First time eating there. Read Grubhub article in paper. He was wrong in his rating, it's a 5! For anyone really serious about Korean/Japanese fine cooking KOKO is a must. It has been said that we eat with our eyes too. Dishes were finely presented and they tasted as good as they looked. Dishes are light and complex without being fussy. I believe they have set the bar for Asian cuisine in Knoxville.
Jakob Mikres
Hands down the best place to get bibimbap in Knox! Food and menu is 10/10. The service is friendly and personal, the owners are delightful, and the food is consistently top notch. Service is quick, the menu is well curated and clear, and there is something for every taste and mood. The matcha is amazing too! I plan to become a regular, and am excited to see this place grow.Update: I recently also had the joy of celebrating my birthday with Kokos! The staff were so warm and friendly and helped coordinate with my partner and friends to surprise me! The staff were also so sweet and gave me some of their incredible sesame cheesecake with ube ice cream and it was incredible! One of the best desserts I’ve ever had. I would highly recommend celebrating moments at this restaurant. We will be back!
Service is friendly and efficient. Greeted with a smile and a wave, and thanked on your way out. The food is to die for. Haven’t stopped thinking about that Koko Kimbap. Might have to go back again tomorrow! Absolutely delicious. The dessert is lovely as well. Establishment is clean and aesthetic. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Landon Wilhite
Delicious food! Can’t wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jordan G.
This was our first time going and it was SO GOOD. The staff is very friendly, food is awesome. We had ramen and the takoyaki recommended by our server and it was excellent. We will definitely be back!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cain Frittswallace
Very friendly staff and fresh ingredients!
P Johnson
Ramen!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen
Jon Rodman
First time trying Korean sushi and it was very good. Try the Koko and you will not be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Beth
I went to Koko's sips and bites for Valentine's Day to treat myself. It was a wonderful experience! From the minute I walked in and was greeted by the owner to the wonderful Philly rolls that were tempura fried perfectly. I enjoyed a yummy love potion drink that was a really tasty lychee ? sangria. I ordered a crunchy crab roll to take home for my brother. I will definitely be back even though I live an hour away
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Roll
Jodie
They must have rebranded because it’s very different now. It used to feel welcoming and had a lot of delicious options with good portions. After the rebrand the menu is severely limited, the food quality and significantly decreased, and the prices increased. It would be one thing to increase price and maintain quality but the quality was not good. The sushi roll rice was dry and the fish tasted off. The wasabi is definitely just colored horseradish. Even the chopstick were poor quality and splintered terrible. Used to love coming here, but now we will not be returning.
What a gem we found in Knoxville! Clean environment, friendly service and delicious food! Everything was packed with so much flavor and felt fresh and light! Even the fried rice, which may have been some of the best we've ever had (and we've eaten our fair share of fried rice throughout the entire country), didn't feel "heavy" or greasy. They do charge for all of their sauces (yum yum, Sriracha sauce, etc.) and that feels a little silly and unnecessary, in my opinion. We honestly don't run into that very often, (maybe for ADDITIONAL sauces), but other than that silliness, the food was amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Fried Rice
Amin Islam
New owner and this place just hit top 5 for us in knoxville. Best sushi in knoxville hands down… and we have been to them all. Prices are fantastic, fish is fresh, it’s not fine dining nor is it fast casual.Cutting fish is a centuries old technique and if you ever watched movies like Jiro dreams of sushi you can learn how fine of a skill it is and how it may take decades to master this craft. Much respect to the chef for not only sourcing fresh fish but also keeping the menu simple and delightful. Have been back twice already.My only suggestion is change the sign or the name to something sushi if that’s the primary focus because I drove by month after month thinking this was more of a hibachi grill or bar for drinks.Spread the word people. Let’s bring some traffic to this spot. Oh I also love that they don’t play around with their pricing for special days where other sushi places just give old fish during those days.
Teriyaki chicken entree exceptional. Service impeccable. People super accommodating. Highly recommended!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chris Smith
Randomly stopped into KOKO and was pleasantly surprised. I got the special for the day which were tacos and they were fantastic. We also ordered kimbap which was amazing. The service was great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dave Haye
I was given 2 completely different rolls than what I ordered over the phone. Found 3 pieces of animal hair in my Togo box and my crunchy crab roll came with no sauce whatsoever, very dry. Spend the extra money and go to a high end place.
