Kokoro

I only give it three stars because of portion size and price. Order super meat if you can. Ramen noodles (ordered Soba noodles) were expensive! I wouldn’t go thru drive thru, but then again, there aren’t any healthy options around Denver with a drive thru. Glad it’s there at least! Order the curry btw :)

I’ve been coming here forever, usually making a special detour to come here when we are in Denver because we live in the Springs. Kokoro USED to be 5 stars to me, but they changed their beef, trying to be more health conscious. Hey… NOT EVERYTHING has to be so damn healthy. The beef bowl used to be heaven! Now, the meat is dry and tasteless. Sooooooooo disappointed!!!
The two stars are for the employees. Extremely nice and attentive… They are the only reason I might return to try something else.

My family has been eating here for years and it’s always been fantastic. The Denver location, like their menu is cheap and cheerful. The staff is mix of characters, and all are attentive. Some have been there for decades.
I usually get Beef Bowl with steamed veggies. Thin slices of beef simmered with fresh onions and magical herbs and spices over a bed of plump steamed white rice. From my experience, the beef and onions is usually slow-​simmered in a mirin and soy sauce based broth as well as some bonito flakes or dashi giving it a distinctive taste.
We tried the shoyu ramen last time and it didn’t disappoint. My kids usually get a yakisoba noodle dish called Sobagetti.
If you join their generous Arigato loyalty program you get a free bowl.
I’ve never used it but they have a drive through

Always the best quick food. noodles are perfect the broth is tasty and tempura is always perfect along with the sushi always a good place to go for a quick fix dinner. Shrimp Tempura Splash is my favorite. Unfortunately this time thru the drive-​thru I didn’t receive any condiments for the a beef a or sauce for dipping my shrimp or fried veggies. Still would go back just making sure I get them next time

I’ve been here several times and have enjoyed trying a range of things. I had been excited to try this place for a while, as they have lots of home-​style Japanese dishes which I have missed. The design of the restaurant is fun and has a cool diner feel. The service is generally decent, and everything is fairly well-​priced. They also have a great happy hour, though it’s important to note that the sushi rolls come in four piece portions, so it’s slightly less of good a deal than it could be.
The first time I went, I had the spicy tuna roll and the chicken and vegetable bowl. The spicy tuna roll tasted fresh, and I appreciated that it wasn’t swimming in a bed of mayonnaise. The chicken and vegetable bowl was okay. I felt like the flavors were just a bit subdued, but the vegetables and chicken were well-​cooked. I tried the shoyu ramen and unagi roll today. The unagi roll had a good chunk of eel and that tell-​tale sticky chewiness that I was looking for texture-​wise. The shoyu ramen was a bit odd. It tasted fine but seemed to be missing some key components. The broth was entirely clear which almost made me think I got the wrong dish, but they don’t have shio ramen as far as I can tell. The shoyu egg was just a normal hard-​boiled egg which was a bit disappointing. The noodles had a nice chew, and the chashu had a nice balance of tenderness and meatiness.
Overall, I found Kokoro to an a-​okay place to go for my Japanese food fix. Some of the dishes were not quite what I wanted, but some were also fairly decent. The prices are generally good, and they even have an awards club. I look forward to coming back to try some other things in the future.

An employee HACKED MY DEBIT CARD. I love their beef bowels. However just before Christmas I stopped at the drive through and used my debit card. He took my card and disappeared while I was waiting. I just felt like… wow…that was odd. Within hours my card had been duped and I was hit with charges from various Subways in New York city. All for around $ 30.00 each.
I only use the debit card for cash or as an id at the bank. Grabbed it by mistake to pay. Typically use cash or credit. The guy at Kokoro was so suspicious I had a gut feeling and woke up later that night to look at my Chase account online.
I called and asked for the manager. The person answering the phone asked what it was about. I explained and he said «err…I am the manager» That was odd since he wasn’t the manager when I first called. He also didn’t know the names of any of his employees that worked the night I was ripped off. He seemed to be so numb headed he didn’t understand what I was describing. Pretty simple, paid with a debit, the guy disappeared then returned with my card… hour or two later my number was being used in NYC. IF THIS HAPPENED TO YOU, MESSAGE ME FOR THE DETECTIVES INFORMATION.

So I’ve eaten at the Kokoro in Arvada before and LOVED their spicy chicken splash.
This location has had a ton of counter space owing to its roots as a comfort food mom and pop store. More’s the better as I was able to speak at length with the wonderful servers Wei Wei and Yulia. I was only stopping by for a little bit to grab some tea (I’m a Californian and boy does it get cold in Denver) and a dessert (the green tea cheesecake is pretty awesome and is gluten free: it’s small, fluffy, light, and has a perfect blend of sour and sweet, doesn’t have too much whipped cream, though being gluten free it doesn’t have a crust if you were expecting it).
The manager Mas is an old friend of mine as I’ve said in the past: if he pops by, be sure to say hi and he’ll take care of you.

I’ve been going to Kokoro for 25 years and it’s still my favorite restaurant for a delicious, and well priced, lunch. Everything is fresh, the food quality is consistent, and the staff is always fast and attentive. Highly recommended!

Absolute best Japanese food! I love the green tea and the green tea cheese cake. The ebi fry and gyoza and to die for and I always do a bowl with katsu chicken and extra sauce! Great to go or dine in!

This is a goto staple for me… at least once a week. I love the Curry bowls… or straight up beef or chicken bowl… Sobaghetti is delicious with chicken… They only use Redbird brand… best to hit HH…$ 2 Saki… all day Sunday is double points for the Arrigato club!!!

Reliably good and fast Japanese food. I had the miso ramen today and found it both tasty and reasonably priced. There is a counter where it is easy to dine, or tables should you prefer. Also the drive through window is a refreshing alternative to the hundreds of burger joints that have one.

