When it comes to seafood, I’m a fan. Fish tacos in California, deep-fried salt cod in Spain, pickled herring on the Baltic coast: I’ll bite your hand off for all of it. But when it comes to sushi, the artful Japanese preparation of (often raw) fish and rice, I’ve never been sold.

So when I heard there was a new sushi restaurant opening its doors in Folkestone, I knew I had to give it one more chance. And the offer of a ‘bottomless’ menu, giving you the opportunity to try a little of everything in one sitting, meant it was a done deal.

Arriving at Kazoku at 6pm on a Tuesday evening, I was fearful we might be greeted with an empty dining room. Not a bit of it. The place was nicely busy, with tables of families and groups of friends creating a nice buzz as we were shown to our table.

Our smiling server took our drinks order – bottles of ice-cold Asahi all round – and we were furnished with an extensive menu detailing various different treatments of the staple ingredients of fish and rice. We were also handed a piece of paper and a pen, allowing those opting for the ‘bottomless’ sushi experience to indicate which dishes they wished to sample.

While we ummed and ahhed over what to choose for our first round, we were presented with an appetiser of gyoza and pickled vegetables, which fired up our tastebuds in anticipation of the main event.

The list of dishes we could choose from ran to around 24 types of sushi, the majority featuring salmon, prawn and tuna, as well a handful of vegetarian options. Ordering from the menu would see most come to the table with eight pieces of each dish, but for those taking the ‘bottomless’ option the majority came as four pieces. A wise way of maximising the opportunity to sample as many variations as possible.

My wife, who is definitely the avid sushi fan in our marriage, was emphatic in her declaration that we should try it all. An admirable stance, but one which was to be tested and defeated by the sheer quantity of food which was heading our way.

For our first foray we ordered six types of sushi, and we were left drooling when a few minutes later a platter of around 24 pieces arrived at our table. If the enjoyment of food is as much about visual pleasure as it is taste, then we were off to a very good start.

My previous experiences with sushi – a few visits to Yo Sushi and a couple of boozy lunches in Soho – have always left me slightly underwhelmed. I am probably to blame, as I suspect my choices in the past have been rather blander combinations where much of the flavour has come from the addition of soy sauce or a dash of wasabi. But the selection here was far more interesting, with a far wider range of flavour and texture than I had previously experienced.

Highlights included the tuna tataki, quickly seared on the outside but melt-in-the-mouth raw on the inside, and the crispy chilli hot roll, with its salmon, leek and mango filling enveloped by the textural contrast of spring roll pastry and a garnish of fried onions.

I’m no aficionado, as I have hopefully made clear, but the preparation of every bite appeared expertly executed – each piece holding together thanks to rice sticky enough to bind but still holding its shape perfectly. The only thing that needed drastic improvement was my chopstick technique. Dear reader, I am unashamed to admit that at times I was reduced to plucking bites from the platter by hand.

Not that anyone seemed to mind. The atmosphere in the room, which has had a very Instagram-friendly makeover since Kazoku moved into the home of the former Bikash tandoori restaurant, was buzzy and all around us people were tucking into incredible-looking dishes.

After a moment to catch our breath, and summon up another couple of cold beers, we were ready to place a second order. After the success of the tataki first time around, we had to try the salmon version, which was just as perfect. The ebiten hot roll – a tempura prawn wrapped up in rice with avocado – was also a favourite.

However, so much for trying everything on the menu. We were well and truly sated after two servings. Every concoction we had sampled had been delicious, but there is only so much rice one can eat in one sitting.

But my eyes had been well and truly opened. I had feared our meal could be rather one-note but instead we had enjoyed a fine variety of taste and texture which kept me interested right up to the last bite. Sushi is back on the menu, and the value to be found in Kazoku’s ‘bottomless’ offering means it won’t be long until we are back for more.

Ratings out of five

Food: Everything, to my admittedly untrained eye, was perfect. I entered a sushi sceptic but left a convert *****

Drink: A pretty standard restaurant selection – we went for the beer but could have opted for sake for an even more authentic experience ***

Decor: Kazoku has taken on a large room, but it’s been done out nicely and feels more intimate than I had expected ****

Staff: Everyone was extremely welcoming, and the service was snappy ****

Price: Unlimited sushi for £25 at dinner and £20 at lunch? Hard to go wrong there *****