Koto Japanese Steak House Opens New Noblesville Location at Hamilton Town Center
Photographer: Amy Payne
Hamilton Town Center is getting even more delicious. Koto Japanese Steak House opened in August, bringing mouthwatering Asian flavors to the trendy shopping and dining center.
Koto Japanese Steak House Noblesville is the restaurant’s second Indy area location. The Carmel restaurant, which is off 146th street just south of Lowe’s Home Improvement, opened about three years ago. But owners Ren Yang and Harry Dong wanted to give Noblesville and Fishers a taste to keep them coming back for more. The partners chose Indiana after doing research and learning how Indianapolis got high marks for being a great place to raise a family with affordable housing, great schools and good healthcare. Both Indy locations appealed to them since they’re in high traffic areas in trendy shopping centers near popular neighborhoods.
“Indy is a perfect location for a restaurant for guests to come and be a part of a family atmosphere,” Yang says.
Ren and Harry met each other in Richmond, Kentucky, the chain’s first location. Harry brought with him 20 years in the restaurant business and Ren almost 20 years. They’d each done just about every job in a restaurant from server to busing, cooking, tending bar and managing. The two decided they could join forces and become successful restauranteurs. So, they opened the Richmond, Kentucky location, one in Johnson City, Tennessee and now the two in Indiana.
The new Koto offers the same excellent dining experience as the others. Japanese Hibachi style dining around a grill table is a main, popular feature.
“There is nothing like having high-quality food fresh from the grill at the perfect temperature,” Yang says. “It’s a completely different experience than getting your food from the kitchen. Plus, you can’t beat the entertainment that comes along with it.”
Hibachi cooking is a huge hit, especially for kids with the chef’s spatula stomping, knife-wielding tricks. But Koto offers a whole range of reasons for diners to choose the restaurant. First on tap is the extensive menu which offers a variety of choices from their sushi and sashimi bar like their Eel Avocado Roll and Spicy Salmon Roll. Choose from tempting soups and salads like Seafood Miso soup or Gyoza soup (a vegetable-based soup with pillowy dumplings) and Spicy Squid Salad or Salmon and Avocado Salad. In addition to the Hibachi favorites, teriyaki and tempura entrées are available from the kitchen. Both locations offer popular favorites and chef’s special rolls the Koto Special and Angry Dragon Roll. Ren recommends any hibachi meal, but if you’re going for a teriyaki dish, he highly recommends the Teriyaki Sizzling Plate.
Any dining experience would not be complete without a full cocktail menu. Koto offers favorites like the Bomb Pop Martini, the Koto Kolada and the Saboo Shandy.
Creating a family atmosphere in the restaurant is a priority, and both Indy locations offer that. Carmel’s restaurant offers a hibachi patio area with outdoor seating for guests to enjoy their meal while enjoying the fresh air.
The Noblesville restaurant offers a hibachi party room with seating for up to 40 guests for your special occasion. Since Noblesville is Koto’s fourth location, the partners put a lot of thought and planning into the new restaurant.
“We’ve learned a lot from the other locations. So we chose top of the line equipment, we’ve trained staff to give top-notch service, and we’ve decorated with bright, snappy designs with an ocean theme,” Yang says.
Yang and Dong hope customers will notice those features, but they can count on customers noticing a major focal point in the restaurant.
“We put in a massive fish tank all along the wall,” Yang says. “No one else has it. It’s unique and it’s filled with colorful tropical fish.”
If you’re not hungry yet, you will be soon. Koto Noblesville will be offering plenty of specials like Wednesday Sushi Special night, drink specials, and they’re hoping to have live entertainment events.
For a limited time, Koto is having a gift card promotion. Customers can buy a $100 gift card and receive a $10 bonus, a $200 gift card for a $30 bonus, a $300 gift card for a $50 bonus and a $500 gift card earns you a $100 bonus.
Look for grand opening event announcements on their webpage, kotonoblesville.com, and visit their Facebook page for the latest updates. Koto Japanese Steak House Noblesville is located at 13398 Tegler Drive.
