Koto Japanese Restaurant

I was here with a group that was very, very excited about hibachi. Coming from the west coast, where good hibachi — and good Asian food in general — is everywhere, I was unimpressed by Koto’s actual food. Sure, our chef had a pretty impressive flair for the dramatic, but the noodles themselves were basically lo mein noodles that you could buy at Costco.
The cocktails our group got were good across the board, but good drinks can’t make up for uninspiring food.

This review is only for the teppanyaki part of the restaurant.
It was the boy’s 16^th birthday and he chose this joint. I like teppanyaki style food and the show is always fun so we went with it. I gotta say this wasnt the best experience ever, but it was sure up there. The staff was great — everything from making reservations, to seating, to finishing up with a birthday song — all was great.
The boys enjoyed and all that were there finished the large portions. That must have meant the food was great. I’m not from around these parts but the pricing seemed in line with the same style joints on the left coast.
Bottom line is the service was good, the food was good and the price was what I expected. It was a fun and delicious meal and I would recommend it for anyone.

Average hibachi. Nothing like what you get in the cities. I stop at the bar for a beer it’s cheap and friendly

This is the second time going here several years apart. It has really gone downhill. The edamame had no taste… even alil salt or pepper would have been better. The service was extremely slow. The cook was so so but in a hurry for no apparent reason. I would probably not go back.

The noodles and rice had no taste. Lobster and shrimp were ok. Chicken was not good at all. Saki bombs were great! Restaurant was hot, needed the AC on!!!

Six of us dined at the restaurant on a Monday at 4:30 P.M. Service was courteous and prompt. The food was very good and plentiful. We all enjoyed our meal. The restaurant is large and very clean. Highly recommend!

This is a tough one to review. I love the food here. The hibachi is wonderful– they cook the steak very well, the hibachi fried rice is fantastic, even the onion soup they bring before the meal is great. I’ve had their sushi– just a basic roll or two– and it’s fine– fresh enough, but nothing to write home about. In general, Koto is quite overpriced, especially for this area, but they don’t really have any competition from other hibachi restaurants.
But– and here’s a big but– I almost always get very sick after eating the hibachi here. Not food poisoning sick, but an hour after eating, the «my body just can’t handle this and I want to die for a few hours» sick. I don’t know if it’s the oils (the hibachi fried rice is unbelievably delicious but very, very oily) or some seasoning they use, but man, I am very happy while I’m eating, and then very, very unhappy later. Sure, sometimes I have a sensitive stomach, but Koto brings that to a whole new level. Interestingly, the same thing has happened more than once to my husband after eating here, too. We often reminisce about «the day Koto tried to kill us both.» It’s pretty sad.
So, the food tastes amazing, so if you don’t mind spending some quality time with the public restrooms in West Lebanon, and you don’t mind a bit of pressure on your wallet, I highly recommend it. :)

Best Japanese food I have ever tasted if you haven’t been here you MUST try it, the food is delicious!!!
The staff is nice and hibachi is good also, I recommend trying the noodles and the salad also if you think the salad is good you can buy it there too!
I would give this a 5 because of the hibachi anyways I’m already about to eat so come try it too! KOTO is the best!!!

Go when it is busy and you will have a lot of fun watching the hibachi chefs prepare your food. try not to go on off hours unless you just want something from the regular menu, since it gets really quiet and the ambiance just isn’t the same. I have gone quite a few times and the food is always good. Sushi is also pretty good, but a little pricey. Service is always excellent and so are the cocktails!

I’ve probably been to this restaurant at least two dozen times over the last 5 years and I have always had a good experience.
Highly recommend all sushi rolls (especially the special rolls). Last time I went, I got the fantastic roll, jungle roll, and volcano roll and enjoyed them all very much.
Staff was very friendly and hibachi is available — so if you’re looking for something fun to do with a group of people it’s worth trying.

Dinner time on a Saturday? No problem! Our party of 3 walked right in and were quickly seated at a booth. The service and friendly and quick. The sushi that we ordered as appetizers were delicious, my husband’s teriyaki steak was food as well. My chicken teriyaki was not. It was tasteless and subpar. I was very disappointed. The chicken had no flavor, and the teriyaki had even less. Boo! We will eat there again, but just for sushi (which honestly, we’ve had much better).

I have never visited this restaurant after living in the upper valley for a long time. I visited for a birthday dinner. Everything went well from drinks, to appetizers, to the main course. The chef was accurate cooking meat and veggies, plus showy in entertainment value with flames and utensils. Good food and a well executed hibachi side dinner grill. Nice and warm on a cold winter night. Well done staff, we shall return.

Tried this restaurant and the Hibachi style for the first time. I ordered the filet mignon with fried rice. My husband ordered the same. He liked his steak… I did not.
For whatever reason, it tasted more like liver to me than a good cut of meat. I’ve had filet mignon at other restaurants so it’s my fav but this restaurant didn’t do it justice.
Fried rice and noodles were good along with the veggies on the plate. Very good oversized portions so we took some home.
The show by the chef was good, sake was sprayed in our mouths (tastes like Everclear or Diesel gasoline) but it was all fun.
Husband wants to go back. I’d rather try another steakhouse in the area first.

