Soki Sushi Train, which officially opened last Saturday in the former Sal’s Pizza space on Shotover Street, boasts a custom miniature ball train that runs through the restaurant and delivers special orders directly from the kitchen to dining tables.
Owner Ting Li says it’s not just Queenstown’s first sushi train, but it’s the first restaurant in New Zealand to use the ‘bullet train’ concept.
He was previously Queenstown’s senior executive manager of Aotea Gifts, but Covid saw Li pick up sticks and move to Auckland, where he worked as a residential building project manager.
But Li and his wife, Maggie, watched Queenstown’s business opportunities.
” When we saw the ad [for] this space, we thought, ‘ah-ha, good’, because we always wanted to open a restaurant that could give customers a very good dining experience in Queenstown, ” he says.
Soki Sushi Train’s equipped with its own railway line and custom wooden fish-shaped lights.
While sushi favorites revolve around the venue on a classic sushi train carousel, special orders such as sushi, ramen and udon, and entrees such as oysters, caraway chicken and edamame can be placed via a tablet so the bullet train can pick up at the bullet train. Boss.
While Li is still looking for staff – ” at this point it’s just me: waiter, security, everything ” – he feels ” very happy ” to insure former Minami Jujisei co-owner Koji Honda . head chef.