Enso Sushi

TIP — Restaurant is closed as of Jan 7^th — see their facebook page

We came here twice with groupons — one with just the 2 of us and one with a party of 4. This place is not like wow amazing but it’s also not the worst. I don’t think we would come back if we had to pay full price.
Ordering from the menu is a lot better than trying to find what you want from the conveyer belt but the downside is that the service is quite slow. The conveyer belt is cool for like 5 minutes and then you get bored with it lol.
The one thing I love is the green tea ice cream! Picture posted–

I have been here several times. While it is true that the service has been suspect, I always come back for the food. The service from my latest visit was actually good.
Pros:
Food is quite delicious
Creative rolls/​Good variety of rolls
Unbeatable prices
Cons:
As mentioned the service can be a questionable.
Tips: You are not limited to the conveyor belt, you can certainly order whatever you like. Use your judgement whether something looks fresh or not and if in doubt just place an order for them to make it. The fried rolls such as Godzilla are better when order instead of taken from the belt.
A note about Groupons:
I have used a Groupon with this restaurant twice and have never had any issue with redeeming it. Obviously if the Groupon specify for 4 people and you show up with 2 people, you cannot fault the restaurant if they choose not to let you redeem it. Another example is showing up for lunch when the Groupon explicitly reads dinner only.

Great for groups. You know that person who is always late? You no longer need to wait for them to show up. I love the conveyor belt! I’ve been twice, once at lunch and once at dinner, and I’ve been pleased both times.
Try the Firecracker Roll or the OMG Roll.

Some tips after two Groupon dinners here…
The conveyor belt thing is novel and all but unless the restaurant is really packed and they’re constantly replenishing the food, chances are the fish has been sitting on the conveyor belt for awhile and is not very fresh. We grabbed a few things from the conveyor belt and were not wow’ed. But then we ordered from the menu and those rolls world’s better!
Also study the menu in the beginning so you can be prepared as delicious looking rolls pass you by.
Definitely very affordable, especially with the Groupon. And a fun experience.
That being said, they could do with a little better customer service. My friend and I trekked all the way from Harvard Square, only to find that Enso was closed for the day due to «unexpected maintenance». It wasn’t posted anywhere on their website. We had to use the Groupon by the end of the week before expiration so we called to ask if we could get a couple day extension on the Groupon. The woman not only refused to give us an extension, but was in general just really unnecessarily rude. For that reason, we probably won’t go back.

I came here for a sushi adventure, trying to acquire a taste for this food that everyone raves about. I got that. Tried California Roll, Spicy Tuna, and King Tuna rolls, all of which came by on the conveyer belt along with plenty more selection which was nice. Wasabi and ginger are brought to you by your server. The quality of the rolls seemed okay to me but as I’ve said I am unschooled in the ways of sushi. Nothing made me want to throw up, so that’s good, right?
Speaking of servers, this Kurt Cobain-​looking guy was one of the surliest waiters I’ve ever had. He sulked around the restaurant ignoring people, never smiling and just being generally unpleasant. And I’m not one to usually remark on service at all. The service was bad in general but when I ordered some Veggie Tempura, it took 20 minutes to come out. After a while we ordered some more: same thing, which doesn’t make sense because on a Thursday night at 7 we were one of maybe 5 tables.
Surly teenager service and empty customer-​less atmosphere aside, the food was pretty good and we finished off the meal with a couple of fried ice creams. They have an off-​the-​menu Oreo option too which was delicious! It seems fairly easy to eat cheap here, the Cali Rolls came 6 pcs for about $ 4 and the Tempura was $ 2 a plate. The King Tuna was $ 7 for 4 pcs though so it just depends on what you order.
If it wasn’t for the service and the weird emptiness of the restaurant this place could be decent. Who doesn’t want to eat food off a conveyor belt?!

