Any experience getting sushi is bound to be exciting, but this restaurant will take your meal to the next level. Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, located in Fort Lee, will show you a good time while giving you some amazing dishes to try.
When you get into the restaurant, you have the choice of sitting at the counter facing the conveyor belt as it rotates the various dishes or sitting at a table beside the belt. Once you’re seated, you can begin a unique, server-free experience that you’re going to want to try again.
The only waiter you have to deal with is a small robot named Kettybot. They will bring you your drinks after you order them from a screen above the conveyor belt, and then they will zoom away while playing some atmospheric music.
Now, you can finally start eating. When my partner and I went this past Saturday, we were seated at a table with the conveyor belt to my right. There was a small sign stating what sushi roll was coming followed by two dishes with a plastic bowl covering them. When you want a dish, you have to put your finger on the base of the covering and with your other hand pull the dish out. This allows the bowl part of the cover to pop open so you can take the plate.
They had multiple types of rolls, from simple nigiri to more eccentric rolls I had never heard of. My favorite was the salmon golden crunchy roll which consisted of spicy salmon and cucumber wrapped in rice and seaweed, topped with spicy mayo, sweet soy sauce, panko and sesame seeds. Meanwhile, my partner enjoyed the shrimp avocado roll, which was shrimp mayo wrapped in rice and seaweed, topped with shrimp and avocado drizzled in a yuzu cream sauce and sesame seeds. He enjoyed the roll so much he ended up having four plates of it!
There is a large variety of rolls at all times, but if you find that a roll you want has already been taken, don’t fret! You can order specific rolls on the screen above the belt as well as other special dishes like ramen, sushi hand rolls and desserts. There are also desserts throughout the belt including New York cheesecake, warabimochi and Hokkaido milk creamy tarts. I loved the tarts, and despite being entirely stuffed from the sushi, I ended up having two.
I haven’t even told you the fun part yet. Once you finish your dish, you slide it into a slot under the belt and the screen counts how many dishes you have finished. Once you reach five dishes, a short scene will play. 10 plates will give you another scene and 15 plates will give you a small prize from a capsule machine above the screen. Currently, Kura is partnering with Pac-Man so the prizes you can get are Pac-Man-themed and include cable protectors, keychains and stickers. My partner ended up receiving a keychain of Inky over a Tamago sushi piece, and I got a cable protector of Blinky over an avocado sushi piece.
Once you are done, you can use the screen to pay for the meal if you would like to use your card. If you would like to use cash, there are employees who can come to your table to help. The price is calculated based on how many plates you have eaten.
I give this restaurant five stars. I love sushi but I had never gone to a revolving sushi bar before, so this was a great experience. One thing I should warn you about is there will most likely be a wait depending on when you go. My partner and I went on Saturday during lunch and the wait was an hour. However, it is definitely worth the wait. Kura is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. so make sure to stop by with your friends, family or significant other.
pbortner@ramapo.edu
Photo by Peyton Bortner
