Kura Revolving Sushi Bar is coming to Redwood City, plus where to eat sushi now

Conveyor-belt sushi is heading to the Peninsula. Kura Revolving Sushi Bar is planning a restaurant at Sequoia Station in Redwood City, at 1101 El Camino Real, Space F1D. It would be the chain's first Peninsula location and its seventh in the Bay Area, filling the gap between its San Francisco restaurant and its South Bay outposts.

An alcoholic beverage license application has been filed for the address, which is usually a sign that plans are real. What there is not yet is a firm opening date. Construction and the state liquor license process both still need to wrap up, so treat any rumored date with caution until Kura announces one.

How Kura Revolving Sushi Bar works

If you have never been to a Kura, the experience is part dinner, part game. Plates of sushi and other Japanese dishes travel past your table on a revolving conveyor belt, and you simply take what looks good. Each plate rides under a ventilated lid, and a plate-tracking system keeps an eye on freshness.

You can also skip the belt and order from a touchscreen tablet at the table. Custom orders arrive on a separate express belt that runs overhead, and drinks are delivered by robot servers. The menu covers sushi, side dishes, noodles, desserts and alcoholic drinks, and the company says its food is made without artificial sweeteners, seasonings, preservatives or colorings.

The part kids remember is Bikkuri-Pon. Empty plates go into a slot at the table, and every 15 plates earns a chance at a prize. It is a clever way to turn a sushi dinner into an event.

Where Kura fits in the Bay Area

Kura Sushi USA, the American arm of a Japanese company founded in 1977, already runs Bay Area restaurants in San Francisco, Berkeley, Cupertino, San Jose, Pleasanton and Union City. Nationally the chain counted 96 locations across 24 states as of September 2026. Redwood City would finally give Peninsula families a Kura without a drive to San Jose or across the bay.

Until it opens, the Peninsula has plenty of sushi worth your attention, from playful boat bars to some of the most serious omakase counters in Northern California.

Get your conveyor fix while you wait

Sumo Japanese Restaurant in Los Altos has a sushi boat bar where diners pick plates from little boats sailing by. Its rolls include the Dragon, the Rainbow and the house Lion King, and there is a dedicated vegetarian and vegan menu plus gluten-free soy sauce. The room is child friendly, which makes it the closest thing to the Kura experience on the Midpeninsula today.

In San Bruno, Mijouri SushiBune is a sushi boat restaurant with generous bento boxes and special rolls at affordable prices. Up in Millbrae, One Piece Sushi offers iPad ordering and a menu of individual nigiri and sashimi pieces and smaller roll portions, so you can build a meal a little at a time, much like grazing at a conveyor bar.

Stay close to Sequoia Station in Redwood City

Redwood City is already a strong sushi town. Sushi+Plus is an easygoing everyday option, with California and specialty rolls, chef's-choice nigiri, chirashi, bento combinations and kids' selections that make it simple for a group with different tastes.

Out in Redwood Shores, Otoko Sushi builds its menu around recipes from Chef Victor, who has more than 30 years of experience in sushi and Japanese cuisine. His omakase rotates seasonal nigiri, with much of the seafood sourced locally and sustainably.

Book an omakase splurge

When you want the opposite of a conveyor belt, the Peninsula's omakase counters deliver focus and craft.

Sushi Shin in Redwood City is the first restaurant of chef-owner Jason Zhan, who trained in traditional Edomae sushi in New York. Lunch and dinner are both served as omakase built on seasonal seafood, and the restaurant is recognized by the Michelin Guide.

Also in Redwood City, Sushi Kinsen serves a Ginza-style Edomae omakase with fish sourced through Tokyo's Toyosu Market. Chef Jason Sen Li applies aging, curing, marinating and precise knife work to each fish.

In San Mateo, Sushi Yoshizumi is a Michelin-recommended counter devoted to traditional Edomae sushi. Chef Akira Yoshizumi's sequence can include bluefin tuna, monkfish liver and seasonal yellowtail at a small cypress counter.

Iki Omakase on Ramona Street in Palo Alto offers a prix fixe Edomae-rooted omakase from Chef Jiabo Li, who trained at Sushi Hon and Sato Omakase in San Francisco. Seats are reserved in advance. In Portola Valley, Hibari offers kappo-style omakase at a six-seat counter from a former Nobu head sushi chef, along with a lunch menu of sashimi rice bowls.

Watch this space

Until Kura Revolving Sushi Bar in Redwood City announces an opening date, sushi lovers have no shortage of options, from sushi boats in Los Altos to Michelin-recognized omakase right here in Redwood City.

Check hours and reservation policies before you go, since many omakase counters book weeks ahead. You can find every restaurant on this list in the Outside Eats guide.