Came back here tonight. I was asked if we wanted rice after our noodles. We said yes and after waiting for 10 mins I asked if our rice was coming then was told it would be 20 minutes. I would have waited 30 mins for that free rice! It would have been nice for them to let me know. I had to ask for water refill twice. Not sure why the service has gone down. read more

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I have never been a fan of mazesoba, preferring my ramen in a hearty soup. A few friends told me they enjoyed it at Kokoro and I thought I'd give them a try. I had the Zenbu soba and it was average to me. The grilled cha siu bits were nice but not a lot of taste. The egg was probably medium size. Menma was just right in texture but didn't offer much taste. We ddi also order the cha siu ramen in soup and that was much better. I think for the price, it didn't quite create value for me. read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Last spring, we dropped by this place for a quick dinner. This was a popular Japanese chain that I wanted to try. The shop was empty so I was skeptical if it was good or not. I got the zenbu mazesoba combo with takoyaki. There were 5 pieces of takoyaki with seaweed and bonito flakes. Good stuff! The mazesoba came with thick multigrain noodles with spicy minced pork, braised chashu, seaweed, bamboo shoots, green onions, half soft boiled egg, runny egg, chives, and minced garlic. It was pretty good but not the best mazesoba I've had. I wish the pork was more flavorful. read more

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The restaurant looks small but cozy to eat a warm bowl of ramen and dessert. The staff are nice. I inquired if I could eat there because of my fish allergy, and unfortunately I wasn't able to. I wish that there was a vegan or a different option that doesn't contain any fish powder or fish flakes so that other people can try this place too.I have heard many great things about the ice cream so I tried the HOKKAIDO CRÈME CONE. it was creamy, rich, and delicious. And the cone was light but crunchy and different than the usual waffle cone. read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - HOKKAIDO CRÈME CONE - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

My friend and I like meeting for lunch - preferably sushi. And we like trying new places, too. We agreed to meet up here today, as we had an appointment nearby in Kerrisdale. The restaurant interior is small but super nice, with a monochromatic white pallet, and contemporary, mainstreamed aesthetic. And the servers were super nice, too. That said, this is not a sushi place. In fact, there's no sushi at all on the menu. It primarily serves mazesoba bowls. Neither my friend nor I were/are familiar with these dishes. Like, at all. They're somewhat akin to poké bowls, but with more of an Asian bent, with specialized Japanese noodles and other Japanese ingredients. Seeing as how I cannot tolerate spicy foods, and since we were unsure of many of the ingredients in these bowls (which all, granted, looked delicious), we opted instead for avocado and salmon salads, and we shared a fried cubed tofu "tapas" smaller dish. The salad was good but I found they were too heavy-handed with the dressing (I should have ordered the dressing on the side), but the tofu was delicious. One thing of note: they have three desserts here and they all look amazing. One couple seated near us had a cone fulled with a special soft serve ice cream, and it looked fantastic. read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - Menu cover. - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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A different take on Japanese noodles - without soup. It's a dry noodle dish that comes with a sauce made from soy sauce and pork lard. It comes with different toppings - bamboo shoots, seaweed, raw egg, minced meat or chashu and many more. Love it! Great umami deliciousness YUMMY. Ordered the Chicken Karaage and it's a must - crunchy crisp skin, juicy, marinated so well, sumptuous to the last both read more

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Kokoro is always a solid spot. I came for lunch recently with 3 other friends on a Saturday at noon, and it was mostly full. We were able to snag spots at the high top table. This is the 3rd Kokoro location I've been to and my 4th time visiting overall. This space is the smallest location so far, with mostly seating for 2-4 people. I wouldn't recommend coming in a bigger group than that. This time round, I decided to try their ramen for the first time. I went with the tomato tonkotsu ramen ($14.75) with no green onion, and subbed in the thicker soba noodles from the mazesoba for the thin ramen noodles. Our server said he didn't recommend it, since the soba noodles will taste bland, but I prefer thick noodles to thin ones and went ahead with the substitution. I really enjoyed the broth, which had a decent tonkotsu flavor with a subtle tomato taste. It was my first time seeing tomato and tonkotsu mixed together but I'm a fan! The chashu and the soft boiled egg were both delicious, and while the soba noodles did taste a bit bland, I didn't mind at all as I knew what I was getting into. We also tried the Hokkaido creme cone ($6.49) afterwards for dessert. It's not too sweet and more milky, so get it if you really like milk flavored desserts. I'm glad I tried the ramen here, but next time I think I'll stick with their mazesoba as it's more unique and flavorful. Parking is metered right in front of the restaurant, but there's free residential parking nearby if you're willing to walk an extra block or two. read more

