Kokyo Sushi Buffet

I’ve been there probably twice? I know it’s a buffet, but I always leave feeling sick and wishing I hadn’t gone.

This place is horrible food is good but one of my friends threw up every thing she ate and manager refused to reimburse me for her meal or at least compensate me for a future date but I will no longer be finding here due to their customer service some may like being talk to rude I do not plus it’s more Mexicans than Asians there authentic my a$$ smh no a go to place for people who enjoy quality service and food

The restaurant has most definitely improved its fare and service since the change in management from 2015. The food is brought out fresh regularly, I’ve not seen anything stale and the food stays warm. The sushi and sashimi are very good, but nothing like Tomi’s in Eastridge. They still have the same stock of Japanese, Chinese and American foods. There is a desert buffet and ice cream as well. The servers have been much friendlier and you do not see them standing around like they used to in the corner talking.
The only con I will include is the prices have risen dramatically. The food is better, but not really worth two people spending $ 45+ here for dinner. The Lunch buffet is much more reasonable.

Chinese/​Japanese buffet with many food choices, freshly made sushi rolls, Chinese comfort items, seafood, salad, and desserts. Drinks are extra and not included in the buffet.
The entrance is a little door to the side of the movie theatre front entrance, which can easily be missed. Kokyo is actually on the 2^nd floor. We were walking around like, «Where the heck is this place?» But eventually found it.
$ 17.99 for dinner is definitely not a bad price for the food. My biggest complaint about typical Asian buffets is that they mostly focus on quantity, not quality, and you are stuck eating are overly greasy, dirty tasting, overly salted food that has been sitting out on a warmer for the past few hours. To my surprise, enter Kokyo.
There are about 5 separate stations in a small area so it can get crowded during peak times as you rub elbow to elbow with the person next to you. There is a wide variety to choose from so if you are a picky eater, you would probably find something here that you like. I came here during peak dinner time and there was no wait to be seated. There were several bday parties going on also but this place has enough room to accommodate everyone and because of this, none of the food trays stay full, but thankfully they do not stay empty either. The food runs out but gets refilled quickly, which is great because you know the food is fresh instead of sitting under a warmer all day.
There is a long sushi section with dedicated sushi masters behind the counter rolling furiously to keep the sushi station filled. There are raw pieces of tuna and salmon, as well as a plethora of different rolls. The fish tasted fresh, and not fishy. Each roll had a nam/​sign, which was helpful if you knew what was in it, but if you are like me, the names of the rolls didn’t help much if you couldn’t tell what was inside. Such as the Hayward roll, for example???
There is a salad station which no one visited because who goes to a buffet to eat a salad? Well I saw one guy actually so it’s cool they have options for our non-​carniverous counterparts.
There is one seafood station which had fried soft shell crab, salt and pepper fried shrimps, steamy hot crab legs, crawfish, melted butter, and large bbq ribs.
The main food station had your typical recognizable Chinese dishes such as beef and broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, pot stickers, green beans, fried chicken wings, and other items such as, butterflied shrimp, coconut shrimp, fried calamari rings, korean short ribs, and more.
There is also a soup section that consisted of miso soup, wonton soup, tapioca pearl/​coconut milk, and clam chowder. I tried all the soups and the wonton soup is the only one I would try again. The miso was ok but a bit salty. The potatos and celery in the clam chowder were hard and crunchy. The tapioca pearl/​milk smelled like a filipino dessert dish called ginataan except this version was a lot more watery and less sweet.
Lastly we reach dessert which consisted of fresh fruit, lychees, papaya, orange, 3 types of jello, cookies, egg custard, cream puff, chinese cake roll (deliciously soft and not too sweet) ice cream machine with 2 types of cones (sugar and regular), but the winner was the chinese donut which is a light and airy fried dough ball rolled in sugar. I tasted it when they first brought it out and it was so soft and warm and the sugar wasnt evem melted or glazy. Such a nice crunch crunch contrast to the soft chewy dough… loooove.
Would definitely be back.

ALL YOU CAN EAT! I went to this place for lunch on 1÷13÷16 and it was amazing! The price for lunch is $ 10.99, and dinner is $ 18.99. So worth it! The place had no less than 25 different rolls to choose from, two whole bar sections filled with other foods (noodles, meats, fish) all delicious. And another separate bar section with 15 different kinds of deserts. Ugh so good. And the views were beautiful! It’s hard to find though. Go to the movie theatre box office, look left, go in the marked door. Take the elevator to the second floor and it’s right there. I paid $ 13.07 after tax and a soda and it was the most full Ive ever been.
Don’t walk, run to this place and try it. You will not be sorry.

