Umi Japanese Restaurant

This is my local Japanese restaurant. The food is fresh and the flavors are distinct. They have a good selection of non-sushi dishes for those that want something less adventurous. I appreciate that they are aware and capable to address food allergies. Highly recommend the rainbow roll for a good variety of fish.

I'd say that I found this restaurant by accident. I went to a sushi place by my work in Nashville but they were closed without notice. I really wanted sushi after a long day at work. I searched for sushi places nearby but they were like 5-8 miles away. Most of them were in downtown Nashville. I decided to go home. Then, I thought about Whit's frozen custard. I pulled into the parking lot hoping that there'd be a sushi restaurant in this area and yes! I found Umi! How did I miss this sushi spot for years? I normally just get Whit's and then, drive away. Nigiri was spot-on! Scallops, Amaebi, and Ikura were so fresh and tasty. Sushi rolls were fine. I found that eel sauce on Spider roll was really salty and overpowering everything though. Other than that, everything was great. Service was excellent.

We went with a group of 8 on a Friday night... we waited about 45 minutes to be seated which is expected with a group on a weekend.The food was yummy... service was good... overall good experience!! Will be back!

My family and I really love going to Umi! Our daughters don't eat sushi, so they get tempura and love it! The sushi is super good!

Good sized space, feels even larger as they appear to have taken away a row of banquet seating due to staffing shortages. Sadly no sushi bar seating allowed, also due to staff issues. Overall a clean, simple and attractive space. Nice amount of room between tables. No draft beer but they do have the appropriate Japanese bottled beers. Gyoza came out hot and quite tasty. Nigiri and rolls were fine, it's not the best sushi I've ever had, but it's good, and I'd certainly come back for more. Lots of diners enjoying the non-sushi options, so the menu looks worth exploring.

I am glad to have a good sushi restaurant closeby. My favorite sushi roll of theirs is their 3M roll.

Came in at lunch to buy a gift card for my mother. They were not busy and seemed to be at 30% capacity. A woman from the very back of the restaurant said something at a very low volume and I couldn't hear her so she went in the back. I waited for her to come back out but she never did. I went across the street to buy a gift card at Tito's and they were so kind and took care of me right away and they were super busy. When I went back over to Umi, the same woman said something from the very back of the restaurant again. She never walked up front to greet me or anything. I explained to her that I couldn't hear what she was saying and she repeated herself a tiny bit louder and asked how many. I told her I wanted to buy a gift card and she seemed irritated. So I went to the back and explained to her that it was hard to hear her what she was saying all the way up front. I guess in a way I was gently suggesting that she walk up there and speak to guest when they walk in. She seemed annoyed even though I said it politely. She told me they don't have a hostess at lunchtime. I completely understand that but customer service is key in the industry and greeting a customer should be the bare minimum when you have someone new walk in your door. I even apologized to her for irritating her although I'm not sure what I did to irritate her. I don't even want to give this gift card to my mother. This was a terrible first experience with this restaurant but in all fairness I did not eat the food. So keep that in mind when considering my one star review. It is only based on my experience as described above.

I could say this! This is the only place in Columbia that actually knows what good food is like as far as southeast flavors. We keep going back for more, when we are busy working long hours. Online ordering is simple and fast as well as service! Gonna give this place more business,keep up with the good work Thank you:D FYI my favorite is the princess roll. So Fresh and clean clean!!!

Excellent sushi. Had the Jays Roll and Salmon Nigiri. Great service and very clean. I will be back.

Great service, had a stir fried chicken on cast iron skillet. Very hot and tasty.Great service. Very Americanized. Not sure if we will stay in Ocala Fla. againBut we were grateful for stop.