Kura Revolving Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Chandler

I've gone twice now, past 2 Sundays, with my family of 3. All adults.

Con: Long wait. Both times we went around 1 pm. The first time was a 1 hr and 30 min wait. The second time was a 40 min wait that went to at least 50 min wait. So be prepared for that. I would hear other people talk about how they would put their name in and then go do shopping or run errands to help kill time. With that said, the wait is worth it.

The sign outside the door, with QR code, can be misleading or confusing. It'll say to "check-in here" when you scan the QR code, it talks about the San Francisco location. Just walk into the place to put in your name and reservation. The screen will tell you what number they are at, how many parties are waiting, and the approx wait time.

Napkins are small and thin.

Pro: You give your phone number and you will get a text to a link letting you know where you are on the waiting list. This is helpful if you decide to want to wander around or run errands. 1st time we went to Coffee Bean, I was able to click on the link to see how far along we were.

If you download their app, you can reserve a table before getting there, build reward points and gain coupons after spending a certain amount of money.

There are small separate tables or one long table. Nice for small groups or individuals.

Sitting at the long table is nice because you can reach food, order screen and plate deposit easily, but, if 1 person is paying, it's best to deposit plates into that person slot, so it adds up on their screen. If you have multi parties who want to pay for themselves, the long table is best.

At the table, people sitting at the end have to rely on others to grab an order for them, unless you have long arms. But it's only 1 slot, so 1 person can pay. I don't know if it's possible to break out into multi parties at a table.

A rolling machine delivers your drinks. Absolutely the cutest thing to watch. Screens are self-explanatory, touch what you want; drink, small bites, rolls, etc, click on item to read the ingredients, calorie count, select the amount you want to order (up to 4), and order.

There is a bottom conveyer belt of pre-made dishes that you can grab as they go around. The top belt is if you want to order something without having to wait for the conveyer belt to maybe have or maybe not have the dish you want. Keep an eye out, they will sometimes have "Limit time special" on a particular fish.

There is soy sauce, Wasabi, ginger, and napkins at the tables. They provide you with a small plate.

After 5 plates, the screen will play a quick little cartoon, after 20 plates, you get a Hello kitty merchandise ball. With that said, this place is kid-friendly, if your kids are into sushi, but it can get expensive real quick.

$3.10 for the majority of the plates, mostly come with 2 to 4 items on a plate. You can order other items not on a belt, like I did a tempura bowl (Ten Jyu) for $8.20, that came with rice and 4 pieces of tempura, chicken, shrimp, jalapeño, etc.

Now for the food. The 1st time my sis and I end up ordering 22 plates, and we didn't like 3 of them, not that they were bad, just out of everything we ate, they happen to be our least favorite, they were still good. 2nd time went with my sis and son, ordered 30 items, and again, 3 items we found we liked, just not as much as the other stuff.

My sis wasn't big on the miso soup, she feels like they used too much miso, my son got udon soup, which he liked, and the Ten Jyu was really good. Hand rolls are probably not one of our favorites, but they are still fun to eat.

Our favorites, my sister loves their seared scallops. Man, their scallops are like butter, just melt in your mouth, this is my second favorite item on their list. My favorite is something called a Spicy Crunchy Taco. The flavors in this taco are eye-rolling good, this is my sister's 2nd favorite dish. My son liked the Texan roll the most. Other mentionable dishes we liked, negitoro, crispy rice with salmon,...

Kura Sushi is one of our go-to's since it opened in Chandler. We've always counted on it for yummy sushi and great service at affordable prices. For conveyor belt sushi, at this pricepoint, this is as good as it gets in the AZ valley (speaking as former non-japanese residents of Japan). IYKYK.

The cons: Unfortunately, today we experienced a marked and alarming dip in service. First, there was trash left on our table when we got seated. Second, we had three orders that were never delivered to our table at all. The system would say our food was on the way, getting our hopes up after a long wait, but these three orders never arrived. Third, there was a thick layer of dust on parts of the conveyor-- one of the downsides of a longish wait: bored customers have time to notice things you'd rather they overlook.

The pros: Wait time for a table during a busy Saturday lunch service was relatively short: around 15 minutes.

The food that did arrive, arrived expeditiously and was still yummy as ever. The food from the conveyor belt was also still good-although we can only speak for the whittled down selection we always get.

The second server who assisted us with billing was polite and sympathetic, compared to the first server who made their irritation plain when we pointed out the missing and overdue orders.

The second server also let us know that they had three people call out that day so they were quite short-staffed--which still does not quite explain why orders never arrived at all, or why this had not been communicated to waiting customers.

Apart from the dust noted on parts of the conveyor, and the trash on our table, the restaurant is clean overall, even the toilets.

Recommended: Eel Seared eel with miso cream cheese Seared salmon with either miso cream cheese or japanese mayo Salmon Toro Bluefin Toro (Basically, you can't go wrong with their eel and salmon nigiris.)

Warabimochi (Most unique dessert on the regular menu.)

Decent: Beef Ojyu Ten Jyu Tempura Miso soup Most desserts

Hit or miss: Udon (overcooked at times) Takoyaki (overcooked at times) Seared beef nigiri (order this fresh, otherwise it gets dry) Anything shrimp (freshness issue) Taiyaki ice cream (the taiyaki is sometimes too greasy)

Pass: Snow crab (dry) Scallop (rubbery) Conch (rubbery) Squid (rubbery) Uni (iodine taste too strong, a freshness issue)

Verdict: We're not writing off Kura just yet. Everybody gets bad days after all. I just hope that today was a mere hiccup, and that Kura Sushi gets back on its game. We've tried a few other sushi places in the valley, but so far, Kura still...

We went because this is a popular sushi chain with a very cool concept where it's conveyor belt sushi with cool perks. I like that with every 15 plates submitted, you get a little prize (every month, there is a themed prize like January was Tetris, I believe, and February was Hello Kitty and Friends). The prize is minimal and comes in a gachappon (bubble capsule) but fun (like a lanyard, a glasses wipe/cloth, a temporary tattoo or stickers) and in theme with the month. You have the option to take from the conveyor belt or you can order your own sushi (there is a second belt above the normal-running belt, and it's delivered to your table specifically). I also appreciate the little robot that brings your drinks to you when you order from your personal kiosk. Where I would say it might not be worth the dollar is the food. The sushi is fine and it hits the spot, but I wouldn't say don't go in there expecting something that tastes like your mom and pop sushi restaurant - more in line with other conveyor sushi places. All the sushi with citrus or yuzu brought out good flavors in the fish, and the popcorn shrimp was good. I would not recommend anything with beef. I was expecting it to be like other sushi places where the meat melts in your mouth, but the sushi I got was tough and hard to chew; we ended up not eating the meat. The taiyaki with red bean and vanilla ice cream was delicious though! Also, if you want a table or seat, highly recommend going early or make the reservation and go shopping for the next couple of hours. They will text you updates as to where you are in line BUT make sure you stay nearby. Most likely, people get deterred by the two hour wait and find someplace else to eat and then you're spot moves up quicker than expected. Overall, I would say it's a great spot for the experience (robots, themed prizes) and for special events like a birthday (great for families) but if you want more quality sushi or full sushi rolls for a moderate price, then go support your local...