Bright and clean dining and buffet area. That's what first jumped out as we walked into Umi. Not many buffets of any sort left around these days. Lots of seafood options! Staff was attentive and kept our drinks full. I had a little bit of everything and it was all to my liking. They had crab legs presented in 3 ways, cold, steamed, and in a Cajun style boil. If you love crab then this is the place to enjoy it until your hearts content. Soft drinks and juice are included in price as is all the sushi and sashimi. read more

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First I would like to say that I am a big fan of all-you-can-eat buffets. With all the higher food prices and smaller portions, I feel there is more value to buffets. However, the quality, variety and taste of the food determines if I will be a repeat customer. Although there was a good variety of foods, the fact that everything tasted bland. Each new item I tried l hoped would have more flavor than the previous item but unfortunately they were consistent but not in a good way. The only item I enjoyed was the round sugar coated donut balls, the sugar was sweet. Service was good but their whole job was to bring beverages and clear plates which our server did very well. Try it once and decide for your self but I recommend the lunch buffet so you spend less money while trying it out. read more

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The combination of seafood and sushi was calling my name. Two of my favorite food categories. I hit up the sushi station first. I noticed right away that none of the sushi was marked so I really wasn't sure what they all were. Funny, the case that had the basic California roll types were marked. Overall the sushi pieces were way to big, definitely not something I was able to eat in one bite which mean they fell apart trying to either cut them or eat partially. They could have cut out half the rice As the rice overpowered any other tastes. I did enjoy the seaweed salad from this station. Presentation was nice. Moving on to the seafood. We were there for lunch so I'm assuming dinner has A much bigger selection. I did like the 2 different kinds of mussels & the shrimp I tried. The breaded scallops were decent considering I'm not crazy about breaded seafood. Forgot pictures of these & don't remember what else was on my plate. Other foods. Well the crab rangoons we're ok but the pot stickers were terrible, all dried out with a bland filling. The sautéed mushrooms were good. I ended the meal with an assortment of fruit and a small salad. Both were fresh. Service was fast and friendly with our empty plates being removed quickly. I haven't decided if I'll try going back for dinner avoiding what I didn't like and trying new things. 2024-92 read more

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Umi is clean and new with plenty of helpful staff. The buffet menu is a massive list of what should be amazing food. Unfortunately our group all had the same reaction. The food was bland. Seasoning was minimal, and fillings in the dumplings, rolls, or rangoon were underrepresented. What we did enjoy - the lamb, the pork soup dumpling, a few of the sushi rolls - were very tasty. But all the rest was very much lacking in flavor. We kept trying dishes but not much stood out as worth the price tag. read more

Umi Sushi & Seafood Buffet - Buffets Near Me - Buffalo, New York

The food is always fresh and fabulous. The service staff is very friendly. Theres just one negative thing about the ambiance. Do not look into the lighting. It's SO BRIGHT. I call the lighting, "Retina burners". But we LOVE the food. Sushi is always fresh. The only reason I gave 4 not 5 stars is because of the lighting. read more

Had gone here when they first opened and been back quite a few times. They were great off the bat. Went last night and wss disappointed. The sushi wasnt as fresh and the staff seemed uninterested. They didnt have much seafood out on the bar. No crab legs. They had shrimp which was fresh not deveined. They do have gluten free soy sauce but they dont have a ton of gluten free options at all. But usually I can fill up on sushi. I had one piece that was dried up at edges. I dont know. Overall kind of disappointed compared to the first time. read more

