Kura Revolving Sushi Bar

Let me preface this review by saying that, for the first time in history, I forgot to take more than a couple pics because I had such a great time.

Welcome to the world of conveyor belt sushi. I first heard of it probably 15 or 20 years ago when I was watching an episode of MTV’s True Life and they were following around Kobayashi (six-time champion of Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest) to look at what it takes to be a competitive eater.

Fast forward to about maybe 8 or so years ago when I stumbled upon a conveyor belt sushi restaurant for the first time at Tyson’s Corner Mall. I was there, mostly likely, to see a movie but when I saw the conveyor belt sushi restaurant, I was absolutely consumed by the idea of being able to build my meal as I ate. I was obsessed and it lived up to my expectations completely.

Running the Grumpy Man Instagram account, I’m always looking for more places to try and I happened to see a conveyor belt sushi reel of a restaurant in DC, and I knew I had to try it. Interestingly, it has the same name (Kura) as the one at the mall, but it looked a little different from what I could tell.

Perhaps my only dislike about Kura in DC is that you have to download an app and sign-up (and sign-in) so you can get in a queue and wait to be seated. The wait wasn’t long (maybe 20 minutes) the day I went with a friend, but I wouldn’t be surprised if wait times get much longer because it’s not a big restaurant.

Once we were seated, the magic began. I honestly cannot think of a more fun dining experience. The conveyor belt snakes through the restaurant and contains little plates of probably 30 or more different types of sushi rolls and nigiri. If you see something you like, you just grab it. And once you’re done, there’s a little receptacle that you slide your plate down which counts your plates and tallies them on the screen. Each table has a screen and that’s where you can order drinks and special (more expensive) dishes which magically appear at your table by using an upper conveyor belt that zooms them down the line.

Whimsical is the word that comes to mind at Kura. We ordered water to drink and it arrived by robot! Not only does the robot bring the drink promptly to your table, it doesn’t spill them, and it plays a little jingle as it rolls over to your table. And then when it leaves, it plays a different jingle. You’d think it would be annoying after the 30^th time hearing it, but it makes you smile and even chuckle a bit.

We ended up ordering and sharing 3 special dishes. The highlight was the garlic fried rice which tasted like it had been infused in the rice. The other one we enjoyed was the fried chicken with miso mayo. Juicy, tender, and lightly breaded, it was a great accompaniment to the sushi. We also got a crispy rice roll with crab mayor which was fine but not memorable enough to order again.

But what will keep me coming back is the conveyor belt. I loved everything I tried. Together we ate 21 plates of sushi but my personal favorites, in no particular order, were seared scallops with Japanese mayo, seared salmon with miso cream cheese, and seared salmon with Japanese mayo. My honorable mention was the spicy popcorn shrimp roll. But, like I said, I didn’t have a bad bite the entire time.

One thing I was thinking about when I was eating was how this concept of the conveyor belt might be able to be co-opted by other cuisines. If it has been I’m not aware, but I could see the conveyor belt concept working for Dim Sum (my favorite) and other small plate restaurants. One obstacle might be that, unlike sushi, the other food is best served warm or hot. Otherwise, I could see this method of meal delivery working quite well.

There are clear differences between the Tyson’s location and DC which I’ll note. Unlike the location at Tyson’s where you face the sushi conveyor belt and sit bar-style, here you face your friends at a normal table. Another difference is that instead of plates having different values, everything on the main conveyor belt is the same price in DC. I also think the DC menu is more robust.

Overall, I absolutely loved my experience at Kura’s DC location. I hope they open one up a bit closer to me but it’s probably better for my waistline that it takes a trek for me to get to DC. The whole experience made me smile. The production of it all, the futuristic vibe, the sights and sounds, and the quality of the food all made for a memorable meal. Though I thought the food was great, I’m not going to say it is the best sushi I’ve ever had, however, I think the experience in its totality far outweighs anywhere else I’ve gone. And, unless you’re a snob and need to be served an expensive tasting menu, I think you’ll come away quite satisfied with what Kura offers.