Sushi King

Really really good value. The sushi isn’t the best in the world, but it hits the spot. Go hungry, and make sure you finish everything or they’ll charge you extra. Seriously.
I have to concur with another reviewer who mentioned the creepy owner. There was a man who was acting very very creepily towards my kids– patting them on their hair as he walked by and generally acting really strangely. We got a very bad vibe from him. He couldn’t have done anything in the middle of a restaurant, but I will only return if with my husband, that’s for sure.

I really enjoyed Love Sushi King. The price was great for an all you can eat sushi place, being $ 16 per person, you definitely get what you would expect (some rolls a bit better)! Obviously you’re not going to get Ten or Now & Zen quality, but you will get a lot more to fill you up for a more affordable price.
Here’s the deal: $ 16 all you can eat sushi, but also other typical options like dumplings, and fried rice for the non-​sushi eaters. Each person can order one thing at a time, it seemed weird at first but I did appreciate it towards the end.
All in all, a great place to satisfy your sushi cravings in c-​ville.
Recommend: crazy monkey roll

To be clear, I was here at about 2:45, they stop taking customers for lunch at 3 and officially close at 3:30. So, there were not many other patrons there on this Friday to compete for service. And I had to sort of eat the dregs of the bottom of the servings the salad buffet had to offer. But even that was not too bad.
The interior is not bad, my server, a female was just fine. I had no issues with the pace of food serving, with the exception of I was not asked if I wanted a water refill until I was nearly finished. A little late by then, I had already sort of rationed my water assuming I would have no more. It wasn’t a deal breaker for me though, I survived even though I loaded up on the wasabi! She did come back and discuss the menus including the dinner menu with me since I had never been there. There IS a language problem though. I just hope she was actually Japanese, I can excuse the language barrier if its authentic!
The salad bar for lunch was a bit light on content. Some green salads for the average American that likes that basic bowl of salad for dinner were already in bowls on ice. There were a few salads I thought were odd, one of which was a typical seafood salad. Who goes for sushi and gets a mayo-​based seafood salad from a bar? Just seemed weird to me, but I’m weird, so… there’s that.
They did have a great cucumber salad. Very vinegary and not a weak interpretation like so many restaurants have. It was a great accompaniment to the sushi. There was a wonderful sashimi salad that fit right in with the sushi concept. I did have a very nice dessert of very good fruit offerings they had. Not half ripe melon and oranges with canned mandarin oranges and lychee like most Chinese buffets… which by the way are rarely Chinese food… its the crap Americans think is Chinese food they roll their eyes and serve to us… and watch us inhale it.
Anyway, Sushi is Japanese, not Chinese, so I’m glad this place didn’t look like a Chinese buffet. The salad and dessert bar (I dont do sugary stuff when eating Japanese food, it goes against everything healthy I just ate. I’m not a health nut, it’s just the way I see things.) is the only thing «buffet» here. Everything else is ordered from a menu like a regular restaurant and brought to your table. So plan on tipping the servers. Perhaps the reason the servers have attitudes sometimes is people have a «buffet» mentality and dont think they should tip. That’s wrong.
I’ll never understand why people think they are eating sushi when they dont eat meat or only want cooked meat. By the very definition, sushi is raw meat with rice. Period. The rolls are called Maki. They are NOT sushi but can be excellent eating and can contain just about anything under the sun and be called Maki… but, it is NOT sushi! Also, «sushi» is eaten with your hands! Using chopsticks on sushi shows you are «pretending» you know what you are doing. Eating the Maki roll slices with chopsticks is acceptable especially of they are covered with sauce and stuff.
I have never heard of a place like other reviewers mentioned that weighs leftover rice to charge you for it. I would never return to a place like that. Granted, some people are greedy and go to all you can eat places and waste food and disrespect the establishment. These are awful people, but when you serve the public, and advertise all you can eat, you are going to attract some of these dregs of society along with the good people.
The Lunch menu was OK as far as «actual» sushi (raw fish on rice only… remember?), but limited on selections. The dinner menu has twice the sushi and some more options on the other menu items. For lunch, if you just want sashimi (raw fish, no rice, only!) there is a 50¢ charge per piece. The server explained that it is a bigger piece of fish than the sushi, which would be correct as far as «actual» Japanese serving goes (I’ve been to Japan).
All you can eat Chinese places with sushi hate guys like me because I cut away half and sometimes all my rice. I dont hate rice, I just want the sashimi. Chinese buffets make their money on silly people who load up on rice, noodles and other cheap stuff. With that said, a place like this is expecting you to consume rice with your sushi like Japanese/​Asain people do. They ALWAYS eat rice and its the main part of their meal usually. So pay extra for the sashimi if that’s want you want here, give the place a break.
All in all a good deal if you drink water. As with a lot of places, tea, soda and alcohol are BIG money makers for them. But for the money you save if you normally eat a lot, you can splurge on some hot saki and still spend a lot less than a proper Japanese restaurant.
I did not taste any hot foods. It’s a flipping sushi place people! But the sushi was just fine from my experiences and the roll (Maki) I had was not bad. Clearly an all you can eat place will skimp a bit. You have to learn the sweet spots to find the best bang for your buck in places like this.

