The skewers are just ok. The salmon tacos and chazuke are better and more impressive.
A cozy hole-in-the-wall yakitori restaurant that I wasn't expecting to stumble upon. It's not a big place and it sure is popular, so reservations are definitely recommended. It's on the other side of the Caltrain tracks, away from the general hubbub of downtown San Mateo, but well worth the quick walk there.The staff is friendly and the service is quick. The menu consists largely of typical Japanese skewers offerings, plus an assortment of izakaya-style small plates. I ordered two rounds of various dishes and each item was brought out when it was ready... literally hot and fresh off the charcoal grill in the back. And nothing like a chazuke (rice in tea) to finish off a yakitori/izakaya meal. Oh, and a dessert too, of which they have a few options.
Wasn’t sure what to eat in this town so I randomly decided to come here and I’m sooo happy I did! This place had very nice ppl working there who helped me with the menu. If you are wondering what to get let me help you out!!! Get the lamb chops, get the fried calamari and get the beef kabobs with salt and with sauce!! Only thing I didn’t like was the crab cream cakes. Tasted weird. But the fried chicken was good and also the mushrooms were decent nothing special. Music was good as well. I will be coming back here and recommend this place to all of you!!
I really enjoyed Kokko's Yakitori dishes. It was a little cold with the outdoor winter seating under the heat lamps, but i forgot all about that when the food started to come. I tried the Hokke Karaage special and it was perfectly crispy and flavorful. The skewers i tried were the Pork Sausage (essentially little hot dogs), the Kalbi, and the Gyutan (beef tongue) which was by far the best one.
Quick stop for bites with friends. Felt like an izakaya - the menu goes well with a cold beer! Highly recommend the mackerel karaage (seasonal special) and the beef kalbi skewer. Service was fast and efficient, don’t expect a lot of small talk or discussion on menu items.
Taste is okay, portion is tiny, service is mixed-towards not so good side. We were able to get a table at 5:30 on Saturday for an hour, but didn’t get kicked out, although the waitress did rush us out around 7. Skewers were good at first, but some came too salty, and not much variation in flavor. Never expected Mochi to be sour like this… Portion wise it’s pricey. Expect $60+/person without drinks/desserts. The waitresses were not attentive, didn’t get us water refilled and didn’t tell us some of our order were out of stock. Outside seating is nice, beef tongue and chicken thigh are good. The rest is just mediocre…
Have heard great things about Kokko. Made a reservation on the day of and got a less than ideal table (would highly recommend the outdoor seats over the others). Nonetheless, managed to try the food which was moderate to highly priced depending on what you ordered. The skewers like the tsukune and momo was good with a good marinate. The calamari had a light batter and was tender. Wish the menu was more extensive and would include more items.
It’s probably the worst service I’ve experienced ?We had reservations for 8 pm. We came in at 8:03, and they only found a table for us at 8:25…before we just stayed by the door and waited.And the first appetiser I ordered was served at 9:10 ?By this time we were very hungry, and the date was ruined ?Seriously the worst service I had for a while…
Taste is okay, portion is tiny, service is mixed-towards not so good side. We were able to get a table at 5:30 on Saturday for an hour, but didn’t get kicked out, although the waitress did rush us out around 7. Skewers were good at first, but some came too salty, and not much variation in flavor. Never expected Mochi to be sour like this… Portion wise it’s pricey. Expect $60+/person without drinks/desserts. The waitresses were not attentive, didn’t get us water refilled and didn’t tell us some of our order were out of stock. Outside seating is nice, beef tongue and chicken thigh are good. The rest is just mediocre…
Wow. We are still thinking about our meal. Located in a residential area a couple blocks from downtown. Small private lot. We parked on the street. Opens up at 5:30 pm and fills up fast. I read somewhere they only take reservations, but I'm not quite sure. Each order of yakitori is 1 skewer, so adds up fast. Scallops ( 2 skewers): our favorite skewer of the night. Juicy and had that beautiful grilled smell. 5/5 Beef tongue: juicy. 5/5 Chicken heart: not bad. Not too gamey. 4/5 Duck breast: solid. Juicy. Not as fatty as I expected. 4/5 Chicken thigh (2 skewers): was fine. Just regular. Maybe we should have gotten it with the sauce. 3/5 Chicken liver: S.O. loved it. I didn't. 4/5 Pork belly: was fine. I didn't care for the sauce that came on it. 4/5 Pork cheek: juicy. I liked it better than the belly. 4.5/5 Mackerel kaarage: fried nicely and very juicy. They also serve the bones. 5/5 Deep fried baby octopus: good! 4.5/5 Steamed baby clams: decent. Not as flavorful as the other dishes. Nice clean broth. 4/5 Ground chicken and egg yolk over rice: sauce was on the sweet side. Fresh orange yolk. Good way to end the meal. 4/5. Our favorite item of the night, however, was actually a condiment. This yuzu green chile paste dip/paste that was on the table. I've never had anything like it. AMAZING. Goes with any food item. S.O. is already online looking for it lol. She's picky, and she loved it as well. All that , plus 2 sapporos came out to less than $90. Service was excellant. Efficient and not overbearing. Would come back again, with the kids