Service was good i believe our server name is Ego… thank you… but health wise I would give this place 0 stars If I could the employee’s eat right next to customers talk loud and they use use prep container as their dish the same containers they use to serve customers. Very unsanitary I felt sick to my stomach after what I witness while dinning at this place won’t be coming back

I’m pretty new to the area so I’m going through looking for a GOOD ayce place. Well it’s definitely all you can eat but it’s more like a small version of zen buffet or a low class todai
food was kept up well on the table but it was also served on the floor often, they have some pieces of gross looking tuna sashimi and ok looking salmon… Overly salted crap. Oh I mean… crab legs. They had steamed oysters, overage of fried Chinese food like a good old Panda Express. So if anyone in the east bay knows of a kick ass made to order ayce sushi please save me…

Pros:
Good chicken wings.
Fast waiter service.
Good view of downtown Hayward.
Hot and sour soup is indeed hot, sour, and a soup.
Cons.
Sushi is too old
–hard rice
–soggy fried shrimp
–strange flavors
–not fresh
Waiters and staff do not all speak English.
Seafood is not too fresh and just sit for a while.
$ 40 for 2 dinners.
Near better restuarants.
Overall.
Great location, below average food, and nice people.

First and foremost, I would like to give a shout out and many thanks to Barry, the owner/​manager of Kokyo. Unaware that the restaurant was closed earlier in the week due to floor renovations, my best friend had attempted to call this place numerous times to make a 100-​person reservation for today for a funeral reception. Even I couldn’t get through as no one at the restaurant was picking up the phone. Stress was mounting for my buddy and he asked me if I could leave the funeral early and see if they were open. I willingly did and upon arrival I saw that they were indeed open for business and that the place was already amassing a Friday lunch crowd at 11:30 AM. I asked the hostess if I could talk to the manager immediately and that’s when she promptly introduced me to Barry. I explained the situation to him that there were about 100 people headed over from a funeral and that my friend has no reservation in place. Barry was very accommodating and understanding and quickly decided to close the entire patio section for the funeral party and asked his staff to move anyone that had just sat down in that area to other sections of the restaurant. He didn’t have to do this, but I really appreciate how Barry turned this from a very stressful moment to a celebration of sharing memories of a dear person who recently passed away and for family and friends to reunite and catch up over a hot meal. So, thank you Barry! I salute you!!!
As for the food, it’s your standard Chinese, sushi, salad, and dessert (with soft serve ice cream) buffet with a pretty good assortment and decent food. The staff taking care of our section was very attentive to needs/​requests, quickly took away finished plates, and made sure that drinks were refilled. It’s not Vegas, but at least it’s reasonably priced and serves it purpose to fill patrons’ stomachs and expand their waistlines. That said, I have nothing critical to say about Kokyo, only gratitude to Barry and his staff for their impeccable service and accommodation today! Kudos to Kokyo!

I use to love this place like crazy in high school but it has been on a slippery slope downhill since they’ve opened. It was delicious and my whole family loved it, but the quality and service is just rock bottom now.
One of the big things for me is how clean a place it. It use to be beautiful, bright and super clean. Nowadays, it’s just sticky tables, food under tables and etc. All the seafood just taste like it’s straight out of the freezer, defrosted and served (in that order). Especially with the sashimi, you can clearly taste the freezer (like literally). I’ve had several pieces of sashimi where I found a black stringy thing in it… killed my appetite instantly. The other foods are ok but mostly they’re pretty oily or super dry. As for the dessert, it’s just down to a few sweets that seemed like they were out of a box and fruit (watermelon’s good only if it’s in season).
The service use to be super nice and helpful. Nowadays, I got the feeling that I did something wrong to them by just asking for a table. I’d get an exasperated sigh from one if I asked for hot water for my mom and even an eye roll before too.
Final Thoughts: I completely avoid here now and stop others from suggesting to go here. Prices are way higher than before but the food doesn’t seem to be worth it anymore. I really did use to love this place, came here many times as a high schooler with my friends (then caught a movie afterwards). Maybe one day I’ll give this place another go if I hear see improvement from reviews.