First off, I just want to say that I had no problem with the food. $ 15.99 for all you can eat sushi is a great deal, even if they aren’t the highest quality rolls. I highly recommend it if you love sushi and you are hungry! I tried the mermaid, king, and Charlottesville rolls — loved all three!
However, the reason why I am rating this so low is because of the owner. He was present when we came in and immediately started hitting on me and my friend and making inappropriate comments. He called me «sexy and exotic» (???) and asked if he could touch my hair. When I said «please don’t», he started rubbing my back instead. Super creepy and super gross. I will not be coming back here again unless I have a male friend with me.

Some of the sushi was pretty good for this type of place. That said, almost everything on the menu has «crunch» or tempura, both consisting of fried flour, a real minefield for someone like me with a serious gluten allergy. They did make me a spicy salmon roll without fried flour filling after I ordered spicy salmon rolls and got fried flour filled rolls with a little bit of spicy salmon. The prices are ok for what you get. The service was great. I just wish nearly everything on the menu didn’t contain fried flour…

Fast food sushi at best. The intimacy of McDonalds combined with quickly served Japanese dishes. The food is okay, service what service, floors so sticky they remind you of the theater, and ambiance of a bowling alley.

A surprisingly nice little sushi restaurant! I’m usually skeptical of sushi buffets, since they’re almost always run by Chinese/​Korean people who make some strange fusion like general tso’s roll or bulgogi rolls. But here, they stick to most of the classics and keep it at a great price. For 13 dollars, you get sushi that is made to order and for the most part, it all tastes quite good. Although this isn’t going to be 3 Michelin star level sushi or Jiro Dreams of Sushi level, it still makes for a very pleasant meal.
However, even if it is more quantity vs quality type sushi, I would have liked to have some actual fish in some of my rolls… When I ordered the salmon skin at most sushi restaurants, there is still a lot of the salmon that is on the skin in the roll. Here, it’s like they just stripped off the skin for you.
This might seem a bit petty to take off about a half a star for, but god almighty, whoever pissed off the girl that was playing the music better get her a bouquet of flowers and a costco sized teddy bear, because the hour and a half we were there, it was a straight Taylor Swift marathon. Don’t get me wrong, I love Taylor, but the amount of «never ever ever» I heard that day was enough for the rest of the year.

My boyfriend and I are obsessed with sushi. We have been to all of the places in town and we frequent sushi king. The price is amazing for all you can eat sushi.
The sushi itself is not the best but not the worst either. There’s a small variety but I still can’t complain for the price.
Lastly, I have to point out the service and the reason I gave sushi king 3 stars and not 5. The manager is always here smiling and asking how everything is which is a plus but the servers I always seem to get are awful. Especially the last time I went. I asked for water and was given seltzer water. So I graciously asked for a new cup, because everyone makes mistakes. Still, I was given seltzer. Everything we asked for we had to say more than once and pray she got it right. I understand that there may be a language boundary to some extent, but I think that it is reasonable to expect them to know the menu items, salt, and water.
On top of that, she never came to the table, even when we clearly had no plates left, and was hesitant to take any more orders from us. I found this experience to be the worst I have ever had in a restaurant. Being a restaurant employee myself, I give most servers the Benefit of the doubt. But this was unexceptable.
After my last experience with my waitress I think it may be my last time back.

Surprisingly amazing! I’ve been to a few sushi buffets throughout the country and they’re always just OK or way too expensive, even weighing leftover rice and charging extra at the end. This place is perfect! You can order individual pieces or specialty rolls, even appetizers and hibachi! Their salad bar has fresh poki and ahi tuna, kani and seaweed salads. Plus for dessert they have ice cream and basic Chinese buffet cakes. But everything you order is so tasty and doesn’t take long either. For appetizers they only give you 2 – 4 pieces which is perfect so you don’t get full quick and and can always order more on your next round. And only $ 20/​person when me and my husband spend $ 75 – 90 for sushi at other sushi restaurants. We have been here 3 times in 2 weeks. We love it!

