M A P O T O F U | ig: thesimplefoodlife
Stir-fry udon
a bowl of food
Curry gyudon
a hand holding chopsticks over a bowl of food
Unadon Bowl
a bowl of food with chopsticks
tofu in a bowl
a close up of a plate of food
a glass of sake and a bottle of sake
grilled fish, seafood, food, fish, grilled seafood
food
food, ramen and noodles
food
curry, food
food
bbq chicken, fried chicken, chicken wings, bbq wings, chicken, food, poultry, chicken wings and fried chicken, fried chicken wings
ramen and noodles, ramen, noodle dish, noodle soup, noodles, food
oysters and mussels, mussels, shellfish, food, oysters
a kitchen with stainless steel counter tops
food
Britney P.
Feb 17, 2025
I went on a Monday around 6pm for dinner with a friend! There is limited parking next to the building but a very close walk from the downtown Livermore parking lot. The food here is super underrated. I got the Unagi Don, size small. The portions are HUGEEE (see pic). The food is simple, comforting, and delicious. The staff is super nice :).
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Anna L.
Feb 16, 2025
Very nice environment. Plenty of seating. Very friendly people. You order & pay before you sit. We ordered the Signature Chicken Katsu Don w/ egg & spicy edamame. Both things came out pretty fast. When our meal came out, we realized it wasn't the curry katsu rice plate we were craving. We asked if we can buy a side of curry. The lady was super nice & brought us each a bowl (bless her soul!) the curry really changed the meal & made it 10x better (maybe because that's what we were craving but it was yummy regardless). The katsu slices were thick, the thickest I've seen chicken katsu. It was meaty, not dry at all and was perfectly cooked. The spicy edamame wasn't something I was used to, it has a different type of spice/pepper taste. It's not bad, just different from what I'm used to. Overall, very yummy place! Would def come back if I was in the area :)
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Todd N.
Feb 16, 2025
I've come here a few times whenever I'm in the area for lunch. It's a small / family? business and the ladies behind the counter are so nice and friendly. The food comes out quick and is great. I especially like the katsu - huge portions and super crunchy. Next time, I really want to try their sukiyaki or curry!
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Lily D.
Nov 1, 2024
I've visited the Milpitas location a few times, so I decided to give this location a try. The ambiance here feels quite cozy and inviting. The staff was friendly and did a good job of making you feel welcomed.The mixed tempura was one of the highlights for me. It was perfectly crispy and could not detect any sogginess even after you dip it into the tempura dipping sauce. The portions were generous well adjusted for the price, which is always a plus.I also got the Wagyu Curry Don. The flavor had a great umami depth, where you can taste the richness of the Wagyu with a nice blend of spice and sweetness from the curry. I can warn you it's a hefty meal because I couldn't finish it in one sitting.Since it is getting chilly as winter is slowly creeping on us, you should come here if you want to look for something satisfying and comforting without breaking the bank.
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Grace L.
Mar 31, 2024
Ordering on Yelp is easy. The ladies at the counter were friendly & our order was ready a little bit before our pickup time.The chicken katsu is very crispy. I love how it came with rice, curry sauce, and miso soup. I forgot the name of the noodle dish we bought, but the udon noodles are cooked to my liking. The texture was perfect, and the flavor was delicious. I would recommend this place.
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Savannah B.
Feb 7, 2025
Food and service here exceeded my expectations. i look foward to returning and trying more on their menu. Owner is super sweet and serves large meals for a reasonable price. Also, the artwork/murals are cute!
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Greg S.
May 19, 2024
I had a great lunch experience here while at work last week. The Miso soup is fantastic with plenty of Tofu, green onion, and seaweed. The chicken teriyaki was very good and a sizeable portion as shown in the photos.The restaurant was very clean and I was lucky to get the last open table.What made it really good though? The service from the lady who works the register and delivers the food as each customer orders directly at the counter and pays there too.I did not know she would bring the food to the table and she was very nice and checked in with me during the meal to ensure everything was fine. I can think of some full service restaurants that should take lessons from this lady.
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Michele L.
Aug 16, 2024
We were on our way out of town and decided to stop by Kokolo Donburi for what we hoped to be a quick bite. I know Kokolo Donburi has several locations, and I've heard mixed reviews about it. Never tried it myself, but the reviews here looked pretty good.I originally wanted just appetizers for myself because I wasn't too hungry, but my partner said he was starving. So we ended up sharing the Katsu Don (comes with egg), a small size Una Don, Mixed Tempura, and Seaweed salad. Orders are to be placed at the front counter and paid first.Our food came really fast. The Seaweed Salad pretty much came out a few minutes after getting settled. I liked the seaweed salad for all its gooey-ness and slimy-ness. It's refreshing and portion size is pretty good for $6. Next was the Katsu Don. The egg was lightly scrambled, semi silky in texture, and throwing onions into the mix added a nice, mild sweetness to it. The Katsu was also not bad. Seasoned a tad too flavorful and salty for my taste, but was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It was a well made Katsu. I would say, if you like big portion sizes, Kokolo would feed you well. The amount of rice they put in these bowls are huge. Even for the Una Don, with four slices of unagi, they had rice enough to serve two. The unagi was pretty good though, a little bit too much sauce, but overall really well made too. Soft and flavorful. Lastly, the Mixed Tempura. Presentation for this was amazing. It was literally a tempura teepee. I love the variety they had in this bowl. I had shrimp, onions, a mushroom, kabocha squash, taro slices, beans, and maybe other kinds of squashes I wasn't able to identify. All lightly battered and crispy. I thought this was well worth the price. All in all, a pretty good, quick meal. Service was nice even if it was fast. The owner (I believe) came to check on us multiple times and they seem to have regulars they're on really friendly terms with. Great relations. I wouldn't say it's mindblowingly good, but would definitely recommend people to try this Kokolo location!
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Leigh H.
Feb 5, 2025
I'm vegan so I always get the Ma Po tofu.They usually throw in a pile of rice but as I'm trying to go low carb I asked for vegetables instead.They happily gave me a healthy pile of greens and some dressing. The tofu was delicious which is why I keep coming back. Try it you'll like it
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ML T.
Dec 16, 2024
I ordered to go today.I ordered Wagyu beef curry don, Mapo tofu don and new item fried shrimp siu mai. Food are super delicious Owner is very nice to the customers ! Price is reasonable!
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