I think this place was great! the food was really fresh and tasty. I brought a friend that was visiting from NewYork and she said it had a very Newyork vibe to it. We both loved the food. We had Unagi Sashimi and we had a tuna poke and Mexican roll that were both daily specials. It's a cute, small place with super yummy, fresh sushi and great attentive waiters. Will definitely be back! read more

Best ramen I've had in Chicago, and very good sushi too! Get the spicy ramen and add the black garlic oil.

Seems overpriced, but friendly service and a wide array of menu choices. I like the ramen as well as the various sushi combos.

You have to try their ramen and any sushi roll. You won't be upset with their selection of food.

The restaurant was enticing filled with foodies. However they added an oilspill of black garlic oil to the tonkatsu broth, unfortunately. Their beef tongue was though ( the poor animal was tong tied) but the flank had smell (charcoal) structure (near melting) and taste. Their selection of sake is quite good and great for tasting. Enjoyed it but would change my selection. read more

Sushi was good but ramen was great. Good location with outdoor seating. Enjoyed our meal and will be back very soon.

Very fresh sushi. Wait staff very nice and patient. Had a reservation, which I strongly suggest, and were seated right away. Sweet potato roll was crunchy and delicious. Dragon roll was really good to. I tasted the ginger salad dressing and it was different as it was creamy but really tasty. Husband had beef teriyaki and it was a nice portion and he said it was very good. It was served with soup, salad and rice. Had the appetizer with steak wrapped around asparagus. Could have just had more of that for my dinner. Yummy! Go... You won't be sorry!! read more

I'll start by saying that i had never been to a Japanese restaurant before and never tried sushi. I have to say that I loved it! My very sweet and attentive server Uzaka, was very helpful and gave me great suggestions that I took because like I said not familiar with the food. I had as appetizer the pork shoulder, Omakase sushi and to drink a lychee martini. I will definitely go back this weekend!! Thumps up for the food and the great attentive, friendly service! read more

Tonkotsu ramen was terrible. The chashus were charred, soup was too salty. Very disappointing.

Went here for the first time last 2 days ago. The decor was great and service was very friendly. The waitress was happy to answer questions and provide suggestions. The sushi itself was good and very fresh. There were a few rolls that I thought were a bit bland but overall the food had nice flavor. The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is the price. Sushi is always a bit expensive but this was on the higher range to what I am used to. With 20% tip included the bill came to around $50 per person. That isn't over the top but it will make me think twice (and check the bank account) before stopping in. I don't want to end on a bad note. I am very happy to have Umai in the neighborhood and will be returning. Next time I will just fill up on the ramon first (which is large and very reasonably priced) before moving on to the expensive sushi. read more

Took the wife for her birthday and felt it was good, but not great. Ramen was excellent as many will attest. Sushi was decent. Service was very good. The place is a little casual for my taste, but we still had a good time. Would I go back? Probably, but with so many other great places to try, it might be a while. read more

I like this restaurant, because it is nice to grab dinner on the way home from a place that isn't fast food. The sushi is always fresh and I LOVE the Tempura Oyster Mushrooms. They are addictive. I also enjoy the ramen. The only thing that prevents me from eating here more often is that it can gets really pricey, very fast for takeout. read more

Food is really great. Each time I've gone to eat, I've tried some new dishes. The sushi rolls are all very tasty. I've only had one ramen dish, which was great... But I'm not big on ramen. Service is also always tentative. Will be back again! read more

Delicious sushi and noodle bowl! Great service. Limited seating/very busy - recommend making a reservation.

Really good. Uni shooter was delicious, but that form ruined the uni experience. Probably would just go with uni nigiri next time. Fish all tasted delicious, and the rolls were original and great. Tip: there is a parking lot on Wells half block south of Polk that is $2 for the night after 2pm. Perfect for this location and I sometimes use it if I need to drive into the loop for the afternoon. read more

It's a good japanese place. Their food is good like you expect what a good japanese restaurant should be. Downside is a little pricy but I guess it is expected considering the location of the restaurant in downtown area. I would only go here for their lunch specials. read more

Good service, great food. The octopus appetizer is delicious!

So happy to have this place in the neighborhood. We have enough sushi places around and it's nice to have a Japanese restaurant that also serves ramen and udon. The kare (curry) dishes are excellent. My husband does not like curry, but we have been to Umai 3 times and he has ordered it every time. The pork udon, tempura and beef teriyaki are also quite good. Can't wait to go back with more people so that we can try the sushi and other items on the menu. read more

Creative, fresh, delicious rolls. And many of them offer the option of a half roll, which means you can try more. I'm a big fan of that. The service was great and the prices are reasonable. read more

This is a great sushi spot! Fish is always good quality and the rolls I would say are great. It's also, very surprisingly, an amazing ramen spot. I've been searching the city for my favorite bowl of ramen and I found it here! What I love about it is that they don't even seem to advertise themselves as a ramen spot like other places popping up all over the city. The tonkotsu ramen is very good, but the spicy roasted garlic ramen is the best. The broth is really rich and spicy (made in house), the chashu is always cooked perfectly, the soft boiled egg is great, and the noodles pick up the broth when you slurp them in (the waiter told us they were ordered from a supplier instead of made in house but the supplier is pretty good). If you're looking for the perfect bowl of tonkotsu ramen a little spicy, I highly suggest Umai. I've ordered take out, delivery, and eaten it there multiple times and it's great every time! read more

Outstanding & impeccably fresh fish in stylish but warm setting. Mackeral is my benchmark for sushi, and the selection & quality was exceptional. read more