Came here for my birthday, (21^st!) it was like 15 other peoples birthdays too, apparently this is the place for that, they go all out with a birthday knife (that never cuts anything that you don’t get to keep) and a HUUGE softserve tower.
There’s not old not bad sushi, it’s OK, not great, spend the $ 20 on a fancy roll from an exclusively sushi place BUT they have SO much more. There’s seaweed salad, crab legs, oyster IN SHELL, coconut shrimp, jello, bbq chicken, apple pie AHHH soo good

It’s such a sad thing to watch places you enjoy steadily decline. Been coming here since high school and since they opened it seems that every year they just lower their standards more and more; how sad.
When it first opened and for the first couple years they were always hustling and bustling with non stop customers because of the great food they put out in record time. But my most recent visit was plagued with completely cold seafood and small quantities. Everything from the crab legs, to the shrimp, to the mussels were cold to the touch and not even close to warm inside. Sushi pieces were very small with no garnish or flavor at all. Seems the only good food they have is the chicken and the fruit, how does that make any sense?!
I know it’s hard work to keep buffet spots up to par with quality but come on guys, how could you go so low? Hopefully they can make back up through the ranks, I fear soon they’ll just be an Asian Hometown Buffet.

I used to love Kyoko! I swear!
Still have a soft spot for this joint, but hopefully my review encourages the staff and ownership to up he qualify.
I know it’s tough to maintain high quality at a buffet place especially once you’ve gotta as popular as Kyoko, but the main thing that urks me is the cleanliness.
It just doesn’t feel clean. From the floors to the tables to the chairs (that were mysteriously wet upon arrival…).
Prices are now up to $ 17.99 per person for dinner, which isn’t horrible for a regular buffet, but meh.
I hope they get cleaner soon!
OH, I love how it’s up 3 flight of stairs though! It allows you to walk off the food when you’re done — don’t take the elevator and cheat ;)

I enjoy coming here because I love all buffets in general, especially when theres fresh made sushi involved! Its great to come during lunch hour because its $ 11 – 13. The only thing they dont offer during the lunch hour is the crab legs which are my favorite! Another favorite would be the sugary donuts hehe The service is fair; not hard to get a waiter to wait on you, so thats good. Dinner time gets a bit crowded and it’ll be a wait.
The reason why I’m giving it a 3 star is because I cannot trust if some of the dishes are fresh, especially the fruits. Other than that, I’ve came here plenty of times and never had any trouble.

Been here 3 times now. Twice for dinner and once for lunch. The menu is similar for both seatings, so I recommend to try to come for lunch and save $ 8.00 per person.
But you are reading this not to hear about the pricing because it would be a moot point if the food is incredible right? This buffet features both Chinese and Japanese menu items. The Chinese menu has the typical fried noodles and stir fried meats and veggies dishes. Along with some not so typical like onion rings and sausages.
The Japanese menu is mainly sushi rolls of many different varieties. CA Roll, tuna roll, and many others. No sashimi but you can help yourself to the seaweed salad or clam salad. Tempura fried vegetables are part of the menu.
So if you are hankering for some asian food and need a big fill, this is the place.
The downside? Many of the dishes are relatively bland and not in the lack of salt of seasoning kind. The base ingredients, like the chicken or beef don’t have much flavor.
You will leave full but not satisfied, that’s for certain.

When I think of kokyo, I think of a typical Chinese buffet and that’s exactly what it is.
Their food is very sub par. Their sushi seems to sit their for a while b/​c my avocado in my CA roll was already brown and the rice was hard. It was not good and I got it around 7PM when they’re supposed to close at 9:30. I’ll give them an extra star b/​c their food is so standard it’s hard to mess up. They have typical Chinese buffet food (chow mein, some stir fries, pot stickers, chicken wings, etc.). I will admit to enjoying their crab legs though.
This restaurant is disgustingly dirty I’m not sure how they pass health inspections. They cleaned the sushi making area by throwing buckets of water everywhere while there is still sushi out. That’s so unsanitary and bacteria and dirt can splash on the sushi. The hallway to the bathroom how wet, soggy towels everywhere. The floor was browning with gunk in one area. Wouldn’t be surprised if their was mold. There was literally trash from the bathroom spilling out of the bathroom and into the hallway. They also leave dirty dishes in the hallway to the bathroom.
Their service is poor. My party accidentally paid for two extra people b/​c we saw people we knew and paid for them without knowing they already paid for themselves. We went to the pay counter and this hostess/​cashier was extremely rude and blaming it on us. It was to the point where this man that seemed like the manager told her to stop arguing with us. How hard is it to refund us! It’s not a big deal and that hostess had nor right to give attitude. She was lucky the manager stopped her b/​c I was close to calling her out on it. He was fine with refunding us.
Don’t come here unless you’re looking to pay for basic food in a dirty Chinese restaurant. Spend your money else where. You can get more authentic Chinese food and sushi for cheaper.