Came here for Mother's day. My mom wanted to try a new place. I will say it wasn't bad and we may go back again. Maybe because of the holiday it seemed chaotic. It just seemed like there was so much going on and our server couldn't keep up. We were a party of 10 and had one drink menu. When she came to take drink orders we weren't ready because everyone didn't get to see the menu. Then when we got our food, we had to share two crab crackers for a table of 10. That's was annoying because we had to keep asking each other for it. When we ordered sodas twice the was carbonation and no flavor. We had to ask for them to change the syrup for sprite and again for ginger ale. The food I had was fine. Some people said their crab legs and lobster were cold. I will say not for lack of trying because they were definitely rolling out fresh hot food constantly. There was a little lady that was coming out filling the pans. She was very rude about it though. The first time I went up there she pushed me with the edge of the pan. I let it go. Fine. But then I took my 7 year old cousin up for another plate and as I was leaning down asking her what she wanted, the lady came over and pushed her. I snapped. I pushed her hand away and told her "do not push a child, say 'excuse me'". I was so annoyed. She wouldn't even look at me but I know she understood my point. Overall the food was decent. The alcoholic drinks are weak but the canned lemonades they make are apparently really good. I was going to get one but my family members that ordered two to go had to wait over 30 minutes. Apparently our waitress who took the order had to leave suddenly and never told anyone so when my cousin went and asked no one knew what we were talking about. Two were made quickly and we left. For the most part, it was decent. For that price point, I can't be mad at all. You get what you pay for. The place was packed the whole time we were there. My hope is that it's much better on a regular day. read more

This is the newest Buffet restaurant in town (Nov 2024), food is great, love the sushi, dim sum station (weekend), and quality seafood choice. Seating area is bright, clean and modernized, feel much better compared to previous buffet here. Service is also great, they have the robots to help with seating and clean up. We have been here twice already, close to home, it will be one of our skip cooking choices, ;) Must check out! read more

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Atmosphere was very clean and bright The service was amazing! Food was very high quality & fresh! Overall very pleased & now is my new favorite buffet! read more

My son and I finally went to this restaurant, we had a very warm welcome. The place had beautiful decor, and it was very clean. The wait staff was awesome. There was a huge selection of seafood, chicken, steak and there was plenty of different sides. I really enjoyed the ambiance and the friendliness of the wait staff and all you can eat crab legs. I highly recommend this new restaurant read more

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My friends told me about this place and they said it wasn't bad so my husband and I went to try it out. We went during a Sunday and during Bill's game so it was kind of empty. We had no issues getting seated. The buffet includes soft drinks which I didn't know until towards the end. The sushi was fine itself. The seafood part, not so much. It tasted very fishy for me and I'm normally a big fan of seafood. Most of the fried food I tried had too much batter in it so I did not like that. The dimsum wasn't too bad but it wasn't the greatest. Overall I don't think I'm a fan. The staff was nice though. read more

I visited the Umi Buffet about six weeks ago. This review is late, I apologize Let me start by saying this place is located at the previous Old Country Buffet on Transit. They could not have picked a better location. The place is spacious and there is plenty of seating and tons of space when going up to make your plates. One thing I was happy to see is that the drink is INCLUDED with your meal (for me that's a HUGE plus) During lunch the price is more reasonable and you get a chance to try as much as you can. I also noticed they have a take out option, as there was an elderly woman coming in to make her take out meal. Ok so on to the review. I went with 2 of my children. My son who is a huge fan of sushi had been waiting to go. We went for lunch and was able to get right in. I believe at this point they had only been opened for about a month. I got the chance to speak with Chef B and as we spoke he shared with me that he was a chef at the old Sho Guns one of the original Hibachi restaurants in WNY. I was so happy to speak with him. His passion for food and flavor is the absolute best. He was very personable and friendly. He did explain the menu is more extensive during dinner, which makes sense. I noticed also that the serving trays weren't extremely full, for the sake of making sure food is fresh and not wasting food. There were a large number of chicken and shrimp dishes, fresh shrimp cocktail and more. The salad bar was full and had a nice selection of vegetables and fresh fruit. There were several soup selections. The sushi bar had a nice selection of sushi lined up. They were doing a great job keeping things wiped down and clean. Our waiter was great with not bothering you to much, but around enough to clear plates and make sure drinks were filled. Now on to the food... I enjoyed most of what I had. My biggest complaint would have been the food not being hot enough. It seemed that the warmers weren't hot enough. I couldn't figure out if it was from refilling or what but the food to me was luke warm. The flavors we good but in some cases certain items tasted the same. I would have liked to see a few more spices dishes and a signature dish. The potential here is great. I plan to give it another visit. I believe they were just getting started. I would love to see a noodle bar or hibachi read more

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Definitely a cool place and worth the try and the amount of seafood you get is fresh and worth it. This is the only location I know of which sits where old country buffet use to be on Transit . Give em a try! read more

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Umi Sushi opened a location in Buffalo and we attended the soft opening. The food is fresh and has great presentation! read more

