Kaiten Sushi

[rockdoggydog]

What's your feeling on Kaiten Sushi (conveyor belt sushi)? I find it fun and have enjoyed it in the past but find myself lowering my expectation whenever I go to one. I was pleasantly surprised at Blue C in Fremont recently but realized that it was because I'd gone in reminding myself that it was a Kaiten Sushi place. Anyone have any favorites? Any people who love or hate Kaiten Sushi?

Rocky

[mark918]

I've eaten at Blue C three times in the last three weeks, and I've really enjoyed it every time I've been - Two lunches and a dinner. I'm not a sushi expert by any strech of the imagination, but everything was put together well, and it was cool to be eating sushi sixty seconds after I sat down. I really liked the conveyer belt idea. There was enough turnover to keep everything fresh, and the prices were pretty reasonable. I stuck with the veggie roll, the salmon and avocado roll, and the shrimp. The only thing I didn't like was the tuna roll. It tasted like a tuna sandwich. Not what I was expecting at all.

Overall though, I liked the place and will return.

[lemony]

i've been to blue c twice for lunch and have been disappointed both times. kaiten sushi is tons of fun and the place looks good but i found the offerings to be bland and not too fresh, which is something you just don't want with sushi! plus, our green tea ice cream was disgustingly freezer-burned (they did apologize and knock it off the bill, but still).

i've had some good conveyor belt sushi in san francisco and new york but seattle is definitely lacking a good spot.

whilst on the topic: i had dinner at maneki this past week and walked away full and happy. this old school place is one of my sushi standards and a must-visit place for any lovers of authentic japanese cuisine. it's full of history (seattle's first sushi bar) and the service is prompt and friendly. there's always something new to try and you can leave satiated without busting your wallet.

lemony

[BastilaShan]

There's also a place on lower Queen Anne called "Sushi Land".

They have really inexpensive sushi, $2 per plate or so.

[MsRamsey]

Blue C for me was okay when I stuck with a very basic piece of nigiri. Everything else was awful.

[skyflyer3]

I thought Blue C had fresher fish than Marinepolis Sushiland (both Bellevue and Queen Anne locations) but the service and wait has been terrible, and the prices are too high. I can get better sushi by the piece and pay less at a finer sushi joint.

But the nice thing about Blue C is that they don't use the "rice pooper", as my son calls it. Sushiland has a machine that squeezes out rice in pre-formed nigiri "blobs", which makes it easier for the "chefs" to add fish for nigiri. The machine feed tube is coated with Vegelene, some sort of spray oil that, combined with watching the machine do its thing, makes me feel seriously ill when I eat the nigiri there. So I stick with the fried clamari, edamame, and sushi with minimal rice. I do like that seared salmon nigiri, though - raw salmon with a little mayo squeezed on it, then seared briefly by a mini propane torch. Actually, I think the salmon is the only thing worth eating at Sushiland. (By the way, if you still want to try Sushiland, go to the Bellevue one. For some reason, they seem to have more variety, although the service is a little uncoordinated at times).

Wasn't there a kaiten place in the same building as New Kowloon on Jackson in the I.D.? Or is it gone now?

[MsRamsey]

Wasn't there a kaiten place in the same building as New Kowloon on Jackson in the I.D.? Or is it gone now?

It closed quite a while ago. It didn't seem like it was open long.

[LEdlund]

I had my first kaiten sushi experience at Sushiland in Bellevue a few weeks ago and I was very pleasantly surprised in the quality of the fish. The salmon was definitely the best choice but the yellowtail was also very good. The staff at the Bellevue location all spoke spanish so it was fun to say "Dos hamachi por favor" Plus, you can't go wrong with a $20 bill which includes sushi and sake!

[Sleepy_Dragon]

Wasn't there a kaiten place in the same building as New Kowloon on Jackson in the I.D.?  Or is it gone now?

It closed quite a while ago. It didn't seem like it was open long.

Azuma, and yes, long gone.

And seconded on Maneki from me, I love that place, especially the takoyaki and the avocado ponzu ae along with the nigirizushi. Plus when it's in season, they serve live sea urchin on the half spiked shell.

I also love going there because I'm a sucker for cats. Per their namesake, there are loads of maneki neko (lucky cat statues) all over the place, in particular a wooden shelf suspended outside the tatami room closest to the door with around 20 of them, paws beckoning. It's outrageous.

Maneki Neko

Pat

[col klink]

Azuma, and yes, long gone.

Yeah, I felt bad for the guy. Everytime I went in there it was empty and twice I was even in there on a saturday night. The chef there was nice to customers for the most part but you could tell he was stressed out and often he would have skirmishes with the staff. It's too bad, it was nice having a sushi restaurant to go to before/after M's games.

Anywho, there's a new kaiten sushi joint on the Ave and 50th in the U District called Sushi Express that isn't half bad. On my recent tour I hit it a couple of times. I've found kaiten styles in Seattle to be on the lower end of the spectrum of quality and diversity and Sushi Express wouldn't be any different. Except they charge a little more than the low-cost sushi joints. I for one would prefer to go to Kozue in Wallingford where interesting, quality sushi will meet with a light impact on your wallet. I've only been there for lunch but make sure to sit at the bar and make nice because the chefs are cool and love to hand out little treats on the dl.

I know that Musashi's down the block gets a much bigger lunch crowd because of how inexpensive it is (though what fish they do have is good) but you'll get better sushi and better service at the former location of Ai. They still remembered us from a year prior when my wife and I dropped in on way out of town for our honeymoon!