Went for a quick bite after landing in SFO. GF wanted something with broth and veggies. So ordered their Kokko ramen which said on the menu had veggies. What showed up had no veggies. I asked and the waitress said this is how it is. But I asked her to look at the menu to confirm that it was supposed to have veggies. Her reply was, it has green onions and seaweed. Needless to say I'm not going back. Her attitude just sucked.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Daniel Dollar
Excellent authentic yakitori! Service was great as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Y T
The yakitori was good as was the service. The warabi mochi was not the freshest, more gummy than chewy, but it wasn’t bad. Parking can be hard to find and the restaurant gets packed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Molly Ced
This place is busy for a reason. Which could also be seen as a con. But the yakitori is good and most of the other food is above the bar for great. We had a very friendly server but could tell some of the other servers were not as friendly. The only major con would be the price. If you’re hungry you’ll be spending a pretty penny to eat here
Jaime Stilwell
We looooooove Kokko! We go for every family celebration and often bring out of town guests here. It’s always a hit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tommy Tang
Everything is great! They were very fast and all the skewers were very delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kat
Most of the food was excellent.
The quail egg yakitori and scallop yakitori were my favorite. They were rich in flavor, and the scallops were fresh and not mushy.
I found the mushroom yakitori (shiitake and oyster) to be a bit bland and underwhelming.
The garlic edamame was addictive - so glad we paid a dollar extra to get the garlic edamame instead of the regular edamame. 🫛
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Chun Yi Liu
Amazing food. Authentic Japanese food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
cindy wu
Nice food and a good experience overall, but expect to spend around $50+ per person.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Ngoc Tran
Decent casual spots with friendly customer service. The highlight was the fried organic chicken. I liked that it is crispy and juicy. We were looking forward to the skewers but they were underwhelming. Since they waited to served multiple skewers at once, the temperature was colder than expected which was not ideal. The flavor was there but there was also just not enough charring. One of the okras were stringy. The cartilage was cold by the time we got to it. It felt like they rushed the cooking a little bit to serve more tables. If I come back it would be for the fried chicken and not for the skewers.
I had a life changing dessert here. If you enjoy sweet potato, you must get the beniimo ice cream. The crust of the sweet potato is indescribably light and crispy, and the inside is hot and pillowy with the familiar taste of sweet potato. The vanilla ice cream compliments the hot sweet potato so well. It wasn’t oily at all even though the description says it was fried.
The skewers are also good, notably the chicken thigh and enoki mushroom wrapped in bacon. So juicy and tender and hot. Daikon salad was pretty refreshing as a palate cleanser.
We came on a Friday evening with no reservation and surprisingly got seated very quickly although there was a long waitlist. The skewers smell so good from a block away.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amanda C. Sun
Came here to have a causal dinner with my husband and toddler. We arrived around 5:30pm and was able to get seated right away without rsvp. We sat in a private space between the outside of the restaurant and wall. We tried many things but our favorite were the wagyu and beef skewers. It definitely adds up but we left super full because we over-ordered 😅 service was okay, but felt forgotten about a few times since we weren’t inside or in the tent space. But appreciated the privacy with the toddler. Most things were on the saltier end so it didn’t appeal to my tastebuds as much as other spots. Seems like a chill spot for causal meals with friends though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Wei-Ai Tai
Quaint Japanese restaurant, tucked away in a quiet corner in the northeast part of downtown San Mateo. Delicious yakitori items, as well as rice bowls, fried appetizers, and ramen. Fast and efficient service, but hard to get a seat unless you have a reservation. Very small parking lot, but there is street parking and a couple of parking lots nearby.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yingxu Mu
I'm paying for good services. There's a ton of good restaurants in San Mateo. I'm not begging to be eating here. Was a good decision last night to turn around and head to Avenida down the street.
Service: 1
Jessie W
Here's a 50-word review for Koko in San Mateo: Koko satisfied my oyakodon craving perfectly! Found them via Google Maps, and their yakiniku was also a hit. The food is consistently good, offering solid Japanese comfort. While not every dish was a standout, the overall experience made it a reliable spot.
