KOTO is marching on in the Carey's Lane building that has long been in the family

KOTO goes marching on in the Carey's Lane building that has long been in the family

Hake Sambal

KOTO, a very good Asian restaurant, has clocked up over six years in Carey's Lane in the centre of Cork City. We confirmed its well-being last Friday over an excellent lunch in a building where the Hamidi family has a long tradition and is now led by Jeff, son of the owner of Gambieni's, the name when we visited many years ago before this area of narrow streets was collectively named the Huguenot Quarter. 

While sitting there last Friday, we remembered those occasions in the building,. We were regulars here for their Italian cuisine, counting Pollo ala Piccata (light tangy lemon sauce) and Pollo alla Romano (a tomato-based sauce) among our favourites.

Plenty of chicken here now also but under a different cuisine. Jeff opened Koto as an Asian restaurant in 2017 and now has a solid 6 years behind him.  Gambieni’s itself had been temporarily replaced by the popular Aroi, also Asian cuisine, but an unfortunate fire was one factor in halting Aroi’s Cork stay. Up to eight diners and 10 staff had to be evacuated from the building on a dramatic day in September 2015.

A huge range of choices here nowadays, also so much variety, and that includes catering for mainstream diners, vegetarians, vegans, allergen and gluten-free (just ask). 

You are probably familiar with the hot pepper rating that KOTO and others use as an indicator of heat in the dish, going up to as far as three. In fairness, if you order something really spicy, the staff here will advise you (just in case you haven't spotted the multiple peppers) and can have your dish adjusted to your preference.

They have curries, stir-fries, noodle dishes and more, all with choices of different meats or none and there is also a very attractive lunch deal.

Curries are popular here (KOTO pic).

Cocktails galore
KOTO pic

Last Friday looked like a very busy day for restaurants and cafes in the city centre and there were quite a few queues and Quinlan's Fish even had an early waiting list.

I had a call to make in Waterstones and so KOTO, just a few steps away, came to mind and we were glad to get a table here, just had to wait a minute for it to be set.

Brisket

   I was, at that point, looking for something big rather than small and so I picked the Eight Hour Brisket (21.40), a superb dish of 

Slow-cooked beef brisket, spicy chilli jam (this toned down on request) and oyster sauce, mixed veg, plus Jasmine Rice.  Other rice options include Healthy Brown or Egg Fried. An amazingly satisfactory dish, full of aromas, flavours and textures, moist and delicious, with the last bite as good as the first.

And there was no shortage of oohs and aahs from the other side of the table where CL was over the moon as she tucked into Sambal Hake (22.50). This beauty consisted of Roast wild hake marinated in chilli jam and turmeric, baby potatoes, vegetables, coriander, and lime. She may well order the same the next time we call and you can take it there will be a next time.

Very Highly Recommended.

Koto Lunch Fills You With That Come Back Again Feeling

Koto Lunch Fills You With

 That Come Back Again Feeling

Yaki Soba, with chicken

Was in town last Friday for lunch. Looking for something different, I remembered previous meals in Koto and that was where we ended up.Very happily, as it turned out.

I also remember previous occasions in the building, particularly when it was known as Gambieni’s. We were regulars here for their Italian cuisine, counting Pollo alla Piccata (light tangy lemon sauce) and Pollo alla Romano (a tomato based sauce) among our favourites.

Plenty of chicken there now also but under a different cuisine. Jeffrey Safar Hamidi, son of the Gambieni owner, opened Koto as an Asian restaurant in 2017 and has now a solid 5 years behind him. 

Gambieni’s itself had been replaced by the popular Aroi, also Asian cuisine, but an unfortunate fire was one factor in halting Aroi’s Cork march. Aroi continues strongly in Limerick and there is also an outlet in Kilkenny.

Anyhow, back to Carey’s Lane. They have a terrific helpful staff in Koto, on the ball, checking every now and then without being at your shoulder all meal long. Good at front of house and pretty good in that kitchen as well as was soon confirmed after a warm welcome.

Teriyaki Chicken stir fry

There is a huge choice here, so much so that they have a short list, a handy list, of Koto favourites. The main dishes are divided under various headings: Curry, Noodles, Stir Fry, Soups, Salads, and there is also a section of sides.

