ udon. I got home and opened up the to-​go box and I was just shocked how small everything was… Literally, it was TINY. There was NO rice that was stuck to the rolls and the tuna/​salmon/​and all the ingredients that were inside of the sushi were bascially non existent…
I wanted to go back n show them what they have gave me but i didn’t because I just decided to never go back.
I don’t know how it is if you dine in, but if you want a To-​go, NEVER go here guys…

I seemed to find a lot of good sushi place in Pleasanton and this place is just one them. I was craving sushi for lunch, our fave place near my boyfriend’s place was closed so I looked up on Unilocal for any sushi place that’s open that day. I showed this place to him and he took me here.
We ordered our favorite Sashimi on the menu (Sashimi A), $ 29.95 for a 12-​piece I think. We also ordered a sushi roll called Titanic roll. We all enjoyed it and all food tasted good.
We were the only people who were here for lunch cuz we came here just when they opened so we had a fast service. The server was very helpful recommending some food on the menu.