On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars, Karaoke
Neighborhood: Kips Bay28th St-Park Ave S (6)
23rd St-Broadway (R, W)
Mon-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 1:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Loading...
This is my favorite restaurant because the food is very reasonably priced and I love the conveyor belt vibe...the food is mostly very good but occasionally its not too good. I dont know why on some days its just not tasty, yet on other days I am 100% satisfied. Overall though, a great deal.
Just be prepared to be disappointed once in awhile...sometimes 5 stars, sometimes 2.
Hit or miss, but there are not many places in NYC in this price range that are any better...
Is variety the spice of your life? Like your sushi on a conveyor belt (kaiten)? Although I'm not sure this is the only place in Manhattan with kaiten sushi, this nonetheless a nice place to take a friend to for a change of pace. Most maki rolls are served as half rolls served on colored plates which correspond to a certain price level. After your meal is done, all the plates are added up for the final bill. If you desire something that is not on the conveyor belt, you can always ask one of the sushi chefs located at the center of the belt to make a roll.
Sushi is perfectly fine here and each half roll on the serving dish is priced reasonably. (I just take the price and multiply by 2 to get the true cost).
If you want hot food, East serves respectable hot dishes. I personally like their udon noodle soup. The danger at East is that you may end up eating with your eyes and order too much! Happy eating!
I was invited to come here by a friend who wanted to celebrate her birthday. The thought of having sushi by a rotating conveyor belt is as close as being in Japan as I can get. Being a first timer, I am amazed by everything. Conveyor belt sushi is otherwise known as "kaiten" sushi, meaning to "go around." The conveyor belt stretches from the bar section to around the middle section between the booth dividers and back around again to the bar section like the letter "T."
Since there aren't booths available for such a large party of around nine if I can recall, we ended up sitting at the bar.
The way it works is like this: each plate on the conveyor belt corresponds to one of the color-coded prices on a sticker chart posted along the wall of the conveyor belt with the color-coded plate and the price,
A white background plate = $1.50
A pink background plate = $1.75
A green background plate = $2.25
A red background plate = $3.00
A blue background plate = $3.25
A checkered plate = $4.50
A black plate = $5.50
A gold plate = $6.50
This is basically an a la carte way of dining where the waiters do not take your plate away after you're done, but they do take the plate covers away to make room on the tables. Instead, you should stack the plates up as you dine. When you're ready to pay the bill, the waiters count the plates along with the prices and give you a bill based on your stack of plates. This could get uncomfortable as the more I eat, the less room there is on the table.
My only complaint is that I have no idea what type of Japanese food is on each plate. I believe a person needs to have at least a good amount of knowledge in Japanese food in order to dine happily. There is a menu nearby which I had to share with others with pictures and names, but by the time I look up a dish, it probably already past me on the conveyor belt.
For sushi lovers who don't have enough knowledge in Japanese food, I would suggest to just take a plate based on its appearance. It has worked for me so far and I had some delicious food from all sorts of color-coded sections. As I looked at the menu, it would be no difference in price if I ordered a combo meal on the menu than if I took the same amount in plates of food off the conveyor belt.
Alternatively, my husband also ordered food not on the conveyor belt: mini udon soup. I thought it was good. Overall, my husband thought the food quality was not as tasty though, probably because they mass produce everything. We spent around $40 as a couple, but I still had a fun time. Even if the food quality was mediocre, I would come here for the atmosphere. I hear it gets really crowded around here at peak times and I was starting to see it. Every time a customer walks into the restaurant, all staff members including sushi chefs shout out a phrase I'm not familiar with. I guess it's their way of welcoming customers.
The bathroom is located on the second floor where they have karaoke. I did not go for the karaoke, but the fact that they have it is interesting.
