Kura Revolving Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Washington

Such an adorable and fun restaurant! While revolving sushi bars are everywhere in Japan (and across Japanese media), they're quite the novelty in the US. After seeing it on all the anime and Japanese movies as a child, it's been a bit of a lifelong dream to visit one of these restaurants, so I was beyond excited when my friends suggested that we try out Kura!

The experience was absolutely worth the hype, and it was everything that I had dreamed of -- for once, television set pretty accurate expectations! It was super fun to just watch plate after plate of fresh, beautiful sushi pass us on the conveyer belt, and it was a great way to sample a wide variety of sushi while being in full control of what I wanted to include in my meal (rather than having to order, say, a chef's selection of sashimi and sushi at a restaurant). We were also seated right next to the sushi chefs, so we got to watch them expertly craft hundreds of pieces of sushi, moving at lightning speed to replace all the plates being removed from the conveyer belt. The only difficult thing about being right next to the chefs is that the belt was moving in the opposite direction from us! So even if we spotted something we really wanted as the chefs were making it, we had to wait for another ~15 minutes for the plate to make its way around the entire restaurant...but the anticipation honestly just added to the experience.

If you see something that catches your eye as it moves along the belt, just pop open one of the little capsules, take out the plate, and enjoy! When you're done, just toss the little plate into the plate disposal machine at the end of the table and it'll automatically tally up the bill for you. But if you're planning to split the bill with a group, make sure you keep count of how many you've had! Something about sushi moving all around you really brings out the sushi fiend in a person and it can get a lil tough remembering what you've had! My personal favorite part, though, was the prize machine! On top of the plate disposal machine, there's a little TV that tells a short story about one of Kura Sushi's cartoon characters. They're trying to defeat this terrifying monster, and they're relying on your help! The more plates you deposit, the stronger your character gets...so, of course, the 7-year-old in me just HAS to eat everything possible to make sure no character of mine fails to claim victory. To entice the child in me even further, when you reach certain milestones, you not only progress in the story, but the little prize machine next to the TV rolls and hands out a super cute little trinket. I believe the theme changes every few months -- the first time I was here everything was Hello Kitty themed, and, more recently, I came home with some Gudetama merch.

While Kura absolutely delivered the revolving sushi experience of my dreams, you're paying for exactly that: an experience. The sushi quality itself is...decent. While the fish is fresh enough, it's certainly not top-quality and the fish-to-rice ratio is off. At $3-7 per plate, you're paying the price of mid- to high-tier sushi for a low- to mid-tier meal. And while it was fun to be seated next to the chefs and watch them work, it was also clear that they were just throwing the sushi together mechanically and without the care and attention to detail / quality that it would receive at a standard sushi restaurant. All in all, Kura is one of those places that is super fun to visit once but isn't really worth a second stop. When you're experiencing it for the first time, the novelty of the conveyer belt, games, and little prizes are plenty to distract you from the mediocre sushi, slow service, and really long wait times. As the excitement wears off, however, the Kura's weaknesses start to shine...

Sept 2021 Sushi was so-so, experience was pretty good. I recommend coming here for the experience and prizes rather than the sushi. Note the staff wear masks and they have barriers between the tables. The staff also wipe down the tables between customers.

The place is clean, bright, and a bit small. It mainly has 4 person booths with a bar-like table at the back with individual chairs facing the conveyor belt (don't know if that makes sense). At each table is a tablet mounted above the conveyor belt. You can order sushi, appetizers, ramen, udon, desserts, drinks, and the check. Most importantly, there is an ongoing story of a traveler meeting nefarious villains that he must defeat. You can help him by inserting plates! The plates are inserted into a special slot at the side of the table, under the conveyor belt. You can only insert green or red plates. The tablet keeps count of how many plates you insert. Every 5 plates, you get a video detailing the traveler's adventures. Every 15 plates, you get a small prize from the dispenser above the tablet. We got a microfiber cloth and keychain, both Hello Kitty themed 😻.

