Kojo absolutely delivered. The food was outstanding, the atmosphere was electric, and the vibe was popping--even on a Tuesday night. What really stood out, though, was the service. Our son has a severe peanut allergy, so we were hesitant about bringing him on a future visit. I spoke with the GM, who took the time to walk my wife and me through their allergy protocols and explained exactly how they would handle his meal safely. His knowledge, confidence, and genuine care gave us the reassurance we needed. Great food, great energy, and a team that truly takes guest safety seriously. We'll definitely be back--and next time, we'll be bringing the whole family. read more

Loved visiting Kojo on Saturday for my bachelorette weekend! The food was delicious! I had the wagyu skirt steak with shishito peppers and roasted garlic, I added the truffle garlic sauce and it was to die for! My friends enjoyed their dishes as well. The staff was soo friendly and gave us a complimentary dessert & champagne to celebrate the occasion. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant was packed but service was fast and I loved the dim ambiance, perfect for date night or a special occasion.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

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Must order the dumplings, crispy rice, and the fried rice. Will be coming back again!! read more

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The food was amazing and the service was outstanding. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone in the area to check out!!

We went to kojo with a big group and no reservation to be sat down immediately by welcoming staff. Our waiter Allie was great and checked on us frequently to make sure everything was good. The food was tasty and the menu had many fun options. I would recommend coming here to celebrate or just a good meal. read more

Kojo - Mochi donut - Japanese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

We had quite the dinner. This was steps above what I'm used to, and was a real treat for my birthday. Google helped me understand the menu descriptions a little as I prepared before arriving at the restaurant and our delightful server was a big help to me and the others. [[HIGHLIGHT]]We sat outside in the patio area on a pleasant evening.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Once we ordered the food came out as it was ready, but even as the food was showing up the pace of the meal was fine and we were not overwhelmed. We had a shared delicious meal that we all enjoyed. We started with their Local Rock Shrimp Tempura, a fun dish of shrimp pieces and greens, my chopstick skills put to the test. I believe next up was the Karaage Fried Chicken in Bao Buns. We managed to split the two taco shaped items so we all had a taste. I've had more flavorful Karaage Fried Chicken but with the Bao Bun that made it quite interesting to me. The Tuna Pizza and Brussels Sprouts may have shown up at about the same time. The pizza was so clever with thin sliced tuna appearing like a red sauce at first glance. This was easy to eat. The sprouts in a bowl was a generous serving and were very flavorful, and included a little crunch. This well thought out dish was a great way to eat your veggies. The Kojo Sushi showed up next, along with another we ordered that I forgot now what it was. We had each gotten a dish of soy sauce beforehand. The attention to detail at Kojo was outstanding, the table was always ready before a particular dish appeared. Their Mushroom Rice Pot was our last and most substantial dish, and it came with a very nice presentation. The pot was brought as part of a black box and mixed at the table. Similar to a mushroom risotto, this shared dish was just what I needed to finish full and very happy. As a special occasion meal, this one was great. read more

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I've never had better service, the staff is super friendly and accommodating. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The place is clean and looks luxurious.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I've witnessed them take care of things in the most professional way leaving customers fully satisfied. The food was delicious, they clearly took their time and effort to not only make the presentation look good but taste good as well. We were visiting across the country and this place made our trip, will be visiting again! read more

Kojo - Restaurant Sign - Japanese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Excellent service. The food was delicious and presented artfully. A little pricy for the size of the servings.

Best BIRTHDAY dinner ever! Firstly make sure to make reservations because this place gets PACKED!!! I'm so happy I chose this place to celebrate my birthday, it was amazing. Upon entrance it was crazy busy, we did have reservations, took about maybe 10-15mins to get seated. Upon being seated our first waitress( I don't think introduced herself) was not a vibe at all. She seemed to not even want to be there, we ordered our mocktail drinks with her. Luckily she seemed to give maybe a few of her tables to another waiter. I'm so happy she did! Haha... our new waiter immediately approached us, wished me a happy birthday and was friendly and honestly pleasant. I ordered the miso soup - NOT YOUR ORDINARY SOUP it was full of flavor and I loved it !!! It had chucks of mushrooms. I the ordered the chicken bao buns, now I did make a mistake and not mention I didn't like spicy which it had some spicy sauce on it. The waiter immediately changed it for me and he even brought out a sweet sauce to put on my buns. Everything was A++++ Will definitely return next time I'm in town. read more

