Kokoro Craft Udon — Local services in Andover

HOW does this place have a 4.5 star rating

When you sit down there’s no waiter to take your order; even though the restaurant is empty you order through a QR code on the table. I came in a group of five, it took around 20 minutes for the first appetizer, a cucumber salad, to come out, then ANOTHER 20 minutes for the second appetizer, an order of takoyaki. The main courses were spaced out by ten minutes each: I got my food first and had finished before two of my friends had even received theirs. My friend who got the Tori Ten Kare Don received what looked like fried pre-cooked deli chicken, and the curry was the golden curry you can get in a box at market basket. His meal was over 22 dollars in total, with no drink or appetizer. As we were eating a woman who had ordered take out came in and was told to wait TWENTY MINUTES for the food she had ordered online previously. This is absurd! The restaurant is nearly empty, it’s a weekday, and these are some of the longest wait times I’ve EVER experienced at a restaurant in my life. I loved Gati, and I loved the idea of having an udon restaurant in Andover, but even though my food was good (not the greatest udon I’ve ever had, but still quite good) I doubt I’ll be coming back here again. Don’t come if you’re not looking for a two hour one course dining experience.

The pricing is also completely unreasonable: five pieces of frozen takoyaki cost 10 dollars. Appetizers here are all clearly prepackaged frozen items and the portioning is also tiny. My friend got an udon, a coke, and takoyaki and it came out to 40 something dollars. They also ask for the tip BEFORE the meal! Tips are meant to be a reward for good service, obviously in the US it’s customary to tip 20%, but frankly I waited an hour for my meal that consists of pre-made broth and boiled noodles, I would not have tipped that amount if given the option.

Kokoro, if you’re listening, I was a loyal patron of Gati for years and really would like to see this restaurant succeed. You WILL GO OUT OF BUSINESS if you continue to operate your restaurant this way.

One last thing! There was some obnoxiously loud bass-y Japanese rap playing through a speaker DIRECTLY (I’m talking within a foot) behind my head as I sat down. Come on. You’re trying to establish a peaceful atmosphere where you can find a warm break from the cold through soup and tea during the winter, you don’t want loud music in your ear. Play bossa nova or something.

Ah wait one more thing!!! I’m convinced a lot of this place’s reviews are fake. People with professional photos of the food and the interior of the restaurant raving about the food and the service? We must’ve gone to a different restaurant. Especially during a busier time of week the food must take hours to get to people, I can imagine someone leaving a three or four star review, but a 4.5 star average. Yeah right. Alright,...

Authentic taste.

Good udon is one of the dishes I really miss from Japan. I feel really lucky to have this restaurant open in my area. The spicy/regular cold beef udon are the way to go. The noodles are bouncy and the taste of the broth is complex. I used to drive an hour down to porter square whenever I was craving it, but now I can just come here.

The service is very good and just like the noodle bars in Japan. You order and pay ahead of time, enjoy the meal as soon as it comes out, and leave. This is a feature not a bug. I'd dismiss the reviews about the service being poor and music being bad, that's likely just the old money in this town talking.

Hope this restaurant does well because it's going to be a staple for me.

That yuzu...

First, and foremost, the food is very good and bursting with flavor. I will be back for the food, absolutely. The tori paitan spicy miso udon was amazing and had the perfect level of spice while being super flavorful. My wife got the gyudon rice which was even more flavorful.

I ordered takeout before the dinner rush (4:15) and had a 4:45 pickup time. When I arrived I was told another 10 minutes even though the dining area was completely empty. My only request would be to update the customer by phone or text if pickup times change. They said they have no way to do this but my phone number was right on the slip for the meal.

Though to be perfectly clear, the food...