This is my go to sushi buffet for so many reasons!
1. Food:
The food is organized into different stations to help with allergies. There’s a section for seafood, meats, salads, desserts & sushi.
For the meat station, there are so many yummy choices. I love the fried chicken wings & the chicken teriyaki. On this station is also the chow mein & the noodles ARE SO DELICIOUS. I always get a plate full! I also love, love, love, ABSOLUTELY LOVE the stuffed mushrooms. It’s always a MUST.
Seafood station is just as good! Come for dinner & weekends & there’s crab legs! But my favorites from this station are the coconut shrimp & the stuffed crab! Mmmm. Get so hungry thinking about it.
I usually don’t care for the salad station, lol. BUT! I do love the seaweed salad!
The sushi is amazing here! Bite size & always freshly made! The smoked salmon, lion king & mango rolls are my favorites. I love the amount of sauce that’s put on the top & the rice to fish ratio is PERFECT!
Desserts are YUM! Especially the apple pie & doughnuts. I always put ice cream on top for ala mode! You also can’t forget the tapioca pudding. Mix that with the ice cream & doughnuts & you’re in heaven!
2. Atmosphere:
Service is great here! Always friendly servers & my water cup is always filled. What I love about it is that some servers, when they notice it’s a big party, ask if you want your picture to be taken. Which is great! The place is also very roomy. Lots of space to move around so you don’t bump into people & plenty of seating. The music is always on point though some days… Music choices don’t match the mood. Sometimes, they would play 90s music. 90s baby making music! Lol! Everything is very clean too!
3. Affordable:
Very affordable for lunch & dinner! Great competitive prices!
I really do love this place! I’ve been coming here since it opened & it never disappoints. AMAZING!

Heard really great reviews from my family in Hayward so I had to come and try it when I made my visit to Norcal. We went for the lunch buffet which was actually very cheap on a monday for only $ 10.99.
I actually do go to many buffets and I have to say that they do offer many choices. However, I know on their website they say they are upscale, I wouldn’t necessarily describe it that way. You do get what you pay for. For such low prices its not exactly 5 star but it is pretty decent.
Overall, the food was ok and if you’re looking for a cheap sushi buffet in Hayward I would recommend it

I am really not into buffets but when you don’t want to host a party and clean up after, going to a good enough buffet place is good for me. Appetizers, meal and dessert in one place. Now, that is a deal especially for seventeen people; I paid @$ 13 each person for lunch on a Saturday and at the end of the bill, they counted only sixteen people! Even better deal!
Been here a few times already but today there was no snow crabs for lunch… what happened? I was disappointed. Food is ok but don’t expect first class like in Vegas. Some dishes are greasy like the chow mein. I like the soups or veggies they offer. They have lots of sushi roll to choose from. Rolls are tiny though but ok. They have lots of different dessert and soft serve ice cream.
I recommend to call ahead of time for large parties. They have lots of tables inside and out. If it’s a busy weekend, they might take a few reservations but call anyway. It’s located on the second floor by the Century 16 Hayward theater. They also have parking garage next to it. They also don’t close in between lunch and dinner which is why I like it here plus the price. Most likely, we will be back as the family likes it here for what we get.

Still a great option for buffet! They take reservations sometimes — a little inconsistent. Without, expect a 20 – 30 min wait depending on the size of your party. There is an outdoor parking lot across the street, otherwise you can park in the garage or street. Restaurant is fairly large, they have a ton of covered outdoor seating as well.
If your parents love buffets, they will love it here!
Lunch (11am-3:00pm) $ 10.99
Sat Lunch (1pm-​4pm) $ 12.49
Dinner $ 17.99 — price and time varies on major holidays, give them a call.
Senior Discounts
They have a good selection of sushi, crab and Chinese food. There is a slim selection of good buffet places in the area, this one is actually one of my favorites. Service is great, always clearing out your table and refilling your drinks. Very attentive and most importantly, they do not try to rush you out of there.
Overall, I can’t say the food was earth shattering but it is good enough.