Cocoro

Wow. First of all, this is one of the very few Japanese places in town that offer a full Japanese dinner menu, and not just Sushi -which by the way was spectacular so its worth a visit if you're only having Sushi. A big part of why the rolls tasted so good was the sublime room temperature they came at, instead of the cold cuts we used to get at other places. I had never had a Japanese curry before, and was blown away with my dish today. My wife had the Unaju which was pretty much the best I had ever tasted, with melt-in-your-mouth eel on rice. We had the Salmon skin Maki that was so good we regretted not ending our meal with it, same goes for the incredible Uni which was the creamiest we've ever had. For the dessert, my wife love dher green tea ice cream which was a very generous portion, but I feel that my green tea cheesecake was a step up in flavor so I'd recommend that instead. Service was perfect and prompt, with very friendly and considerate servers. Overall we had a blast and I don't think there's any reason to have Japanese anywhere else in the city. My only complaint could be that when I had the rest of my curry boxed, our server placed the shrimp and rice in the box and didn't pour all the delicious left over curry sauce, that's all)

Really enjoyed everything. Haven't been this excited about my food in forever. Grilled Octopus yum. Grilled Mackerel...was sooooo good. . Although servers were stretched WAY TOO THIN a busy Saturday night. Be ready to order everything because you'll only get their attention once. Not a complaint...just a fact.

Went there on a Monday night that just so happened to be president's day. I don't know if that had anything to do with my experience which was great! The place was bustling and even though, the attendants found me a table that had just clear a coue of minutes ago - right away. Impressive start to my experience. I ordered hot sake and a bento box. The sake was very good and the bento box turned out to be a deluxe version. It was very large and delicious. Service was friendly and even though the waitress didn't come around very often, it was adequate for my meal. Also, the miso soup that was served with my meal was above average. Very delicious! Overall, a very nice experience!

Excellent little spot. Good selection of real Japanese small plates, and tempura. The sushi is top notch. Large slabs of fish over the small pieces of rice with the perfect amount of wasabi in between. The Chu-toro would melt in your mouth seconds after touching it, releasing an intense flavor. The hamachi was fresh. Good sake selection We saw tables nearby having Shabu shabu which looked great, and will definitely try it sometime in the near future.

My roommates and I went to Cocoro after we visited the Christkindlmarket. It was a perfect dinner to have — the sukiyaki warmed us up immediately, and the overall food quality here was indeed good! 🫖🍲 If there were at least one or two more staff members to oversee the customers, our dining experience would have been more enjoyable. However, the owner lady was so attentive, and made sure we were enjoying our food! 😉 I would definitely return to try other things on the menu too — for me, this is a good casual date night or friends night out place to visit ✨!

Never disappointed at this place. This is like my spot to go at least one time in summer for that COLD RAMEN and Takoyaki. I wait for summer to come just for this. Other than these two items on the menu try out any dish , it will be fresh and good. I recommend the sushi and sashimi as it’s really fresh ingredients

Best Japanese food I have had outside of Japan. Can't wait to come back and try all their offerings!

The grill squid is amazing. Overall, this is not only my favorite Japanese diner in Chicago but also it’s the most authentic I can find. Remember to make a reservation before the visit.

Hidden gem in River North... I’ve walked by Cocoro many times and never even noticed it was here. Finally s friend suggested it and we checked it out, and I was pleasantly surprised by the offerings and atmosphere. We had the egg custard, katsu dinner plate, and spicy katsu ramen. All were really good! I’ll definitely be back again in the future.

I've been checking the restaurant and menu long before coming to Chicago for a vacation week and yesterday I manage to get there on foot to try the dining environment. Placed my order accordingly and the look of it and the taste made worthwhile for me, it taste soooo goooood!!! I took my sweet time eating the Japanese way🍜🍣🍥🍙. Anybody from out of town visiting Chicago for an R&R, look it up and visit the place for your self, as an Asian connoisseur l can tell what's good or what's what.

Were there for lunch recently and got pleasantly surprised with the reasonable prices and immaculate cleanness of the place. Ordered pork ramen and some sushi set. Cannot say it was the best ramen I've ever tried (okay though) but the fish was very fresh and the level of service was appropriate

Exciting! A very Japanese restaurant with American familiar options, and common, ordinary Japanese home meals that are _not_ on many Japanese restaurants. So....AUTHENTIC. 😋 Everytime I look at the menu, I always find something interesting with loads of curiosity and anticipation.

Solid and delicious option, no frills but large menu. Best for locals and those who appreciate a reliable option for Japanese food.

Finally..I found the great Japanese restaurant in Chicago. Truly authentic Japanese food.