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Great service, clean, not loud ambiance. Food is great! Depending on what you order, if you have sauce left, you can ask for a free spoon of rice to finish the sauce. read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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First time at this location, it's smaller than the others but service was quick and food is just as good as we remember. It was the first time we got the cone and the cone is sooo good! It reminds me of langue du chats which are one of my guilty pleasures. If you haven't tried the cone, I highly recommend! read more

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Review of the dessert! We got the japanese cheesecake and the hokkaido creme cone for take out. The cheesecake was smaller than expected but comes with a cute shovel as the spoon! Tastewise it was fine. The hokkaido creme cone was the main reason we came. It really looks the hokkaido milk cones in Japan, but doesn't taste like it. It kind of tasted like nothing. However, on rereading the menu, they did not say it was real hokkaido milk. The cone is delicious, like the shiroi koibito cookie. Recommend to eat it in store, or really fast. Staff was very polite! read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - hokkaido creme cone - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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I really liked this place and I wish I could have tried a few more items. They tell you it's not udon or ramen it's different. It definitely was a little different than those two. Each dish comes out with an egg yolk that you break to moisten the noodles and meat. Staff came over to check on me frequently and asked if I wanted some free rice once all my noodles were gone so the rice could soak up the rest of the food in the bowl. They were out of ice cream cones that day unfortunately but I did get a cup of ice cream instead which came with a mini shovel instead of spoon. read more

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Sal . . Salt . . . SALTY ! ! Seriously their minced pork , which is present in most of their main offerings , is sooo sodium-rich it literally burns my throat after just a spoonful . It's easily the saltiest pork I've ever tasted in any cuisine . My donburi comes with a runny yolk on top but I'm not crazy about that so they swapped it with a half soft-boiled egg instead which i do appreciate . If not for that gesture this will likely be a 2-star review . read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - U Can't Touch This :D - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Food is great and refreshing. Place is super clean. and service is fast. One of the best restaurants I've ever been to read more

Kokoro is always a must-visit whenever I come to Vancouver. Went straight here right after getting off the plane and it always satisfies. Don't really have that many options for Mazesoba in Toronto, so this is always a welcome treat. Tried the spicy Mazesoba on this visit and while it adds a bit of a kick, wouldn't necessarily consider it spicy (at least to me). Still get that great mazesoba flavour though with all the ingredients. I always get the Tokyo Milk Tea as well, which comes in a cute pouch that makes it easy to travel around with. Definitely a must-visit when in Vancouver, whether it be this location or any of the other ones around the city. read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - Tokyo Iced Milk Tea - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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This is the first time I ever tried Mazesoba before and it was excellent. Ordered the following. -Niku Mazesoba: Noodles and all the ingredients were tasty and quality. I had never heard of grated Saba being used in a dish, but it definitely worked. I added cheese for an extra charge and it gave an extra kick of flavour. -Ninja Gyoza: Deep fried gyoza. Love the texture. -Takoyaki: Fresh and hot. Pretty good. -Hokkaido Crème Ice cream- Very very creamy. Not super sweet. The place has a lot of seats for couples, but not much seating for groups. Something to keep in mind. The service is excellent which is always a plus as well. Definitely a must try. read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - Niku Mazesoba. Noodles underneath. - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I have tried Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba a couple times at their UBC location. This was my first time at their Kerrisdale spot. As usual, they did not disappoint. The minute I got out of my car, my nose led me to their sandwich sign outside their door. It didn't take me long to select the daily special with salmon. As I waited, I finally had the chance to read about them on the menu. On the previous visits with my daughter, we dug into our bowls so quickly I never had a chance to read their story. Even though the overall cost is a little pricier, compared to everything these days everything is more expensive. So I can't say that the value isn't there. It depends what you're comparing to. The brothless-ramen is prepared quickly with fresh ingredients, and I the amount is fulfilling. If you're a heartier eater, there's lots of tasty sides & appies to explore. On this visit I needed to satisfy a growling tummy after a long day of errands, and I felt like Kokoro did just that. If you're looking for something a little different in the world of Ramen definitely try out Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba. read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I hadn't tried mazesoba before and we stumbled across this place. It was SO delicious - incredibly flavorful with a great chewiness to the noodles. I had the vegan but tried my partner's mazesoba with minced meat and both had such great flavor. We were so impressed! A bonus that they also have Hokkaido Creme soft serve! Definitely worth a stop and reasonable prices for soba, ramen. We'll be back! read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - Vegan mazesoba - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