My husband and I doned here on a Sunday evening. We were seated promptly (we had reservations but due to the time and day could have gone without one too). Our server was polite and attentive. We opted to share 4 different kinds of sushi rolls. Everything was fresh and delicious. I loved the Chicago and Goosebump roll. An added bonus was the for some of their speciality rolls you can order half sizes. Price was good for the amount of food we received. They also have an extensive Raman menu that is go back to try. Overall, great experience. read more

The sushi and the ramen were both fantastic! Great service, we will be back! Great addition to the south loop

After a loooong day at the Chicago Auto Show my husband and I decided we had a craving for sushi. Did my yelp research and Umai had great reviews so we decided to try it out. Definitely the right choice! We called ahead of time to see if we needed a reservation, they said it wasn't necessary at the time. Once we arrived, the gentleman I spoke with on the phone had already set up a table for us. We ordered the California, Spider, and one more roll but I forgot the name of it =/ All of them were delicious!! The atmosphere was peaceful, our server was attentive, and the restaurant itself was clean, light, and fun. We'll definitely be coming back next time we're in town. read more

Umai is a gem. I live around the corner and I've found myself dining here approximately 3 times per week. One Cannot go wrong with any of the Ramen bowls, however, the spicy pork is my favorite. I also highly recommend trying the pork shoulder. Amazing! Staff is friendly enough and the service is exceptional. Seating is plenty during the day but reservation would be wise on nights. read more

This my fourth visit. Each time has been really good. The servers are very nice; tonight our server took very good care of us. The sushi is good; the ramen is good; the appetizers are good. The only problem is that it's really loud. It's hard to a have a conversation with someone across the table. The space is all hard surfaces and the music is cranked up. Otherwise, it's great. read more

Extremely good Japanese food. The Gyu-Don is fantastic. The lunch specials are well priced and the service is very good. Located within a short distance of most of the south loop for an easy slightly longer lunch. The food comes out quick too. read more

As timely and clever a reference as Hilary Duff's bad acting is, I decided to try out Umai since I live close by. It was really good. Also impressive was their beer list which had a lot of other Japanese selections besides the standard Sapporo and Kirin. read more

Excellent sushi and great atmosphere! Try the unagi avo crunchy roll.

Our favorite Japanese restaurant. We come here every week or two. Fresh fish, good sushi and I love the Ramen. Keep up the good work!

I'm so glad that this place is so close to the Chinatown area! Great ramen and fresh sushi! I've been going ever since they opened. I never left disappointed even when it took a while for my roll to come out that last time. ( It was so good when I finally got it)It was about an hour wait for my one sushi roll but then I didn't care to complain since I knew it wasn't the servers fault and I was in no rush. The service was still great and my food was delicious. The staff checks on you but it's not so much that it gets annoying. I love the seaweed salad also. You can't go wrong with this place if you love ramen and fresh seafood. read more

Very pleased! I am a true maki roll lover and a very persnickety diner. The menu was plentiful, the food/drinks served promptly and everything tasted fresh and delicious!! I loved the high energy of the dining room along with the vibrant decor. Can't wait to return! read more

Great food at a great price and really great service. The ramen bowls are delicious and the sushi is really fresh. I highly recommend this eatery. My husband and I can't wait to go back! read more

I am from LA where there is a sushi restaurant on every corner, well not really :). I loved the Maki rolls. I had a Philly roll and a Chicago roll and an excellent salad. It was so good I told my wife that the next time she comes with me to Chicago, this is one of the restaurants I would love to bring her to. read more

Eaten here 3x before, twice in the dining area and once was a $100 delivery order. It was good, Chicago sushi. However, the 4th time I went, it was for carryout. I ordered ramen and a roll. The ramen tasted like college food, and the spicy tuna (which wasn't what I ordered) was on par with your local Jewel-Osco's refrigerated section. Fail all around. I guess the lesson here is dont get carryout? read more

Clean, modern, new restaurant. Excellent service and food, with more to offer than most sushi restaurants. Great dinner for my wife and I. Not overpriced. Will return. read more

I have only had delivery food from Umai, but from the outside, the space looks like it's really nice. The sushi is very fresh and flavorful, and they have a number of creative options. They also allow you to customize rolls, and you have the option of having the roll made with fresh brown rice as well. I love the Sloopin' roll with brown rice - it's decadent yet fresh. I also really enjoy the salmon avocado roll. Another plus is that the rolls themselves are reasonable sizes. I find that in other places in the city, the signature rolls are gigantic, and it is almost unreasonable to even try to finish them. At Umai, the rolls that I have had are all a nice size - not too big, but not too small. Overall, I'm impressed! read more

We had a great meal at Umai. We started with sushi. It was very fresh and flavorful. For my main dish, I ordered a bowl of udon noodles and loved it. read more

The best sushi I've had in my six years in the city (and we eat sushi A LOT). We lived next door and were at Umai a ton, and the waitstaff always remembered us and sweetened up our order at no extra charge. Super fresh fish, great delivery service, and rolls that don't load up too much on the rice at the expensive of the good stuff. The Tsukemmen (dipping noodles) is the perfect dish for Chicago winter. Five stars plus!! read more

Made a reservation for Sunday 5/17/15 weeks ago, we were in town for our daughter's college graduation. We've eaten here previously and the food is very good. Arrived on time and they didn't have a table for us, they said our table was still being used and we'd have to wait for the people to fnish eating. No one looked anywhere near being done. A large section was being reserved for a party of 25 coming in so we couldn't use all those empty tables. That didn't make sense because two people were eating in that section. The host seemed very flustered, we were persistent so he offered us a small table for four saying the table could expand??. After looking at the table and area it was in - no thanks. Six people would be very cramped. Won't go back after this lame attempt to accommodate our reservation plus the attitude. There are many great places to eat in Chicago. We went to Hackney's and had great food and great service. read more