Kura Revolving Sushi Bar — Restaurant in San Diego

It reminds me of a more expensive version of the actual sushi-go-rounds in Japan. Its about 150% more expensive here. But its more for the experience. I like only having to eat 2 bites of each type instead of having to commit to one roll that would fill me up at a regular Japanese restaurant.

You should use the app to book your reservation prior. Its a long wait so bring some games for your kids. We went at opening and waited 15 min to be seated. Even though the app and outdoor tablet read 45 min.

During another visit at 1pm the app said 38 min wait. But we waited 1 hr. During a recent visit at 5pm we had a 1 hr wait but we did most of the wait trying to find parking. Even the external paying lots were full.

They are hit or miss on if they skip your number. I signed in on the door tablet and they sat another family before my family. I immediately notified the server that I waited 1 hr 38 min and they skipped us. They never called us at all and I was standing by door the entire time. They called us in next and repeatedly apologized. I was mad for the next 20 min but after his 16th apology and we were seated, it was fine.

The kids like the game with the plates. They do a similar thing in Japan whether its inserting the plates or they just gave us tokens/person at the end of a meal(in Japan). Every 5 plates inserted does a video. On the 15th plate you win a prize. The kids always makes sure I only grab conveyor belt plates because ordering on the tablet does not give you the green plates. The prizes are so small. But to the kids they love it. Its definitely an expensive experience but I also enjoy the sushi. Its cheaper for me to dine here whenever I want instead of flying back to japan and eating it cheaper. So I am happy this exists here. There is also one in Vegas. We were there 2 months ago and the line was nothing like the San diego line. The best time to go is at opening. I continue to come here at least once a month as long as I have the time to wait.

The prizes were decorative tape 2 times. Once it was a growing dinosaur thing. You put it in water for a week and it grows to its biggest at the end of the week. Kids still like it. $2.50 per green plate. We would eat here regardless if there was a prize. My kids just highly encourage me to make it to 15.

They have forks and kids plastic to go cups for kids to drink. You are allowed to use the bathroom during your long wait. I do not know if they can seat parties larger than 6/7. The tables look like you can squeeze 6, maybe a 7th person on the end. Also, the counters have the game thing. The servers are kind enough to explain to you how to pull the food off the conveyor. Its so simple my 4 and 6yo can do while fighting each other for who gets it. The plates circulate about within 2-3 minutes the same item will come back to you. If you don't want to wait for the conveyor you can order on the tablet. Just know that you will not get it on the green plates for...

Kura is a great spot for sushi when you don't have a particular preference. The novelty of the revolving sushi bar doesn't wear off and it's always fun to bring guests and family. There are tons of options for everyone from raw fish, cooked rolls, noodles and tempura. Even somewhat picky eaters won't have too hard of a time eating here and you aren't really stuck with anything since the dishes are small and reasonably priced for multiple portions.

The sushi is usually good, but every once in a while you'll have a smaller cut of fish or maybe something that is a little more chewy or maybe skimped on the green onions. It's not a deal breaker, just something you have to wait for another go around on the conveyor belt or order it fresh off the menu. Their menu is pretty extensive and you can order hot dishes, appetizers (think edamame or watermelon) and desserts. The biggest gripe here is in the US you pay for green tea, but in Japan they have hot water and matcha at the table, but oh well.

The service is great, it's usually fairly hands off, but as soon as you push the call button someone comes by. For my usual groups, we tend to need more wasabi, but they're always happy to help.

The only reason I'm giving 4 stars for atmosphere is that people still tend to mess up opening the sushi and sometimes leave it open on the belt. This is frustrating and it's not really Kura's fault, sometimes people take too long to try and open the dishes and it skips their table. So maybe a printed instruction at each table since people will forget how to open the dishes or not pay attention to the servers.

Overall, Kura is a fantastic spot for grabbing small bites of sushi and varying it up with different specials each month. The novelty of a conveyor belt is nice and definitely a treat for guests that don't have one near them. The service is top tier and they have tried to clean up their reservation system which is much appreciated.

One last thing, the Hokkaido milk tart is the absolute best dessert and if you can get one before they sell out for the day, I absolutely recommend trying it! But they do run out, so grab one...

Your wait list system is horribly flawed. We added our name to the waitlist form the app and was quoted a 120 minute time frame. It was almost three hours later and we were no where close to being called. We received the text asking us to check in, when we arrived to check in there were at least 40 people standing out front attempting to check in. The poor host seemed extremely overwhelmed and was ignoring every guest that attempting to ask him a question. I begin to strike up a conversation with surrounding people and one girl said it had been almost an hour since she was told she had to check in.

I understand being first come first serve, I understand needing a waitlist, and I understand not taking reservations because that just doesn’t work for a restaurant with this type of business model. But when you have no waiting area with no seating and have to stand in an unsafe busy parking lot for over an hour after supposedly your name has been “called”, at what point is it not worth the hassle anymore. Yes the food is ok but I can’t plan out four hours of my day for one meal. The last few years, Kura has started to go downhill. Prices have severely increased while quality and service has decreased. Servers do not check on your table like they used to, it takes forever to get refills, and you have to listen to that robot’s stupid song play as it passes by your table every 30 seconds.

Kura is a global brand and this location does no represent it well. Unfortunately, I don’t see Kura or the management making any changes to their guest experience until their numbers begin to decline. For some reason the demand for this place is just too high, and because of that I know this review will fall...