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What a great place. It's pretty on the inside. Staff is super nice friendly and helpful. Everything was ontime and fresh Got chicken wings. Great. Very thick batter but great taste. Yellow tail was amazing tuna was great my friend got steak. Came out just as ordered. Said was great. I will come back. read more

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How could I be so lucky to get in here again and have this amazing food? I feel like I hit the lottery for sure... Every bite is pure magic and delicious. The chef here takes such excellent care of each dish... The flavors are incredible. I'm blown away at the tuna pizza with avocado on top... Epic! If you have a special occasion or you wanna celebrate with someone you love, I highly recommend coming here. Book early because I know it fills up... I'm here at 6 PM and all the tables are already full. I'll be back! Can't wait to try other things read more

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We love Kojo's quality and interesting menu, and I love their Sake offerings! I've never gone for the steak-side-of-things, so I can't comment on that, but we really enjoy both their sushi and appetizers. I've had their noodle main that includes wagyu steak strips, and it was fantastic as well. The service is always on top of things and very pleasant, happy to make recommendations and generally pleasant. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The ambiance is really nice, it's quite chic and if you didn't get reservations, I'd suggest giving it a shot for seats at either their sushi bar or regular bar.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Honestly for 1-2 the sushi bar is arguably more pleasant than a table.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Highly recommend if you're in Sarasota! read more

The food here is incredible. There are delicious dushes that you won't find elsewhere. I had the Spicy Tuna Taco. The Taco shell was a dark shell which was crisp and yummy, The tuna was supposed to be spicy but I would only give it a 3 rating on a 10 scale for spiciness. I like spicy foods but it is not that spicy. It was a 10 on the dleicious ranking. For dessert we had the chocolate bar which had a combination of flavors that is to die for. From rich dark chocolate to a scoop of sweet vanill all witth a little puddle of lime caramel sauce. Oh my!. Service was a little slow but we didn't care. [[HIGHLIGHT]]We ate outside on the patio and the street vibe was wonderful.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]A planter separates dines from sidewlk traffic but not from those morons who still pollute the air with cigarette smoke. They need their own planet to smoke on[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]. We'll definitely be back. read more

Kojo - Chocolate Bar dessert - Japanese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Absolutely loved the food here. Came in for dinner for 4, sat outside and ordered numerous dishes. It's small plates style so we shared everything. We ordered the crispy wings, pork belly and shrimp katsu bao buns, bluefin toro nigiri (2 orders), Hokkaido scallop and uni, yellowtail with jalapeño, and bluefin tuna tataki. Very good quality fish! The only downfall was that the dishes came out very slowly. Overall, the experience was fun and delicious. read more

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This is the first place that we went to for dinner during our trip to sarasota. We absolutely fell in love that we went back before we left sarasota. My husband liked sushi for the first time which says a lot. They have several vegetarian options I had the vegetarian bao buns which had a great balance of flavor and he enjoyed the chicken karage bao buns. We really enjoyed the edamame with the chili garlic sauce on the side. The sauce had a good kick to it. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu and checked in just the right amount. The drinks were very well made and had nice presentations. We sat at a table the first night and the ambiance is a nice dim lit room, perfect for a date night. The next time we went we sat at the bar which was also very enjoyable the bartender was great! I would say we would come back to Sarasota just to go back to Kojo! read more

Kojo - Chicken karage bao buns - Japanese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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Just incredible. No more words needed. My wife and I came here early with her parents and niece. We were there right when they opened - definitely make reservations as it started to fill up fast after we got seated. [[HIGHLIGHT]]We got seated in a large booth, which was great for our party of 5.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]The restaurant was beautiful inside, they think about everything down to the small wooding duck carving holding up the chopsticks at your seat.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The servers were extra courteous with us and our young niece (who is very particular about her food). Our family are big eaters so we ordered so many items. Starting with the Crispy Rice, Gyoza, Pork Belly and Chicken Boa Buns, Tuna Tacos and Brussel Sprouts, all were amazing. We for sure went overboard with ordering on the appetizers, but it was our first time there and we wanted to try everything. My favorite was definitely the Pork Belly Boa, but everyone at the table loved it all. I ended up ordering one of the noodle dishes (tho I forget what it was called) and my in-laws ordered a huge rice dish that was pretty much a paella. We continued to love our main dishes, but at this point we were getting stuffed. Overall we loved everything about this dinner and months later her parents are still talking about this restaurant! read more

