By Georgia McManus

Sushi King, an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant with locations in both Midlothian and Richmond, as well as throughout Virginia, has shown to be a somewhat controversial dining experience, with many mixed reviews about the quality of food, service, and ambiance. Upon gathering opinions and visiting the location on West Broad Street, I came to my own conclusions of the restaurant. 

Since its establishment in Richmond, Sushi King has mainly been known as a place to get as much sushi as one could possibly want for a very low price. For lunch, adults eat for $12.99 each, while kids ages 3-6 are $3.99 each, and kids 7-11 are $6.99 each. Dinner is a little more expensive, with adults being $19.99 each, younger kids being $5.99 each, and older kids being $8.99 each.

Upon first arriving for lunch around 1:00 p.m. on a recent Saturday, three friends and I were immediately met with a 20-minute wait for a table before finally being seated at a booth. Looking around, I noticed that the establishment looked a little worn down, with cracking leather on the seats and faded lettering on the signs. The area was also extremely dark, with very dim lighting in some areas. The overall interior of Sushi King made it appear perhaps even cheaper than it actually was and could benefit from a thorough renovation. 

The Broad Street location in March 2016. Photo courtesy of Trip Advisor.

Although the restaurant was pretty busy, our server came over to us fairly quickly to take our orders. He appeared to be overwhelmed by the large number of customers that day but was very kind to our group nonetheless. Throughout the rest of our time at Sushi King, the server didn’t stop by to check in very often, but remained friendly every time he did come. According to frequent Sushi King customer Cam Holdych (‘22), “The goal of the servers is to turn over the tables as quickly as possible… You go to Sushi King expecting abrasive service from the staff and cramped seating conditions.” While the rapid pace of the restaurant can feel a little intense, it didn’t necessarily take away from my experience there. 

Current lunch menu for Richmond location. Image credit: Sushi King.

After looking at the lunch menu for some time, I saw that it was quite extensive, with a large assortment of appetizers, entrees, and sushi rolls. For the one lunch price, we were able to order as many dishes as we desired, but we could only ask for one dish every time the server stopped by. For appetizers, my table ordered edamame and shrimp tempura, both of which were delicious. Everyone agreed the shrimp were especially tasty dipped in teriyaki sauce.

Shrimp tempura appetizer. Photo credit: Sushi King.

Over our time at Sushi King, we ordered some of the most popular rolls rated on Yelp and DoorDash, such as the Rainbow roll, California roll, and Crunchy roll, along with several less popular entrees, like the shrimp yakisoba noodles. Shrimp yakisoba noodles are stir-fried noodles with shrimp, onions, and assorted vegetables like asparagus. I was a somewhat disappointed with the noodle dish, as they were a little soggy and did not have much flavor. 

Shrimp Yakisoba noodles. Photo credit: Jun Seita.

Before going to Sushi King, I was advised by Connor Gocke (‘22), “Just don’t get any of the sushi with cream cheese. I hate sushi with cream cheese,” followed by Hugh Williams’ (‘22) comment, “I also hate sushi with cream cheese.” I decided at that moment I had to get sushi with cream cheese, considering that is typically one of my favorite rolls, so I ordered the Philadelphia roll. Philadelphia rolls usually contain salmon, cucumber, and cream cheese, all of which I like. I ended up enjoying the Philadelphia roll and thought, for such a small price, it was fairly tasty. 

My top favorite Sushi King rolls were the crunchy roll, the volcano roll, and the California roll. The crunchy roll was my first favorite, with shrimp tempura at the center, crab, cucumber, avocado, and crunchy topping. My second favorite was the California roll, which is an inside-out sushi roll with rice on the outside and cucumber, crab, and avocado on the inside. My third favorite roll was the volcano roll, which I had never tried elsewhere. It was made up of cucumber in the center, spicy tuna, with shrimp and basil oil on top. 

 Shrimp tempura roll. Photo credit: Uber Eats.

By the end of the meal, I was extremely full and couldn’t even think about eating another bite of sushi. I had been warned of this by my brother, Max McManus (‘22), and was told, “On a day where I know I’m having dinner at Sushi King, I will not eat all day so that I can eat as much as possible.” Looking back, I should have done the same.

Some of the large platters of assorted rolls. Photo courtesy of Yelp.

The sushi was overall fairly appetizing, especially considering the impressively low price we paid, but as Zehma Herring (‘22) said, “If you’re going for high quality sushi, it’s probably not the place.” I would go back again if I was looking to buy a large amount of food without spending too much money, but I would not recommend it as fine dining sushi by any means.  

When I asked the sushi-lovers of Collegiate school about what components make sushi truly top-tier, I received much positive feedback. Gabi Deglau (‘23) said, “It needs to be a good combination of land and sea ingredients,” meaning there is a proper balance between the seafood, like crab or salmon, and the other parts, like avocado and cucumber. Emma De Witt (‘23) enthusiastically stated, “You know the spicy sauce on top and the rice? I could live off that,” referring to the spicy mayo often found on sushi.  

Another platter of assorted rolls from Sushi King. Photo credit: DoorDash.

I then posed the opposite question, directed towards the numerous people at Collegiate that passionately dislike sushi, and they offered insight into why some may refuse to eat it. Some people’s disgust towards sushi dates back to their childhood. Amani Kimball-McKavish (‘22) said, “One time, I tried sushi from a friend, and I spit it out in the trash can. I’ve been scared to try it ever since.” Although our palettes change over time, it appears Kimball-McKavish’s experience tainted the idea of sushi for her going forward. “I often find that raw fish has little taste and slimy texture,” said Taylor Domson (‘23). Upon further probing, it seems as though texture is the main problem most people have with sushi. Jordan Deane (‘23) described the texture of raw salmon as “nauseating,” and Brent Hailes (‘22) said, “I like most raw meat, but if it’s all raw fish with a bunch of vegetables on it, I just don’t like it. I like my fish cooked.” 

Overall, I would rate Sushi King a 3.8 out of 5 stars. I was not impressed by the ambiance, and the wait-time was a little too long to ignore. The noodle entree I ordered was also a little disappointing, and I would most definitely not order it again. On the other hand, the sushi itself, along with our appetizers, surpassed my original expectations and was quite delicious. While I wouldn’t say “that place was gas” like Hayden Ronga (‘23), I would agree with Max in that “Sushi King is the best bang for your buck meal.” No matter what I think, Sushi King has its loyal customers who frequent the restaurant often and are satisfied every time, such as Holdych, who confidently stated, “Whether the sushi is worth it is up to each customer. For me, it always is.”

Featured image courtesy of Sushi King.