Umai Nori

This place was amazing! The food was fresh and delicious. You could taste the quality of the seafood in the sushi and hand rolls! My absolute favorite thing was the spicy scallop nigiri, 1000x recommend! The sushi rolls were all beautifully crafted. The decor is beautiful and the service was great! We got there a little before their closing time for dinner and the staff were still super welcoming and attentive.

This is a nice sushi place for handrolls. Having been there twice, I'd say that the sushi taste here is subpar from higher-end sushi, but is better than most affordable sushi locations around the DMV. The environment is clean and bright, and they have a two story building that you can choose to sit upstairs or downstairs.As with the sushi, the rolls are crunchy, especially the Spider roll and the spicy salmon rolls. However, there's a lack of actual fish/seafood taste for spicy salmon and eel when it comes to the sushi, as it might be overpowered by other tastes that's added on, such as the roes for the caterpillar roll. They are nice enough to provide miso soup and salad that comes with each pickup order.Overall, 7.4/10 for the food, rounded up for the service!

I visited Umai Nori on a Tuesday evening to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday and had high hopes based on a friendly reservation call the night before. The person I spoke with seemed attentive, noted our special occasion, and offered helpful recommendations, so I was excited for the experience.The Arrival:When we arrived, the hosting stand was unattended, and a staff member waved us to the sushi bar without asking about our reservation. I clarified that I had reserved a table, and while initially dismissed, we were eventually moved to a table after some confusion.The Food:The food was the standout of the evening. We started with an 11-piece nigiri sampler and 4 pieces of seared salmon belly (we did not get what we paid for. Came at the end. Served 2 pieces), paired with sparkling sake--a star recommendation from our server. The sake was light, perfectly sweet, and reasonably priced, so much so that we ordered a second bottle especially since they are small.For entrées, the Flying Dragon Roll was a masterpiece--generous in portion, stunning in presentation, and absolutely delicious. My boyfriend ordered the Roll Me a Fatty, which, while visually appealing, didn't suit our personal taste as much.The Confusion:Service felt disorganized. The order of food delivery didn't flow: we received the nigiri first, followed by soup and salad, and later our entrées. After mentioning the birthday in brief conversation with the server, our server brought out the seared salmon belly, which we assumed was complimentary due to the mix-up and smaller portion ( 2 piece vs 4 piece) than originally ordered as starter. It was so confusing we genuinely forgot we ordered it. However, we were charged the full price for the dish, which felt misleading.The Ambiance:The sleek, cozy atmosphere is perfect for a quiet, intimate dinner. The seating seems limited (possibly more upstairs), so reservations are advisable, though our experience suggested they might not always be handled consistently.Final Thoughts:Despite the service hiccups, the high-quality food and reasonable prices make Umai Nori worth revisiting. I'd recommend CLEAR communication and customer advocacy with the staff to ensure your expectations are met. The potential here is undeniable, and with a bit more attention to service, Umai Nori could become a top-tier spot.

Was super excited to come try this place but left disappointed. I called in the afternoon to make a reservation and when I arrived to my reservation they said I didn't have a reservation. We ordered the hand roll set that's suppose to come with soup and salad. Both my boyfriend and I didn't get the soup or salad. They also messed up on his mango tango hand roll , so we mentioned it to our waiter. His response was oh I didn't make that, like I understand you didn't make it but he was missing the whole crab and mango on his handball we had to ask him if we can get another one as it wasn't our mistake.

I've been here twice for dinner and I think it might be my new favorite restaurant! Reservation recommended. We ordered the following:Crunchy Rice Salmon, honey, spicy tuna, avocado, 14- One of my favorite things here and it comes with 3. It is a rectangle of crunch rice with a ton of salmon on top/spicy tuna and sliced avo on top. Will get these next time. Gyoza Pan fried pork dumpling, umami chile shoyu, 8- Delicious and each little gyoza comes placed onto a slide of lemon. Crab wonton Lump crab, cream cheese, yuzu chili, 15 - Served differently than typical wontons. They look more like egg rolls and are bigger and delicious. Will get these next time. Tuna Poke Dip Tuna, jalapeno, onions, cilantro, mango, wonton chip, 19 - This comes with a scoop of tuna and some chips. More chips are needed.Kara-age Lollipop Fried chicken wing, sweet & spicy garlic gochujang, 12 - This comes with 4 little chicken wings.Sushi - all were delicious and I would order again!- Triple salmon roll- Spicy Salmon- Spicy Scallop

Possibly some of DC's best sushi. The nigiri was amazing. The hand rolls were also spectacular and unique. Definitely get a set if you're trying this place. This place is great. Have been thinking of that hand roll sampler fondly. This is a must try for sushi lovers!

Had a delightful lunch here on a Tuesday.Simple & Modern interior decor, comfortable atmosphere.Street parking is very difficult to find here. But they do have reasonable walking distance paid parking garage options. Staff and chef were professional and considerate. They were out of green tea, which was a surprise to me, and chef offered us a salmon kama on the house as a good token, we were surprised and grateful for this gesture.Here is what we ordered and our feedback:- sushi & sashimi combo: great selections of fish by the chef, fresh seafood, great value - Unagi Don: delicious fatty Unagi, big portion, reasonably price d- specialty hand rolls: we ordered both the egg samplers and the toro hand roll, delicious, delicious, delicious, so glad we decided to give it a try, not only the presentation is pleasing to the eyes, also very scrumptious to the taste. Highly recommend recommended as a must try. Our overall experience was very satisfactory. Highly recommended by IG @WineDinenVacay

Would definitely come back if there were reservations . No reservations when I went so we ended up waiting an hour to get seated but it was well worth! Got the hand roll set and it was delicious. They had just opened so they gave us complimentary sushi which I thought was a nice gesture.

My favorite sushi in DC!! So so good. I take friends here all the time and they love it. Great prices for great quality (amazing value!). I've been here so many times. The presentation is always beautiful and staff is kind and attentive. Call ahead to make a reservation because it gets very busy.

I am writing this review based on a recent interview I had for a server/busser position at this restaurant, as I have not dined here. After applying, I was quickly contacted to schedule an interview. I arrived early and asked for the back room, where I informed the staff member (who later turned out to be my interviewer) of the reason for my visit. She gave me an unsure look, which felt odd at the time.After filling out the required paperwork, she seemed focused on my name, asking me several times what it was as she glanced at the form I had filled out. It seemed as though she didn't believe me or was surprised that I was the person applying. It quickly became apparent that she may have been expecting someone of a different race. The interview proceeded with a few questions about my experience in serving, after which she abruptly told me that the interview was over and she would contact me if further consideration was needed.At that moment, I felt that my chances of being hired were dismissed based on assumptions about my race. The interviewer seemed to have expected someone of a different appearance, and I left feeling that the decision had been made before the interview even began. I hope the restaurant will work on creating a more inclusive and fair interview process for all candidates in the future.