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Wow, lunch only is $19. It certainly does not live up to what dinner is. No crab no lobster no nothing very bare bones. The food is terrible especially the hot food. The duck, which is normally wonderful- was dry disgusting. read more

SAVE YOURSELVES. Came for the lunch all you can eat and there was barely anything edible. Could not even finish one plate of "safe" foods like rice and chicken. The worst part was when I opened up a crawfish to find the meat inside to be black. I don't know if it was rotten or what but it smelled and looked disgusting. There was also mold on my chopsticks somehow and the sushi tasted fishy and looked like it was sitting out for a long time. Service was ok but confusing as someone who has never been there before definitely do not recommend it was not even worth the 20$ a person. read more

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Excellent Mother's Day buffet plenty of hot food replaced immediately no waiting. Crab, lobster claws, delicious sushi enormous variety. If you left unsatisfied it's your own fault. Service was wonderful. Refills on beverages great one price as many as you want. Alcohol by glass few exceptions. Would return in heartbeat read more

AI walked in like normal and immediately got the sushi. Very fresh and delicious, Great service the waiter always came over and refilled our drinks, and got rid of the dirty plates. The interior like always was comfortable and unique. read more

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Sigh... where to start. I'm very excited to tried this place. I love seafood and sushi so when I heard about this place? Sign me up! I guess i have too much of high hopes. Food really mediocre, tasteless. Good selection with crab legs, mussels, standard dessert, soups. The sushi bar also decent selection of both sushi and sashimi. Dim sum station and other miscellaneous sections and seafood like fish, shrimp etc. of all the food I tried I probably only like a handful like 5 or less. Mostly the dimsum. I like the chicken feet which compared to other foods are flavorful. Tripe also something I like. Soup dumplings would have been good if the dumplings didn't broke and leaking up the soups. I went with my daughter and husband. All of us very disappointed. We won't be back. Will not recommend to anyone. With the price this is not worth it. I would rather go to Korean BBQ. Service quite good. Waiter is nice and friendly quite attentive and cleared the plates. The restaurant huge and quite clean. read more

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Excited to go, but mixed reaction to Umi Sushi and Seafood Buffett. Super clean inside and everyone very attentive to your needs. Large buffet to choose food from. Did not do the sushi. Overall, very nice atmosphere. The food we had was flavorful and there were quite a few items to choose from in the buffet. That being said, do you really get your moneys worth at this buffet? I think if you do the buffet AND sushi bar, perhaps. Otherwise, it seems to be overpriced for all you can eat. You know that going in, but we wanted to give it try. It was worth a 'one time only' go to, but for Chinese food, our mainstay restaurant, Dragon City, just down the street will get our business. Sorry. read more

Excellent food service seafood even sushi I didn't think I liked. Chinese food is great too. Very pleasant people and atmospheres. So much seafood its amazing great price too. read more

I came here on my birthday hoping for a good experience, but it was honestly one of the worst dining experiences I've had. The food was cold, tasted like it had been sitting out for days, and made me feel sick after eating. They advertised lobster, but there was none totally fake advertising. The entire buffet was overpriced and not worth the money at all. I didn't even stay for 15 minutes. When I brought up the issues, the staff had a bad attitude, didn't care, and refused to give a refund. This place completely ruined what was supposed to be a special day. Please avoid this place!!! read more

We went on a Saturday at 2:00, paid $26.00 each an most of the food was stale hard an cold.Very disappointed.

The food was not good and the corn was hard and not many crab legs and the food was not hot the restaurant is disappointing

i had very high expectations for this, i seen such good reviews. i went here on my birthday on a Saturday night expecting crab legs and there were none, very disappointed. what i did get that was good was the orange chicken and that's all, the crawfish were small and fishy, the sushi was also fishy and dry. the scenery was cute tho! the only thing that was good was the chill oil that was amazing and spicy! read more

Umi Sushi & Seafood Buffet - Buffets Near Me - Buffalo, New York

Went last night for New Years Eve dinner. So disappointed. While it was very clean inside it was so brightly lits it was like eating in a hospital cafeteria. The food however, left much to be desired. So many weird seafood options, poaching in steam table pans. The whole restaurant smells like a warm fish tank. The non seafood dishes were bland yet salty at the same time. Have never experienced that before. The sushi area had what seemed like many options but they all tasted the same and seemed to have been sitting for awhile bc they were dried out. For the price you pay for dinner you are better paying a few extra dollars and go to Wind up the street. read more

