My First Time at a Revolving Sushi Restaurant: Kura Restaurant Review
by Donal Buckley ‘26
One of my favorite things to do in LA is try new restaurants. One of the unique parts of this city is how it’s home to a diverse array of eateries. Recently, my friend Branden Mendez took me to Kura Revolving Sushi Bar for the first time.
I had never eaten conveyor belt sushi before, so the idea of coming to this restaurant excited me. Located in Koreatown, Kura is only about a 10-minute drive from USC and a relatively inexpensive Uber. In the late afternoon, it only cost around $9 to get there.
Walking into the restaurant, I immediately felt the cozy atmosphere. Each area of the restaurant was lined with booths, each equipped with its own ordering screen. Of course, the star of the show — the sushi belt — wove between the booths with an assortment of different appetizers, entrees, and desserts.
All of the food comes out on a conveyor belt that weaves through all the tables. Each food item has a sign in front of it, displaying a picture and name of the dish. If you spot a dish you like, you simply grab it off the line as it passes. Then, once you finish your food, you put the plate in a slot attached to the table. A screen above the table keeps tabs on how many plates you’ve eaten and tallies up the cost of your meal. Each plate was around $4. If you’re not too keen on any of the options on the line, you can place a special order on the screen and the food will be delivered to your table hands-free above the line.
I’m extremely glad that Branden, who is familiar with revolving sushi, went with me because I would’ve had no clue what to do on my own. Each dish on the belt is kept under a plastic dome that has to be removed before you can take the plate. It sounds simple, but you have to press a specific part of the container while simultaneously holding onto the plate to get it to open, and it was much harder than it looked. He was experienced with how to take the food out of its container and onto the table, which took me a few tries to understand. I wouldn’t consider myself anywhere close to an expert now, but I was able to do it without help one or two times before we left, so I consider that a win.
Beyond the novelty of the conveyor belt, I was looking forward to the sushi itself. After all, the main attraction of a sushi bar is its sushi. It was so good that we quickly lost track of how many plates we grabbed. Each plate was relatively small, too, so it was encouraged to try multiple different dishes. My favorites had to be the golden crunchy roll and the tiger roll. More than just sushi, though, we split a plate of seared beef and ordered a matcha mochi for dessert. I was even surprised to find watermelon cubes on the belt, and, being my favorite fruit I had to take some of that as well. If you’re not a fan of sushi, there was a variety of soups and ramen available to special order.
As for drinks, there was a plethora of teas, juices, and soda to choose from. We just stuck with water, but that was still far from a boring choice! Branden told me they delivered it in a “special way,” and I was confused until I turned around and spotted a robot holding our drinks. Even though the restaurant has human staff, the robots deliver the beverages. I thought that was so cool.
Overall, Kura was a great experience, and I’d highly recommend that anyone who loves sushi give it a try. I’d definitely suggest going with someone who knows what they’re doing, though, since I would’ve struggled without Branden! Between taking plates off the line, watching the cute animations for when we dropped in our plates, and the robot servers, Kura offered much more than just food.
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