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Atmosphere - upscale. Service was good. Slight hiccup with the drinks but, taken care of and nothing that took away from the meal. The food was fantastic. We ordered the spicy tuna nori tacos, the Hokkaido scallop nori tacos, the spicy wagyu noodles and the mushroom rice pot. Not a complaint about any of it. The flavor was magnificent. Highly recommend for a date night or evening out with friends. read more

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Brought my fiancé to Kojo for a birthday dinner. We made reservations and were seated at a dinner table at 8:30p on a Saturday night. There was just the slightest wait as the previous guests finished up and the table was cleared/prepped for us. Our server for the night was Philip (not sure of correct spelling), he introduced himself and made himself aware of allergies at the table (I have an allergy to sesame seed). He took our drink orders and gave us a chance to browse the menu. My fiancé wanted snacks so she ordered the chicken wontons and chicken bao buns for herself (I tried both), and I ordered the spicy noodle wagyu for myself. To drink we both had mocktails. She had the "fau-jito and I had the seed lip mule. Both drinks were great. I don't drink anymore and this was my first encounter with seedlip. The mule was balanced well with the ginger beer and other ingredients. She had a second fau-jito if that says anything. For the food... Absolutely delicious. The wontons were full of flavor unlike many others I've had before. The bao buns were crispy (though a bit spicy which I don't mind, but just be aware of this). The spicy noodle wagyu was great as well. The meat was cooked medium/medium rare and was almost "buttery". I think it worked well with the spice of the noodles. Overall we both thoroughly enjoyed our meals. Being aware of the birthday celebration Philip brought us champagne glasses of ginger beer so that we could have a toast and also provided a desert made of coconut cream, tropical fruits, and passion fruit foam with a candle on the side. I don't know the name of the desert but it was a nice touch at the end of the meal. Not too sweet, but just sweet enough. If I could provide some feedback I would say it's probably around the lighting. The table was just a tad dark making it hard to see my meal. I'd confused mushroom for meat more than once. The place can also be a bit loud from all of the guests so it can be a little difficult to call it an "intimate" dinner. Kojo was amazing. We'll definitely be back when we're in the area again. read more

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One of the best meals we had while on vacation. Superior service. The tacos were the best I have ever had, anywhere. And the kimchi fried rice is a must try. Do not skip out on this place, it's amazing! [[HIGHLIGHT]]And they give the kiddos cute toddler chopsticks![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Kojo is a very fun and chic restaurant located in the downtown Sarasota Arts District.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]They have a really nice large restaurant with nice decor, full bar with high top tables and booths.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]It's very dimly lit as well.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]There is outdoor seating which gives a fun city vibe which is what we opted for.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Kojo has a small gluten-free menu with some awesome options including fried rice and lots of vegetables. We ended up ordering way more food then we realized because the portions were very large (in particular the sides). I really enjoyed everything I had as well as my husband who is not gluten-free. I loved the wok fried veggies and fried rice as well as the sautéed mushrooms. I had a few pieces of sashimi which also was extremely tasty. I can't wait to visit again when I am back in town and hopefully order less food so I can keep all of my leftovers or just finish everything. The wagyu steak was my main entrée and it was delicious. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I would highly recommend this location for the vibes, it's very laid back and not super busy and close to the beach and other art museums as well.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

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From the moment we walked in, the vibe was electric: modern, stylish, and very NYC-chic, but still warm and welcoming. The service was excellent; our server was super attentive without being overbearing, and made great recommendations throughout the night. The cocktails were creative. Bold flavors, unique ingredients, and pretty presentation. Definitely a highlight. But the real star of the night? The skirt steak. Hands down the best I've ever had. Cooked to perfection, tender, and bursting with flavor. I'm still thinking about it. Kojo nails that perfect balance of elevated dining and cool, laid-back atmosphere. This place is a standout. read more