Went here for the first time last night. The food is okay, but the fish could be fresher. The service and atmosphere aren’t bad, but also aren’t great. Overall, a very middle of the road experience.
The all you can eat is a good value, but the quality is lower than I would hope for in my sushi.

*Vegetarian update
Even though this is a sushi restaurant, there are a lot of great vegetarian options at Love Sushi King. I wish I had thoroughly perused the menu for all the vegetarian options before I ordered, but unfortunately I had to get my order in ASAP before the kitchen closed after making the last-​minute decision to eat here after stopping by to visit some friends. Because of my satisfaction with the vegetarian options here, I’m bumping up my rating for Love Sushi King from three to four stars. I’m definitely returning here again!

ALL YOU CAN EAT SUSHI!!! …is really all you need to know. I think there’s 10% off if you bring your student ID but the lunch prices are so cheap I’ve always forgotten to try. If you plan to order a lot, ask for a boat for the instagram pics (all your friends will be jealous).

It is what it is. A lot of mediocre quality sushi for a great price
The rolls here are ok, lots of filler not a lot of fish, but all were decent. Favorite was the orchard roll (once you wipe some of the sauce off)
The apps are great. Calamari, rangoons, miso. The hibachi grill items are tasty too, noodles are ok. Eel roll/​sushi and tako are good, thin slices of fish of course
If you want to eat your weight in sushi for 20 bucks come here.

This is a really great spot that everyone should know about if you want some good reasonably priced sushi in C’Ville.
I went with my girlfriend this Saturday and it was great. It is like an eat all you like buffet but you order from the server and menu rather than standing in the cafeteria style line.
The servers where great an it only seemed like they wanted you to order more rather than trying to put you off. The food was great and very generous portions. Totally delicious.
The salad bar was really interesting and really tasty. I have heard others say there is not enough there. However it is not a traditional salad bar they are ready made super delicious salads and I personally think any more would have been unnecessary.
Oh and the booze is even reasonably priced. We had a perfectly good bottle of Vino for $ 13. A very nice surprise.
The tables are well spaced so you are not clambering over one another as at some eat all you like places, and there are booths too.
Overall a great place. Big thumbs up. I will be back (probably this weekend)

To the reviewer who compared the sushi to supermarket sushi because it’s AYCE for only $ 20, you obviously aren’t qualified to be critiquing if you base food quality on how much it costs. I bet you never buy designer shoes on sale because a good deal must mean that the store somehow reduced the quality of the product to Payless levels.
Also, I’ve been to this place twice now (once for lunch and once for dinner) and I have never noticed any racial patterns to the seating arrangement. CLEARLY you were being discriminated against for being white because you were seated in the back. Totally plausible on account of the long and systemic history of anti-​white discrimination in America. Oh, wait. Protip: if they still served you, you likely weren’t being discriminated against. Fool.
ON TO THE ACTUAL FOOD, the quality of the fish is primo. The salmon is buttery and as good as I’ve had it at regular sushi restaurants (and better than at most Japanese restaurants in C’ville), and the escolar is quite mild and delicious. The nigiri is served at the absolute right temperature, sans the typical too-​much rice that is often found at AYCE places. Their rolls feature imitation crab and weird ingredients like «honey sauce» a little too often for my liking, but that’s how it goes with sushi buffets and Americanized sushi joints in general. I’m super into the inari nigiri, but not too into how the waitress didn’t know what inari was until I specified «tofu skin.» The eel is only available at dinner and is delightful. Hot food items like the beef gyoza, crab rangoons, shrimp tempura, yakisoba, and fried rice were all flavorful and delicious as well. Service was prompt and attentive.
They also have a nice spread at the cold bar. For lunch it was a number of imitation crab and cucumber salads. Dinner featured raw oysters and mikuni-​esque fish appetizers. I haven’t tried their dessert yet but based on everything else I’m sure it was up to par.
Come for the quality food, stay for the $ 4 goblets of wine. P. S., come for dinner and enjoy a 15% student discount.

After being in Richmond for college and going to the West Broad location practically every week, this place is just as good, if not better.
I love that they changed their dinner time fish appetizers into a salad bar set up, but I’m weary for when they become as popular in Charlottesville as they are in Richmond– it will be difficult to keep it stocked.
The prices are awesome for lunch ($ 13), but dinner does get a little expensive ($ 20). Feel free and splurge for some Sake.
I really wish they would have the green tea and red bean ice cream instead of the ice cream machines.
I want to address some of the other lower starred reviews:
–First off, they just opened, give them a break on the service. My first visit to this location was on their first week of opening, they had some kinks to work out.
–Second, the quality of their sushi is on par with other sushi places in the area, if not better– definitely higher quality than super market sushi. They provide an appropriate amount of fish in their sushi. In fact, for dinner, you can go to the salad bar and get sashimi tuna or salmon wrapped spicy crab. That’s literally pure fish.
–Third, this is a AYCE sushi joint. I don’t know why you would come and expect $ 16 quality rolls. For the money, you cannot beat the quality.

