Kura Revolving Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Watertown

Been there. Experienced the novelty. Probably won't go again.

First, you have to get a number from a tablet stationed outside the restaurant, but there is no sign telling you to do so. So you go inside, just to be told to use the tablet outside.

Second, the wait for a table can be LONG (2+ hours at dinner time) and you have to wait outside. There is no shelter from the weather.

Third, I went with a party of seven. Six of us sat relatively comfortably in the booth, but one of us had to sit on a chair in the aisle. It was a bit tight, but okay. The restaurant is "noisy" (lots of sound, motion, machines, textures, graphics, colors, etc.). It's a bit claustrophobic. Think hard before you bring a person with sensory issues there!

Fourth, the food is pretty good. Lots of standard maki rolls, nigiri on the belt. Some items I have not seen in other Japanese restaurants. The kitchen kept the conveyor belt decently stocked even though the restaurant was full to the brim, so everything was very fresh. Serving sizes vs price varied depending on the food: $3.30 for 2 sweet shrimp sushi (good), $3.30 for a small dish of edamame (not so good). Hot items have to be ordered (more on that below).

Fifth, I had never been to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant before, so this experience was very confusing... The booth has a tablet that you use to order your drinks (which are brought by a robot!), but if you want a refill, you have to ask a server, who you "call" using the tablet. You can take any items you want from the lower conveyor belt. When you are done with each dish, you put it in a slot below the belt and the computer automatically counts the number of dishes you took. You can also order hot items or any specific items featured on the belt via the tablet for delivery directly to your booth by the upper conveyor belt, which took more than 10 minutes (but it was freshly prepared). When you've logged a certain number of items (15?), a treat machine ball is dispensed by a machine above your booth. We got two cute erasers. I didn't understand the purpose of this.

Sixth, my husband settled our bill. The process was a little confusing. You have to press "done" on the tablet. You can pay via an app (didn't want to deal with downloading and signing up) or via the server. There is a rewards program. My sister in law wanted to get points for the meal we had but it was a process because my husband paid the server.

Seventh, our 3 servers were friendly and patient, but it was confusing that there were so many of them. Between the food being delivered on conveyors and having so many servers, the experience felt very impersonal and frenetic.

Eighth, parking was a pain. Arsenal Yards was hopping when we went so the street level lot nearby was full. We parked up in the garage above Roche Brother's. The walk was not long, but multi-step (elevator and 2 street crossings), so inconvenient (a bit whiney, I know).

Overall, I'm glad I tried it. Like I said earlier, it was a novel experience. But I probably won't go again if I...

This was my first time going to a revolving sushi bar and I absolutely loved it!! It was a very entertaining dining experience with the drinks robot and the used plate chute and the little surprise toy that’s dispensed after 15 plates. Loved getting to literally see all the variety in their offerings roll on by (and getting to order other plates from the table’s personal tablet, and watching that whiz on over on the other belt straight to us!)

The sushi was perfectly fine, good even—none of the pieces fell apart on me and the taste was as good as other places of comparable price-points I’ve been to in the area. I was worried it wouldn’t be after looking at other reviews and am glad my expectations were subverted. Miso soup was decent and the desserts were enjoyable. Highly recommend the ice cream with the fish-shaped cake. They serve their edamame cold, which I wasn’t expecting, but it was still acceptable.

A note about the wait times:

I’ve been on the waitlist three times (though I’ve only dined once). The first time we came as a party of 2 on a weekend evening not knowing how it all worked and joined the waitlist from the tablet outside the entrance. The estimated wait time was six and a half hours! We ended up dining elsewhere but remained on the list. Got a text around three hours later saying our table was ready.

The second time was earlier today (Tuesday at 5:15pm). I joined the list from home via their app. The estimated wait time was 60 minutes, but I got a text after only 30 that our table was ready. (I did this one merely as a test, though.)

The third time was just a bit later (Tuesday at 5:50pm). Joined the list from home via their app and the estimated wait was 120 minutes. We were 24th in line and requested a table for a party of 3. I watched as our place in line moved up rather quickly and we left home (10 minute drive) only 20 minutes after joining the list—which ended up being perfect timing as our table was ready as soon as we arrived. So, only a ~35 minute wait. I’m guessing a lot of people join the list and then get discouraged by the high wait time estimation and leave, but remain on the list.

Overall I highly recommend dining here! We paid slightly over $100 for three people, and we definitely got more food than we typically would have as we were a bit overexcited by all the variety going around right in front of us. The employees were pleasant and very helpful explaining how things work, too. I’ll definitely be...

Kura Revolving Sushi Bar is a very popular spot. Please note as this place is a popular location, the wait time will be at least an hour long. It is best to have the app to book your reservation ahead of time or if you happen to make your reservation at the iPad at the doorway, then hang around at the shops nearby.

I had a great time with my friend, and we went a few times now to this location. The servers are nice, food is fresh, and the atmosphere is fun! It is just like the Japanese sushi conveyor belt restaurants in Japan with the games. You get a prize for every 15 plates you finish. The pricing is different as it is $1 a plate in Japan vs $3.30 here, but quality is still good.

What I do recommend getting is the Raspberry Iced Tea as your drink as it tastes great and is a good refresher!

In terms of taste score... Raspberry Iced Tea - 5/5 Salmon Nigiri - 5/5 Salmon Toro Nigiri - 4.5/5 (Salmon Belly, tasted a little fatty) Shrimp Nigiri - 5/5 Sweet Shrimp Nigiri - 5/5 (bigger shrimp) Scallop Nigiri - 5/5 (a little mushy as it is scallop, fresh though) Conch Nigiri - 5/5 (hard to order during my first visit as it seemed popular and I couldn't order on the iPad at the table, :( Overall I loved the taste and texture as it reminded me of the jellyfish my parents used to get with a nice crunch) Sea Urchin Gunkan - 1/5 (for some reason the sea urchin tasted bitter when it is supposed to taste creamy and not bitter. This might have to do with the freshness of the sea urchin but at the same time I believe the seaweed wrapped around it played a factor, the reason I say that is because I had gotten other things with seaweed wrapped around and the taste screwed my tongue that later dishes tasted off. Scallops from the beginning for example tasted fresh but after having a dish with seaweed wrap then getting another scallop, it tasted off) Yukhoe - 5/5 (creamy due to the egg yolk) Edamame - 0/5 (NO. JUST NO. Tried the thing for the first time, and my first experience ruined it. There was salt on the edamame for some reason. If you are not careful, you will get salt stuck in your throat for a while like I did! No drink could dislodge that grain of salt. If planning to get this, only eat the peas inside the pod as the outside is stringy and you really need to chew for a...