Koto House

closed up a few weeks ago

The only reason this place isn’t getting one star is because the food was somewhat tasty. Ate here a year ago and it was pretty good. This time our food (5 orders) came out one at a time over 45 minutes. No one got to eat together and when we asked how soon the food would be we were repeatedly told that they didn’t know. Will not be coming here again.

Very good sushi. Was working up in Sonora and we found this place. Very tasty and fresh. The chef came out and spoke with us. Really cared about our experience and if we liked our lunch. Definitely will go back :)

Décor. 3
Price. 4
Food. 5
Service. 4
Selection. 4
Food great. Selection good, though too many items with fake crab. Service good a tad slow. Prices good. Décor plain.
But I will return.

I have eaten here in the past and greatly enjoyed the food, but today I got chicken teriyaki and orange chicken and it was, frankly, disgusting. It tasted like the meat had spoiled. However, I told the waitress about the issue and she did everything she could to make it right. I didn’t have time to wait for another order, but she had the kitchen cook fresh chicken nonetheless and gave me to-​go California Rolls on the house.
In short– bad food, but excellent service. Hopefully the former was just a one-​time thing.

I’m writing this in sadness. Koto used to be my go to spot for sushi in Sonora. It was here or one other location which is downright AWFUL. This place however, was very good. Emphasis on WAS. I used to enjoy the atmosphere, the service and obviously the food. Today and my last few visits not so much. The restaurant has two servers and what appears to be a busboy and yet every table but one is dirty. It is not a large restaurant and 3 employees should be well able to attend to FOH. There are only 3 other tables eating beside ours currently. Service is abysmal, we waited 5 minutes at the door before being sat, and another 5 before getting menus. Waiting to order was another 5. Our food has now arrived. Or is arriving… The edamame is clearly some old, microwaved item as the top beans are piping hot and totally shriveled. The beans on the bottom are cold and soggy. Our nigiri, a tuna and a tamago, are questionable at best. I fear food poisoning. We were not given plates, chopsticks and napkins until we asked for them. When we finally received dishes they were dirty and had to send them back for clean items. We have more rolls coming but I’m not sure I want them. Bottom line: this WILL be my last visit to Koto House.
P. S. When I ordered the tamago nigiri the server, a nice young girl, didn’t even know what that was. Your servers should KNOW the menu. :-(

Love love love this place! The sushi is amazing (try the better than sex II, I have dreams about it)! The portions are large and always unbelievably delicious. The owners and waitresses are all unforgettably efficient and friendly. You are always remembered and treated like royalty. I’ve even been given free sides from the owner just because she remembered me. BEST SUSHI IN TOWN! No contest.

I wasn’t expecting much for a sushi restaurant in the foothills but, I was impressed. It was better than expected. My bento box was good and my husband enjoyed his sushi.
Food and service is slow. They need to update their cash register to be more efficient.

How have I not written a review for this place yet??? INSANITY!
I don’t even know what to say other than ‘OMG’, ‘I love this place’, ‘best fucking sushi ever’ and ‘I wanna eat here ever day’!
The end.

Simply put, the food was good but not amazing.
With that said, expecting top notch sushi in the mountains is a huge stretch, and Koto House definitely beat my expectations. The service is good, and the staff is super friendly. The husband and wife owners are really nice. I’m frequently in the area and I will definitely be going back. Prices are fair.

This was just the most adorable restaurant. The nigiri cuts were extremely generous! I had the albacore and yellowtail nigiri and better than sex II. The latter came with ‘no guarantees’ from the chefs, but it was definitely tasty and satisfying. My friend had the New York roll, spicy tuna, and some nigiri and she loved it!
I noticed several people commented on the slow service, but I disagree. Our server may have ran off mid-​order to greet customers she knew (which we thought was really cute). The sushi chef heard our order and started making it while she was away (so no complaints here). There were quite a few regulars and if I was from around here this is the kind of place I’d want to be a regular at… where everybody knows your name. All the chefs were personable and our server was such a sweet lady. There was a lot of chatter about flash mobs, high school graduation, and the origin of the better than sex creation. Good times! And probably one of the best places to catch a meal from in Sonora!

