Kura Sushi Opens First Maryland Location
Kura Revolving Sushi Bar opens its first Maryland location at noon Saturday in Federal Plaza, 12266 Rockville Pike, Rockville. The space was most recently a Chuy’s Mexican restaurant and a Ruby Tuesday before that.
Kura Revolving Sushi Bar serves a variety of sushi, soups, rice and noodle dishes, sides and desserts on a conveyor belt system.
(Photo: Emily J. Davis/Kura Sushi)
The 3,325 square-foot restaurant, beside the new Torchy’s Tacos, is Kura’s 67th U.S. location and third in the DMV. The sushi chain opened its first area restaurant at 614 H St. NW in November 2020 and opened its Tysons Corner location at 8461 Leesburg Pike in August 2022.
Kura combines authentic Japanese cuisine with interactive dining. With more than 100 dishes served via a two-tier conveyor belt system, diners enjoy a journey of flavors, enhanced by drink delivery robots, Kur-B the KuraBot, and Bikkura Pon prizes.
Sushi, including nigiri, rolls, hand rolls and gunkan — a small, hand-formed oval-shaped mound of vinegared sushi rice wrapped in a strip of nori to create a “boat” shape that is typically topped with various ingredients such as seafood or fish roe – and desserts are $3.70 per plate. The price of soups, noodles, rice dishes and sides range from $3.70-$11.50.
Food at Kura Revolving Sushi Bar arrives on a two-tier conveyor belt system. (Photo: Emily J. Davis/Kura Sushi)
The restaurant’s revolving sushi bar snakes through the dining area with plates of sushi that are protected by ventilated lids, which limit airborne exposure and has plate-tracking technology that monitors how long the item has been circulating.
An express belt above the primary belt allows diners to place orders using the touch tablet at their table and the food is delivered directly to them from the kitchen instead of having to wait for an item to come around on the primary belt.
The Bikkura Pon Prize System is comprised of a prize machine, touch panel and plate disposal slot located at every table that are connected via sensors. The touch panel registers the number of sushi plates dispensed into the slot. After every five plates inserted, a short animation plays on the screen and after every 15 plates, a small prize will be dispensed from the prize machine.
The first 50 seated dine-in guests on Oct. 8, 9 and 10 who show their Kura Sushi Rewards Member QR code receive a sushi towel. The first 300 seated dine-in guests on Oct. 8 receive a commemorative Rockville location sticker.
Kur-B the KuraBot welcomes diners by delivering their ordered drinks and condiments. (Photo; Kura Sushi)
Kura Revolving Sushi Bar holds a soft opening from noon-9 p.m. Saturday through Monday. Regular hours, beginning Tuesday, are 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday.
