Kura Revolving Sushi Bar — Restaurant in San Francisco

So, it's not at all the restaurants fault (not docking stars) Athough we didn't end up getting to dine here I wanted to leave a review to provide some clarity and good-to-know before you go details for those that may be in a similar situation as we were:

We attempted dining here twice during our San Francisco stay.

First attempt: we caught a Waygo from near the Japanese Tea Garden and made our way to ..well what we believed to be Kuras. But due to an AI mistake we instead found ourselves dropped off at some kind of Japanese dining street. Which was quite the experience in itself but that's a story for another review.

POINT BEING: Make sure you have the correct address before venturing out. (Also fair point to make is that this establishment is within a busy shopping mall.)

Second attempt: This time we were certain we had the correct address and fiancé drove. As he wasn't particularlly feeling the same excitement we were to dine here, he dropped my boys and I off and made his way out to pickup something himself. This is when we first realize that the place is inside a mall...this fact may have contributed to making different choices if we had done the proper research beforehand to realize. Anyhow we head in, a bit lost and confused we begin to search for the end goal. (POINT: Located upstairs so if dining head there!.. you'll find stairs, escalators, and an elevator as options to get there.) We make it there and I attempt to get seating for my 2 boys and I and the greeter asks if we have reservations. (POINT: Make reservations!!!) I tell him no and he claims "Not a problem! Use this tablet to sign in and we'll text you once a table becomes available." I do as instructed and a slip of paper feeds from the machine once entry is completed

We get out of the way and grab some dots ice-cream from a nearby vending machine. Finally we sit at some sticky mall lobby table and I actually look at the slip of paper...and immediately call my fiancé while praying he's not too far, luckily he got gas first and we were rescued quickly lol. (POINT: No Reservations and walk-in dining - wait times can be as long as 3 hours..possibly more idk but that's what we were facing.)

So, this is why sadly we were unable to actually dine here ..and all after I spent an excessively long time reviewing their menu items online too. (How I didn't recognize any of the obstacles encountered while on their website I'm not really sure..guess my focus was strictly menu)

But will say it looked like a fun place to try and we would have loved to get that chance. Therefore I hope by leaving these details maybe I'll save another family from making any similar mistakes so that you're experience is a...

I’ve been coming here for two years and the service has suffered a precipitous decline in the last 6 months. After several attempts to give it “another chance,” I’m probably done. It’s hard for our last experience to have been any worse:

They stopped notifying you of when they’ll no longer serve food. They used to come around and tell you when it’s last call (aside from what comes around on the conveyer belt, they have items that you can only special order on the screen at your table). My 5 year old is a vegetarian, so he orders most items from the screen. At some point in the evening, Kura will decide to stop taking special orders and they used to tell people. But when we went to order, the system came back with a note saying they were busy and to try again later. After 5 minutes, I flagged someone down. She told me that last call has already happened. I said it would have been nice if we’d been told. Her response: nothing they can do now.

The servers have started ignoring guests. They don’t have traditional servers dedicated to your table. It’s supposed to be a team effort. You push a button on your screen and someone is supposed to come help you. My 5yo’s noodle dish didn’t come with a fork. I pushed the button and we waited. After almost 10 minutes, as the soup got cold, I gave up and walked around to find someone to get us a fork. Only then did my kiddo finally get a fork.

Don’t order hot tea. They charge $4 and say you’ll get refills. But as I learned the hard way, they won’t provide refills for the hot tea anymore. When you ask for a refill, their response is that they’ve thrown away all their hot water and they can give you a refill with lukewarm water.

I still tipped the staff, because I’ve got to believe that this isn’t their fault. Feels like a fundamental failure of management and training. But until I hear that things have changed, I won’t be going back there, and I don’t think you...

Day one was an exciting, yet also anxious day for the Kura staff to see a branch open up in our city. As a table for three who ate 60 plates, needless to say the food quality for the price was pretty incredible for revolving sushi bars, with upscale serving technology that you won't often see outside Japan or major cities, right to your table.

Every plate is more often than not 3.50 each, with no complicated colors you'd typically see in other revolving sushi joints either, leave little to worry about keeping a head on costs, in addition to a heads-up display which assists.

Two belts deliver food, one for the typical experience, and another for fast track delivery right to your table for custom orders, which might take a bit to get used to push a plate up to get it out of a "capsule", but pretty innovative for those who don't really see technology integrated in restaurants.

The food selection is pretty wide-ranging from your standard fare of Salmon and Tuna, to others like better cuts of fish and cuts of great beef. More often than not, the selection will mostly be nigiri, but they also have some Japanese rolls, deserts and other fare to offer.

The staff were friendly, and did well on the first day of launch, often checking in to see if you need anything.

A friend also ate at a Kura establishment in Japan, and found it satisfactory and comparable to its other chains, so to conclude...

Kura, should be a satisfactory place to eat, and to its staff, no doubt in my mind a great day in our city towards its success as an addition for a nice place to eat of its own niche and attract...