Love this place! The lady was super nice and had great recommendation for the drinks, the portions are generous. We spent around $60 each person. I love that they’re not fusion

Some very tasty and unique sushi! I come here alone and it’s so comfortable and relaxing Service is pretty good, friendly , and patient! I love this place! Must try the takoyaki it’s the best in downtown !!!

Authentic Japanese Cuisine. No mango, cream cheese or avocado in your sushi. Real food, great experience.

The Pork Katsu Curry, although pricey at $16, was so aromatic and crispy. Each bite of the katsu was so flavorful and juicy, I finished the entire plate. Don't let the prices of this place discourage you, as their authentic Japanese offerings are not to be overlooked.

This is a must go to place to eat! Everything was so fresh and delicious. As a heads up go when you have time, everything is prepared upon ordering, it will take some time. The restaurant is a quaint little spot in river north that is great for any occasion. Highly recommend the marinated mackerel with some wasabi on it chef's kiss 👌👌👌

Visiting Chicago for work and was looking for authentic Japanese food. This place blew away my expectations. It's the best and most authentic Japanese food I've had since I moved back to the States from Japan. A must-visit and will definitely be back on my next trip through.

This place is a hidden gem and absolutely rocks. The food is amazing every single time and the service is spot on. A cozy and relaxing atmosphere accompanied by delicious food. Doesn’t get better than that.

Incredible food, personable service, authentic atmosphere. I took a date here just days before Christmas Eve and had an amazing experience. The ginkgo nuts and authentic rolls especially stand out, as did the mango shrimp roll. Definitely a place worth a return trip.

The best Japanese restaurant in the neighborhood. I love Cocoro. It's nice to eat at a restaurant that's comfortable, has no loud annoying music, and pleasant staff. It has good variety. Actually decent Nabeyaki Udon which is one of my favorites. It's really difficult to find good Udon -most restaurants only serve ramen.

Amazing delicious delicate plates! From sushi, fried oysters, beef udon soup, mini salad, steamed egg soup too. Yumm. Everything was delicious! Service was impeccable and timely. Metered street parking was easy on a Saturday dinner hour. Must try!

This may be the most authentic Japanese restaurant that offers a unique menu other than the typical sushi or ramen in Chicago. Plus it's actually managed by Japanese staff which is rare to see in the city. Favorites were chawanmushi, agedashi tofu and nagasaki champon noodles. The katsu curry is delicious too but the meat can vary in tenderness. Black sesame pudding is a great cherry on the top. Still thinking about it everyday so will definitely go back for more. I wouldn't come here looking for the best sushi or ramen in town. Try the atypical menu items!

First time trying and pleasantly surprised. The food might look uninteresting but the tastes are great. The ramen is good with delicious charshu (the sliced pork) and yummy bamboo shoots. The avocado tuna roll is really good 😋😋 Overall is great, just a tad pricey.

For traditional authentic Japanese restaurants in the area, this place is not bad. We have been patrons to this restaurant on and off for over 10 years, we don’t go very often but this is really the only place in town that serves authentic Japanese with a full menu, and not one of those fusion sushi wannabe ramen places around town. The reason we don’t go very often is because the service is very unpredictable, I would say 50/50 you will get prompt service and the other half, you could wait 15 to 20 minutes just standing there with a reservation and the restaurant only at 80% occupancy. You could also wait at least 30-40 minutes for your appetizer and another 30 for on trays. In other words, easily a two hour meal where 80% of that is just waiting. There are 2 servers, 1 sushi chef, 1 busboy, and this guy who answers the phone sometimes and spends a long time chatting with patrons but does nothing else. This is on a weekend. So what we figured out after all of these years, is don’t go during the weekend if you don’t have the time to waste, if the restaurant is busy, look at the number of order tickets at the sushi bar and how many tables have been served, you need to order the right combination of dishes in order to get them faster. Sushi is fast, but not when there are 10-15 tickets ahead of you. The price is downtown price, more than the burbs for sure. The quality of the food is Ok, compare to the same type of restaurant in Japan, they will get about 3 stars only but for the US, 4 star is good. Most of the dishes to me are a little under flavored, especially the nagasaki champon and Curry, the Sukiyaki is one pot style, so you cannot really choose what to eat when and how well to cook each item. But at least it is better than the pre-cooked style over rice. I still prefer the traditional way better, not many places in the US has that now. I would recommend this place if you are downtown since this is it anyway and you have not spent any extensive amount of time in Japan, because if you have, it would make you miss visiting Japanese even more.

Enjoyed the shabu shabu set which included salad, shabu shabu, rice, and ice cream. I also really liked their sesame dipping sauce. There was a lot of food for two, I wish the soup had more flavor and more variety to the ingredients. It was also on the pricer side. Service was great, a very nice and homey restaurant. Would definitely come back to try other items on the menu.