This is conveyor belt sushi, and it looks like the conveyor belt starts at the front of the restaurant and winds to the back. I'm unsure if there's a pit stop at the kitchen in the middle or it just goes straight through the customers. They helpfully include labels and pictures of the food on the conveyor belt. Note that what you pick up off the conveyor belt is yours. Do NOT put it back on the belt. Above the usual conveyor belt is a shorter conveyor belt that leads directly to the kitchen. If you order something from the tablet, the kitchen will place your food on the upper belt and it will be delivered to your table. Your tablet helpfully chimes when your food arrives. Note that sushi you order from the tablet, as long as it comes on a green or red plate that you insert into the slot, does count toward your total plate number. Soups come with a lid clipped onto the bowl and a soup spoon placed in a small bowl.

There's not much interaction with the staff, but everyone was friendly. Orders from the kitchen were readied and delivered promptly. The staff was also quick to clear away the bowls and such that don't get inserted into the slot. Note that while the restaurant itself was clean, the utensils and various tableware were not necessarily clean. My soup spoon still had stains and detrius on the handle. Probably wasn't inspected after a machine wash. A number of plates on the conveyor belt also had sauce and oil on the bottoms and rims. Probably from the kitchen staff using the same gloves they use to handle food to put the plates onto the conveyor belt. The kitchen staff did look rushed to put food on the belt, so I can excuse that. Just something to be aware of.

The sushi quality was so-so. The rolls were not very expertly made, a few of them falling apart when you try to eat them. And if you like to nitpick about sushi rice, the rice was cooked too wet. The fish quality varied: the real crab meat was awesome, the salmon and eel were decent, the shrimp slimy, and everything else so-so. The beef quality was also ok, not tough but not amazing. They also use a lot of sauce. Also note the wasabi they give you is not real wasabi. It looks like something chopped up and doesn't taste like wasabi.

Between the ramen and the udon, definitely get the udon. The watermelon on the conveyor belt looked either over-ripe or very pale. We didn't try it. We also didn't try the NY cheesecake, but the Hokkaido Milk Creamy Tart was delicious. We ended up eating a lot of those, definitely recommend.

Overall, ok food but good experience. We may come again for the prizes (definitely not the sushi) and will bring more people to help our...

Not bad! I was totally new to this "revolving sushi" concept and found it fun and easy. The sushi revolves on a conveyor belt in little pairs and contained in plates that you take if you want it, skip if you don't, and when you're done with a plate, you slide it into the slot in front of you.

I stuck with nigiri, one hand-rolled salmon with skin, and one plate of sashimi.

The nigiri was not bad. It's not the best sushi I've ever experienced, but it was good and $3.80 for every 2 pieces. I enjoyed salmon toro, sockeye salmon, BBQ eel, albacore, yellowtail, and more. They were all very satisfying. The hand-rolled salmon was also as decent as expected but delicious, and they have many different variations available.

The salmon sashimi I ordered was not very satisfying unfortunately. It arrived on the upper-level conveyor belt (where your requested orders appear) in a box filled with ice. The 3 pieces of sashimi were laid atop the ice and were somewhat chewy... I've definitely had better sashimi elsewhere. For 3 pieces, it was $4.55.

Requested orders are made through the touchscreen kiosk in front of your table (pictured). It's fairly easy to use, though the screen can be a bit visually overwhelming for some unaccustomed to using touch-screen ordering, given the sub-menus and wide varieties of sushi available.

I also ordered a small bottle of house hot sake ($10.40). It was satisfying and plenty for 2 people.

Overall, my bill--after fully indulging in curiosity and throwing price to the wind--came out to $56.69, as of Jan 1st 2025. The sushi is decent and cheap, the revolving sushi concept is fascinating and fun, and the general experience is as quick as you make it. I would definitely come back to eat here if I wanted a quick meal.

Also, for single diners, I was served pretty quickly: after walking in, I was immediately led to a small bar-like seating area by the wall in the back that felt more private, which I actually enjoyed. There might be other solo diners next to you, but people weren't invasive of my experience at all. Booths are available for groups.

🏳️‍⚧️🚻 Lastly, I can confirm there are 2 gender neutral bathrooms. I try to mark this for my non-binary/transgender foodies looking for places with accommodating restrooms. As a transwoman myself, the public bathroom issue can be nerve-wracking when in an unsure environment, and gender neutral bathrooms severely help alleviate fears of bigotry when one has to do their business. "Kura Sushi" has two neutral 🚻's. ✌️

Verdict? 4/5 stars for being "not bad", "pretty good", and...