Koiso Japanese Restaurant
“My wife and I visit my mom who still lives in this little hamlet of Carle Place on Long Island every few months.”
“Wrap up;
For an app the homemade gyoza is a specialty & they pride themselves on it.”
“Mitz and his wife run this tiny restaurant and each piece of sushi is made in Mitz's hands.”
Koiso Japanese Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Very impressive! Traveled here on business and was craving Japanese food. I didn't feel like staying in, so I took some to go.
The fish was surprisingly fresh. I got a couple of rolls as well as the Ten Don. Everything was nicely packed (for all you takeout folks) and it was all still surprisingly good when I got back to the hotel.
Folks there were extremely helpful and nice. They treated me as if I was staying in while I waited. Tea, salad, etc. the works.
If I'm ever in the area again, I'm going back!!! :)!!
This review is for takeout only
This place is very yummy!
I got the sushi deluxe with the tuna roll, a natto roll and 3 eel sushi.
The sushi deluxe was so good! Very fresh and with such great flavors. The natto is more salty than I am used to but that's fine with me!
I will definitely be back next time.
The sushi chef is the cutest man ever!
I was on the fence about writing a review for this place for a couple of reasons and mostly because it seems like it would not matter that much anyway because Koiso it seems has long time regulars that keep this place running.
Like other reviewers said it seems you may get better service and attention if you are a regular. We popped in later in the evening and directed to a table from the couple behind the sushi bar. We proceeded to wait a good 10 minutes before we even received a menu. It was another 10 minutes after we were ready to order before it was taken. It was another 50 minutes or so before we got our food with the place nearly empty.. see where I am going with this. Be prepared to wait – luckily we were because we weren't starving when we walked in although the wait helped with that.
During our wait we saw how the sushi chef and the two other women were catering to the regulars – making conversation, serving up omakase at the sushi bar, catching up with regulars that had not been there for a while. It's not to say our service was rude – it was just not overly friendly towards us. Also everyone seemed very busy all the time – it must be said it didn't seem like anyone was slacking just this is the pace they operate.
We ordered some sushi rolls to share and have to say this was some of the best tasting sushi we had on long island. The rolls were a little on the pricy side, but they were also made a bit larger both more fish and rice then most places make their sushi. We were pleasantly surprised at real crab in one of the special rolls we ordered – we noticed the difference immediately from the imitation crab that is prevalent at most places. The yellow tail was some of the best we ever tasted.
You can tell there is a reason this place has a long time following (seems they followed them from their old location in Port Washington, that must have been a while ago because this place looks like it has been open for a while with a lot of wear and tear.).
Besides the slow service (which was bearable) here's what made our visit so disappointing and why we probably will not return. While a waitress was cleaning a table she took a half empty glass of water that one of the patrons did not finish and spilled it onto the table to wipe it down. This is perhaps one of the grossest things ever witnessed in a restaurant (which I am glad my wife spared telling me about until AFTER dinner). Its like why bother cleaning the table if you are just going to spread someones backwash all over it?
Like I said.. this review probably doesn't even matter because it seems they have a loyal, long time following. Even with the sushi being some of the best we had in the area there are just some things I can't get past. Its not that I'm unrealistic – I can only imagine what goes on behind the scenes in most restaurants, but to do this out in the open like that – it's an image my wife cant get out of her head (which means I can't get it out of my head either. lol) . If you can get past it you will be treated to some really good sushi, albeit with slow service.
The sushi and food itself gives this place 5 stars. A 1-2 star average for everything else, thus 3 stars.
Already it's my go-to Japanese restaurant. And I've gone only once. It left an impression so deep, so pure, and so profound, that I can no longer imagine going anywhere else.
The chef and owner is Japanese. And it's not Manhattan. I believe that says it all. But I will elaborate.
I've been to many a Japanese restaurant in Queens and Long Island. And I was completely accustomed to seeing Korean or Chinese people behind the counter. Even at the highly rated ones. Even at the richly decorated ones. Especially at the buffets. So it took me 5 whole minutes to believe that this place existed.
The quaint authenticity of this little sushi shop blew my mind. The chopsticks were wrapped in thick pretty origami paper. They do have chairs but their tatami floor section did not have that extra in-ground cut-out space for legs. Many parts of the menu are handwritten and intentionally done so. It is not fancy. It is not trying to be. It is exactly the way it should be.
And then we tried the omakase, what the Japanese call a meal chosen and prepared by the chef as you anxiously wait to find out what it will be. And what it be was several pieces of assorted sushi and sashimi, including one mouth watering piece of ootoro (fatty tuna). They told us that we were very lucky because they don't usually have ootoro and it usually costs $10/piece but it will be included in the omakase price of $35. We were fortunate indeed.
All sushi and sashimi has tasted pretty much the same to me since I tried my first piece of raw tuna 19 years ago. Some did seem less fresh than others. But for the most part, I could never tell what was considered good or not.
Thanks to Koiso, I can now tell. They've ruined all other sushi and sashimi for me. Every sushi experience I thought was good in the past now seems like a waste of a meal.
I cannot describe the unique combination of freshness and umami that hit my tongue. The textures were perfect. The flavors were perfect.
It was perfect. Even the octopus.
We finished the meal with a beautiful fried green tea ice cream, the batter light and crispy, topped with whipped cream and fresh blueberries.
4.5 starts.