I have a patron since the early 90’s… in that time my family, friends, co workers, etc. have had great dining experiences. It’s always consistent, fresh, clean with decent, not «over– the –top» service. We love the loyalty program, the happy hour and the quick meals!

Rude service. Waiter or drink runner (Wei Wei) seemed to have an attitude problem when simple requests were made. He was not friendly and did not greet us what-​so-​ever.
The restaurant got 3 out of our 5 of our orders wrong. As it turns out, they gave us the food for the people behind us, and didn’t figure it out until it was too late. All of our food was delivered 10 minutes apart, so half of our table was done eating by the time the rest of us got our food. Oh yeah, there was a hair in my food as well as my girlfriends food. No apologies for anything. They tried to explain the hair we found as a sliver of ginger root… ummm nope, that was human hair.

Restaurant is atmospherically challenged, and the bathrooms need a cleani… ermmm HAZMAT team.
They did however adjust our check for the hair we found.

I stopped in for lunch and had the Shrimp Tempura Splash and a Spider Roll.
Service was mediocre. They asked if I wanted a menu when I sat down. Shouldn’t that be implied?
The reason I gave them 2 stars is primarily for the spider roll. If you can’t do sushi well, you shouldn’t do it. Something inside the roll was quite grainy (and not the rice), and left an unsatisfied feeling.
The splash bowl was pretty bland, but the tempura bundles were probably the highlight of the dish.

If I were to open a restaurant – a childhood dream of mine – I’d want to open up a place like Kokoro! It started as a mom-​and-​pop restaurant in 1986, and has grown to be such a staple in the community: family-​friendly, inviting and unpretentious! Kokoro supports so many organizations and events in the community. I see their delicious sushi catering trays all the time because they are donating to local, philanthropic events! They also have a great Bowl Club Card for loyal customers and awesome happy hour specials (every day)! Just makes you feel good eating with them!
But above all, the food itself is delicious! Kokoro uses RED BIRD FARMS, chicken that is never frozen chicken and U.S. Choice Beef. You can taste the difference! I am a huge fan of the spicy chicken splash at Kokoro! It normally comes with udon noodles but you can ask for it with ramen. It’s great, my ‘go-​to’ dish here! It can also be a ‘to-​go’ dish (you see what I did there?), you can order at Kokoro’s drive-​thru window. They will separate the soup from the noodles and tastes just as good at home! I like to stop by after work and pick up dinner at Kokoro.

Sign up for the bowl club! Great coupons come in the mail and after every 5000 points you earn a free bowl.
I used to strictly just get the white meat chicken bowl, but I have since opened my horizons to other great entrees at kokoro. The shoyu ramen is great as is the spicy chicken splash. Get the gyoza. And my most recent discovery is the forest child soup, if you like mushrooms you’ll love it.
Fast service and easy on the wallet. I can’t complain :)

Kokoro was just alright. I had the kokoro bowl and tried the philadelphia rolls. everything was decent. and seemed relatively healthy. Nothing too special… Pretty similar to a teriyaki chicken bowl from Tokyo Joe’s…
I think I would come back to try the ramen. but I wouldn’t come back for the Kokoro bowl.
The staff was super nice and I appreciated that they were so sweet :)

I usually come here for my quick Japanese food fix. My faves are the tempura bowl, shoyu ramen, gyoza, chicken curry bowl, and shrimp tempura roll. If you’re looking for a culinary masterpiece, you’ve come to the wrong place. This is just simple Japanese fast food.
It’s better to eat inside than to go through the drive-​thru to assure that your order is right. If you decide to use the drive-​thru, then I highly suggest you check your order before leaving as it’s usually missing food or the wrong food is given.
As for the service inside, it’s a hit or miss. There’s one server in particular who gets on my nerves. Her name is Yulia. She doesn’t take your drink order right away and on more than one occasion she’s forgotten to bring part of my order, then when reminded, she’s brings it and charges me twice. This has happened too many times and it’s getting old. She can also be quite rude unless you’re one of her regulars. I don’t like being treated like a liar when I’m being overcharged every time I come in here and I’m only paying for what I actually received. She needs to pay attention to what she’s doing and learn how to be professional.
I’ve also ordered their sushi party tray. It’s a pretty good deal for the amount of sushi you get. It’s not high grade sushi, but it’s good enough for a casual house party. I like to order it a couple of hours in advance.

I’ve been going to this place since I was a little kid and it’s always been great. I think I have tried everything on the menu at least once in my life.
My favorites are the chicken vegetable bowl with spicy teriyaki, curry bowl, miso soup and philly roll. They obviously don’t specialize in sushi but it’s very yummy anyway.
The service is always quick and friendly and the place feels very clean.
It’s always crowded there.
Tips:
Seat yourself
Put extra ginger (red shredded stuff at every table) on your bowl because it’s amazing

When I came to Kokoro many years ago (1999), it basically had a menu not much better than what I could find at Tokyo Joe’s. In recent years, I had heard they had updated the menu and had started serving Ramen, and the quality of the food had increased substantially. Upon visiting last week, I found this to be quite true. We ordered the miso Ramen with extra shoyu eggs and substituted the white meat chicken for the pork. The broth was quite flavorful, the Ramen was well-​cooked without being too hard or too soft, and there were lots of nice veggies in the bowl. This may not have been Izakaya or Sushi Den quality, however, for the price it could not be beat. I had a couple beers with my meal, because the prices were very good during happy hour. We also started our meal with some potstickers, which were excellent.
The meal club here, Arigato, offers double points for meals purchased on Sundays. Service was good. Try to come when the place isn’t too busy if you have that option.