Not thrilling. As other reviews stated, the food was pretty bland. Not as much variety as is expected either. Service wasn't bad, and it was clean. Honestly, I'd rather spend a little more and go to WIND down the street. I won't come back. read more

Walking into Umi I saw a large variety of delicious looking food. The atmosphere was pleasantly light and airy. The seating was new and comfortable. I tried some sushi and baked white fish first and they were a little better than other similar places. A selection of squeeze bottles with wasabi mayonnaise and other sauces was a thoughtful touch. Next I filled my plate with Chinese buffet dishes that I normally like. That's when it got weird. Nothing tasted like I expected it to. The broccoli beef had an strong, sort of gamey taste, the skin on the fried chicken wing was limp with oil, the BBQ rib was tough and dry, and it was the first time I ever tasted a piece of crab Rangoon that I didn't like. It was a thick, overly chewy wonton stuffed with with what seemed to be plain cream cheese. I kept trying dishes and only found a couple to like. A lightly breaded salt and pepper shrimp was tasty and the calamari would have been even better if it had been hot rather than barely warm. This was during a busy lunchtime but it seemed like many dishes were not being kept at a high enough temperature. The French fries were actually hot but when I bit into one it tasted like nothing but bland oil, without a trace of salt. The potato inside had a heavy mealy texture, too. It was so strange how beautiful that French fry looked, though. This was only one visit and maybe it wasn't even the regular cook for the Chinese dishes, but those flavors seemed off in general. The thin rice noodles, for example tasted like nothing because they had almost nothing cooked with them, hardly a speck of green onion or egg in sight. Umi has only been open about a month, so I'll probably try it again someday because it might improve, maybe if they get a cook who is good at something other than seafood. Everyone's taste is different so maybe you will like it just as it is. read more

This was our second visit, and it really seems like the place looked for every way to save money. Food was all cold and dry (5pm)... Fried rice wasn't even fried, was just white rice with vegetables... For the price per person, better places to go... Was disappointed read more

I went in for lunch and it was pretty underwhelming considering the price. I know lunch is always cheaper and less options but this was not any different than any other buffet in Buffalo and it was way more expensive. They have the regular Chinese food dishes, a few additional chicken ones and then several rolls with different toppings, but there was nothing that really stood out for that extra price tag. The food was okay. A warning for expectations for lunch! read more

The service is garbage, they don't service as their post schedules. Not a honest person. So bad!

Seafood taste fake horrible. Had to use the bathroom instantly hated it very badly, Don't recommend this place at all

My daughter and I went to Umi yesterday and the food was terrible. Nothing was hot, or made fresh. It all tasted like it was a frozen product . None of the sushi was labeled and looked like it sat there all day. It was also very expensive. We were very disappointed! Our server, Tom, was pleasant and kept our drinks filled and table cleared. read more

This is a nice clean new place but the food was average at best. It was in the serving trays too long and dried things out. I had a sugar roll which is supposed to be soft. It was a brick on the bottom. If this place can fix a few things it can be a great place. It just wasn't that for me. But worth trying. read more

Even on a soft opening this place is fantastic!! Fresh and well prepared Chinese and Japanese Food. The seafood is unbelievably good!! read more

The food poisoning was the only thing they did right not going back there. The service was nasty.

I was shocked they had already pealed shrimp and they were large size. The buffet was very clean and the staff was very attentive. I still can get over the amount of seafood for a lunch buffet can't wait to try the dinner buffet . read more

I went yesterday at around 230 and I had great expectations and was met with big beautiful crab claws that I couldn't chew they would have been better shoes, the crawfish meat was invisible and all the other seafood was old, we asked for our money back and the waitress said No Refund , I guess if your gonna go go early, I will not be returning read more

Great selection and amazing taste! The staff are very friendly and the atmosphere is open and welcoming. highly recommend! read more

Umi Sushi & Seafood Buffet - Buffets Near Me - Buffalo, New York

The food is always fresh and the people so friendly. The weekend buffets are fantastic...well worth the extra money!