Ok my Brother laughed at me when I told him all the sushi you can eat for $ 20 ! Probably supermarket sushi ! If you are purist not the place for you, but if you are looking to put a feed bag on and don’t want hamburger, have at it! It fit the bill. I am not so snobby to give it a three or less it met my expectations which were pretty low! It’s fun and I get to eat seafood and rice!
Second time around
Wanted to try this place again!
We got sick!

After much buzz about this place, my boyfriend and I had sushi on the brain. Being that it’s $ 19 for AYCA, we strategically ordered chef suggested items to get a real feel for the menu.
The sushi was artfully displayed with floral accoutrements and made the process of serving the meal quite decadent. I’m not sure what the names of his rolls were but I did really enjoy my dragon roll and monkey rolls with fried banana. The rolls I ordered came out freshly made and tasted subtly flavorful. I would recommend trying the monkey roll with fried banana if you’re looking for something off the beaten path. It was sweet but not overpowering and surprisingly quite good for the strange pairing of ingredients.
The salad bar is a mix of desserts, salads, servings of oysters on the half shell, and popular sushi items. The servers are nice and very attentive. The restaurant itself was brightly lit, cleanly kept, and had a calming atmosphere. I will be back and plan to try their rice dishes next.

Finally, Sushi King comes to Cville! I was so happy to hear this and I could NOT wait to try it. The only time I could go was in the evening around 9:00 PM and I was concerned that maybe things would not be fresh or good at that time, but I was very much wrong. We got there, and there were a few groups in as well. We were seated and took a picture with the logo to get two free fountain drinks. Then between my bf and me, we ordered 9 HUGE rolls. Let’s quickly discuss a few things about the rolls here…
If you were to go to a small sushi restaurant, a sushi roll averages about 10 – 15 dollars, especially the specialty ones. So getting 9 rolls could go for over 100 $. Not to mention, I think each roll comes with 8 pieces! Not your measly 5 or 6, but 8! I think for some of the rolls Richmond and Chesapeake only give you 6 pcs.
The appetizer bar looked very clean and in decent shape. The food did not taste any worse at 9:30 PM. The waitress was very attentive and friendly. AND GUESS WHAT. I love sharing this with people: they do not take your orders on a paper notepad… THEY HAVE TABLETS ON THEIR WRISTS. How cool is that? It’s also highly efficient and might decrease order error.
Our rolls came out within 10 minutes, which was the fastest I had ever seen.
So 19.99 $ is totally worth eating here, but I would like to hit up the lunches more often. Dinners I will save for special occasions, but man this place is the bomb. dot. com. Management is most definitely rocking, the manager stopped at our table a few times, and you can read the rest of the happening in the review below (Thuan Tran) because the kid loves leaving long reviews so I’m not repeating it XP

To begin with, I am a HUGE fan of Sushi King in Richmond and Chesapeake so I was very excited to have one open up in Charlottesville (though figures that it would open up AFTER I have already graduated). My experience here was great as always, but in particular, my first time eating at this PARTICULAR Sushi King was very pleasant because of the very good and accommodating service (our server was awesome!).
We came for dinner, so we paid the $ 19.99 per person all-​you-​can-​eat price. Appetizers such as seaweed salad, kani salad, etc. were served at the front in a buffet style, with desserts also offered in the same area. We got nine rolls between us (including Sea Angel, Queen, Las Vegas, Charlottesville, Spider, etc.), and they were all –fantastic– and made to order. What set apart this newly opened sushi king for us was that our server was always on top of making sure our experience was great and was extremely nice to us. Maybe it was the fact that it was late-​night so there weren’t as many people there, but it really meant a lot to us. Our nine rolls came out very quickly, in less than 10 minutes, 7 minutes if I had to estimate.
As a note, you might get charged if you have too much leftover food on your plate when you finish, so don’t be surprised by this, especially given that they say so on their menu. I read another review (on the other sushi king page) that assailed this place for it, even though they totally should have seen it coming. That said, when we almost had leftover sushi, the manager was extremely reasonable with us and almost let us leave about 4 or 5 pieces on the plate without charge. (This was all for naught in the end because we ended up finishing them, but it was still good to know!). Price for leftover sushi might be arbitrary depending on the amount leftover, but I would just generally suggest not ordering more than you can handle (duh).
I will DEFINITELY be coming back! Until next time Sushi King…