Review No. 194: Kotaro Express Hibachi
2501 Dave Ward Drive (Nutters Chapel Plaza)
(501) 932-6109
The Situation
She Said: Because I had an evening facilitating focus groups (that’s my main job, dear reader), I wanted to have a hearty mid-day meal, as I can’t eat too close to the groups, and I don’t like to eat afterwards, as it’s quite late. Looking down my short list of new places to review, Kotaro popped up, and as I’m always in the mood for Japanese cuisine, I told He Said to get in the car so we could procure some foods!
He Said: She Said was craving sushi and knew there was a new Japanese place in town so we decided to review it. Kotaro Hibachi Express is apparently a sister restaurant to Kotaro International Drive Inn in Heber Springs (the receipt you get actually says “Kotaro International Drive Inn” on the top) so it seems this place was successful enough in Heber Springs that they decided to expand to Conway. We were surprised to find it is in the same space that the Mean Bean occupied for many years, and assumed that the Mean Bean must have been a casualty of the pandemic.
Ambience:
She Said: This is a utilitarian customer space where you could eat if you wanted at the provided tables, but you might not find it relaxing. We planned to take the food away, and we stuck to the plan when we got there, as the seating is merely functional, and the music is loud, though upbeat.
He Said: There isn’t much. We expected that there would be no tables in the place, and planned to take the meal out, but there were a few tables and we could have eaten here. But it wouldn’t have been particularly pleasant. There were a couple of TVs in two corners of the room, but otherwise there was nothing on the walls or floor. It was a bare-bones décor.
Drinks:
She Said: Again, I let the side down, team, and I forgot to check the drinks, since we weren’t getting any. I HAVE ONE JOB here at Eat It, Conway! and I failed.
He Said: There were Cokes, Diet Cokes, Dr. Peppers, and the like on the menu, but since we were taking out and had drinks at home, we didn’t order any.
Food
She Said: I had scoped out the menu from home, so I knew exactly what I wanted, and there are so many specialty rolls, that I recommend choosing when you have some time to read all the ingredients if you’re deciding from the sushi-rolls side of the menu. From the appetizers, I chose the crab rangoon, those fried cream-cheese dumplings with sweet and sour dipping sauce. These were pretty standard, with mostly cream cheese as the filling… I don’t recall any crab. But they were very good, and I ate almost all of them with my lunch. From the standard roll list, I got an Alaska roll, with salmon, avocado and cucumber. This was quite satisfying, and I ate almost all of this, as well. And, for you, dear reader, I chose one from the specialty roll list, the Greers Ferry Roll, which is a much larger roll of cream cheese, crab meat, avocado, topped with crab meat, crunchies and spicy mayo. This was good, but so rich and filling, and just a bit bland, somehow, so I ate less than half of it. (I’m rather calorie conscious, as you may know, and I have a strict policy that I don’t apply foods to my face that I don’t really enjoy.) The lunch was filling and tasty enough.
He Said: I ordered my old stand-by, the hibachi salmon. This comes, as one might expect, with hibachi vegetables and fried rice. The salmon was cooked right, and the taste was comparable to what one might find at Umami or Fuji in town. You can also get hibachi steak, chicken, shrimp or even lobster here, or combinations of those. The veggies were decent as well, and consisted mainly of broccoli, onion, squash, the usual suspects in a teriyaki sauce. The fried rice was quite good, and they supplied enough to feed a family of four. I saved half of it for later.
Service
She Said: Our service was good, and the clerk at the counter kept us up to date on how long our order was taking (the sushi takes longer than the hibachi, apparently). Even though there are tables, my impression was that you still order at the counter and go up to get it to eat out of to-go containers in house.
He Said: It wasn’t bad. The woman at the counter took our order and our name and we waited for the food. And we waited. We did notice that several people came in between to pick up orders they’d phoned in, or ordered online, which seems to be the best way to go here. Sushi is not fast food and is ready when the chef gets it ready.
What We Got and What We Paid: One Greers Ferry Roll, one Alaska Roll, one Crab Rangoon, One Hibachi Salmon, all for $37.72 before tip.
Elapsed Time from Our Arrival to Food Arrival: We arrived at 12:08 p.m. and we left with our food at 12:33 p.m. Many people call ahead, so they don’t have to wait, as we did.
Rating:
She Said: This food was good, and if I lived in the area, I might stop in to pick up a roll from time to time, but I will probably continue to get my sushi closer to home.
He Said: This place was very much as I expected. It’s a decent source for take-out Japanese food, and it’s wise to order ahead and pick it up.
Is Kotaro Express good at what it’s good for? Kotaro Express Hibachi is good enough at what’s it’s good for, though we wouldn’t say it’s Conway’s best.