UZU Revolving Sushi — Restaurant in Rockville

This is a review when I went with my wife and two kids during soft opening on Saturday 11/16/2024.

First off, the good: Great interior and exterior design with nice art pieces and a fancy-ss wall. Very instagrammable/tiktokable. (Random piece of mini golden samurai armor in the corner felt like an expensive afterthought though) *Atmosphere is very high end compared to Kura Sushi which has a very Akihabara/casual/gundam-y vibe by comparison. *Robot servers that deliver drinks and food at to the cool factor *The bullet train concept was cute *Free mouthwash in the bathroom was thoughtful. *The karaage was the best I've ever had in the area *Self-service reservation system was fair and easy

The bad: *You have to trust the server to account for your plate counts accurately (they don't have an auto plate counter unlike Kura). I had half a mind to make sure I kept my own count. *We had a dish delivered to us that we didn't order (I'm chalking it up to soft opening mistakes) *The server gave us the bill after we requested it and forgot to add the plates that were still on the table. (Soft opening mistakes too I guess) *The thoughtful mouth wash dispenser didn't have cups 😅 *The servers weren't as attentive as I'd like em. I'd have to reorder for more soda from the tablet instead of them asking if I wanted a refill. They were mostly just looking from the big wall instead of going closer to the table. *I had to ask for refills of ginger and soy sauce for the table instead of them refilling it prior to us getting seated. *Price to amount food isn't that great *The bullet train could be a tad faster. They're as slow as model trains and didn't provide a wow factor as much as it should. Underwhelming. It's not like they delivered anything that would spill. *There were slices of the sushi that were thin enough (not a good look) that would probably fall down if the bullet train would be faster

My wife and I were so excited to come here because of the cute sumo wrestler art pieces outside of the restaurant. The restaurant was underwhelming. I was honestly disappointed. I echo the other low-star comment that I saw here. My wife and I left the restaurant still feeling hungry even though we almost spent $100 😬 that's after accounting for my kids' portion because they're picky and don't eat sushi. It felt like they really wanted to recoup they're interior decorating investment as fast as possible with the prices and meager amount of food. READ: it feels that you pay more to say you ate at a nice looking spot. Too many comparable AYCEs/Sushi/fancy restaurants in the area for them to be charging...

TLDR: Please wait at least 2-3 weeks before you visit. I think this place has potential, but they're still very much working out the kinks.

Two managers eventually spoke to me about 1 hour after I sat down and were both very kind. I gave back some stars because there's a clear desire to improve. They listened to all my feedback and I will definitely come back some day to give this place a second shot (and edit the rating to a hopeful 5!) because the staff deserve it. That said, I told them I'd still keep this review mostly as I wrote it while I waited, for your reference:

I came at 4:20pm thinking to avoid the rush of people. I waited 30 minutes and had no food. It was to the point where two separate staff noticed I had nothing in front of me and asked if anyone had explained the system to me. I was told that it was because it was busy, but the entire row of seats across from me was empty at the time and when we both looked at that space the waitress had to admit that it actually wasn't that busy. I will say, as the night went on, I would say that the busy excuse became totally justified. (I was later informed that they were understaffed and running behind on orders in the kitchen, but I would've loved to have heard this 15 minutes into the wait rather than 30.)

There were maybe one or two dishes rotating on the conveyer belt this entire time which meant that I couldn't even pick up items off the belt-- the only option I had while waiting for my order was a cucumber salad. The party next to me was also waiting 30 minutes for one item, and they eventually just cancelled it and left.

By this time I was ready to just leave without eating at all, but was interrupted by the sashimi coming out. I figured I'd eat since it was here, but I was rather disappointed at what came out. As you can see from the photos, the sashimi was fine, but the roll was a little underwhelming after the long wait. There was a sauce that was pictured on the menu that apparently was not actually supposed to be there, so it came out without it. The third roll (Palate Teaser) finally came out and was fantastic, but it was hard to enjoy it to the fullest after the last hour's experience.

I don't like being a difficult customer and I want to love the places I go. Hopefully they get through their...

I honestly don’t think my afternoon at Uzu Sushi would have been the same without Ewan. From the moment I walked in, he set the tone for the entire experience—welcoming, upbeat, and genuinely attentive. You know when someone isn’t just “doing their job,” but actually takes pride in making people feel taken care of? That’s Ewan to a T.

He has this natural way of making guests feel like they’ve been coming here for years, even if it’s their first time. He greeted me with a big smile, asked how my day was, and remembered little details from our conversation later on, which made it feel like he was really listening. It’s such a small thing, but it makes a huge difference.

Throughout the meal, he struck the perfect balance between attentiveness and giving us space to enjoy ourselves. He checked in at the right moments—never hovering, never disappearing. Whether it was refilling drinks without us having to ask, noticing when we were ready for the next course, or making sure we had everything we needed, it all felt effortless on his part.

What impressed me most, though, was his genuine enthusiasm for the food and the restaurant. You could tell he wasn’t just reading off a script when he explained the menu—he actually cared about what we were eating and wanted us to enjoy it the best way possible. He gave great recommendations, shared little insider tips on how to enjoy certain dishes, and even threw in a few fun facts that made us appreciate the food on another level.

Ewan also has this really calming presence—if the restaurant was busy or hectic, you’d never know it from the way he carried himself. He stayed friendly and composed the entire time, making sure every guest felt like a priority. It’s rare to find someone who can make hospitality feel so personal and effortless.

At the end of my meal, I left feeling like I had just been hosted by a friend rather than served by a stranger. That’s a talent you can’t train—it’s just who Ewan is. If you come to Uzu Sushi, I highly recommend asking for him. He’ll make sure you not only have a great meal, but a genuinely...