Chidori Revolving Sushi

I’ll admit, I am usually quite the pessimist when it comes to New Haven’s casual sushi scene, but Chidori Revolving Sushi pleasantly surprised me.

Most people would surmise that a revolving sushi restaurant about 20 yards away from the I-91 highway with no online presence might not have the freshest fish. But to my surprise, it turned out to be a delightful meal. 

The interior is a charming hodge-podge: multi-colored lanterns, graphic novel-looking wallpaper, a TV mounted on the wall, and Japanese noren curtains scattered along the room’s edges. It feels like something AI might generate if prompted to design a sushi restaurant run by a 70-year-old traditional sushi chef teaming up with a diehard anime fan from Los Angeles. But the real star, of course, is Chidori’s namesake: the conveyor belt. The U-shaped sushi-delivering runway winds through the restaurant’s central space giving every table a front row seat to this stream of happiness. 

There are two levels to this mechanism: the bottom level is the actual conveyor belt, which is the constantly flowing source of surprise. On this bottom layer, looks do matter. Whatever draws your attention, you snag. Whether that’s the Godzilla Roll topped with spicy tuna crunch and avocado or the Tokyo Honey Roll filled with crunchy shrimp and crab, it’s all too tempting. You will find yourself sampling one too many multi-layered rolls. 

The top level is not an actual conveyor belt, but rather a track for the robots to deliver you your specifically ordered sushi. Yes, you read that right: sushi-delivering robots. 

This concept is not something I understood about revolving sushi joints. While you could easily make a full meal out of the sushi from the first-level conveyor belt, you can also order appetizers, sides, and more. Those arrive via robot on the second level. 

Here’s how it works: each table has an iPad attached to it where you can submit your order. I want to note that iPad screens taking over my meal is not something I’d normally want. However, these did not feel overly invasive. They were simply your means of getting sushi! 

For maximum control over the experience of your tastebuds, I’d recommend snagging a seat near an iPad. Each device is the site of a crucial decision-making process. The iPad provides you with Chidori’s extensive menu so you can indulge in more than just the chef’s selections. There are appetizers, rolls, sashimi, nigiri, and entrees. Once you make your selections, a robot rolls around with a platter of sushi, saying “take your food now, please.” It is an addicting process.  

I didn’t make it through the whole menu, but I came with a fairly large group, so together we did some respectable damage. Here are some of my favorites: 

The quality and freshness of the fish really surprised me for a highway-side sushi restaurant. I particularly enjoyed the ikura, salmon sushi, and torched salmon nigiri. Get the torched salmon (if you couldn’t tell, I sort of have a thing for salmon). I also liked the inari tofu pockets, a salty-sweet tofu pouch stuffed with rice, and the scallop nigiri. And of course, the ridiculously-named special rolls –such as the “Out of Control Roll” and the “Dancing Eel Roll”– are a must-order and are a party for your taste buds. 

Each order of sushi comes on little ceramic-mimicking plastic plates. My friends and I made it our personal mission to create a stack of these plates taller than any of us – and the mission was completed. Once we had our monstrous stack and our stomachs were overstuffed, we loaded up all of the plates into the provided slot at the table. For every 5 plates we inserted, a quarter toy machine dispensed amusing Japanese toys. At Chidori, not only was I eating well, but I felt like a child inside Papa’s Sushiria. 

I don’t want to set your expectations too high: the quality is good, not amazing, and the prices could definitely be better. But for New Haven sushi, and especially for the experience, it’s absolutely worth checking out.