There are eight starters, including a couple of vegetarian. We guessed from previous experience that the mains would be sufficiently large enough for us this lunchtime.

CL picked hers from the Favourites. It was the Yaki Soba Organic buckwheat noodles, Koto spices, mixed veg, egg, sesame, pickled ginger, crispy onions; her choice of meat was Chicken (17.5); other options were Tiger Prawns (18) or  Tofu (17.5). I got plenty of "samples" from this plate and it was really excellent, enhanced by all the bits and pieces including the ginger and the mild house spices. No wonder it is on the Favourites.

My order was for a stir fry: Teriyaki Chicken stir fry, onions, scallions, peppers, carrots, sesame - jasmine rice (17.50). I could have had Tofu instead of the chicken. Amazing aromas and flavours here, thought I was in foodie heaven. Very Highly Recommended if you get the chances. And I scored on the double as non-Favourite dishes attract a weekday discount and my dish was reduced to €13.90. How about that?

Sticky Toffee

We weren’t all that keen on dessert but decided to splash the savings on a shared Sticky Toffee Pudding, one of the better ones of the type as it turned out! 

Back to the menus. They offer a Vegan Menu, a Gluten Free Menu and a Children’s Menu (some special kiddies dishes but they will also do half portions of most of their adult dishes). 

A bit too early for us to go on the alcohol but they have no shortage of drinks here including wines (almost all available by the glass), cocktails, spirits, beer and soft drinks. No Irish craft beer though but Irish tea (Barry’s) and coffee (Maher’s) are on the list.

KOTO: Up and Running and Well Worth a Call.

KOTO

Up and Running and Well Worth a Call

Teriyaki duck, complete with egg.

There is some excellent Asian Street Food on offer in KOTO in French Church Street. The building, badly damaged by fire a few years ago, is beautifully repaired and KOTO have been quietly building their business over the past six months. 

Negroni

Time to let people know now, says manager Jeffrey Safar Hamidi. And why not/ The food is good, service is efficient and friendly and the meals are well priced. And if,you can't manage to get in, you can order via Deliveroo.

I was delighted to take up an offer to check out the menu, nothing like a bit of variety. And no shortage of it here. The menu card is compact but with so many dishes. Rice, Stir-Fry, Ramen, Noodles, Curry, and House Specials are the main headings. There is also an outstanding lunch offer: a main course and a scoop of ice-cream for eleven euro.

There is a good list of starters too, salads and sides also. And don't forgot to turn it over to see the drinks including those cocktails. Indeed, I started with one of the latter, a Negroni, a mix of gin, Campari and vermouth. Superb!

By then our starters were arriving. The grilled chicken skewers with a Satay peanut sauce and the Spiced Fried Calamari with lime and ginger dressing were our picks. We shared. Both plates were polished off though the chicken got an agreed nod.

Chicken skewers

I’m a sucker for duck in Asian cuisine and no surprise that I picked the Teriyaki Duck from the House Specials: Teriyaki shredded glazed shredded duck, red onion, scallions, jasmine rice, grated carrots, lambs leaf and crowned with a fried egg. A beautiful and substantial dish, that egg and duck combination a winner for sure but every element played a part in a delicious bowl of colours, textures, flavours.

CL choose a seafood noodle dish. The Kei Mao comes with prawns, squid and mussels, Thai green peppercorn, mixed peppers, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, baby corn, green beans, mange tout, bean sprouts and rice noodles. She loved every little bit, right down to the bean spouts. Another mega and delicious feed, all for €13.50. 

Calamari

Dessert? Well, we shared the Cappuccino Mousse with burnt marshmallows. Went down well! If you want to check out the menu, you’ll find all the details here 

Kei Mao

KOTO has been up and running for six months now and Jeffrey, owner and general manager, tells me they are quite pleased with progress. To celebrate, they are are doing a series of promotions to “show and promote our Asian Street Food, our exciting cocktail list in addition to our beer and wine offering!”

The location is not new to Jeffrey (who you may well know from other his restaurant jobs around the city). His dad ran Gambieni’s, the Italian restaurant, that was in this very building for a long time. The most recent occupant here was Aroi, also an Asian restaurant, but they had the misfortune to see the business ambushed by that fire in September 2015.