First time eating there. Read Grubhub article in paper. He was wrong in his rating, it's a 5! For anyone really serious about Korean/Japanese fine cooking KOKO is a must. It has been said that we eat with our eyes too. Dishes were finely presented and they tasted as good as they looked. Dishes are light and complex without being fussy. I believe they have set the bar for Asian cuisine in Knoxville.
Hands down the best place to get bibimbap in Knox! Food and menu is 10/10. The service is friendly and personal, the owners are delightful, and the food is consistently top notch. Service is quick, the menu is well curated and clear, and there is something for every taste and mood. The matcha is amazing too! I plan to become a regular, and am excited to see this place grow.Update: I recently also had the joy of celebrating my birthday with Kokos! The staff were so warm and friendly and helped coordinate with my partner and friends to surprise me! The staff were also so sweet and gave me some of their incredible sesame cheesecake with ube ice cream and it was incredible! One of the best desserts I’ve ever had. I would highly recommend celebrating moments at this restaurant. We will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bulgogi Kimbap, Chicken Katsu, Roll, Beef Bulgogi, Bulgogi Bibimbap, Tonkotsu Ramen
Service is friendly and efficient. Greeted with a smile and a wave, and thanked on your way out. The food is to die for. Haven’t stopped thinking about that Koko Kimbap. Might have to go back again tomorrow! Absolutely delicious. The dessert is lovely as well. Establishment is clean and aesthetic. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious food! Can’t wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was our first time going and it was SO GOOD. The staff is very friendly, food is awesome. We had ramen and the takoyaki recommended by our server and it was excellent. We will definitely be back!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very friendly staff and fresh ingredients!
Ramen!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen
First time trying Korean sushi and it was very good. Try the Koko and you will not be disappointed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I went to Koko's sips and bites for Valentine's Day to treat myself. It was a wonderful experience! From the minute I walked in and was greeted by the owner to the wonderful Philly rolls that were tempura fried perfectly. I enjoyed a yummy love potion drink that was a really tasty lychee ? sangria. I ordered a crunchy crab roll to take home for my brother. I will definitely be back even though I live an hour away
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Roll
They must have rebranded because it’s very different now. It used to feel welcoming and had a lot of delicious options with good portions. After the rebrand the menu is severely limited, the food quality and significantly decreased, and the prices increased. It would be one thing to increase price and maintain quality but the quality was not good. The sushi roll rice was dry and the fish tasted off. The wasabi is definitely just colored horseradish. Even the chopstick were poor quality and splintered terrible. Used to love coming here, but now we will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
What a gem we found in Knoxville! Clean environment, friendly service and delicious food! Everything was packed with so much flavor and felt fresh and light! Even the fried rice, which may have been some of the best we've ever had (and we've eaten our fair share of fried rice throughout the entire country), didn't feel "heavy" or greasy. They do charge for all of their sauces (yum yum, Sriracha sauce, etc.) and that feels a little silly and unnecessary, in my opinion. We honestly don't run into that very often, (maybe for ADDITIONAL sauces), but other than that silliness, the food was amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shrimp Fried Rice
New owner and this place just hit top 5 for us in knoxville. Best sushi in knoxville hands down… and we have been to them all. Prices are fantastic, fish is fresh, it’s not fine dining nor is it fast casual.Cutting fish is a centuries old technique and if you ever watched movies like Jiro dreams of sushi you can learn how fine of a skill it is and how it may take decades to master this craft. Much respect to the chef for not only sourcing fresh fish but also keeping the menu simple and delightful. Have been back twice already.My only suggestion is change the sign or the name to something sushi if that’s the primary focus because I drove by month after month thinking this was more of a hibachi grill or bar for drinks.Spread the word people. Let’s bring some traffic to this spot. Oh I also love that they don’t play around with their pricing for special days where other sushi places just give old fish during those days.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Tuna Roll, Roll, Shrimp Fried Rice
Teriyaki chicken entree exceptional. Service impeccable. People super accommodating. Highly recommended!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Randomly stopped into KOKO and was pleasantly surprised. I got the special for the day which were tacos and they were fantastic. We also ordered kimbap which was amazing. The service was great
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was given 2 completely different rolls than what I ordered over the phone. Found 3 pieces of animal hair in my Togo box and my crunchy crab roll came with no sauce whatsoever, very dry. Spend the extra money and go to a high end place.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1