Dinner Diaries: Kokoro Japanese Restaurant

Jul
13,
2024

Did someone say Sushi and Ramen for dinner? Say less.

We had a foodie adventure when we took a trip down to Monterey Park for a small business that is a Korean owned Japanese restaurant whose portions are as big as the love we all deserve. Kokoro is quickly making its way up the ranks for popularity as it hits Yelp’s top 10 Japanese restaurants in its area. Why, you ask? Well, aside from the generous portions the quality and flavor of their menu is also unbeatable. With reasonable pricing this is the type of hidden gem we can’t help but rave about.

One of our top recommendations from our visit is to get the chicken Karage extra crispy with a side of rice. Wow doesn’t even begin to cover the flavor profile on this dish. And with generous portions all the food is meant to be shared.

Kokoro also boasts a generous Happy Hour menu that runs Monday-Friday from 11am to 3pm. This window makes it the perfect destination for your lunch hour, or just a break from the monotony of working at home (like us). The options on their Happy Hour menu range from Chirashi Bowls, BBQ Short Ribs, Ramen noodles, to Sushi combos and Bento boxes. There is something for everyone.

We kicked off our meal with the Karage and a miso soup accompanied by hot sake. All were top quality and like we said, ask for your Karage extra crispy and we promise you’ll be blown away.

Three of us were putting in the hard work to investigate what was best on the menu and when we tell you we had leftovers we mean it. That is how generous the portions are, we just can’t say it enough with so many restaurants in LA giving you less than, Kokoro is all about more.

We enjoyed this beautiful Sushi platter that came with everyone from Eel to Toro. The freshness of the fish was so impressive, the only thing beating how fresh it was, was the fish’s quality.

For those of you who are roll lovers don’t worry we thought of you too. We tried Kokoro’s Hanoi roll. Which is so pretty to shoot for social media, but also delicious. It is almost like a Korean Kimbap, blended with sushi. You can find fun ingredients like tamago (egg) that add a creative dimension to the flavor accompanying traditions ingredients like Tuna and Salmon. This one is a big hit with customers and we can see why. Between its beautiful coloring and its flavor it’s a 10 in our book.

Next up we also tried their ramen. The menu is really big and truly offers something for everyone. Once again generous portions abound and we loved the miso ramen, which the owners are considering making a spicy options for as well for all of our spice chasers out there.

Kokoro Japanese Restaurant: 2207 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754