I’m struggling with the star rating for this one. I’d give this a 3.5. A 3 by most rating standars, but a 4 given the other options in the West Leb area. Ultimately gave it a 3 because it’s not a place I see myself coming back to too often.
Not a bad experience. They have an open grill which is pretty cool, but does make your clothing smell like oil for the rest of the night so don’t wear anything too nice!
Friends and I came and had an interesting experience. We ordered the sushi love boat, udon, some meat and rice dish, and two rolls.
The downside first: friend’s salad came with a live bug… and the waiter blew it off very casually. Not sure how I feel about that. We showed her the bug and were told that at least we knew the salad was very fresh! No apology or anything. It did get replaced though which was good, but that was certainly an interesting experience
Fish was definitely fresh. The only place that really compares with Koto is Yama, and I think both stores do an excellent job in term sof the freshness of the sashimi. The boat was actually a boat which was pretty cool and very worth it price wise. It gave an excellent sampler of various types of fish and was very filling.
tldr; not bad if you’re really craving sushi and in the west leb area

Sushi is always fresh! Chefs are awesome. i like it!

Great restaurant, wonderful food, absolutely supurb sushi, and I especially loved the fish fillet and 20 piece chicken mcnuggets… Oh no wait, that was the meal we had AFTER leaving Koto because two minutes out the door I was starving.
Yes I am being a complete asshole, I recognise this, the food was amazing… but when I walk into a restaurant and walk out, checking account STINGING because I spent 45 dollars just on myself, its hard to appreciate the food.
Its a shame, because I’ve come to expect quality from Koto being from the Burlington area; I’ve gone to the Koto in South Burlington VT, and in Plattsburg, and both have not failed so spectacularly as this place. 3.50 two piece nigiri compared to the 695 they’re charging here. The person I took here bought a three piece maguro and just stopped. I’m Japanese, and Japanese food is my comfort food… so I came, I bought, I saw the check, and I left, and I will never be back.
Yes, its my own fault for not scrutinizing the prices more carefully. But honestly, even with Japanese food, 8 — 10 dollars is not unreasonable. I wasn’t expecting to spend 45 on myself and leave hungry.

Craving sushi and stranded in Hanover, NH for the weekend, a friend and I decided to give Koto a chance. Our expectations weren’t too high. Can you really expect first class sushi when the closest water source is the Connecticut River? Naw. But, surprisingly (and happily), dining at Koto ended up being a risk well worth taking.
The Food: We ordered the vegetable tempura, the spicy tuna roll, the cucumber roll, the hamachi roll, two pieces of inari, and the soba noodles. Everything was fresh and tasted fine with the exception of the inari. For those of you who haven’t had it: it’s fried tofu wrapped around sticky rice balls. It’s supposed to be sweet enough give your taste buds a tingle. But the inari at Koto was cloying. I had to suck down half my beer to wash it out of my mouth.
The Service: Lots of complaints about the service but I thought the hostess and the waitress were friendly. A bit inexperienced and clumsy, but friendly and attentive. Maybe it’s different at the hibachi stations?
The Atmosphere: A bit dated. Think 1980’s sushi bar complete with faux-​bamboo décor. Not a great date place but good if you’re craving sushi and stranded on the VT/​NH border.

Koto has an entertaining atmosphere that is great for a group get together.
It was my first time to a hibachi place. Pretty crowded — it was a Saturday night.
Had a slight issue with the hostess — she insisted she didn’t need to take our group’s name and that she’d remember. There were a lot of people waiting and it is common sense to take names down rather than argue with the customer.
Our group of 8 fit perfectly around the grill. We sat in the party room, off to the side of the bar and away from the main dining area — the restaurant is huge.
Had the hibachi sirloin steak & scallops. Overall, decent food. Each person who orders a hibachi meal gets a soup (simple, but tasty), salad (nice light dressing), 2 shrimps (grilled perfectly), veggies (loved the mushrooms), and either fried rice (tasty, but nothing amazing) or noodles.
Had the Pacific Sunset as a drink — very fruity and tasty, can barely taste the alcohol.
The chef was entertaining — did the usual tricks. Was very accommodating when we asked for more sauce.
Dinner was pricey but for a first time experience and the fact that our group enjoyed it greatly made it all worth it.

Koto is always yummy. I love getting a crew together and enjoying their Hibachi. They are very popular on the weekends, but the place is so big there are never long waits.
It’s always an awesome group night out with friends!

Well said, Chris «A typical hibachi place».
I have been to several other similar like establishments, and this certainly does not stand out. It certainly could if you have not experienced this type of restaurant before.
Food is decent, as well as the show, but I feel it is over priced and generally mediocre.