Kojo - Mezcal cocktails - Japanese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Kojo offers an incredible elevated Asian fusion experience. The restaurant is dimly lit with loud vibey music playing. It's a great restaurant for a date night or a celebratory dinner with friends and family. I started my meal with an outstanding clarified milk punch cocktail. Kanpachi & Citrus Sashimi (5/5) - 5 pieces of kanpachi sashimi in a citrus-based sauce that was beautifully plated. The sashimi was fresh and a great starter for the meal. Hokkaido Scallop Crispy Nori Tacos (5/5) - The crispy nori tacos were my favorite dish. The seaweed taco shells were stuffed with fresh plump hokkaido scallops and a yuzu kosho aioli. Shanghai Noodles (3/5) - This dish was like a yakiudon with a Chinese flavor profile - oyster sauce & soy sauce. The dish was on the salty side and didn't stand out when compared to the other dishes I tried. Hawaiian Sunrise (5/5) - This dessert was refreshing with the coconut custard topped with small pieces of tropical fruits and a passion fruit foam. read more

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Negative 10! when your drink starts out badly....we have always loved the Black & gold....came out like bourbon & OJ....sent it back....came out the same. Food was disgusting.!!!! This used to be one of our favorites, the tea smoked chicken was greasy and almost under cooked. Not surprised Speaks closed ....sad. Will NEVER come back, so many great places in SR read more

Best sushi and Asian Fusion restaurant we have been to!! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Amazing service and atmosphere too.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We'll be back!! read more

I discovered Kojo on the Resy app when deciding where to use my quarterly $100 American Express Resy statement credit. I had walked past this place many times and always saw it packed and also saw their excellent yelp reviews so I was eager to try it. We ordered a variety of options as the portions are small, but we were pleasantly surprised with how filling the food was as most of it is packed with protein. The Shanghai noodles, the dumplings, and the crispy rice were all phenomenal. The Bao Buns (pork belly and fried chicken) were both the stars of our meals! We enjoyed the fried rice, but were very full at that point so it was hard to assess how much we loved it. The only item we weren't huge fans of were the Nori tacos and the coconut passionfruit dessert. However, we had such a great time and the service was excellent. I highly recommend this spot for using your American Express credit. read more

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Amazing!! Food and service was great! Highly recommend the drinks and wagyu noodles. The shrimp tempura roll was very tasty and unique. Very flavorful. Lovely area. Picturesque. read more

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We had an amazing experience at kojo last night. We did it all tapas style and shared very thing and every bit I put in my mouth was fantastic. So many things we ate but my favorites were the tuna crispy rice and the shrimp bao. Everything was pretty spicy which I love also. I was so full I couldn't even try everything we ordered which was also pretty shocking for tapas. The service was also so amazing and they comped us dessert and champagne because we had mentioned it was my friends birthday. Overall just such an amazing experience and would totally recommend anyone visiting Sarasota. read more

Kojo - Japanese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Amazing variety of food- mostly Asian. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Outdoors well coordinated- feels good.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Try the bar Nextdoor as well as the Deli. read more

I've been to a lot of places in the world, and I think Kojo is my favorite restaurant anywhere. The Uni Scallops and Wasabi Caesar are some of the most unique and interesting dishes I've ever had. And the wagyu skirt steak with truffle butter is to die for. This is the place I bring anyone from out of town. read more

FLAVOR EXPLOSION! In the best kind. The restaurant has an open kitchen and the staff could not be nicer and brilliant. Ana our server went above and beyond explaining the entire ember and answering all of our questions. When you make reservations you can specify a special occasion and they will ask if any allergies brilliant !! For starters we ordered the miso soup and the eddemame with Maldon salt and lemon. Miso soup was flavorful and full of Mushrooms and delicious broth. Not your ordinary miso soup IN THE GOOD WAY. Pork fried rice was generous with Chinese sausage and delicious. A must try is the Snappe aji amarillo and coconut. Spicy but amazing. Kojo roll was full of huge salmon chunks. Yellowtail Jalepeno sashimi amazing. Don't miss out on the Hawaain Sunrise. A light coconut dairy free custard with kiwi pineapple and passion fruit. I would have ordered two. Also had the chocolate bar with prailine ice cream. Yumm read more

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We went after having a taste of the menu when we were at Bar Hana before. Got a great table on the patio. Ordered the nori tacos and bao buns again as we loved them! Tried the scallops nori tacos and they were a perfect blend of soft and crunch. Got the spicy tuna as well as we love those. Shrimp bao buns and the Kojo roll. All were amazing. Waiter and staff were attentive and friendly. Will be back again! read more

Kojo - Hokkaido Scallop Nori Taco - Japanese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

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From the second you open the door this is a beautiful restaurant very impressive. The staff is over the top pleasing to their customers. We had the wasabi ceaser salad, it has a bite, miso cod came to the table piping hot, I was very impressed its was great. The saki selection is very big, enjoy read more