According to the website, on Mondays and Tuesdays, they have reduced prices on tuna and salmon dishes. Delivery $8 minimum Mon-Fri 12-10PM Sat-Sun 1-10PM
Pros: kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi
Cons: not good if you don't have self control (the bill could rack up like a trip to the dollar store)
I'm the type of person that likes to try a little bit of everything & East gives me just that! It's a conveyor-belt-type-Japanese restaurant right by Baruch College. Nice little place for a quick bite to eat without waiting for food to come by. Sushi is passed on the conveyor belt with some desserts & there is also a separate menu for hot dishes. Their sushi is decent, I would say it's above average. Prices are reasonable for the area & their miso soup always comes out piping hot!
I love coming here with friends. The sushi is always fresh. The staff are really friendly. I love watching the sushi go around the conveyor belt and watching the sushi chefs make the sushi, so I know it is freshly made. Their udon are pretty good too. This would be a cute place to go on a lunch date.
For the combination lunch box I would surely return! There are many options but the chicken katsu and gyoza's what I've had on my last couple of visits. The box comes with miso soup, green salad, seaweed salad, rice and California roll. So much tasty fuel for so little cash!
Like the instant gratification of dim sum, folks who need their hunger immediately satiated will appreciate the conveyor belt (kaiten) option - the selection is wide and like the lunch box, the prices are beyond fair.
Salmon lovers will want to come on Tuesdays - every preparation of salmon is deeply discounted from grilled salmon collar to salmon sushi to salmon rolls.
East is definitely on its way to becoming mainstay in my lunch rotation.
A perfectly respectable kaiten sushi (literally "electric sushi") or conveyer belt sushi place. The big issue with kaiten sushi is always how fresh is the sushi? Has it been sitting on the belt going around and around long past its expiration date? Happily East passes the freshness test, probably due to its popularity. I had dinner after 10:00 pm tonight, less than an hour before closing, yet the place was crowded enough (on a Tuesday night yet) to keep the conveyer belt freshly stocked. An added bonus was that apparently Tuesdays are "Let's eat Salmon on Tuesday !!" night, with salmon dishes discounted.
Look, you don't go to kaiten sushi for the very freshest fish, as the very nature of the place argues against that. With that caveat in mind, though the fish at East is good enough to recommend for those who like their sushi electric.
I'm definitely a fan of rotating sushi bars. I enjoy the variety of sushi choices on the conveyor belt. It's nice to see your selections, and the prices here are very reasonable, if not cheap.
Always leave here full and usually under $25 for both me and my girlfriend.
My only concern, I walked past here around April and they were closed with a help code violation sign on the door? hmmm
Good & cheap dumplings. Sushi is pretty good too. Although I couldn't help but wonder how long it had been going around on the conveyor belt.
Excellent conveyer belt sushi place. The rolls are always fresh, and each weekday they have a special such as Tuna Mondays. They also have a menu where you can order hot appetizers, entrees, and entire bento boxes. I usually spend under $20 for dinner and while they don't feature super-fancy and exotic rolls, it's good eats.
Sushi on a conveyor belt = leaving embarrassed and 10 lbs heavier.. but it's oh so fun! and the sushi is really good too... but that's the problem. You basically grab what you want as the sushi (and pastries and appetizers and other stuff...) pass by you. you may not know what your pulling, unless your able to take a quick glance at the menu, which is sorted by the plate color of the dish. The color of the plate is very very important. It tells you how expensive your food is. The # of plates on your table is just as important it lets you know just how much weight you gained and it lets the whole restaurant know just how much you ate. once I got to plate #6, I decided that I was eating way more than I should be. Granted, there's not much on each place.. but still!
Sushi here is quite expensive, but they have a great variety to choose from and you can choose from the menu instead of the conveyor belt if you so wish.
This is my ideal sushi restaurant: really fresh, cheap, fast, fun. No pretensions and great for chef-watching. You can tell they care because their rice is perfectly done. Did I mention that it's a conveyor belt of sushi? Good sushi? Moving rows of fresh fish passing before your very eyes? You can grab anything you want and eat it immediately?
The non-sushi stuff off the menu is really good, too. I like the ika rings. They also have these mini udon and sobas--a perfect small portion of hot noodle soup to end your meal.
I frekin' LOVE conveyor belt sushi.
