“What would your grandmother have to say about that?” We put the question to Yoshiko-san, who grew up in pre-war Japan and whose grandmother had never even seen a jalapeño, much less confronted a slice of it atop sushi. Of course, a similar question could have been put to residents in University City in the ’20s: “Could you have imagined bite-sized rice and raw fish whisking past your table on an automated track, along with robotic carts gliding up bearing bowls of soup?”
Kaiten, or “rotating” sushi joints, have long been a feature on Japan’s casual dining scene, where modest toppings and straightforward preparations function much like the Automat cafeterias of early-20th-century America. The format has existed in the West for years, but Sakatanoya Revolving Sushi & Ramen Bar has reintroduced it to St. Louis, where two similar kaiten concepts last appeared more than a decade ago.
Unlike Japanese kaitenzushi-ya, which encourages a fast-food approach to sushi, the idea here seems to be promoting longer, more leisurely visits. Booths are roomy and comfortable. The décor is minimalist but upscale, sleek and chill. There are plans for a lavish cocktail service, along with late-night dining and drinking.
If you’ve never had sushi on the move, here’s how it works: What parades continuously past your booth on a track is a reasonable assortment of the basic lineup of sushi-dom: chubby slabs of rosy tuna, buttery rich salmon slices, yellowtail, shrimp—all the standards. The selection of sushi rolls ranges from simple to some that are, ah, extravagant. The Mucho Spicy Roll, for instance, is topped with chopped tuna and slivered rings of, yes, jalapeño. A Bootylicious Roll (we’re not kidding) motored past. You’re on your own here; we couldn’t really look too closely at it as it went by for fear that we might be emotionally scarred. Anyway, you take what you like, and after eating, you slide your plates down a slot that automatically keeps track of your meal. Colored dishes let you know the price, and you can see the bill advance as you eat.
Additional toppings and specialties are ordered via a tablet that’s mounted tableside. Tiny sweet ama shrimp, sunrise red globes of salmon roe, and eel are custom made. They arrive on an upper track, whizzed along on miniature go-karts. A waist-high cousin of the Jetsons’ Rosie also ambulates, bearing other dishes.
So the animatronics aside, how’s the sushi? It’s quite good. It is exactly the quality one would get at a Shibuya neighborhood kaitenzushi-ya; it is not the stuff of Jiro’s revelries but is basic and satisfying. Portions are fair; the slicing of the toppings is technically correct. The rice is properly made, which is no small feat as the proliferation of sushi places locally has seen a corresponding rise in rice preparations that are careless at best. (At press time, acclaimed chef John Kim was in town tweaking the menu.)
The novelty of a meal rotating about at your fingertips and watching for the next course to come down the track has its appeal. The place is comfortable; it will attract couples and groups who want to sit, talk, and slowly nibble their way to satiation and beyond. That will be a challenge, though. There’s a reason that some fast-food joints have hard plastic chairs—the design is to get you in, fed, and out. So it is with Japanese kaitenzushi places: A quick turnover is necessary to keep things going, and in that sense, it’s like grocery-store sushi offerings—the shelf life is tenuous. If diners linger, fewer people come through the door, and moving the product to maintain freshness becomes a task.
Another challenge for the place will be the menu’s size. From the same tablet where you order more expensive or varied sushi, you can select fried-chicken cutlets (katsu), salads, glossy yakitori skewers, battered and fried octopus takoyaki balls, and a half-dozen versions of ramen. These whir their way to the table on those same elevated animated carts. We tried gyoza pot stickers, which were creditable, and a shrimp tempura ramen bowl, which was not. The broth was thin and lacked the milky richness of a decent soup, and the tempura shrimp tasted as if they had come from a package. The larger menu offers more choices, but a compromise on quality seems unavoidable.
Slices of red velvet and chocolate cake were available but never made an appearance. No matter. Sakatanoya is next door to Tous les Jours, where the baked tasties are beyond extravagant. As for beverages, a liquor license hadn’t yet been issued when we visited, and not having green tea was inexcusable.
The Delmar Loop has sprouted more entertaining and worthy restaurants in the past few years than perhaps anywhere else in the area. We’re guessing few would surprise Yoshiko-san’s grandmother more than Sakatanoya.
Sakatanoya Revolving Sushi & Ramen Bar
📍6683 Delmar, University City
📞 314-202-8313
⏰ 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–9 p.m. Mon–Fri; noon–9 p.m. Sat & Sun
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