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OMG!!!!!! Kojo was everything I had heard and imagined and more! Kojo came highly recommend by our friends and yelp, and it lived up to the hype. The place itself is beautiful, bustling and a great date night or girls night spot. Service was great and food came out reasonably fast, but we didn't feel rushed. The menu was insane. I wanted to order every single thing because there were so many delicious looking items to try. The drink menu and the drinks also looked gorgeous, but we weren't drinking the night we went. Here are my fave food items in order (but they were all amazing): 1. toro crispy rice - I've had crispy rice at many places and it's always good, but it was ESPECIALLY incredible at Kojo. I would come back for this dish alone 2. Tuna tacos - I honestly didn't think these would be good and only ordered them because people kept recommending them to me, but I'm so glad I did! They were filling, light and crispy all at the same time 3. Kojo roll - 11/10 amazing incredible roll. Could have had ten of them and not gotten sick of them 4. Gyoza - big juicy gyoza and an incredible dipping sauce 5. Blue crab California roll - really fun unique twist on a California roll. Plenty of blue crab on top. Tasted so refreshing and yummy 6. Brussel sprouts - the sauce on these was to die for!!! Also a very big and filling dish read more

Kojo - Brussels and tuna tacos. Sorry for the poor quality - we couldn't wait to dig in - Japanese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

The food is good and the service is good. [[HIGHLIGHT]]If you want a calm relaxing environment, this is not the place.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Music was loud and too annoying for us to have a conversation without struggling.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Great place to hang out with friends, I didn't eat but couple of dishes I saw were fantastic with a great presentation .. the service was spectacular provided by the bartender in the picture.. it was very entertaining watching this professional creating cocktails. Good place, don't miss it. read more

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Our favorite spot in Sarasota! The service is knowledgeable and lightening fast! Food is great

Let me tell you how amazing this place! On our first night in Sarasota we had dinner. It was so damn good, we went back the second night we were there; didn't even hesitate. lol. Soooooooo many vegan options & each & every one of the them just as tasty or even tastier than the next. The first night (Sunday) Lazaro took care of us & the second night (Monday) Alejandro. Both of them provided exceptional service! On the second evening, I told Alejandro the one challenge that I experienced (which didn't affect our overall experience whatsoever). I ordered the Vegan Mushroom Roll (OUTSTANDING). The first night it did not come with a side sauce. The second night, it did come with a sauce the first time I ordered it (it's on the menu). I ordered a second roll after the first one was finished & it didn't come out with a sauce at all. When I asked two different food runners, one of them brought out soy sauce & the other had no idea. My only suggestion would be to have better communication of the food (or ask for the server/manager for assistance). My only concern with that was (maybe) the sauce was NOT vegan & no one listened to the fact that I am vegan (or asked about any allergies etcetera before bringing it out). So three mushroom rolls were ordered while only one came out correct. It was seriously incredible regardless of whether sauce was put on top of it or not. For me, it's more about consistency. Every single dish (not all photos placed here) were exceptional! The service & even the price point was fantastic! There adult beverages were oh so delicious & the options for Sake also were wonderful. I'm so grateful for a wonderful meal with friends & family & can't wait for the opportunity to come back. It's time you expand & open up one in Vegas. Thank you Team Kojo! read more

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Absolutely delicious. My favorite in this order Australian wagyu skirt steak Gyoza Brussell sprouts Kojo sushi roll Wasabi ceaser Crispy rice. read more

Kojo - Japanese Near Me - Sarasota, Florida

Wow! So impressed with everything we tried! The menu is designed to be shared among diners and everything comes out when it's ready from the kitchen at separate times. The inside is so beautiful as well as the drinks! Alex our waitress was knowledgeable on the menu and so sweet! The food was so fresh and came so fast, they even had a home made soy sauce! The attention to detail in the table setting was not missed it was so cute. I can't wait to come back here and try more!! read more

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Absolutely phenomenal. We tried so many things on this menu. We had; blue fin negiri, pork belly bao buns, chicken bao buns, truffle chicken wontons, and spicy waygu noodles. Literally everything just keep getting better. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu and gave us wonderful suggestions. My husband fell in love with their Green Bench IPA they offered and overall we had a perfect meal. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Vibes are great. Smaller, quaint tables but we enjoyed the seating.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] 100000% will be back. Already telling all our friends about this place! read more