If you want sushi and a friendly atmosphere, come here! Your only other choice in Sonora is what. B.E. Wok? Been there many times and the service is not good. I’ve gone to Kotos like 4 – 5 times now and 3 times the old dude who makes the sushi has given free samples and little appetizers. The last time I went there was a woman who was very helpful and told me what to get that was more bang for my buck. Yes, sometimes it can get really busy in there or there will only by one cook so it might take too long, but it’s worth it if you have the time. The food is great and it’s the best option in Sonora. They are kind, understanding people who deserve business.

This review is for my experience with a to-​go order… Pretty darn great!
Decided to eat dinner in our hotel room. Husband got pizza, I chose Koto House bc we kept passing it on our way from hotel to… Well, everything. (It’s right on a main street, next to the SaveMart we frequented during our trip.) I called in my order; the VERY sweet woman on the phone told me 15 minutes. Sweet.
We parked in SaveMart parking lot, walked in: super sweet phone lady was JUST as sweet in person! There were quite a few people in the place, but order was ready in under the 15 min deadline.
The Avocado Roll was great! Not stingy on the avo at all, perfect. The tempura vegetable udon was great, too! Tasty broth, lots of tempura. Successful in-​hotel-​bed dinner!
VERDICT: Would totally go back, absolutely. If you’re jonesing for sushi on your Sonora vacation, and if my take-​away experience is any indication, Koto House will do you right.

Such a mix of feelings about this place. Fun greeting and fun person helping us (thinking she is owner). But it took FoREVER to get our order and when we ordered something else took so long we had to cancel the order to leave. What we had was good and what wasn’t good was my own fault for ordering some extra things to try them. Avoid Sunonomo salad at all costs. Should have had ponzu sauce but had weird vinegar and rubbery octopus. The clam sushi was super chewy. The hand rolls of fresh fish were delicious but full of cucumber. Hey, we eat sushi EVERYWHERE in our many travels and just expected better. To the female owner… love you but service comes first. I know it got busy and a large family ordered a lot but we were there first and it took forever to add one to our order and it never came. We canceled it. Wanted to love it. Really.

really bad sushi… eek! I’ve been here 3 times and I kept being hopeful. But what do you expect… Sushi in the small town Sonora. I would have to say the salmon was hit or miss. maybe it depends on when its the most fresh.
the sushi tasted old and soggy. Pretty disgusting. The wasabi was old and refrigerated so much that it was no longer a paste but a huge chunk.
just stick with the rolls and dont get nigori or sashimi here…
Only giving an extra star for the sweet old lady that works here.

Another great dinner at Koto House. I ordered a Spider Roll and was shocked because I wanted it as an appetizer. It was enough for a dinner portion and it was super yummy! I have never had a bad meal at Koto. It puts BE Wok & Sushi to shame. If you want really good Japanese food, you need to go to Koto. Been back several times since my original review but I thought I needed to post again to say this place is really good and you should try it.

I am a sushi connoisseur if I do say so myself. This place is awesome! I have been here a million times and I’ve never had a bad experience. The crazy salmon 2 roll is very good along with the spicy salmon and spicy tuna rolls.

Such good sushi! Reasonable prices and you can watch him make the sushi right at the bar! Such a fun experience

Had dinner here tonight. The food was good, but average in my opinion. The service was great and the atmosphere was nice.
We had the eelroll #1, which was interesting, but not very flavorful with the eel. The rice was a bit dry and fell apart easily.
The rice that came with our box was much better than the sushi roll rice.
The teriyaki chicken was very good, the teriyaki salmon was just O.K., not that great.

I was so excited to see that my favorite Sushi restaurant for miles was back up and running. The food was excellent, as always. I recommend sitting at the sushi bar for faster service and for great conversation with Kim, the sushi chef. He’s fabulous and witty.
Pricing is great for the quality of fish they serve. It’s some of the freshest fish I’ve ever had, due to the owner making trips to the bay area 4 – 5 times a week. Expect only the best from them.
The only thing that was lacking, was service from the wait staff. They left tables dirty until a new customer came in to be seated and were not too consistent with drink refills. They also were not to educated on taking orders or knowing the menu.
I know I will be back and do recommend this restaurant for people looking for some great sushi.