Sushi Rev

For years, Orange County residents had only two conveyor belt sushi restaurant choices – imported Japanese chain Kura Sushi and locally owned Kaisen Kaiten Sushi Bar – but during the summer of 2025, those options doubled: Tokyo Central-adjacent Waka Sakura opened in July, followed by independent rival Sushi Rev in late August. Occupying H2O Poke and Grill’s former space at The Market Place on the Irvine/Tustin border, Sushi Rev combines Kura’s prices with Waka Sakura’s fatter fish cuts and nicer aesthetics, instantly making a place for itself in the local sushi scene.

A brief primer on conveyor belt sushi: Guests sit at two- or four-person tables next to a constantly moving conveyor belt loaded with clear plastic-covered sushi plates. You can pick up and immediately start eating any appealing items you see on the conveyor, then use a magnetically detachable tablet to order anything else you’d like from the kitchen. When your ordered items are ready, they’ll arrive on a second, higher conveyor belt on a tray sent specifically to your table. Empty dishes are manually picked up by servers and logged during your meal, eliminating Kura’s table-mounted dirty dish drop slots and automated tallying.

Sushi Rev’s menu is comparable but not identical to rivals. Tuna, salmon, yellowtail, shrimp, albacore, scallops, mackerel, halibut, squid, eel, octopus, caviar, and egg are all available as two-piece nigiri plates, many with two to four options (raw, seared, yuzu, and/or truffle); a dozen specialty cut rolls span the expected California, crunch, and spicy recipes, with additions including Hawaiian Harmony, Forbidden Dragon, Mushu Dragon, and a Rose Roll. The menu doesn’t include full ingredient descriptions for the specialty rolls – an omission that needs to be fixed – but some combination of spicy tuna, tuna, avocados, tobiko roe, tempura shrimp, imitation crab, and sauces are generally involved. Specialty roll prices range from $3.75 to $5.75, with most including four cut pieces. Hand rolls, originally conspicuously missing from the menu, are now available and fashionably served open rather than conically closed.

A brief “izakaya” list includes nearly 15 mostly fried or steamed items ($3.75 to $8.75) spanning edamame, multiple tempuras, chicken karaage, salmon or yellowtail collar, shishito peppers, and juicy broiled mussels. Six types of flavored carpaccio (tuna, toro tuna, scallop, octopus, spicy albacore, and salmon) are the only other savory menu options, with basic sodas, beers, and sakes as drinks, and no desserts. Every guest receives wasabi, pickled ginger, and a dish for soy sauce; a bowl of miso soup, originally offered for free, disappeared months after opening.

Many of the plates we tried at Sushi Rev were varying shades of good, great, or wonderful. Thick, moist cuts of tuna, salmon, and yellowtail were either perfect on their own, lightly dusted with black pepper, or brightened with yuzu to accentuate their natural flavor; that said, the presence of seasonings may rub some raw fish purists the wrong way. Scallop and squid pieces were fresh, clean, and in both cases more tender than expected – roughly room temperature, too, so they melted in our mouths rather than chilling them. From piece to piece, properly vinegared and lightly sweet sushi rice complemented rather than detracted from the fish.

Sushi Rev’s menu does include a couple of oddities: eel topped with a slice of strawberry, and “seared” egg with a slice of strawberry and a dab of mayo. We tried both on our second visit, and opinions varied from person to person: neither was bad, but the sweet berry and mayo struck one of us as unnecessary, the other as unique Rev twists that nonetheless haven’t been repeated on other nigiri items. That doesn’t mean everything here is predictable; we were thrilled to see atypical items such as crab inari, garlic mackerel, and cilantro yellowtail included on the conveyor.