Revolving sushi with tons of interesting rolls. Sadly, all the hot items are extremely subpar, but who gets that sort of stuff at sushi places anyways? Even then, all the actual sushi rolls aren’t that stellar either. Service is actually pretty good, our servers both times we have went have been pretty attentive and accommodating.
I can’t exactly recommend anything in particular as they have the usual fair (california, spicy tuna, spicy crab, etc). Its cool and fun if you haven’t been to a revolving sushi place. I imagine things might be a bit fresher if you go during peak hours, but on a Friday night at 8 pm, the place definitely looked a little slow.
Worth a shot if you’re in the area, but don’t expect the best sushi ever.

I encourage everyone to skip this place. Long story short, you can get better sushi and better service for the same price if not cheaper elsewhere.
My boyfriend and I went with a Groupon we purchased, were seated right away, and then waited 20 minutes for someone to ask us what we wanted to drink. Meanwhile we watched 1000 empty plates roll by on the conveyor belt, (plenty of jellyfish salad, though), and ended up just ordering off the menu in frustration that nothing either of us wanted to eat seemed to ever be coming by.
I get my first roll and lo and behold it contains an ingredient I’m allergic to that wasn’t listed on the menu, so I have to send it back. The wait time for our ordered sushi was ridiculous, and we decided to leave after spending a couple of hours there having eaten 2 things.
We go to use our Groupon, and the waitress tells us it’s no good because it’s only valid for dinner, and our check opened at 4:45; dinner starts at 5 p.m. WAS THIS LISTED SOMEWHERE OR TOLD WHEN YOU SAW THE DAMN GROUPON SITTING ON THE TABLE THE WHOLE TIME? We’re trying to pay the check for bad food and service close to 7 p.m., and you have the audacity to claim we’re lunch customers? Unbelievable. Never ever ever in a million years would I go back here or recommend this place to anyone who likes food.

I’m not really sure what planet the other reviewers of this place live on – and what the local sushi must be like there – but I have an apartment right by Enso and have tried all the other options. And unless the other reviewers are snacking on O Ya all day, every day, I’m not sure they know what they’re missing. This place is AWESOME!
You have to know what you’re getting yourself into here: a kitschy, conveyor-​belt sushi experience. But if you can get over the fact that your hipster friends might shun you for actually enjoying this place non-​ironically, it’s actually tons of fun.
I love the element of FATE involved: what sushi is coming down the pike for ME?
(If you’re not into fate, you can order whatever rolls you like from the servers. The dude who always works there is really cool, if a bit shy.)
The sushi is VERY tasty, and VERY cheap. An equivalent meal at Ginza or even Beijing-​Kyoto would cost at least twice as much. Last night’s spicy tuna rolls cost us $ 2.00 apiece. And we didn’t even have to wait for one of them: fate brought it to our table as we sat down!!! (The total bill for five plates – shared between two people was about $ 20 before tip, but know that we gravitated toward some of the cheaper plates.)
The special rolls (which top out at, I think $ 6
or so) are pretty creative. Some are elaborate. But they’re not BAD creative or elaborate, if you know what I mean – the kind that mixes banana and hot sauce, or whatever. These are more like mango and eel. Tuna and jalapeño. I love trolling for the cheap stuff to fill me up, then splurging on a fancy special roll or two to round out the experience.
As other reviewers have commented, the restaurant is huge! And it’s hardly ever well-​populated, which is a shame. Cuz it’s a
beautiful (ly kitschy) space, full of absurdly tasty raw-​fish creations, all for a bargain price.
Take it from a local sushi expert: this place is one to visit again and again. And what a great newcomer to the neighborhood!

Eek. We went on a Saturday night and the place was empty. The prices were pretty low, and the sushi was fine… not awesome, but acceptable.
But the next day, my fiancé and I both felt sick. Can’t be sure it was from the sushi, but we won’t be returning to take our chances.

