Some friends discovered the new Marinepolis Sushi Land location in Bella Bottega mall in Redmond, so we decided to give it a whirl.

The restaurant was a vast improvement over the Bellevue location — more parking, nicer looking decor, not as crowded. The ingredients were fresh and the sushi was still moist (not dried up and leathery looking as they tend to get in conveyor-belt sushi joints). Green tea was free. The selection (as seen in the menu) is pretty varied and only a few items are “Westernized” sushi – with cream cheese, beef, etc. For the same low prices, you also get ice-cream and hot dishes, so I ordered some red-bean ice-cream for dessert.

Since we got there later in the evening, the selection was limited and you had to hail the servers to ask for any special orders. Most of the tables only seat 6 people, so it’s not so conducive to larger groups.

I’ll definitely be visiting this place again – I left with a very full tummy and a happy wallet.

Sushi Land is one of the popular sushi chain in Seattle area. (Queen Anne and Bellevue also have Sushi Land) I have been to sushi land more than 20 times. The waiters are friendly. However, not all of the sushi on the menu were rotated on the belt. I suggest that you order things from waiters or sushi chiefs.

Dishes:
I like Tuna, Tobigo(flying fish eggs), Tamago(eggs) and Unagi (eel). I always have calamari as my side dish. The green tea ice cream is a good after sushi dessert.

If you have a sushi craving, there aren’t many faster ways than conveyer belt sushi. Just sit down and start eating. Try to sit near the door since that seems to be where most of the sushi lands on the belt so you can have your dibs at the fresher picks. The prices per plate are pretty cheap, but it’s pretty easy to go overboad and end up still spending 20 bucks a person :)

I wasn’t impressed with the selection when I was there the only time for lunch, but the price can’t be beat. Since I couldn’t find much stuff I liked, the lunch cost me $5 or so. Cheaper than work cafeteria! I’m hoping this was just a bad day and would give them another try. I do hope they’ll have more fresh fish selections next time, and less fried rolls.

This is the best bang for your buck when it comes to sushi. I get full on $15. That means a lot of sushi. They’ve recently added a lot of in-house specialties to the rotation (Ok, pun intended because of the conveyor belt — I kill me!). In the past, I’d gotten tired of the usual Nigiri and Maki menu (They went off the standard cut-out that you see in most American sushi restaurants.), but I’m glad they jazzed it up a little. They even added Udon to the menu. Go there if you’d like to eat lots of decent sushi (not excellent by any means) for real cheap, and if you don’t mind waiting 15-30 minutes for a seat. Don’t expect great service or ambience as the surly sushi chefs just crank it out to the beat of the hip-hop on the radio.

I have enjoyed myself at this restaurant, and in the past have eaten some good fish there — but that was during a short period after they opened. In the past two years, I have visited several times and found the same characteristic things — First about the food: (1) a lack of fish in general on the conveyor belt; (2) a load of non-fish rolls; (3) a heavy dependence on surimi when “fish” is present; (4) tuna absent every single time; (5) the same food circulating forever — And the atmosphere: (1) an understaffed teenage waitstaff that can’t keep up with patron requests for drinks, miso, or cashing out, even during off hours; (2) an overwhelming feeling that no one working there wants to be there; (3) a “sticky” feeling all around; (4) a long wait for any requests, even mundane ones like a spicy tuna roll or seared salmon.
But this restaurant is popular, and is crowded almost every time I’m there. All I can figure is that for me, sushi means fish, pleasantness, and a grounding experience; but for this restaurant’s regulars, sushi land means something else, something like hope, or promise, or an affordable date or family outing that is almost a “scene.” Or perhaps it’s like the potential thrill of finding a treasure at a garage sale, or winning a few bucks from a scratch ticket.
In the end, $6.00 will almost always get you a better spicy tuna roll, same number of pieces, and a warm welcome at a large number of real sushi restaurants.