When I arrived to the tri-state area, kaiten sushi was among the top things I knew that I wanted to seek out, thinking, "if it will be anywhere on the east coast, it will be here."
The concept of conveyor belt sushi is not difficult. Sit down, pick up color price coded plates from the belt and eat. Stack your plates and pay at the end. Inevitably, a confused group of people (no doubt expecting a traditional sushi bar) will sit in a booth near yours and commence asking a series of obvious questions. "So, do I use this soy sauce" "Am I allowed to use the chop sticks?" "Is this my napkin?" and "Do those plates have sushi on them?" Not to anyone in particular, but you know, to reassure themselves about the obvious in attempts to diffuse their unexpected kaiten culture shock.
For those familiar with the concept there are other concerns beyond the obvious. The sushi is good. Salmon seems to make it into a "special" frequently, and luckily it is also among the tastiest pieces of fish you can get here! The rolls are good, and if you really want to know what you are eating they have a menu to go with each color code. Otherwise, just grab what looks fresh and stack your empty plates up! If you want to make absolute sure you get only the freshest stuff while making use of the belt, sit where you can see what the chef is making and grab it as it goes on the belt.
Just remember everyone can see your stack. If this bothers you, do what I do: make lots of little stacks no one outside my booth can see ;)
With the conveyor belt, it's NOT a good idea to hold the following here: a first date, speed dating, an important meeting, any conversation with substantive information that needs to be later retained, really.
"Well, make sure you set the temperature at - wait, is that a mochi plate that just passed by? Anyway, as I was saying."
"I'm sure, it'll be okay, as long as you establish the boun - hold on, would you like that dragon roll? Right."
"If I ever had any real wisdom to impart, it would be - OMIGOSH, is that cheesecake???"
"I'm sorry, a cute guy across that conveyor belt and I are totally eye-fucking...the same plate of sushi."
hehe.
I found this place by googling "conveyor belt sushi in NYC"
It's not as cheap as Genki Sushi, of course, but it satisfies the craving for watching little color-coded plates glide past you on the conveyor belt while you pick and choose from them and eat your meal.
My only real complaint is that most of the vegetarian rolls usually do not make an appearance on the conveyor belt - so I always have to order them from a waiter.
On the plus side, there is a pretty good (and sometimes strange, for a Japanese restaurant) assortment of desserts on the belt - and lots of other things you can order from the menu like soups and tempura dishes. In that respect, it is really more like a regular Japanese restaurant that just happens to have conveyor belt sushi in the middle of it.
I love taking friends here if they have never eaten conveyor belt sushi before, because the novelty always proves entertaining.
I am so amused by this place, it is perfect for my ADD and appetite. So when my friends took me here, they had no idea , they turned me into an addict. I love that you can try different pieces, I've always seen sushi on others plates and ask " Oh , what is that?" well this time it is more like I look at is being served and say " mine!"
You can be fed in two ways
1. order from the menu -BORING
2.take it off the belt- ADVENTUROUS
plates are based by color so pink might be 1.75,green $2.25?
honestly , this place is more expensive than others... but it is def something to try- at least once..
personal favorite- edamame- i know its not sushi- but i love this!
I went here for a late night dinner with some friends. It was a Friday night, but they still had quite a numbers of tables open, so we didn't have tow ait for seating.
We sat around the conveyor belt and each picked out of little plates. I really liked it! The plates are color-coded so that you know how much it is. My favorite sushi for the night was the Crab Salad; you get two pieces on a little plate and it's only $1.50! (I think I must of had 3 of those plates lol.) And if you don't see what you want on the conveyor belt, you just have to ask them to make it. =]
I'd go back. It was yummy, cheap, and fun!
I went with two friends this weekend on a Friday night. We were debating whether or not to make reservations and foolishly decided not to. BIG MISTAKE. Once we entered the restaurant, it looked more like a lounge with loud hip-hop music blaring rather than a Japanese restaurant. And it was PACKED. So for the uninitiated, definitely MAKE A RESERVATION beforehand, esp. on a weekend night. We were holding out for a table (ppl willing to sit at the bar were definitely being seated faster) so maybe that's why it took us an HOUR before we were seated.