Thanks to a Groupon Deal, $ 15 for $ 30 worth of food, I got to come here twice and was pleasantly surprised each time.
Enso takes on a modern approach and uses conveyor belts lined around the restaurant to serve you your food. Each item has a color coded plate which helps to identify the price. Things range from $ 2.00 (smaller, appetizer things) to $ 6.75 (for more of the specialty items).
The concept is great, and the food, once you’re able to get a hold of any of it, is actually pretty delicious. Most rolls come with no more than 4 – 5 pieces of sushi.
Enso loses stars though due to its slow turn out of the food, and poor service. There were only about 2 – 3 sushi chefs available, which isnt enough for the demand of food needed A lot of the time, there were places on the conveyor belt that remained empty. Therefore, the waiters took orders from customers to ensure that they got what they wanted. Ultimately, this defeats the purpose and decreases the convenience of the conveyor belt.
I like Enso, and with a little bit of work in faster food output and waitstaff, this place could be pretty darn amazing.

Instant gratification. Is there a more American mindset?
I’m joking.
Enso is all about instant gratification and I love it. lol. You come in, you sit down, you chow. The sushi was, rightfully so, they best part of the experience. It all tasted very fresh and flavorful, and prices for a lot of the rolls seemed reasonable. I just wish they’d had a wider selection on the belt throughout service. I definitely recommend sitting near the beginning part of the belt — where the sushi chefs are actually putting out fresh sushi — because if you were seated toward the back like us, you’re gonna leave hungry. What we were able to grab, though, was amazing. The Firecracker Roll is so good; definitely my favorite. Very spicy and very tasty. We actually tried to put in several orders of sushi since we weren’t able to grab any of the ones we wanted, but it turns out they were out of several fish that night (a little odd since it was only six on the evening on a Thursday night). Sadly, no toro for me.
Walking in, the initial vibe you get from Enso makes you feel a little like they’re still under-​construction. Not in the sense where there’s actual building going on, but more in the sense that there’s a lot of space. It just doesn’t flow very well from the bar to the seating area. Décor is minimalistic.
Service was a little shoddy. After we were seated, it basically took our waitress forever to get back to us. I mean, she was very nice and courteous, but we waited a little under ten minutes for our water and asking for refills felt like pulling teeth. When no one came by to see how we were doing (we were about thirty minutes in), we asked some of the other servers walking around for more water. Only to hear them all say they’d go get our waitress to do it instead of getting the pitcher and doing it themselves. –_​_​_​–
We left soon after.
All in all, I had a good time. The sushi redeemed Enso for me, and I’ll make it a point to sit near the chefs next time. I hope they re-​train their staff though.

Enso is not the most attractive restaurant in the world (as you walk in, you’ll be struck by just how large and rectangular it is), but I’m not grading it on aesthetics. I’m grading it for the Kaiten experience, which is all too rare here in Boston. I came for sushi on conveyor belts, and that’s exactly what I got. Some of the items I sampled were certainly better than others, but everything was pretty enjoyable overall.
My advice to you is to PACE YO’ SELF. When you first sit down, it can be tempting to snatch everything that looks good off the conveyor belt and shove it in your face, but the price will add up quickly that way. Instead, study your menu, which helpfully lists all the regular items that should be on constant rotation, decide which ones you want (don’t see what you want on the belt? just ask one of the waiters, who will be happy to place an order for you) and keep your eyes peeled.
There are specials every night that aren’t listed on the menu that look absolutely amazing as they float on by (I actually had to get up and chase after one, I got so excited). Just be warned that one of those plates will run you $ 6.75.
Also of note, the slushes. They are delicious. I highly recommend the honey dew.
Service is a little spotty, but the beautiful thing about Kaiten is that the food serves itself!