Went for a quick bite after landing in SFO. GF wanted something with broth and veggies. So ordered their Kokko ramen which said on the menu had veggies. What showed up had no veggies. I asked and the waitress said this is how it is. But I asked her to look at the menu to confirm that it was supposed to have veggies. Her reply was, it has green onions and seaweed. Needless to say I'm not going back. Her attitude just sucked.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Excellent authentic yakitori! Service was great as well.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The yakitori was good as was the service. The warabi mochi was not the freshest, more gummy than chewy, but it wasn’t bad. Parking can be hard to find and the restaurant gets packed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
This place is busy for a reason. Which could also be seen as a con. But the yakitori is good and most of the other food is above the bar for great. We had a very friendly server but could tell some of the other servers were not as friendly. The only major con would be the price. If you’re hungry you’ll be spending a pretty penny to eat here
We looooooove Kokko! We go for every family celebration and often bring out of town guests here. It’s always a hit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Everything is great! They were very fast and all the skewers were very delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Most of the food was excellent.
The quail egg yakitori and scallop yakitori were my favorite. They were rich in flavor, and the scallops were fresh and not mushy.
I found the mushroom yakitori (shiitake and oyster) to be a bit bland and underwhelming.
The garlic edamame was addictive - so glad we paid a dollar extra to get the garlic edamame instead of the regular edamame. 🫛
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Amazing food. Authentic Japanese food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nice food and a good experience overall, but expect to spend around $50+ per person.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Decent casual spots with friendly customer service. The highlight was the fried organic chicken. I liked that it is crispy and juicy. We were looking forward to the skewers but they were underwhelming. Since they waited to served multiple skewers at once, the temperature was colder than expected which was not ideal. The flavor was there but there was also just not enough charring. One of the okras were stringy. The cartilage was cold by the time we got to it. It felt like they rushed the cooking a little bit to serve more tables. If I come back it would be for the fried chicken and not for the skewers.
Restaurantji Recommends
I had a life changing dessert here. If you enjoy sweet potato, you must get the beniimo ice cream. The crust of the sweet potato is indescribably light and crispy, and the inside is hot and pillowy with the familiar taste of sweet potato. The vanilla ice cream compliments the hot sweet potato so well. It wasn’t oily at all even though the description says it was fried.
The skewers are also good, notably the chicken thigh and enoki mushroom wrapped in bacon. So juicy and tender and hot. Daikon salad was pretty refreshing as a palate cleanser.
We came on a Friday evening with no reservation and surprisingly got seated very quickly although there was a long waitlist. The skewers smell so good from a block away.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Came here to have a causal dinner with my husband and toddler. We arrived around 5:30pm and was able to get seated right away without rsvp. We sat in a private space between the outside of the restaurant and wall. We tried many things but our favorite were the wagyu and beef skewers. It definitely adds up but we left super full because we over-ordered 😅 service was okay, but felt forgotten about a few times since we weren’t inside or in the tent space. But appreciated the privacy with the toddler. Most things were on the saltier end so it didn’t appeal to my tastebuds as much as other spots. Seems like a chill spot for causal meals with friends though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Quaint Japanese restaurant, tucked away in a quiet corner in the northeast part of downtown San Mateo. Delicious yakitori items, as well as rice bowls, fried appetizers, and ramen. Fast and efficient service, but hard to get a seat unless you have a reservation. Very small parking lot, but there is street parking and a couple of parking lots nearby.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
I'm paying for good services. There's a ton of good restaurants in San Mateo. I'm not begging to be eating here. Was a good decision last night to turn around and head to Avenida down the street.
Service: 1
Here's a 50-word review for Koko in San Mateo:
Koko satisfied my oyakodon craving perfectly! Found them via Google Maps, and their yakiniku was also a hit. The food is consistently good, offering solid Japanese comfort. While not every dish was a standout, the overall experience made it a reliable spot.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
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