ISO of good conveyor belt sushi spot

[sunnygordy]

Okay, so I was listening to an old podcast of "The Splendid Table" this morning & Lynn had a guest on who was speaking about cheap eats in Tokyo. He mentioned conveyor belt sushi & it got me thinking about how much fun those places are to go to. Now I'm all revved up to go to one, but I can't think of any decent place in the SCV/SFV/LA area. Can anyone recommend anywhere?

[October]

There is a conveyor belt place on the Promenade across from Broadway Deli, but I have never ventured into it.

[chowbee]

I've never been either, but it is now closed. Sign says for remodeling but it's been a few months.

[travelerz]

Yamato's, locations in Valencia and Encino http://www.yamatorestaurants.com/rest...

[Emme]

not conveyor belt at all.

[Servorg]

Are you sure? They are showing a conveyor belt in photos on their website. It looks like they have belts at their Valencia and Huntington Beach locations.

[Diana]

Nope, none I have seen. Not really good sushi, either.

[Servorg]

Wasn't commenting on the quality of the sushi, just the fact that they are showing a conveyor belt http://www.yamatorestaurants.com/rest... at the Stevenson Ranch / Valencia location. Have you been to that particular site?

[Emme]

that's not a conveyor belt; it's just the tabletop/bar above the diner's eating area, where the chef puts down the food that you order...

[Servorg]

Quote from their website: "A unique blend of conveyer (sic) belt sushi and teppan provides delicious Japanese food to couples and families."

[sunnygordy]

Yeah...been there. There's a belt, but so what. The food is yuck-o!

[bu dat]

sushi mac - for super cheap and ok sushi. i think it's about $3/plate. there's one on 3rd just east of la cienega and one on sawtelle just south of olympic.

there's also Daichan Kaiten-Sushi on sawtelle and olympic - in the olympic collection (or whatever the name of that mall is.). i haven't been - but people on this board seem to talk about it a fair bit.

there's also a place in pasadena that has "conveyor" belt sushi - but on boats and it floats. again - haven't been, but it sounds cute.

[Emme]

LuckyFish should be interesting given its founders

second daichan kaiten

kado is another option

[ns1]

A Float Sushi or Sushi A Float (whatever) is the name of the place in Pasadena

OK sushi, fairly quick/cheap. Never been to dinner there however.

[SauceSupreme]

Afloat Sushi is definitely my favorite conveyor belt sushi joint.

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Afloat Sushi
87 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105

[Dommy]

Yup! I really like it for a cheap sushi fix that is made by real sushi chefs instead of the students at the CSA (Although I do love to go there too! :D)

--Dommy!

[Diana]

The interesting thing about Sushi Mac, at least the one near me in Sherman Oaks, is that the sushi isn't ON the belt. There are plates with little laminated cards showing your options. Then the chef either pulls out a pre-made base roll from a fridge (many of the rolls start with california or such) and makes your roll, or makes it fresh. They told me it was because they couldn't keep the belt cold enough to meet the Health Dept's standards.

Is that sitll true? I haven't been in a while.

For the price, I just go to Midori for AYCE and chow down a wad of Sushi.

[Jwsel]

As far as I know, is that the Sushi Mac in Sherman Oaks cannot use the conveyor belt for fish. The Sushi Macs elsewhere can.

Cho Cho San in Tarzana has a conveyor belt and is good for inexpensive sushi. However, most of the rolls are ordered and served directly from the chef. Only the ginger, wasabi, and a few tidbits actually go around on the conveyor.

[ITurnedOutTV]

I was at the Sushi Mac on 3rd last weekend. No belt.

[Jwsel]

That's funny. They definitely used to have one.

[ITurnedOutTV]

I think they used to use it just to pass dishes to people sitting around the sushi bar. I don't think it was ever one of those "grab what you want" kind of belts.

[meesha]

Frying Fish in Little Tokyo comes to mind. Small place, but good.

[Woolsey]

Frying Fish hasn't been so good on my last few visits, and it's gotten really busy with Little Tokyo's recent resurgence in popularity, so much so that the concept of a conveyor belt sushi bar has gone out the window as diners monopolize the chefs with their orders. The belt was laden with nothing but tofu and edamame last time, and I had to wait my turn and order dish by dish like at a regular sushi bar. It took forever, much longer than at a traditional sushi bar, in fact. (Isn't speed and convenience the point of a conveyor belt sushi bar?)

I'd recommend Fat Fish in Koreatown instead. The food's a little more creative and varied, the room is sleeker, and they may still have the half-price lunch and happy hour special going, too. (I haven't been past there in a few weeks to check.) The chefs do a good job of keeping the bar stocked with rolls and sushi, but there is also a menu in case one wants something a little more complex.

The Sushi Roku folks are getting in on the conveyor belt thing with their upcoming Luckyfish restaurants, so there will be a lot more revolving sushi in the city soon.

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Fat Fish
3300 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020

[rednyellow]

After reading this post, I tried Fart Fish in K-town. Very disapointing. Maybe Sun. night isn't the best choice, but conveyor selection was poor. Tiny Ebi that fell off the rice. gummy rolls and just plain awful miso soup. The room might appeal to some, but I find it harsh and sterile.

[Woolsey]

Maybe I need to check it out again. I went in its first weeks, and it was good, with huge pieces of nigiri and some inventive rolls. But my friend said to me, "Watch, these pieces won't stay this big. They're trying to lure people into coming back right now." It seems she was right. The fact that they're selling it at 50% off is a sign they're trying to get people in; perhaps quality's gone down, too. I'm sorry to hear this as it showed such promise a couple of months ago.

As for the room, it's the kind of thing that can work as a restaurant only when there are bodies in it. When it's empty, yeah - harsh and sterile could be fitting.