Stuart Macfarlane goes along with that. He has a passion for food and a head for business and he has combined the two to launch Sheffield's first contemporary sushi bar.

But Stuart's venture is more than just a mix of tastes, textures and smells. It's pure theatre, bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase 'a moveable feast' and adding a dramatic new dimension to the eating out experience.

Sakushi is a tranquil city centre oasis nestling just behind the cathedral in Campo Lane. It has a distinctive Japanese feel with its cool white interior, black granite bar and authentic touches including a shoji screen and a stainless steel water feature set on a pebble bed.

But the focal point is unquestionably the kaiten conveyor belt that snakes down the centre of the restaurant, laden with multi-coloured plates, each bearing its own enticing morsel.

The idea is that you spot a dish you like the look of, grab it as it goes past, then remove the see-through dome and tuck in.

The reality is that you are dazzled by the mouthwatering display passing before you, bewildered as you try to identify each dish, then end up diving to seize the plate before it sails past...

Or you spot the exact dish you're after, watch it circle the room like a suitcase on a luggage carousel, then look on helplessly as the chap at the next table whips it from under your nose.

But it's all great fun once you get the hang of it and the sense of achievement when you actually land the dish of your choice brings out an instinctive hunter-gatherer glow of success.

This conveyor belt is what distinguishes Sakushi from its rivals (not that there are many in Sheffield) and what prompted Stuart, aged 21, to combine his degree studies with the demands of launching a restaurant.

A born entrepreneur, he was already importing a range of goods from the Far East and selling them over the internet. But he spotted a gap in the market for a conveyor belt sushi bar – like the ones he loved in Liverpool and London – and decided to set up his own version in Sheffield.

"I'm passionate about sushi and I wanted to offer very traditional Japanese dishes, not fusion food like you find in most places round here," he says.

So he found the premises and the moving belt, advertised for authentic chefs and opened a few months ago, putting off the start of his final year at Hallam University until he had got things running smoothly. He now combines his business with his studies, with a little help from brother Andrew and an experienced restaurant manager.

Sakushi has proved a big hit, although potential customers tend to hesitate if they're not sushi aficionados.

But staff are happy to offer advice.

"You could share a bowl of noodles and have a few sushi dishes between you," suggests Andrew as my companion and I gaze awestruck at the passing feast like contestants in the Generation Game.

The menu is an illustrated guide – which is fortunate since neither of us knows our maguro (tuna) from our tamago (egg) and the only thing we're agreed on is at all costs to avoid the unagi (eel).

There are more than 70 dishes to choose from, each on its own colour-coded plate which also determines its price: green is £1.80, purple is £3.80, with blue, yellow and red in between.

Everything on the moving belt is replenished regularly and if there's anything you want that doesn't appear, you simply ask for it. Some things have to be ordered, including hot dishes, specialities such as sashimi (raw fish) and noodles.

We finally order a bowl of seafood ramen and 'catch' an uramaki roll from the kaiten.

The sticky rice (which takes 40 minutes to cook in a cocktail of Japanese ingredients) has a lovely savoury quality, enhanced by a coating of sesame seeds. Our choice is wrapped around sticks of avocado, cucumber and crabstick, with a dollop of mayonnaise.

Emboldened by our success, we sample the slices of palate-cleansing ginger, which are supplied in a covered bowl on each table. Next up are harumaki, Japanese spring rolls. We're also given a little bowl of freshly-prepared wasabi paste, with instructions to mix a little with soya sauce to make a peppery dip.

This is followed by the noodle soup: a steaming bowl of miso soup brimming with ramen egg noodles, big, juicy king prawns, scallops, squid, greens, spring onions, sweetcorn and carrot. We ladle helpings into our bowls, along with more sticky rice, which is a big asset when it comes to eating with chopsticks!

The beauty of the Sakushi system is that you can eat as much or as little as you want – and most of it is healthy stuff, high in protein, vitamins and omega-3, but low in saturated fat.

We think we've had enough until we spot a bowl of lemon cheesecake making its circuit of the room, so we snaffle that too. It's a tad on the chilly side but comes as an unexpected bonus at the end of a delightfully different lunch.

We finish our meal with coffee. Dinner for two, excluding drinks, is a very reasonable £22.95.

Verdict: A dramatic new addition to Sheffield's restaurant scene – don't let it pass you by!

Open: Mon-Sat noon to 11pm, Sun to 10.30pm. Special offers on week nights; bookings now taken.

Sakushi sushi and noodle bar, 27 Campo Lane, Sheffield (0114) 273 7399; www.sakushi.co.uk



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