Lunch @ Kokoro in Salinas

[Melanie Wong]

Mom and I had lunch at Kokoro in Salinas a few months ago. We tried the bento box lunch specials. These are available in various combos and include rice and salad. Mom had salmon teriyaki, tempura and sushi, while I went for the beef teriyaki, sashimi and sushi combo. Neither the salmon or beef teriyaki were very good, both drowned in too much sweet, sticky sauce and both were overcooked. The tempura was heavy and greasy.

The one bright spot was the sashimi. While the pieces were not sinew-free, the fish was quite fresh. Also, the rice for the pieces of sushi wasn't as bad as I expected, if somewhat overseasoned.

Bento box lunches, $8.95 -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniew...

We ran into some friends here who were finishing up their lunch and I asked how they fared. The soba, a special order and not on the menu, was overcooked and soft. The yaki soba or some other fried noodle dish was too salty and tasted mostly of soy was the report. But the one who had the udon said that it was pretty good.

So maybe the rec here is go for the sashimi, sushi, and udon.

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Kokoro
36 W Gabilan St, Salinas, CA 93901