Once we were seated, the wait staff were prompt but not too friendly, probably too frazzled from the crowd. Whatever, conveyor belt sushi! It was fun picking items off the belt but we had to specially request some of the more tasty dishes like tuna fatty meat. The fish itself was 'meh' decent and the rolls were fine.
I wouldn't make this a usual place for dinner except to impress some out-of-towners with the exotic experience of food on a moving belt.
Pretty gross. The way this place looks is completely unappetizing, and the sushi is seriously sub par.
Super cheap though.
Rotating sushi bars are always so fun@ YOu can pick what you want, when you want~~
If something looks good you can just pick it up and start munching away on it~
They also serve random deserts on the conveyor belt and the staff is friendly, if you dont know what something is they are more than happy to tell you so you dont make sure you dont eat something TOO weird.
Good price, me and my bf came here and left full under $25
My go-to kaiten sushi place when I'm up for a cheap (less than $20), fast sushi meal. Usually I'm here for the sake sushi which are great. I avoid the plates with the lemon on the salmon because it kinda "oxidizes" the salmon and leaves a look and taste that I dislike. A bunch of salmon sushi and a couple others along with green tea... and voila, very manageable bill. We've even done $20+ bill for 2 (although we didn't have a huge appetite then)... normally we'd be about $30+
By the way, you can sign up to be a member. Costs something like $20 for which you will get the equivalent value back in a gift voucher and from then on 10% off all your bills. Quite a no brainer I must say.
Warning: Taking food off the conveyor belt is dangerous. Especially when the stacked plates provide proof of how much you've really eaten.
This place is fun. I came here with a friend and we kept pulling plates off the conveyor belt to try an assortment of sushi. We also had a couple of pitchers of beer (we know, weird) and had a great time that night! The place gets a bit crowded, but it's a great deal and really fun! I do think the location on 55th street is a bit better.
One of the few conveyor belt sushi places around here. (take whatever plate you want, and pay by the color of the plate, to be calculated at the end of the meal). Great if you like to eat a little bit of everything. The fish is generally fresh and decent. My favorite thing about this place used to be the "Tuna Mondays" (they also have Salmon Wednesdays -- though this may have changed to Tuesday), when Tuna would be on sale for super crazy deals. Well, about half a year ago they changed things and Tuna Mondays, though still in existence, gave you only $0.25 or $0.50 off each tuna plate vs half price. Still good. I used to go there every Monday. I know people who'd go every Wednesday for the Salmon. I guess they got too many people on those days so they decided to even out the prices and lower the tuna's regular prices while increasing Monday prices.
They also have good noodles, soups, and standard bento boxes. The other east locations in Manhattan aren't conveyor belt style, from my experience.
I love conveyor belt sushi. So fun, no wait, and lots of food in your face immediately. Nothing I like better.
The food is fine, and plus one star for being so close to my apartment. I don't LOVE the sushi there but I do love how you can sit down and eat right away.
I always leave super full and wallet happy.
I love picking off the sushi on the conveyor belt!
The sushi is pretty good for the price. The apple sake is amazing. And the tiramisu is light and fluffy.
Haha this place is great. I love the conveyor belt sushi. My favorite is their mackarel and when I asked one of the sushi chefs that I wanted some he made a bunch more for me!! But maybe it's because I'm caucasian and I said it in Japanese lol ;D
The prices are decent, the sushi is great and there's always plenty of things to pick up as well as be able to order off the menu. The only downside is that you can't split checks when you go with a group.
Fun place for novelty, not so great on the service. Going to Baruch College nearby we end up finding ourselves at East alot. The conveyor belt is definitely neat and pretty convenient when you just wanna sit down and get to eating. As others have mentioned though the fish isn't always the freshest. Stuff off the menu is pretty good though, I personally the way they serve you the Nabeyaki Udon soup in a metal bowl/pot as if it came straight off the fire!
Sadly, the staff is normally less than helpful, you'll occasionally get someone nice and attentive to serve you but sometimes it can be a right down horror story.