Hands down the best sushi in Boston!
I’ve been here several times for dinner before writing my Unilocal review, just to make sure the quality of food and service was consistently amazing! I’m also very picky about food quality in general and think most places that I’ve tried are overrated or lack quality, Enso is not one of these places.
1) Great location — easily walkable from the T and they have their own private parking lot in the back. Let the parking attendant know your there for Enso and make sure to get a free parking voucher from the restaurant.
2) Clean and BRAND SPANKING NEW restaurant. Booths, tables, chairs, and bathrooms are all very clean. This place is very trendy and has a young crowd. A chill place for a group for friends to get good sushi and fancy enough to bring a date to to make you look classy. :D
3) Sushi Belt — I love coming here not just for the sushi but for the experience. Instantly sushi is brought to your table as soon as you sit down. I’m so used to waiting 15 – 20 minutes for my sushi to be made but come here often enough and you’ll be grabbing sushi off the belt before you even take off your coat!
4) Sushi Quality — Like I said, I’ve stopped by several times and each time the sushi has always been fresh. There could be that one dish that no one likes and it constantly goes around in circles but I’ve talked to the wait staff and the plates have special bar-​codes underneath them that if a plate stays on the belt too long, a machine kicks it off the belt. I actually saw this happen on my last trip there. We sat in the first booth, closest to the kitchen, and watched a sad plate of seaweed salad get kicked off. To this day I’ve basically tried almost every item off their menu and have yet to complain about any.
5) Price — Always affordable and cheap. I’ve come here with just a few people up to a party of 10 and each time I think each person has paid less then $ 20 for a TON of sushi. I always get caught up and tend to eat with my eyes. Which is never a bad thing when it’s so delicious!
Must try rolls and dishes (most are specialty rolls): Spicy King Tuna Roll (my favorite), Lotus Roll, Oyster Roll, Spicy Crab, Godzilla Roll, Peppered Tuna, and Jalapeño bombs. Fried Green Tea ice cream is really good but I usually don’t save any room! :P
All in all, if your looking for great quality sushi with fast service I would look no where else. I really enjoy this place. Now I’m just waiting them to get a liquor license so I can stumble home full and drunk! However, if your a lot better then me at planning, this place is currently BYOB (Bring Your Own Beer) so feel free to bring in your favorite bottle of wine and beer and they’ll serve it to you! Why couldn’t I find a place like this when I was a broke college student!
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Update: 06/​12/​2013
This is still a great place to get sushi but they are no longer BYOB. They now serve beer, wine, and sake! BYOB was cool but this is even better because I don’t have to worry about finding a liquor store after work before I come here!

It’s a new sushi place, so of course I had to try it. And of course I knew it was going to be kind of terrible — revolving sushi belts are fun at first, but seriously, if you really want to eat sushi that’s been sitting around, you can get some at the supermarket. The quality of the sushi was, as expected, poor to fair. The small plates for a few bucks each make it seem like a good value, but they’re just half portions and end up being about the same price as most sushi places. I had a 4-​piece roll, nigiri, and tea — this ended up being about $ 9 before tax and tip.
Note: Make sure you let the server know if you have food allergies. They have «specials» on the belt that aren’t listed on the menu, so the ingredients are not displayed anywhere. And sometimes it’s so drowned in sauce that it’s hard to tell what it was originally.
But… they have great service! Just wanted to end on a positive note. =o)

Came as a party of 4, this place is pretty awesome.
With booth seats surrounding the conveyor belt all around, it’s a great place to come with a large group.
I love how creativity is a central theme of Enso’s rolls. Unique names and crazy looking rolls, you won’t be disappointed. Our party had a good kick out of their ‘Sexy Lady’ roll– first time seeing strawberry and pomegranate combo on sushi!
Overall, you’ve got a good balance of sashimi’s, nigiris, rolls, and various versions of seaweed salads going around the belt-​sure to be something for everyone.
Taste wise and not being nit picky about sushi, this place is decent.
Our waiter was surprisingly really attentive and friendly to our party of 4. Props to that. Always coming by to refill our waters, asking how are things going, and if we need anything else.
If you like their facebook page and check in on facebook, you get free fried ice cream :) They’re not stingy on that freebie either :) Green tea and red bean were some of the flavors you could choose from.
Came out to be $ 21 per person in the end including tip. Thanks Enso for ending our President’s Day holiday on a fun, yummy note :)

