Koto Izakaya — Restaurant in Richmond

Came here for my mom's 60th birthday as we wanted to try something different. I saw the photos of the menu posted and was really intrigued by the yakitori and robata dishes (skewers and charcoal clay grill). We tried a bit of everything.

The atmosphere is really welcoming and you feel like you are transported to another place when you enter. The staff were all very friendly, attentive, and service was great. The selection of sake is excellent and contains selections at various price points.

The chef's selection sashimi was really fresh and had high quality cuts of fish including otoro and akami. Also loved that the wasabi was freshly grated. The oysters were fresh and plump, shucked to order. The marinated baby octopus, agedashi mochi, kawahagi (dried pufferfish jerky), and the beef carpaccio appetizers were very unique and very well done. The sake clams were well done as well, the sake broth brought out the sweetness of the plump clams. The yakitori and robata dishes definitely were a standout for us. Everything was made to order. The meats were all seasoned and cooked perfectly using flavours that went well together. We got a mix of everything - Angus beef, beef wrapped enoki, oyster mushrooms, okra, mentaiko chicken, ox tongue, Saba (mackerel), and hokke (atke mackerel).

The two rolls we got, waygu roll and imperial roll, were really well balanced and executed as well.

Even the desserts did not disappointed. The matcha ice cream was smooth with matcha flavour and the Hokkaido milk pudding was silky and oozing with Hokkaido milk flavour.

Would definitely come back to try the rest...

i love koto, and have been quite a few times, bringing and recommending it to friends. didn’t feel i needed to leave a review until now as we dined in last night, and were told upon sitting down that they had no rice, therefore no sushi.

we were kind of stunned at such a possibility, as you’d think any restaurant with sushi as the dominant part of its menu would prep enough for a nights service - not to mention, a sunday night where they’re likely not as busy as a friday or saturday.

a couple of us ordered the sunday sashimi special, which is excellent value at 50% the regular menu price for 15pcs of sashimi. i also was overjoyed at the soba, served traditionally and with a raw quail egg on the side - super nice addition and stands out compared to other places that never get the noodle texture right or who serve it with subpar tsuyu.

our waitress unfortunately didn’t know much about anything on the menu and gave off a very standoffish vibe while serving us - i’m suspecting she may have been new, but making us feel like we’re the problem rather than welcome wasn’t amazing. i’ve worked in service for most of my life, so i’m sympathetic to long nights and being overwhelmed by a new job. however, a little effort to make paying customers feel at ease goes a long way.

will certainly be coming back, especially to have sushi next time, but felt it was worth to share this experience so that maybe more attention can be paid to food prep and staff training...

The food here is some of the best sushi I have had in all of Metro Vancouver, and they have a wide variety of selections for everyone and anyone no matter what your favorite Japanese food is. Robata, Sushi, Udon... the selections go on! They have daily specials as well. Their tako karrage is also to die for! This place has my favorite spicy tuna roll ever, with a little bit of tempura crunch inside and the perfect amount of spice and so flavorful. Everything from fish to octopus was so fresh and the scallops were so sweet. Everything was very high quality and the portions were perfect. I took my husband here for a surprise birthday, and he was also blown away. Sushi and Japanese cuisine is our favorite food and this place exceeded almost all places we have gone to. I also want to call out the staff, because they were so so attentive, and ready whenever you needed them, but they didn't hover or make us feel like there was a rush. The space is intimate and great for one on one dinner, or to bring a larger group of friends. The service was exceptional, the food was incredible, the music was funky and enjoyable and not too loud. The décor was also so much fun, with Japanese décor from anime, it was really cool and funky. I suggest anyone thinking about going for sushi to try this place because it will become a regular spot. This time was our first time here, and we came out from Burnaby to try this place, we are now hooked and we will be returning over...