The establishment and service seems homemade but charming, in an anti-corporate sort of way. In a great location in River North, I would highly suggest to them an investment in a professional branding/marketing designer, because I had not heard of it, and the only reason I found it was because I really wanted Udon. Their beef Udon soup was the epitome of savory, umami goodness. Somehow it heated up even better in the microwave the next day. I ordered mine extra spicy and they gave me cayenne and chili oil on the side. Delicious! If you’re not a fan of mushrooms, I would ask for them taken out; if you are a fan of a variety of Japanese mushrooms, you’re in luck! Fried chicken appetizer was d e l i c i o u s, crispy and savory dark meat in a unique breading, I REALLY wish it came with sweet & sour sauce. Gyozas were delicate and also savory. Did not care for the tough texture of the octopus balls. Service was okay, it was hard to get their attention when we wanted to leave. Bathroom was unfortunate :(

Both of my visit to Cocoro were great. The first time I had the lunch special. The portion of the was great for a solid meal. This time I got tonkatsu, it was delicious. Cocoro offers many options on the menu. I love the fact the most waitresses and chef were all Japanese.

Cute small places, way overrated! The food was below expectation! The 10 piece cocoro roll was just ok but the eel with rice was a bit better. Don’t recommend either one anyway! The service was poor. Had to wait a lot to receive attention - they do seem understaffed! Once the place got busy the quality of service decreased dramatically.

Food was served quickly once they took our orders and the Tonkotsu Ramen was really good. It doesn't come with an egg, I believe you need to order on the side. The broth was delicious although I was not a fan of the ginger bits in the soup. The sesame was a nice touch. The Pork was falling apart-- so delicious! The noodle was firm and good for Ramen standards. I think their portion is bigger (at least noodle and broth) than other ramen places in town in my opinion. The service was friendly and attentive.

Nice little restaurant. Takoyaki was good. Eel serie was also good and with a reasonable size. There was just one chef there so we waited a really long time. But the food was nice.

We had the Eel Seiro and a Rainbow Roll. The Rainbow Roll was pretty good. The Eel Seiro was okay, but I didn’t understand why they serve rice in a box like this (see photo). Half of the rice fell onto the plate, which made it very inconvenient to eat!

The food is pretty good, you can tell it’s authentic. But I really think the hotpot is overpriced. Great service tho!

Tonkatsu was very nice and crispy. The eel in the eel rice bowl was a bit cold and the bboo they used for plating had many holes in them which made the rice fall down through the hole. While not a lot of rice still doesn’t feel great to waste, easy fix that I recommend they take. Miso soup and salads were good. Seems pretty authentic compared to a lot of other japanese restaurants and there were a lot of asian customers there. They’ve been around for a long time but the store feels pretty cozy and home style. The price point was pretty high but overall experience was not bad. Food was served in 5-10 minutes. I would revisit but not very frequently because of the price point.

Good friendly service BUT food wasn’t worth the price at all. It taste like a step up from the sushi you get at a Chinese buffet… udon was bland. the spicy scallop did taste fresh though. Green tea cheesecake was good. I regret not going to another sushi place 😑

I have had many experiences with izakaya style restaurants, the bedrock of which is inexpensive servings with high quality ingredients and exceptional flavor profile. To start was the bento box with teriyaki beef, tempura vegetables and California roll and assorted sides (eg broccoli stalks, egg, tofu, etc). However, the beef was dry and flavorless. The tempura was sparse and most of the sides was not very appetizing. The miso ramen, though the pork was fatty and flavorful, the broth was too salty and usually the half egg should be soft boiled, this was hard boiled. Lastly, the spider roll with softshell crab was sparse compared to othe simar rolls. The crab tended to crumble rather than be crunchy and chewy from a perfectly tempura softshell crab. The price point was also much higher to other izakayas with better offerings. This is a 2.8 of 5.0 but ill round up to 3.0

I’ve been here once with friends. I ordered a Japanese curry with katsu. It came with miso soup. Portion size was great and has generous amount of food. Quality was good. However, the price doesn’t sit well with me. It’s currently $26. After examining the other items on the menu, I’m not a fan of the price gouging. I suppose if you only lived in the city, with no car, and was virtually clueless, this would be okay with you. If you head out to the burbs like the Arlington Heights or Elk Grove area, you can find this exact dish for under $20. Tensuke Market has it for $11. The quality is exceptional. This is about a 3 for me since I know you can get great, authentic Japanese for less.

Kinda pricey kinda underwhelming wouldn’t come back or recommend - Also, authentic doesn’t mean they have every single type of Japanese cuisine available, it just means you don’t do any of them well and all are mediocre wish the family the best however