Cocoro Japanese

This was my fav Japanese place when I used to live in Chicago! not only the food is good but also the owners are very warm and cares and takes care of their customers! I cant wait to go back !

Heard recommendations that this was a great place for good, authentic Japanese food. Maybe we didn’t order the right things, but I was left a little unsatisfied with the portions and quality of food (ordering second dinner as we speak — says perhaps more about me than it does about Cocoro).
We started off with a tuna tartar, which was maybe a bad move if we’re going for authentic Japanese food. Either way, it tasted kind of like a tuna salad, with a smattering of mild-​flavored spicy mayo on the outside. Really not exciting.
The spicy miso ramen that I got hit the spot in the way that ramen always does, but also fell flat. Noodles were chewy and well-​cooked, but the broth lacked flavor (I dumped spice in) and there wasn’t much else to glob onto by way of veggies, condiments, charsiu, or egg.
Finally, we got a dynamite sushi roll which had the same salad-​like tuna on top and an equally underwhelming spicy mayo and jalapeño representation.
Can’t speak for the dishes that got more rave reviews, like the curry or katsu-​don, but if you’re looking for a killer sushi/​ramen combo, I suggest you go elsewhere.

Cocoro is our first choice for authentic and home-​cooked style japanese meal. We’ve been there dozens of times for various occasions. Our favorites are the hotpot meatball soup, house salad, don-​dishes, and japanese izakaya small dishes. I personally love the grilled chicken skin and the gyoza.
There is no need to write a long review for this place because it’s just that great.
We’ve tried so many so called «japanese» restaurant in chicago but this place is the real deal! Don’t miss out!

Food is soooo good! Very authentic, won’t too salty. Service is great! Will definitely come back next time

Very authentic Japanese food. Sort of a hidden gem located in an area with some higher-​profile Japanese restaurants. I had no problem making a Saturday 7:30 reservation the day of, and it looked like we could’ve just walked in without any reservation at all, which is a rarity for most good restaurants in River North.
The service was great, and the food was amazing. Also, not as expensive as some of the other Japanese restaurants nearby.

Best Japanese Resturant in Chicago. Plz try Takoyaki here. The chefs are all native Japanese. My cat likes the sashimi, which means it is fresh enough.

This was my second time here and I really enjoyed the food this time as well. I first came because several Japanese people recommended saying it’s quite authentic like the ones they had in Japan.
I had the eel seiro last time and loved it! This time my friend got the eel seiro and I wanted to try something new so I ordered wasabi marinated octopus and and crunchy spicy tuna roll and they were also goooood!
However, the food portion wasn’t so big so we had to order one more after we were done. We ordered one pork ramen and shared. Honestly, I didn’t really like the ramen. It wasn’t bad but I’d say I’ve tried ones that are way better.
Afterwards we asked for the dessert menu and shared green tea cheesecake, which was very delicious! However, again, it’s quite small.
Overall, good food but small portion.

This food is great and authentic. And this is one of the few sushi places in the area that is actually frequented by lots of Japanese people… over half of the clientele during my last visit was Japanese.
The only bad thing was the service. Our server was very spacey and not at all helpful with suggestions. Our food also came out in an odd order, with our miso soup following our sushi… We probably should have just kept ordering as we went along instead of letting the kitchen parse everything out for us…
Food = 5 stars
Service = 3 stars

Love this place! I literally go to this place every week.
Cocoro (east restaurant) is a true japanese restaurant operated by japaneses. Head chef is about seventy years old and he’s a true artisan. I love every single dish on their menu and even dishes that they don’t show on their menu are really good. Trust me, you will love anything they offer. Saturday evenings are full with all japanese customers and hard to get a table, so make sure to reserve a table if you plan on going there on weekends. Writing this review make me mouth-​watering. Cocoro is also a kids friendly, too. One of chefs brings out complimentary edamame for my little ones all the time. Food is awsome and staffs are very friendly.
We’ve been going this place for over fifteen years and their food and service has been top notch. I can strongly say that this place is the BEST japanese restaurant in town.

This is one of the few if not the only place in the city center that serves home cooked Japanese food. No, I do not come here for sushi (sushi is not a Japanese home dish). I come here for rice with pickled radish and seaweed, plus usually a fish dish of some sort. I enjoy coming here — atmosphere is comfortable, relaxed. You will see many Asians eating here, for a good reason. Most so-​called Japanese restaurants in U.S. are really created for American consumers and not what Japanese actually eat. Overall I would rate it 4 stars, but I bumped it up one extra star since no other similar restaurants in Chicago, and it’s one of my favorite cuisines.
If I am wrong and there are other places like this in Chicago, please let me know!

What’s so great about this place?! It’s Japanese comfort food! It’s hard to find places that serve comfort home foods around town. A classic comfort food would be the tonkatsu curry. Their Tonkatsu Curry is so nice. They have their Tonkatsu which is fried pork over curry. The curry consists of ground pork too! It’s a meaty dish, and so full filling. For the sushi, it was really nice and soft. The fish on the roll was glazed with some eel sauce; so good! My friend had the teriyaki chicken, usually teriyaki chicken is glazed; here it’s not drenched in sauce at all! Which is awesome. Overall the place itself is home like. Service here is a bit slow.