As a working law student nearby, I love that I can walk in, plop down and grab some delicious sushi. Pictures are awesome to look at, but when delicious rolls are streaming by you, there’s no need for photos. Grab a plate and enjoy the deliciousness!
Can’t wait to take some out of state friends here when they visit. =)

I was so excited to hear about this new joint opening up on Eater Boston and couldn’t wait for it to open up. I took my coworkers there for lunch during the week about 3 weeks ago and we thought it was great. I lived in SF for a while and the sushi there is great and cheap and definitely hard to find outside of SF.
The place is huge and the orange colored décor is a perfect touch. The conveyor belt is definitely a bit overwhelming especially if you are hungry. The cool thing is is that if something isnt on the belt they will make it for you.
The seaweed salad was good, go 2 servings. Then we got s bunch of rolls, spicy tuna, spicy salmon, samurai, salmon sashimi, rainbow and scallop dynamite. All were tasty and hit the spot.
The one thing I noticed was the shared wasabi and ginger that they had in a tin canister on the table. I’m not a huge germaphobe but I thought that was a little strange since while eating sushi you always have your own wasabi and ginger and when you need to re-​fill your concoction you always use your chopsticks that were just in your mouth.
While leaving the staff asked how everything was and I made a suggestion about the shared condiments. They looked at me like I was crazy but after explaining they were very understanding. I didn’t think they would take my suggestion but I figured I would tell them how I felt. I stopped in 2 weeks later and viola they took the tin canister away and serve the wasabi and ginger individually to you when you sat down. I was overly impressed that they took my suggestion and did something about it. I’m sure others had the same suggestion but I’d like to think it was me that made them change it. Needless to say that is good management and they take their guests suggestions seriously.
I will definitely come back again and will tell all my friends to check out this cool new spot in Boston.

Enso is a cool place for first time experience with kaiten sushi aka conveyor belt sushi. It’s a nice, new, and a hip place to get sushi because this idea hasn’t been seen in Boston until now.
The idea is cool, the execution is okay, and the prices are acceptable. The only downside is the sushi might not be fresh as it continuously rotates on the belt sitting on little ice pack packets. However, you can order it by waiter for a fresh new roll if you don’t see it on the belt.
However, let’s dive into the good stuff, the food. The regular rolls like spicy salmon, yellowtail, sweet potato, etc are definitely worth the price of $ 4.50 and less. While the special rolls come in either 4 or 5 pieces per plate for $ 4.50-$ 6.25. The ones that stood out in my mind (since we ordered them fresh) were the Pink Lady (spicy salmon and shrimp tempura) and the yellowtail. The salmon sashimi wasn’t that great because it tasted a bit fishy the first round, while the second round still didn’t justify any greatness.
In the end, after 2 plates of sashimi and 6 other plates of maki rolls, the bill came out to $ 43.40 including tax. It was a nice touch to get a free fried ice cream by liking them on Facebook.
So the verdict: I would come here just to experience the conveyor belt and watching them prep the rolls from the under the screen, but I wouldn’t come here again for sushi because there’s better else where even though they have some interesting flavors and rolls available. The food just didn’t impress me unfortunately.

I think more places should serve you food on a conveyor belt! This works especially well for a Sushi joint. It functions just like a normal restaurant, their is a hostess, waiters, bar, etc except that thei is a conveyor belt with fresh sushi running around almost the entire seating area too. This works out well for a quick lunch or if you are really hungry. It’s only downfall is if you see a sushi roll you like, someone might take it for themselves before it gets to you
They also have a selection of items items you order from your server. I went with an order of Crab Rangoon’s. It was perfect! The Godzilla Roll I ordered was lightly fried and filled with whitefish and avocado, also delicious. All this came to only $ 9.50, quite the value, I was expecting to pay double.