while i was compiling my list of destinations for my vancouver trip, i probably watched over 10 vancouver vlog videos and almost all of them recommended kokoro tokyo mazesoba, so i was shocked to see that it only had a few reviews on yelp. i came in at an extremely odd hour (3:00PM on a Friday), so there were only a few other tables seated, and the food came really quickly. i'd imagine that this place would have some sort of wait during normal lunch/dinner hour, though. all of the staff was really helpful and welcoming, and the restaurant itself was kept clean and comfortable. ok! food review time! s-tier: mentaiko cream mazesoba: ughhh even now i'm totally craving this mazesoba!! it was the perfect balance of savoriness, creaminess, and umami, and i could tell it was packed with ingredients. i also loved how they didn't let a single drop of that delectable sauce go to waste by offering a scoop of rice to put in the sauce after you finish the noodles. a-tier: chashu bowl: very solid chashu bowl. (definitely small, but that's to be expected given its low cost.) the meat was all flavorful and pretty tender, which i enjoyed! takoyaki: this was your run of the mill takoyaki. good crisp outside (some places make it soggy, but not them!) with a soft interior and chewy bits of octopus. green salad: lol... it's a green salad? it was solid (used fresh leaves and had a tasty dressing). overall, i really enjoyed eating at kokoro tokyo mazesoba, and it's definitely a spot i recommend visiting in vancouver bc! read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - mentaiko cream mazesoba (front), takoyaki, chashu bowl, green salad - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

This was my first dining experiencing the Mazesoba dish. Kokoro is probably one of the top places to try it. This location at Kerrisdale is very small, however, and is best suited for small companies. I did like the bright, clean, and neutral aesthetic or the restsursnt. The staff was very kind to accommodate my group for a larger table. Just note that they do not take reservations. I did enjoy the Niku Mazesoba. The serving is relatively generous with the noodles. The pork topping was flavorful and tender. The leftover sauce and toppings paired perfectly with the rice. Overall, it was a neat and pleasant dining experience, and I would recommend it tp anyone who wants to try mazesoba for the first time. Personally, the dish I ordered was quite ordinary, so i probably will try something else. read more

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Went to kokoro to catch up with a friend on a Saturday. The restaurant is not as big as the one in downtown. I was surprised to not see them more busy on the weekend. We were seated along the wall. The tables were a bit small, but it was not a big deal. The service was good and the servers were coming back frequently to fill our cups haha. Their dishes are full of interesting flavours and textures. Although I ordered their cheese mazesoba, it was not too cheesy to me. I am curious to try the chashu cubes another time. read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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This restaurant popped up as a suggested spot on yelp during my recent trip to Vancouver. I decided to give it a shot and I'm glad I did! I came here alone on a Monday evening and the ambiance was calm and cozy; only a few tables were occupied. Basically everything on the menu seemed really appetizing, but I settled on some sort of rice bowl with fried chicken. It was flavorful and the seaweed was nice and thick; I used some of it to eat my leftover rice with. The desserts looked amazing as well, but I was too full to even try. Overall, it was a pleasant experience and I'd love to come here again next time I find myself in Vancouver! read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - A rice dish with fried chicken (can't recall the name) - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

