Conveyor belt sushi restaurants typically have bar seating in front of the conveyor belt and sometimes tables for larger parties. The host or server may lead you directly to your seat or give you a number that tells you where to take a seat, depending on the restaurant.
If you don’t see a specific condiment near your seat, such as wasabi, you can always order it from a nearby sushi chef or your server. In case you’re not familiar with eating sushi, the soy sauce is meant for dipping, the ginger is for eating between different plates to cleanse your palette, and wasabi is for adding spiciness. Feel free to skip out on any of the condiments if you prefer not to use them.
If you don’t see chopsticks and a moist towelette station nearby, your server will probably bring them to you instead. If you don’t know how to or prefer not to use chopsticks, you can always ask your server for a fork.
If you don’t like or don’t want hot green tea, you can skip this and get something else to drink.
There will either already be a menu on the counter or table in front of your seat or your server will hand you one when they seat you. Some conveyor belt sushi restaurants have touch-screen menus at every seat that you can order from. If this is the case, just click on the beverages you want to order and place the order digitally instead of ordering from a waiter.
This is especially important if you’re dining on a budget. For example, if blue plates are the cheapest, you’ll know that you can eat more of those.
For example, nigiri plates typically look like 2 oval-shaped balls of rice with slices of fish on top of them. Salmon nigiri looks like 2 orange slices of fish on top of the rice and tuna nigiri looks like 2 slices of pinkish-red fish on top of the rice. Something like a spicy tuna roll might look like a plate of 6 pieces of rice roll wrapped in seaweed with red tuna in the middle.
Make note of any plates that have been around the conveyor belts several times. These will be the least fresh dishes.
For example, don’t grab a plate to get a closer look at the sushi on it to decide whether you want to eat it. When in doubt about a plate, just let it pass by and decide whether you want it the next time it comes around.
The menu sometimes has things that don’t typically go around on the conveyor belt. For example, there might be bigger noodle dishes or things like miso soup that you can only order off the menu. If the restaurant you’re at has touch-screen menus, you can just order dishes directly through the digital menu instead of from a chef or server. A classically trained sushi chef serves tuna first because tuna is the king of the ocean. Then white fish and salmon. Coloration is also important from the chef’s point of view, for example, serving white-colored food with colored food.
If you’re eating with multiple people and want to get separate checks at the end, make sure each person makes their own stack of plates.
Depending on the restaurant, you can either pay the waiter directly or take your bill to a cash register and pay.
