Kokko

Kokko is a Korean restaurant in San Mateo, California.

Kokko makes Japanese skewers the center of a meal that can unfold a few bites at a time. Its San Mateo menu includes chicken thigh, skin, heart, and meatball skewers, along with vegetables such as okra, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes. We like that variety because it encourages mixing familiar cuts with something new and balancing meat with vegetables. The wider menu adds eggplant dengaku, agedashi tofu, sake-steamed clams, and pork belly with kimchi. Grilled rice balls and ramen offer ways to make the meal more substantial. For takeout, the restaurant lists a yakitori bento, beef tongue rice bowl, unagi don, and oxtail soup. Kokko's appeal is its Japanese small-plate approach: a collection of skewers and accompaniments that gives a shared dinner variety without needing to commit to just one entrée.