I went there twice. Last winter and last weekend. After I went there for the first time, I was thinking to rate them 4 starts, but I decided to give them more stars after the second visit. I tried to come here few months ago, too, but they were closed because it was Sunday. Please remember that they are closed on Sunday. They have spacious parking lot in the back of the restaurant.
This is not fancy restaurant, and kind of old, but there is warm feeling like I was at home. I felt like I was visiting someone's family in Japan. It was nostalgic feeling.
I had ramen and gyoza(dumpling) when I ate there for the first time. It was soy sauce soup ramen. It was served with my favorite ingredients, Chasu(sliced roasted pork), pickled bamboo shoot, Nori and boiled egg. It is very authentic ramen. Gyoza was just like my mother's in Japan. My boyfriend ordered ramen at his first visit and he liked it, so he ordered it again.
When I went there for the second time, I ordered Yamakake Soba ( buckwheat noodle with grated yam.) There are choice of cold or hot, so I chose hot. The noodle was in hot soy sauce soup with has a lot of Umami came from fish. I assume the broth was taken from bonito flakes. Grated yam is white and slimy, and it is supposed to be healthy food. On the soba, they sprinkled shredded nori and put a quail egg in the center. I loved this Yamakake Soba!
Today's special food was very good. We orderede two specials from the menu. The first one was Fried Egg Plant with gingers and green onions（Nasu Shigiyakiなすしぎ焼き）. The lady who served food explained to us that eggplant was grown in their backyard. Very fresh and flavorful! The second special was Seared Bonito fish (Katsuo no Tataki鰹のたたき). It was just like the one I eat my hometown in Japan.
Since my boyfriend doesn't understand Japanese, it was funny that wait staff ladies explain about menu in Japanese sometimes. But it made them look cute for me. I think my boyfriend doesn't care and he seemed enjoying eating there. Actually he is the one who suggested to go back there.
They don't accept American Express card. I leaned this because they gave us the check on the tray with Amex Logo whihc was crossed out. Haha.
Sad little place. Bland, warm sushi. Cold, slow, non-attentive service. I still feel nauseous hours after not finishing this lousy meal. Server was nice until regulars came in, then we felt quarantined. Had to beg to get check and pay our bill. You have choices folks, you can do much better in this area.
Yes, I've been on a Omakase kick as of late. So I met a Japanese person a while back and I always like to ask where Japanese people like to eat. So, she named a few places in the city and she said she really loved Koiso in LI. So I bookmarked it and finally trekked to the LI to give it a try, it's in the middle of no where…
It's run by a cute husband and wife couple from Japan. They are very nice and very hospitable. They have been doing sushi in LI for about 30 yrs. They used to have a shop in Port Washington, now they have been in their current location for about 13 yrs. So when I get there, I ask the wife who greets me, if I could sit at the bar and she replies, "Unfortunately it's not setup but you could sit at a table." =( So I sit at the table and order gyoza since it's made in house, and while I am looking at the menu, I didn't see anything for Omakase. So when the wife comes to take the rest of my order, I asked her about the Omakase and she says it's $35 and you could sit at the bar. My eyebrow went up lol She quickly apologized and says, that a lot of people aren't aware the sushi bar is for, you guessed it, sushi and people like to sit at the bar and order ramen and cooked items. I immediately told her it was perfectly fine and I proceeded to take my seat at the sushi bar. =) The wife then asks, if I was in a rush and if I wanted all the sushi pieces on one plate or if I had time and have the sushi in sets, as it's meant to be. I decided to go with the latter. The first thing about the sushi that sticks out is the freshness of the fish and the amazing texture of the rice. So the Omakse is 9 pieces for $35 and I order extra pieces because that's how I do. When I ordered my first set of extra sushi, it was fine, when I order the second set, the chef says, "You are not done?" bahahahaaha I told him, if he's going to make to make a good quality product, I will keep ordering. I also got brownie points from the wife when she noticed I was only dipping the fish, she said "Oh, you know that?" I was thinking about saying, "Hey lady, this isn't my first time around the rodeo." lol
The food:
Gyoza- the gyoza was nice, it is definitely homemade. The texture of the dough is nice and crisp, the filling was good not great for me. It was slightly under flavored for me and kinda pricey for $8.
Omakase plate 1- fluke, snapper, sea bass, striped bass and octopus nigiri. All the sushi was delicate in flavor and all paired nicely with the subtle sweetness from the rice. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Omakase plate 2: sardine and mackerel nigiri. I never heard of sardine sushi but it was quite good and I normally hate mackerel but the one here is nicely flavored. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Omakase plate 3: Medium toro and Uni nigiri. I am still not completely in love with toro, it was nice but not amazing. Uni is usually my fav but the one here was just OK. The Uni had a slightly off putting taste to it. yelp.com/user_local_phot…
Side order 1- Yellowtail and salmon nigiri. I ordered these because they are usually the best tasting fishes and I really liked both here. The Chef also told me he didn't put these in my Omkase because you could get it any where and he wanted to give me something that he appreciates. yelp.com/biz_photos/kois…
Side Order 2- Unagi Nigiri. This is another one of my standbys. I thought the fish was a tad sweet from the sauce but still had great flavor. yelp.com/biz_photos/kois…
I am overdue for a review to this place. I was here a few months ago after I saw somewhere that this is the original Koiso that used to be in Port Washington many years ago. Came here for dinner with a friend and the sushi was amazing!!! Am so glad to have such a great place for sushi in the area.