First meal in Vancouver. Ordered the mentaiko (pollock roe) cream mazesoba because I missed eating mentaiko when I was in Japan. I'm usually full really quick, so the portion size was perfect! Kokoro also offers a scoop of free rice to eat with the leftover sauce. I also had a Hokkaido crème ice cream, which was yummy and perfect for this summer weather. 5/5 for the service. The waiter and waitress were attentive and nice. I appreciated th letting me eat in peace and if I did need their assistance, they would come over and were very helpful. read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - Mentaiko cream mazesoba - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Visited this little place on a Monday afternoon. The place was full. Service was prompt and friendly. I was unfamiliar with the Japanese style noodles and ended up ordering the spicy mazesoba. Unfortunately the flavors didn't work for my "Western" palate- I found the fish flakes and the beef clashed- but obviously that's on me. It was also very spicy. I didn't care for it and in retrospect should have ordered something a little more familiar. The restaurant was clean and street parking (pay) was available. I probably would not eat here again, but again that's my problem not the restaurant's. read more

I'm writing an update because I was a bit too harsh due to a bad experience with one server. The food is actually still good. The only gripe I would say I have though is that the portions are noticeably smaller. read more

Had some pretty amazing takeout from Kokoro Mazesoba!! Their dine out menu was SO GOOD. All@this for $29 . I'm always stuffed after eating here. All the noodles are amazing and this blue lemonade was SO GOOD read more

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New location! Just as good. Just tried their ramen, even though their mazesoba is normally the best thing on the menu. Has small portions (which is OK for me), not a lot of toppings, but really yummy. Still amazing. read more

Kokoro is a great place to bring family and friends. On a weekday night, it's not busy and you can always find a seat without reservations. I ordered the Spicy Mazesoba and my friend got their Spicy Pork ramen. They were understaffed and service was slower than expected. We had to flag down our waiter to get the bill and the wall column makes it hard to get their attention. Overall, great place to come on a whim with friends or family. read more

Kokoro Tokyo Mazesoba - Spicy Mazesoba & Spicy Ramen Tonkatsu - Japanese Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Great Japanese ambience , yummy unique noodles you won't easily find elsewhere . Felt like japan !

Didn't want to serve us ice cream. Said the soft serve was out of stock when obviously the machine makes infinite soft serve. Also she said that it closes at 9pm when outside it says 9:30. read more

Pretty good!! A couple reasons for giving it 3 stars. While the food tastes good, I am not sure if it provides the same value as what its priced at. While the mazesoba is unique to other Japanese restaurants around Vancouver, it feels a little too oily. As for the ramen, im saddened to say that it did not really impress. I will say though, the Japanese cuisine in Vancouver is fairly competitive. This makes it a little easier to critique restaurants. Because of these points, I wont be craving this often, nor will I want to eat here more than maybe once a month. Regardless of all this, my meal filled me up! And if you have extra space in your tummy I would recommend saving some of the sauce/topping mixture to add to some rice at the end!! read more

Nice new ramen restaurant in Kerrisdale. Taste amazing n ill come back soon. I prefer their Mazesoba n rice donburi when hungry

We went in with a group of 7, at around 6:30pm, place was just about filled, we were sat at a booth and left with menus. First impressions were bad. The servers did not give us any water after 30 minutes; I had to request for water twice before either waitresses gave us any, we even saw 2 tables get water refills while we were waterless. None of the servers came up to us to ask if we were ready to order until about 45 minutes later. When we were served food, the exterior of the bowls were dirty. My bowl had multiple sploches of food and it had also felt crusty. It became a concern when I brought my issue up with my group, just to notice that everyone had the same issue. Some of our bowls had residue on the inside and the rims of the bowl. It seemed as if they just did a quick spray with water, then wiped it down with a rag that still had the residue of all the other bowls on it. This location is the worst one I've been to, should have just gone to UBC. Service was terrible, and cleanliness was nowhere up to par. read more

Very nice clean Resturant! Great food and excellent service! Food are amazing as well, will go back for sure!