I thought the food was good, but would’ve been better as a byob place. Between two of us, we each ordered miso soup, split a gyoza appetizer, three rolls, split a vanilla ice cream with red bean paste, and each ordered a drink. The bill was slightly more expensive than I expected.
There were a lot of interesting options. Frankly, I’m kind of boring (ex: though I enjoyed the miso soup, I did remove the pork skin). While I would go back and enjoy the food, I wouldn’t be the one suggesting it.

Finally made it to this place after hearing a lot I good things about it.
It sure did not disappoint. Had the udon and the portions are huge. The taste is great and you will defiantly get your money’s worth.

This was my second time here.
I had previously come here once before and had a meal so good I dreamt about it multiple times. I am the kind of person who never remembers any dreams so for this food to force my subconscious visualization into my active memory is truly impressive.
I had the eel seiro. This dish is the perfect balance of umami flavors. The eel sauce with mushroom and egg provide a tasty cover over the bed of white rice. On top sits 3 sizable and tender strips of eel. It is served in a steamer as this is a dish best served piping hot. Sides of pickled daikon and seaweed make a nice addition.
I previously had the chirasi here on my first visit and I can easily say that it was the best I had ever had. This time however Some of the fish was not up to par and tastes faintly of soap. We sent it back and our waitress begrudgingly took it off our bill. I would defiantly give it another chance in the future. I like to think that the chirashi was a fluke this time and it will be outstanding the next time I have it.
The first time I was here I also had the grilled squid and takoyaki, it was too long ago to write about well but just know that they were both quite good and you should order them if you enjoy consuming our tentacled friends.
The service here was attentive. I don’t want to come off as unreasonable but I think our waitress should have been more conciliatory on the chirashi debacle. We made it expressly clear that it was not good and tasted like soap and had to ask 3 times for a refund.
The atmosphere of the place is what I imagine a restaurant in Japan would actually look like, not that I have ever been to Japan.
One thing to note is the ridiculous proportion of the patrons that are Japanese themselves. Both times I was 1 of maybe 3 – 5 patrons in the place that were not actually Japanese. I think this fact should really say more about the place than any army of Unilocalers every could.
Atmosphere ⁷⁄₁₀
Service 6.5÷10
Food ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Would return? I would every week if I lived in Chicago.
This place is the best Japanese food still I have ever had and it would be stupid to give it anything less than 5 stars.

Yum! I love this place! Their food is very authentic and it’s always super tasty. it is a little bit pricy, but for how good everything is, it’s definitely worth the splurge. I had looked for a legit Japanese restaurant for a while in Chicago and honestly couldn’t find much. Finding this little place has been a dream! I originally came here because it was one of the few places that serves shabu shabu. My boyfriend and I got that and, wow, it was just as good at it was at home back in California. I’ve been back a few times since then and even brought my Japanese family from California when they came to visit. They all absolutely loved it and were happy to have a nice Japanese meal.
The katsu curry is really good and the rolls are always good too. The ramen has been hit or miss in the past, but overall has been good. The shabu shabu is awesome, but pricy. I will definitely be back to try the sukiyaki.

the top things I liked about this place:
close to the loop
no wait time!!!
and anything that satisfies these two criteria probably means bad food… however, this place is a true surprise!
It is family restaurant with authentic Japanese food… the noodles have very good broth, strongly recommended.
all the appetizers are good, the uni dumpling is great
definitely stop by this place to unwind after a day of hard work, it is very relaxing and feels like amazingly home cooked food.

Food is good but what compels me to write a 2 star review is the host/​waiter they have there. I’ve been going there for years and he’s always been the only negative part of dining experience there.
Twice now I have gotten terrible service because of him. This last time I called in to place a takeout order. He immediately asks me if my order was large or small. WTF. I have no idea what he considers large or small and told him so. His reply is that he doesn’t know if they can take an order. So I tell him maybe I just shouldn’t order. His reply, yes it’s better to call when they’re not busy. What the hell. Coming from the business, just say you’re really busy and apologize that orders will take time to make. End of story. This is after a long string of consistently bad encounters at this restaurant whenever he’s around.
I try to go there at lunch when there’s less of a chance, but at this point, why bother? I like the food but there are too many other options.

Really can’t believe that we haven’t been here before. We were Unilocaling for sushi close to home and once again this place popped up. It’s located on wells, and doesn’t look like much on the outside. Pretty casual, which was exactly what we were in the mood for. Service and food were both very good. Had a miso soup, seaweed salad, tuna tataki & spicy tuna roll. Loved the tuna tataki. It was in a really good ponzu-​chile sauce. Def recommend.

Nice and quite atmosphere. Really enjoyed the cold noodle and eel rice.
Staffs here are kind and check the table frequently. They recommend the black sesame pudding, and it sounds tasty and special. However after asking the kitchen, they are all sold out. So I will definitely try that next time.

Decent, comfortable, authentic japanese place.
I heard they have a lot of japanese customers but I personally don’t see that many that lol.
The ambiance is quiet and comforting.
We got Takoyaki as starter. Not the best I can get but they are okay.
I got the eel seiro! It’s so tasty and pretty cheap ($ 15) considering that the set also includes miso soup and salads. The eel itself is tasty too! Also I can’t get it any where else in Chicago haha.
Overall the food is not on par of japanese local restaurants, but the ambiance is very japanese and very casual. Family style and good to grab casual lunch or dinner.
Would like to try their sukiyaki next time haha.