Located in the Shopper’s World plaza in Framingham, Kura Revolving Sushi Bar opened its new location on July 6, 2023. The restaurant incorporates a fast-food style of eating from Japan, where individual plates of sushi are served through a constant revolving conveyor belt. At Kura, each plate has a standard price of $3.75, and usually contains two-four pieces of sushi or other small dishes. Other menu items include noodles, fried rice and other options for higher prices.

We spent a total of $55 on 11 plates, and because of its speedy mechanisms, we were able to get in and out of the restaurant in under 30 minutes. Here are our thoughts on the experience:

Waiting:

The waiting time was the most disappointing part of the night. Because the restaurant doesn’t take reservations, walk-in customers can be expected to wait upwards of hours before being seated. When we arrived, there were already over 15 people shivering outside the doors since they also don’t have a waiting area. You can, however, download their app and request a spot on the waitlist before you arrive, although this forces customers to plan far ahead before their meal. Eating at this spot works best during non-rush hours, and if there is a wait, you can get some shopping done across the street.

Ambiance:

We’ll give credit where it’s due. The revolving conveyor belt with hundreds of options makes any boring dinner way more thrilling. Above, there are small touch-screens with digital versions of everything, and so if you can’t find the food item you want  on the main belt, you can order it and it’ll be zoomed right to you on a separate conveyor belt right to your table in seconds.

Food:

Called the “Kura Roll,” we expected great things from this roll. But to our demise, the salmon was bland. It wasn’t awful, but this roll tasted like we had just bought it from a grocery store refrigerated section.

The spicy salmon crunchy roll was one of our favorites, but that’s not a shock since half the roll was covered in salty, crunchy and creamy galore. There’s not much salmon to judge. We give it a 7.5/10.

The eel in the caterpillar roll was tasteless, and it didn’t help that the mushy avocado on top of it was on the verge of a brown color. We ordered a green caterpillar, and we got an earthworm instead. It was a solid 5/10.

The umami seared beef was just okay. While the rice was cold, the beef was an uncomfortable lukewarm. Although it was seasoned well, we wouldn’t get it again.

This was the worst roll of the night. The “real crab california roll” had me wishing they had just cut the corner and used imitation crab because the texture was just that bad. So dry, bland and cold – this was the only roll we couldn’t finish.

The crispy rice with spicy salmon was surprisingly tasty. While the salmon didn’t color us impressed, the rice was still hot and maintained a nice crunchy texture.

Now, the prices at Kura seemed pretty reasonable until this appeared on the conveyor belt. Because every plate has a set price, this small bowl of approximately four pieces of watermelon pertains to be the same price as several pieces of sushi. For $4, I can buy an entire small watermelon.

“What is that?” you might ask, and to tell you the truth, we don’t really know. The “spicy garlic popcorn shrimp roll” was a mouthful to say and to eat. While it was yummy, the entire thing fell apart in a matter of seconds.

This plate goes without saying. Actually, we have one word – why?

The tantan ramen was delicious. A spicy, sweet, miso-based broth had classic undertones of Sichuan sesame paste, making the dish taste very authentic. With perfectly cooked noodles, green onion, chashu pork and a soft boiled egg, this bowl of ramen definitely exceeded our expectations.

The taiyaki ice cream was the best thing we ate from Kura. Sizzling hot, the fried dough complimented the red bean and vanilla ice cream heavenly. We definitely recommend.

Overall Rating: 5.5/10

The best sushi restaurants prioritize fresh ingredients – quality over quantity. If you’re looking for premium-quality sushi, this restaurant would not be our recommendation. At Kura, you’re paying for the experience of watching your food dance in circles around you and arrive in talking robots. While that can be an exciting adventure to add to your bucket list, the spinning sushi didn’t astound us when it came to actually eating it.