Conveyor belt sushi restaurant comes to Staten Island
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — You won't need an MTA OMNY card to have your food delivered by train at this new revolving sushi bar and bubble tea concept called Makoto Revolving Sushi Bar and Bubble Tea, located at 2530 Hylan Blvd. in New Dorp.
Richard Wang, who was overseeing the restaurant when the Advance/SILive.com visited Saturday, said the eatery opened during the holiday season.
The restaurant's unique system includes a conveyor belt with fixed-price plates at $3.95 each, and a separate iPad ordering system for specialized items delivered by a small train.
A digital menu features sushi rolls as the highlight. Options include the Spicy Salmon Crunch Roll, Red Eye Roll, and Unagi Tempura Roll, with prices ranging from $3.95 to $9.95.
Or choose from the starters and sides, like Chicken Karage, Fried Calamari, Potato Fries, Fried Sweet Potato, Shrimp Tempura and Seafood Gyoza, priced from $3.95 to $8.95. These bites are perfect for sharing or enjoying on your own.
Wang noted that since opening, the restaurant has attracted a diverse customer base reflecting the local demographics.
"Staten Island is where everyone is from different backgrounds. We have a lot of Asian people coming, but it's not just one single demographic."
As the island's only revolving sushi spot, it has quickly gained popularity and is already seeing significant repeat business.
"We have two customers who have come back 10 times since we opened. They come every two days, and really love this a lot," Wang added.
Wang said his favorite food is sushi, "I literally eat sushi like probably every week, and my favorite dishes are anything with yellowtail or eel."
Eric Gapud, a Rossville resident, made his first visit to the restaurant after reading an article on SILive.com.
Gapud said, "I used to go to the one in New Jersey, so now I don't have to travel over the bridge. It's like how they'd have it in Japan with a revolving belt, so it's very similar. It's something different than your regular Japanese restaurant."
Josephine Cuozzo, 10, from New Dorp, said her brother taught her how to use chopsticks. "I looked at the pictures on the digital menu and found my favorite dish, the salmon."
Emily L. was serving bubble tea in a separate part of the restaurant accessible through an exterior door.
In explaining the basics, she said, "It is a tea-based drink, like jasmine milk tea or fruit-based teas, with toppings such as sweet brown sugar tapioca balls, also known as bubbles.
"Some people will treat it as a small dessert. They'll come here after they've eaten, and other people will actually order it while they're eating, so they can sip on it as well as eat their sushi, ramen and whatever."
Emily said another favorite is the Japanese soufflé cheesecake. "It's been pretty popular. It's very light and airy, and not overly sweet, so I think that's why a lot of people like it so much."
First-time customer Irene Zak from Meirs Corners said she and her son have dined at similar conveyor belt-style sushi restaurants in Philadelphia.
Zak said, "We saw that it's newly opened, and when my son saw it, he just thought it would be cool to eat here. We tried the shrimp tempura and unagi tempura roll. We got a bit of everything, and we're coming back. We like the train thing, too."
Joe and Rachel DiBlasi from Eltingville brought their 8-year-old son, Sonny, who recently developed an interest in sushi.
"He's starting to get interested in eating different types of sushi, and we thought the revolving belt would be a unique thing for him to take a look at."
Makoto is open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