I'm a big fan of East, they have several restaurant in the city as well as in NJ, One of the favorite thing probably is the conveyor belt. you can pick and choose what you want and basically sit and eat right away.
Make sure you get seats right next to the conveyor belt, otherwise it's not as fun if you order from the waitress/waiter..
Weekend night usually busier,that means prepare to wait. I'm not sure if they take reservation. you can always try. it wouldn't hurt.
Best place in the neighborhood for sushi. Always fresh ingredients with great portion size, usually 2-4 rolls per plate not wedding you to a particular flavor or style of sushi. The conveyor belt aspect is great but you also order from the table or bar. The staff is pretty nice and attentive and it's beyond affordable. Now one of my favorite place to eat, worth a try for anyone who is wondering where to have good sushi in the Gramercy/Murray Hill area.
It's conveyor-belt sushi, which is fun, but the fish is not fresh.
If you love sushi, stay away. If you've never experienced the novelty of conveyor-belt sushi, sure, try it.
Sushi the fast way on the conveyor belts, but I have come here way before they had this setup, and enjoyed many good sushi meals.
Not crazy about their cheap fast way now, but they have okay Japanese
fare. Good for a quick lunch, and grab a Japanese lite beer.
I was so glad to find out that East was still in business after like 7 years. Yeah, that was how long I was on the moon for. One thing that bothered me was the wait. Was a ridiculous 15 mins.
I got the vibe that people came here to be entertained by the "fish on conveyor belt phenomenon" which is a good thing.(if you are a tourist)
I had a few rolls which were okay. Fish wasn't that fresh, but variety they have. Service was damm slow. Took me 5 mins to flag someone down for a beer re-fill. Seemed like the staff were interested in cleaning off tables rather than paying attention to customers needs. When service is slow, tip is practially nil.
I suggest a person only come here twice and no more.
This sushi will not knock your socks off, but the price might. I love this place for a cheap, casual meal. The sushi is fresh and tasty-- not transcendent. But the selection is good and the conveyor belt is great fun. Be sure to get a menu when you sit down because there is a wide selection of hot food as well. I especially dig the small bowls of ramen and green tea ice cream. And you can always order sushi a la carte if you're craving something that's not on the belt.
Plus, if you've been hitting the big, cheap bottles of Sapporo, karaoke is conveniently located upstairs. Nothing like making a drunken ass of yourself after a good meal!
Oh, and be sure to pick up the East VIP card for a big discount if you like the place-- it's part of a chain, but this is the only one with a conveyor belt (in NY, anyway).
Yay conveyor belt sushi! This is an experience I've never had before, and my Colorado friend and I came to East specifically for the conveyor belt novelty.
We got there at about 5:30 and were seated instantly since the restaurant was practically empty. For the first half of our dinner, the conveyor belt was pretty empty which made it a little difficult to find things we wanted, as new rolls were not being added. It also made me wonder exactly how long that tuna had been sitting out. Thankfully, as the dinner rush started, the sushi chefs picked up the pace and started filling out the options.
Sushi was good, service was good although a little overly attentive (our server pretty much stood next to our table the whole time, which was slightly annoying). There is the possibility of getting a little carried away by trying everything in sight, and we definitely left stuffed. The food is reasonably priced though, and I ended up spending about the same as I'd spend for sushi delivery in Boston which made me a happy girl.
All in all, the sushi fan inside me was pretty thrilled with the East experience and is just waiting for that conveyor belt to make it's way up the coast to Boston!
East is cool place to go for a quick and enjoyable sushi dinner. It is the type of restaurant that has a conveyor belt go around every table so that you are free to take whatever plates you want as they go by. This is a great way to eat sushi because it gives you complete control of how much you want to spend and exactly what you want to eat. Plus the beers are HUGE. This is probably my favorite sushi joint based solely on getting the biggest bang for your buck, while not sacrificing freshness or taste.
