Umi Sushi Bar and Grill

This is by far the best Sushi place that I have been to here in Austin. The environment alone is very welcoming and the staff only accents it. A few of my friends and I were out celebrating a birthday and it was amazing how attentive the staff was. There was a group of 6 of us and the server was great, didn't miss a beat. The food was excellent and the drinks were great, all at a very reasonable price for the entire night. I will continue to go to Umi whenever sushi is on the brain! more

This is truly a spectacular Sushi restaurant and by far the best in Austin! Plus, the prices are quite reasonable. I have eaten at a lot of restaurants around the world and this has one of the highest rankings in my opinion!!! The food is exquisite, the service is great, and the decor and atmosphere is very elegant and welcoming. Plus, the food presentation is very prompt and presented in a beautiful fashion! Additionally, there is a huge selection of Sushi and it is purely mouth watering. Plus, the drinks are absolutely amazing and a definitely positive add-on to a great evening. I recommend that you definitely be adventurous so you can get an amazing experience at this phenomenal Japanese restaurant!!! Try various entrees, both hot and cold, as well as all the different types of sushi rolls, sashimi, soups, and desserts! Particularly, my favorites are the Shrimp Tempura, Tuna rolls, and the Caterpillar roll with eel and avocado covered with a delicious sauce on top! This restaurant definitely appeases to everyone of different genures as well, whether going on a date night out or catching lunch with friends and co-workers!!! It is a must try and you will absolutely not be disappointed!!! more

Great Service and fresh sushi without driving downtown. We had my roommates 30th birthday dinner here and the food was excellent, they even let us bring our own cake. My fav is the shrimp tempura rolls with spicy mayo Soo yummy. more

Service is bad. Food is great. Pros: Sushi is not bad Cons: Service is terrible more

The resturants atmosphere is very dazziling and beautiful. I would suggest the Sashimi which I believe is very refreshing. I will also suggest some of the saki to those who like to drink. They are strong but very good. The service is pretty decent but there is times were you have to wait a time. The pricing for the food there is very decent and not really overpriced. When my friends and I went there for the first time it was very warming and we have been going there very other week. I would suggest that you sit at the sushi bar because not only do you get to see the great sushi being made but the chefs are very fun to talk to and are good company. Those who enjoy sushi I recommend to come to Umi. Pros: Parking, Sushi, Ambience and Price Cons: sometimes service is too long more

I am an avid sushi goer and this is the second to worst EVER and thats pretty darn bad...Absolutely tasteless and way overpriced...we were fooled by the nice atmosphere...I try to focus on that when I think of what I spent and still went to Sandy's hamburgers to finish the job...yummy!! So thank you Sandy for saving an almost devastating evening...lol Pros: nice atmosphere Cons: terrible food, way overpriced, rude waitress! more

I have been going to umi for years. I always seat at the sushi bar with all my friends, just to visit one of our favorite chef (po) that he continues to excel in all categories. Once we know the Chef (po) no longer works there. We will never go back, cause don't worth the time, money, the quality is overpriced ,poor service and they are rude! more

Umi is a disaster. We waited 45 minutes (in an empty restaurant) for a roll and some sashimi. The fish finally came out and it was frozen solid. We were overcharged for the few things we ordered that were edible. The server was totally checked out and the manager was aggressive and unhelpful. The place reeks of cheap air freshener. Very lame experience all around. I will never go there again. more

Now me and my wife are no sushi experts, and we pretty much stick to the basics when it comes to ordering. No eating what we don't recognize on the Menu. We know the Chefs there and they always treat us with great service. We never sit anywhere other that the sushi bar. Thats the place to be if you want the best service because the chefs are right across from you. Plus you can learn a litlle more about whats good and whats not by asking them. Overall great service and food. Heck, one of the chefs even went to my wedding. GREAT FOLKS DOWN AT UMI. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!! :-) Pros: Chefs Cons: none to my knowledge more

Don't be tricked into this place. First, there were six people in our party. My family went to Umi sushi... more

Don't be tricked into this place. First, there were six people in our party. My family went to Umi sushi bar and grill for a mini celebration. ... more

I've never been there for lunch so I can't attest to or rebuke all these folks saying it was terrible, but I've been there 3 times for dinner and enjoyed each experience. I went there again last night with my homegirl, split the chef's dinner (pretty big sushi/sashimi platter for about $32), and stuffed myself with what we both considered Very good sushi. I'm not a buff, but I've eaten sushi several places around this city and this is top tier in my opinion. Only issue now is I think their cheapest cold saki is $21/carafe. it bites, but what would sushi be without saki? Pros: good food and service Cons: not cheap more

A friend and I recently had lunch here. It was pretty empty, but we sat at the sushi bar and had a nice chat with the friendly sushi chefs. Maybe it's just because I had never been to a sushi restaurant (I get my sushi from HEB), but I thought the sushi was very good, and it was a nice presentation. The lunch special was very affordable--it was about $12 and my friend and I split the 10-12 pieces of sushi. If this place was closer to my place up north, I'd probably go here more often. Pros: staff, lunch specials, nice atmosphere Cons: location more

This place is a joke. Their lunch crowd (I counted less than 10 people in a max capacity of 100+) should tell you something. Sushi (lunch A) was sub-par and room temp, decor was like Night at the Roxbury, humidity and smell inside were like beginning of summer in corduroys, and the music was constant, repeititve prepubescent Michael Jackson. Pros: plenty of parking (wonder why?) Cons: sushi tasted like kitchen sponge more

well, this place is operated by complete scoundrels. we went there for a special occasion, more

Our waitress was the bartender who was not happy to be serving and let everyone know. Rude grimices were all she had to offer. She was partying with her friends at the bar while letting our food sit at the sushi bar for 45min each time we ordered. When we finally recieved our desserts they were almost completely melted. She gave no appology and went right back to serving her friends drinks at the bar and talking about their latest ""hook-ups."" There were 5 other tables in her section that were as furious as we were. We ended up being at Umi for 2 1/2 hours, not by choice. When the sushi came out we were pleased with it, but because of the service, it ended up being the worst experience we have ever had at a restrauant. Not to mention our bill was still well over $150.00. Pros: Sushi was tasty. Cons: Unprofessional, rude service. more

Umi has a middle of the line interior, mediocre food & bad service. I can't imagine how their prices are so high!. My sushi roll that should have been served with spicy japanese mayo was doused with what felt like chipotle mayo. My husband's order came in a good 10 minutes before mine. The waitress was rude, walked away while we were mid sentence and never checked on if the food was good. Cons: food, service, price- priced at high-end sushi rates more

Servers aren't knowledgeable about the menu. The sushi itself isn't terrible, but it's certainly not top notch. I've eaten there twice and both times our rolls came out almost immediately after our apps and we ended up with a very cluttered table full of food. The table was dirty and the place smells like it's not cleaned adequately. Pros: Location Cons: Service, food, cleanliness more

Getting a table was no problem, but the waiter greeted us with ""What would you like to drink?"". The Edamame was almost raw!! The sushi was extremely overpriced and wasn't even very good. The waiter gave us horrible service (Filled our waters long after we needed replenishment, and never took away the dirty dishes) and the waitresses wore tank tops with shorts and sneakers. This is the worst sushi restaurant I've ever been to in Austin and I plan never go to again... more

I've been eating at Umi for about 6 months now, and we have never had a problem. If you sit at the sushi bar, the chefs are very nice and will help you make decisions if you are a newbie. The sushi is consistant and good for the price. There is prompt seating and the bar makes very strong drinks! If you live and south austin, want sushi and don't want to drive too far, I would recommend this place. Pros: sushi, quick service, good bar more