Sushi is excellent. The unagi sasimi was awesome! Service is good and accommodating. Food is delicious!
This is definitely a little hole in the wall. Follow the nondescript sushi sign by the Scandinavian shaved ice sign down the breezeway past the gift shop to the restaurant.\\nA reservation will help get you in the door but there was still a wait as they are short staffed. We found out after dinner that they only have so much fish and can run out so earlier is better.\\nThe sushi was good and fresh but the rolls looked a little rough but tasted delicious.
There was simply too much rice and not enough fresh fish, vegetables or flavor to make any one of the 5 sushi's we tried stand out. They were totally indistinguishable from one another.
Perhaps the BEST homey-fresh sushi spot I've ever experienced. Huge pieces, wonderfully fresh, sweet and courteous staff... Everything was divine. Thank you!\\n\\n04/28/22 update\\nOK... Had to stop here ONE more time before leaving the Big Island. Thank you for making us feel the Aloha spirit, feeding our tummies, eyes, and spirits! ?
Where to begin? The fish was grey, the sushi rice was a cold, solid paste (eww), our orders came late and staggered (if they came at all), the waitress was beyond rude. She refused to look at us the entire time and served the child in our group last—30 minutes after everyone else had finished their meals. To top it off, the sushi "chefs" hissed at us for asking for our checks. The experience was so bad it became a running joke on our trip. The next night we tried a different sushi restaurant in Kona—Izakaya Shiono—and had the most delicious meal with a delightful waitress. How to explain the good reviews for Cocoro? They're either entirely focused on price (it's very cheap) or friends of the owners. We saw another party being treated well and they were locals who were friends of the owners. If you're not a local, beware: No Aloha spirit here!
A hole in the wall as you walk past, but............ the food was incredibly fresh and well prepared. A real treat and reasonably priced in an area where other restaurants are unreasonably priced (a sign of the times). Our only true regret was that we were too full to order more.
I wanted to love this lil hole-in-the-wall sushi place but I didn't. I think the hostess/waitress/owners maybe a lil too concerned about covid? Self serve water, our server wore blue rubber gloves the entire time which is gross when you see her touching everything like the credit card machine and they bringing your plates of food over. By now we know hand washing is more sanitary than gloves. I felt the sushi was good, my daughter liked her udon noodles and my husband loved his chicken teriyaki roll. So if you're staying near by, some take out rolls you would enjoy but eating in?? Maybe think twice.
Staying at an AirBnB in Kona and when a torrential downpour started up not long before we had planned to go to dinner we decide to find someplace close by. Note that we didn't have a car so we needed to walk. The owners of the AirBnB had left a list of favorite restaurants in the area which included 5 Japanese restaurants. Sushi Cocoro & Udon Noodle was not on the list and our one dining experience there showed us why. When we arrived we were shown where our table was and where the water was because water was "self-serve". The young lady who was our server was polite buy not personable. The place is a hole-in-the-wall kind of sushi place and often I hope for these places to be hidden gems and I'm willing to go without a lot of fancy decor and furnishings especially if the food is remarkable. It was not. Honestly I have had better sushi from groceries store deli's. It all starts with the sushi rice and they definitely failed there. I had a Sushi Combo, edamame and a bottle of Kirin beer. They don't have any beers on tap. The sushi was okay but a bit flavorless even the wasabi couldn't pack much punch. So not a place I will go back to. To their credit the prices were very reasonable. But I'd rather pay more and have quality sushi. And I will end with my pet peeve about cashing out with these new devices. I hate it when the server hands you a device to have to select the amount of the tip while he/she watches! We need to replace that system of tipping.
This is our go to whenever we go to Kona. We originally found this by accident, and it has become one of our favorite places period. My wife loves the sashimi trio, and I usually get a spider roll; this time I got a Hawaiian teriyaki chicken chicken roll, and it was quite delicious. The staff is always friendly, and all the food items are fresh. If you want affordable, delicious sushi you really should go here.
Walked through downtown Kona looking for lunch. Not big sashimi eaters so we got basic sushi rolls and they were delicious! Vegetarian options as well. Super friendly staff and clean dining room.