Yuck!!!!! Had dinner at the bar one night and it was TERRIBLE. There was something "off" in the taste of the rolls - so I stopped eating them. Not mention that sushi rolls at East come with 3 small pieces. I think 6-ish rolls per order is pretty standard, but not here.
My boyfriend ordered octopus salad and said it tasted like rubber. After that description I didn't bother to try it. The people we were with ordered the miso cod and red snapper, both of which were ok - but definitely nothing special. I'll pass on ever going back.
There is much fun to be had at East, a good venue for a lowkey dinner with friends or a light hearted date.
The conveyor belt adds a kitschy punch to the atmosphere, punctuated by the bizarre yellings of the staff every time a new customer enters the restaurant. What they are yelling sounds something like 'SAAAAAAGE', but apparently means 'welcome to the restaurant' or some variation in Japanese. The random outbursts pair up with the conveyor belt to really add a fun, spirited mood to the otherwise typical restaurant. It's definitely a trip watching your potential eats crawl by on the belt, delicately and sweetly plated on teeny color coded dishes.
East is great for small eaters and those who like a little bit of everything, since rolls are ordered in half sizes, usually 3 or 4 pieces instead of the usual 6. I liked this alot since I was able to try alot of different rolls. It's easy to overeat and lose track of how much you're spending because you can just impulsively grab whatever you want off the belt, but most of the plates are pretty cheap (and the fish on it is surprisingly fresh, considering the prices!).
$6 glasses of wine too. Holllerrrr!
Three stars for the freshness and presentation. Four stars for the gimmick that sets it apart.
East is awesome. It's kinda crappy to read that they were closed yesterday by the Health Department. Oh well, I'm still going back!!
Likes:
-Salmon Tuesdays (so worth the money if you love salmon sushi)
-36oz ichiban beer mugs
-usually there's a live DJ on friday nights
-ramen
-service
-on birthday's- b-day music & the complimentary cake with crazy firecracker candle
Dislikes: The cocktails upstairs at karaoke were kind of weak and small. I finished mine after two sips. Stick with the sake.
Overall, great!
Decent sushi at attractive per-item / -plate prices. Not a huge imagination / variety in what's put on the conveyor belt, but the menu has more depth.
Not the greatest sushi in terms of quality... BUT, here's 5 reasons why I think everyone should try it at least once:
1. The 2nd floor's a nicely decorated Japanese restaurant. the 1st floor is a sushi 'bar,' where all the seats/bar stools are placed around this circular conveyor belt. 2-3 sushi chefs are in the center, making all types of maki/sushi/tapa dishes. They place them on the conveyor belt, and you can pick whichever plate you want as it goes around and around. It's a really unique experience - apparently a lot of sushi bars in Japan do this.
2. It caters to your price range. The plate colors denote a certain price, with each plate being 1.00, 1.50, 2.00... up to 4.50 I think. Which means if you're a california roll eater, you can get plates of $1 maki rolls and walk out happy.
3. It's like Chinese dim-sum for sushi. What's great is that if you don't see something you like going around, you can special-request a dish and they'll make it for you (which is also good if the jerk next to you keeps taking the dish you're waiting for - too bad the conveyor belt doesn't change directions).
4. GREAT place for a date - I think it'd impress any foodie who's into sushi/unique restaurants. And the sushi is still okay quality.
5. Last of all, if you like the place you should apply for their membership. It's a $20 membership, which includes 10% off the bill everytime you go there, and you'll get a $20 gift card. and you'll get a few other $10 gift cards mailed to you throughout the year. A no brainer to me.
Happy Hour Deal~Just 4…
Jersey City, NJ
Welcome Yelp Guests
Neighborhood: Upper West Side
Neighborhood: Theater District
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Upper East Side
Category: Japanese
Edgewater, NJ
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Upper East Side
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Flatiron
Category: Karaoke
Restaurants in or around my place of work (27th…
We all gotta make a living, right? So here's…
Restaurants and lounges that I like in my…
Where I like to stop in for a quick meal without…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
I would eat it every day if I knew that wasn't…
Places to eat (or drink) when I'm broke but must…
If its Sushi your heart is after, then you need to…
