Claiming to be the largest conveyor belt or Kaiten sushi restaurant in the Northwest, Sushi Revolution is an inexpensive way to sample your way through sashimi (raw slices of fish laid on top of rice), sushi rolls, and tempura (panko battered and deep fried veggies and various seafood).



Upon entering the door, greetings echo off high ceilings called out by bustling employees, and we’re ushered to seats. Service consists of staff fetching beverages and tallying plates at the end of the meal.



Here’s how their system works: plates are color-coded, each color denotes a different price. However many plates you pull from the moving buffet will determine what your bill will be. Fast, easy, effective. Much like hospital or school cafeterias, dining at Tacoma’s newest restaurant can be a very impersonal experience, made more so by the scarcity of decor. There is little to no interaction with sushi chefs working busily to keep the conveyor belt loaded.



Light orangey pink salmon and paper thin lemon slices top nori (black seaweed) wrapped rice rolls filled with more salmon, avocado and cream cheese ($4) mingled with plates of rectangular cooked egg or tamago pieces bound to ovals of rice with bands of nori ($1) and teriyaki-barbequed eel topped cream cheese and fake crab stuffed rolls drizzled with tangy sweet sauce ($3) were a hit. Dishes of green salad with creamy ginger dressing and bowls of small portions of edamame ($1) sailed back and forth on the double-tracked moving belt. Sweet cream puff desserts were the size of ping-pong balls with three to an order ($1).

Different flavors of mochi ice cream could be ordered from servers.



It’s not the best sushi I ever tasted, but everything sampled was sufficiently tasty. Considering the price, the food was exceptional. While constant mall traffic makes it a bit difficult to get to Sushi Revolution, it’s worth the effort to experience the conveyor belt phenomenon firsthand.



[Sushi Revolution, 5225 Tacoma Mall Blvd., Tacoma, 253.475.5559, www.sushi-revolution.com]