11/04/09

Slow and Over Rated

by mike taylor

Sushi should not taste like smelly fish. When I asked the waitress to smell it, she commented that it must be good or they would not serve it.

We left. Will never go back, Just don't understand this. Found a better place in the neighborhood called Gamba's Japanese and French restaurant. Plus much more affordable.

• Cons: Service, smell,

04/12/09

Horrible Experience

by MikeLawrence

Our party walked in off the street at 6:40pm on Friday night 4/11. We had a party of 6 with no reservations and were told it would be a 30 minute wait. We headed for the bar where we got a round of drinks and proceeded to wait for a table to open. Much to our surprise, at least half the tables were empty. There was one set up for 10, but the rest were tables of 2 or 4. We figured they would be filled soon so we just decided to wait our turn.

After about 45 minutes we noticed that those tables never were filled. At 7:45 (over an hour) I decided to go ask the hostess when we could expect to be seated. She was apologetic and explained that there were reservations for those table and that we'd just have to wait, but it should be soon. I explained that it sure looked strange that half the restuarant was empty and had been since we came in over an hour ago. But I went away to wait to be seated.

By 8pm we were still not seated and those empty tables were still not filled. I found a woman who I approached and asked to speak with the manager. She said she was the manager and I explained that we had been there now over an hour and 15 minutes and not only had not been seated but that all those tables were empty. She said those tables have reservations and we'd just have to wait. She was very short with no suggestion of any empathy or understanding.

About 10 minutes later, a man came up and said he had heard I was upset and that he was the manager. I once again explained the situation and that the tables still were empty (now about 8:15). He also said we'd just have to wait but he'd see what he could do. He was also very short and didn't seem to have any ability to understand our predicament. I was there with my mother-in-law and had now been standing around for 90 minutes.

As the manager attempted to see if he could find us a table, I asked my son (who standing about 6 feet away) to call Wasabi Bistro to see if we could get in there because I had had enough. The waitress walking by said we were disturbing the customers and we needed to talk more quietly. She was exceptionally rude and condescending. This when we were in the walled-off bar and the only tables close were still empty!

After that our party left never once having the management made any effort to try to make things right. We're not going back, which is too bad since the food looked pretty good (as it went by as we watched longingly).

• Pros: None
• Cons: Extremely rude with poor service, particularly from Managers

04/10/09

Slow Service, Rude Hostess

by seattlefoodie3

Our group ate at Umi on April 3rd. We had made a reservation for 4 people, but ended up having 6 people. The hostess seated us at a four-top table with 2 two-top tables on either side of us.

At the time we were seated one of the two-top tables was empty. We asked the hostess if we could pull the table together with ours to accommodate all 6 of us. She said no because the tables were reserved. Long story short, the two-top table remained empty the entire time we dined.

We were uncomfortable and cramped during dinner. This was very disappointing. I looked around the dining room and there were at least 6 vacant tables the entire time we were there (for over 2 hours).

The food was great, as usual, but our service was extremely rushed. The prompt service and attention to detail that we have experienced every other time in the past was not the case this time.

We spent nearly $300 at Umi that night. We will definitely take our business elsewhere next time we go out for sushi.

• Pros: Food and Sake
• Cons: Slow Service, Rude Hostess

03/16/09

Cold Tea, Violent Allergic Reaction, Nabeyaki Udon w/o UDON!

by ExNYer

My husband and I went to Umi on 3/8/2009. Before this experience, Umi was our favorite Japanese restaurants in Seattle. We have frequently taken our local friends, out of town visitors and business acquaintances there. The food is excellent though the mishaps that Sunday proved to be enough for us to take our friends (and expense accounts) elsewhere.

My husband ordered his usual spicy scallop roll and a 'Green Decadence' roll and I requested the nabeyaki udon. We also asked for a geoduck appetizer. In a series of major FUs, the tea was lukewarm so we send it back. The waitress apologized and said that they just refilled the brewing machine. In my head I was wondering why she would send out tea that she knew was tepid. But whatev, I had a ginger sake martini in my hand....

The geoduck was tasty and we were happy. A roll came out and we were ignorantly munching along. Then my nabeyaki udon came out. As I was stirring the bowl, I realized that there was no udon in it! That's the equivalent of leaving the meat out of a hamburger! So I send it back.

Then two rolls came out. But wait! We already had a roll. The waitress told us that they first roll was a mistake but it was ok, we didn't have to pay for it. And what was in the first roll? CRAB! My husband doesn't eat crab. He's allergic! I tried to explain the gravity of the situation to the waitress and she totally didn't get it. I gave up and ordered a second drink. To add insult to injury, the second Ginger Saketini was tooth decayingly sweet!

The following day, my husband was violently ill. We left a message on their answering machine the next day to speak with a manager. We really wanted to salvage our relationship wtih our fav Japanese place. Just a simple apology would have sufficed but we have not heard from them.

• Pros: great rolls
• Cons: horrible, horrible service

03/09/09

Good food but over price

by CSMobileUser

Service is great if you are lucky

03/09/09

Good food but over price

by CSMobileUser2

Service is great if you are lucky

03/05/09

quality food, presentation and service.

by ddeevaa

this is my favorite sushi place in Seattle. they have incredible menu choices, and amazing presentation. they are also starting to do some sake tastings (went to one this past week) that was FANTASTIC!

• Pros: best sushi in Seattle
• Cons: make a reservation on the weekend! but its worth it

01/23/09

UMI IS AMAZING

by Cuki

UMI is amazing. Grat ambiance, AMAZING SUSHI, and really great price. i've been to almost every major sushi city in the world, and Seattle never stops amazing me. Incredible.

If you're going on a Friday night chances are you might have a little of a wait, so call and reserve before hand. In my book , TOP SUSHI.

Also, the HH is great! :P

• Pros: Amazing sushi, great price, outstanding personnel.
• Cons: Very popular, so its hard to get a table last minute

12/30/08

Great for group dining.

by mspatao

My boyfriend & I celebrated our 21st birthday here with a bunch of our friends and it turned out so well. They were kind enough to call me at most twice to confirm reservations and explain the policies to me. The hostess was so kind to our group of friends. She was quite attentive and the waiters always made sure our glasses were full. The food was great and it was served quickly. I hardly found anyone waiting for their meals. I would definitely return here for large group dinners or just to come have a drink with the girls during happy hour.

• Pros: Great atmosphere, attentive service, delicious food

11/03/08

It's good, but Seattle has a (much) better spot down the road for less $$$

by bunsennbeake

I went to Umi having gone to everything from Nishino to the trendy and (in my food-first opinion) overrated Blue C Sushi... it was just an entirely different world from Nishino, and it stood out by a million stars against Blue C in every regard except noise, which both have a serious excess of...

That said, the portions were big on things that should've been small -- in other words, why no single pieces for the things you can't beginnnn to eat much of? (like monkfish liver, which let me tell you, it takes a few people to handle a serving of, since it's just too heavy/ rich /thick/ someotheretherealword to eat as a main food... on the other hand, the rolls were good... but overpriced. Some sushi was really good... others (like sea urchin) were disappointing. Edamame also disappointed... and that is something to really have perfect when your specialty is sushi!

This sounds "harsh" but it's only getting 3 (not 4) stars because it costs way more for what you get than its competitor down the road... Ototo... which has serious Mary Poppins syndrome going on--practically perfect in every way. Frankly, I won't return to Umi when Ototo is right down the road and is flat out amazing if not entirely sublime.

• Pros: good enough food for most, non-picky sushi eaters will think it's great
• Cons: price point, weird serving sizes, I can feed 4 at Ototo for what feeds 2 here...