Daniel B.
Yelp
As longtime fans of Kura Revolving Sushi Bar's Doraville location (the first Kura in metro Atlanta, opened July 2017), my wife and I have been quite happy with this new Kura location in West Midtown. It's less than a mile from us, so we no longer go to the Doraville location. It opened on street level of the Interlock Tower, at the corner of Northside and 11th, in April 2024: https://x.com/kurasushi_usa/status/1778579336372830285
Kura is good for cheap, quick, casual sushi and other Japanese food in a fun, self-serve setting (conveyor-belt sushi). If you're looking for higher-quality sushi with traditional sit-down service, I recommend Ginya Izakaya (my favorite), Nagomiya, or O-Ku nearby. There are high-end sushi places nearby too (e.g., Hayakawa, Mujo, Omakase Table, Kinjo Room), but they're on another level.
In this regard, Kura is low end, but that doesn't mean it's bad. This restaurant has its place and it always scratches our itch whenever we need a quick sushi fix. And I've never had bad sushi at any Kura location (inside or outside of Georgia), ever, that I can remember. I've had worse sushi at sit-down sushi restaurants.
At the time of writing this review, Kura now has three locations in metro Atlanta: this one in town, Buford (near the Mall of Georgia, opened May 2023), and Doraville (H Mart shopping center).
This location opened as part of The Interlock mixed-use development's second phase, Interlock Tower. Wagyu House is in the same building. Free parking is available in Interlock Tower's parking garage. There are a few entrances/exits to the garage. I like to enter and exit via 11th St NW, near Kura.
Remember your license plate number and enter it on the touchscreen inside the restaurant, next to the check-in stand, to validate your parking for two hours.
Multiple people asked me how this Kura compares to the Doraville location. Food and service-wise, it's the same. The prices are the same too, last I checked. Go to the location that's most convenient for you. That said, for now, this location is newer, nicer, and cleaner and the design looks cooler. Also, we haven't had to wait for a table here yet. However, our visits have started around 6:00 to 6:30 PM, before peak dinner service. We've left to crowds waiting outside for a table.
In general, I think it's easier to get a table at this location compared to Doraville. Use the Kura app to get on the waitlist before you get to the restaurant. This is something we routinely did when we went to the Doraville location. However, we haven't really had to rely on it at this location because there's been little to no wait around the times we've arrived.
Since we're regulars, the app has also been useful for discounts (loyalty rewards), promos, and coupons. Also, I like the convenience of paying with my phone (through the Kura website via QR code, not the app).
Currently, the standard price is $3.50 per sushi plate -- same as Doraville and 10 cents less than Buford ($3.60). I've already seen the price increase at this location since it opened. I looked up my Yelp review of Kura's Doraville location and the price was $2.25 per plate back in 2018. That's about a 56% price increase over the last six to seven years.
I love nigiri and usually fill up on that, along with norimaki (e.g., tekka maki - simple tuna roll), gunkan (e.g., ikura, negitoro, sea urchin), and hand rolls (e.g., salmon skin, eel). Some of my favorite nigiri here includes southern bluefin tuna, garlic skipjack tuna, most of the salmon varieties (seared toro, regular toro, regular salmon, sockeye, garlic ponzu, umami oil), Spanish mackerel, sea bream with yuzu pepper, seared hokkai octopus, and tamago. A couple of the nigiri that typically don't taste as good as their higher-end counterparts are the Hokkaido scallop and squid, but I still get them anyway. In addition to nigiri, my wife likes to get various rolls and she orders edamame almost every time.
The desserts are yummy. My favorite is the taiyaki ice cream. The mochi ice cream, Japanese-style soy milk donuts, sesame balls, and warabimochi are delicious too.
As of January 2025, there are over 70 Kura locations in the US. Between Japan, Taiwan, and the US, the chain has over 670 locations worldwide. The company is headquartered in Osaka, Japan. Japan has the most locations with over 550.
Kura is so big that they have their own farms, such as uni farms (sea urchin farms). The company streamlined the conveyor-belt sushi business model. For example, we noticed that during non-peak times, the belts aren't fully stocked. However, come peak dinnertime, the belts are consistently stocked with a good selection. It doesn't matter when you come though, because you can always order the sushi you want if you don't see it on the belt. Also, you don't have to worry about freshness because their system discards sushi that's been sitting out past a certain time limit.
Service has been fine, for the most part.