Kokoro Bento — Restaurant in Brisbane City

At first hard to find, but when you know the direction to go to Kokoro Bento is a pleasant find that has both the luxury of being semi-isolated and quiet as well as having its apparent popularity. Between the busy construction on Cordelia Street near Musgrave Park and the back end of the convention centre it makes use of the unlikely location to find somewhere to eat. This food is quick, affordable and all the most important - tasty. It is a fairly small eatery that does not feel as such, with the open courtyard and tables outside. Kokoro Bento is an astutely recognised mixture of healthy, simple food that is palatable and quick for a spot of lunch. There is choices of sushi or traditional Japanese dishes (and a couple of Korean ones as well). Eating utensils and condiments are readily available for the customers to chose at their own decision before heading off; it should be noted that they do not provide plastic bags so if you are ordering a fair bit you might want to take your own. Service is really structured, using the numbering ticket for orders. It is well-done and organised and it is all that it needs to be ultimately, it is that kind of place. Keeping it simple. I got a curry chicken udon and some steamed gyozas from here, and both were pretty good. They did not taste like they came from a fast food outlet and the after-taste was actually good. The gyozas are readily available. The gyozas were small, not very slippery like they can tend to be and were generously stuffed. The pork meat was subtle in flavour making these a good start before the meal. Looking back, it was fortunate to eat these first as there is the stark flavour of the curry udon. How I did not make a mess and splatter with the udon noodles is a mystery with how slippery they were especially using those cursed wooden takeaway chopsticks to use in eating them. Still, it was all pretty damn tasty and generous. There were at least a half dozen bits of chicken katsu which were crispy and well cooked, with the chicken meat being soft and not yet falling apart. The noodles were soft and morish and it all came together as a satisfying meal. Let's hope that this place gets more clientele and recognition; it...

Not a purely Japanese place - it has more of a Korean influence. Food's not too bad except I ordered Curry Noodle to take away but found out that they gave me rice instead when I got home - I paid $10.50 for the curry noodle whereas the curry rice is $10; not happy about that but really wasn't worth the bother to go back for 50 cents. The sushi roll has limited variety and only average in taste.

Do like that they have an electronic number system that shows what order is ready for collection but the staff tend to favour shouting out the number rather than...

Tucked away with no street frontage, you could easily pass this hidden gem without knowing it. It's a local lunch break favourite thanks to its quick service and well priced, good quality selection of meals. Various Japanese noodle and rice dishes are on offer plus a selection of sushi. Great for a take away bite, but there is also seating both indoors and in the pleasantly leafy area...