I went to Umi with a friend after working from the coffee shop next door. We had late lunch, so the place wasn't that busy... when you walk in, they have a display of their lunch specials... the lunch combo was like $9.50. We walked in, the only waitress pointed to a booth and told us to sea there, dropped off the menu and asked what we wanted to drink - got water. Not knowing what I wanted to eat, I decided to try the lunch special and i also ordered spicy tuna and diablo roll. My friend got the kalbi bento. We got our small bowl of miso soup and salad. I actually enjoyed the miso soup, the salad was your typical standard salad... little too much dressing for a small salad with like 7 sliced lettuce... I got my lunch special, which was 3 sushi and crunch roll... the rolls were okay, the rice on the rolls were soft... ready to fall apart... the taste was decent. The diablo - oversize, overpriced roll with soft shell crab and ton's of vegetables and it wasn't HOT... even though the menu said it was... i guess my standard of 'HOT' is different then theirs! Half way through my meal, I asked if I could get more miso soup... the waitress hesitated a little... and as she was trying to decide what to do, I told her she can charge me... as I was about to finish my sentence, she said yeah, no problem... so I got my free 2nd cup of the soup. OH... I never did get my spicy tuna, but she did charge me for it... I had her remove it. As for the kalbi bento, it came with small amount of rice, four slices of rolls, two friend Korean dumplings and shrimp tempura with dipping sauce... standard fair for Korean run sushi operation... I personally won't not order this... the meat to vegetable ratio... 85% vegetables and 15% chopped up kalbi... disappointed. The server came once in a while... not too often... overall, this is a tier 2 sushi joint, okay to go if a better place is 2 hours away... of course, I did drive up to Toronto one weekend just to eat sushi... so I guess it all depends on how hard core you are when it comes to sushi... but thankfully there is Yotsuba down the road :) read more

I needed a place to spread out and study a little before my seminar on the NE side of A2. I headed for the building that houses a bunch of restaurants on the NW corner of Plymouth and Green. I decided that sushi would hit the spot. I had never been to Umi Sushi before. It's on the west side of the building, near Sweetwaters. I stepped into the vestibule and grabbed a menu. Went inside. The waiter gestured that I should find my own seat. He was fairly attentive during my visit. I only had to wave to get his attention once. Umi means "ocean" in Japanese, but the waiters were speaking Korean. I was thinking takoyaki (fried dough balls including octopus) but I was totally unfamiliar with the long menu. Kept it for later. Yep, you can get takoyaki there. I chose two regular norimaki off the order sheet. Tuna & cuke and unagi (eel.) The waiter confirmed my choices. Miso soup and salad arrived. I really liked the ginger-y salad dressing, but there was a puddle of dressing in the bottom of the bowl. About a quarter cup of dressing on a small salad. Whoops! The nori on the unagi roll could have used a quick toasting. It was a bit rubbery, maybe due to the sauce. But the rice was great, and I don't think the seaweed on the other roll was rubbery. I slowly munched while I wrote out my homework assignment. The place was starting to get a few more diners. Time to leave for class. I was able to get out of there rather quickly. 5% off your check if you pay cash. No problemo! read more

Umi Sushi - Salad, miso soup & two nori-maki: tuna/cucumber on left and unagi (eel) on the right. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Really impressed with UMi Sushi, - luckily i had a car, and was able to drive to Umi - there is parking right out side which is great. I kinda went at an off hour around 445pm, and was the only one in the restaurant, i was treated with impeccable service ! very attentive great green tea chicken teriayki is top notch - the white rice comes with some dead fish flakes -which i was not so into, but that is a delicate they do there i had one of their specialty rolls - super fresh reasonable pricing totally would go back ! read more

The food was decent, but I showed up to pick up a to-go order and was told it would be another 10 mins. After the 10 mins were up, I waited another 30 mins...then they came by and said it would be another 10 mins...so I waited for 50 mins for my food. They offered me a free drink for being patient?? Personally, I don't think that 50 mins of my time is equivalent to a drink... read more

Ordered the tonkotsu ramen, it was awful. The broth was fishy tasting, the noodles looked and tasted like they were from a packet, the egg was overcooked so the yolk had turned gray, and the whites had separated and were in several different pieces. To cover up this mess, the top was covered with wakame (and there was way to much of this) and spinach leaves. read more

Very nice choices of bento boxes. Loved the spicy chicken bento box. Sake sampler was good but expected at least 4 . We got 3. Quantity is sufficient for a person to a heavy meal. If you are. Not hungry do not order bento box. read more

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A hidden gem in Ann Arbor! This has become a regular place for me, I always get the green tea, Pink Lady and Phoenix rolls. The staff is friendly. I've only ever tried the sushi, so I can only comment on the excellence of that, but it's really great! Fresh ingredients, innovative menu, calm atmosphere. I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for places outside of downtown. read more

DO NOT GET FOOD FROM HERE!! The raman was not that great and it actually had HAIR IN IT!! Disgusting. read more

Hidden from the downtown crowd in a strip mall near Domino's Farms, Umi is a little hole in the wall. Their menu is relatively cheap compared to nearby sushi places. This is one of the few sushi places with a liquor license, and the wine was incredibly cheap. I bought a glass of Riesling for $5! The rolls are around the $4-8 range (and up for the premium rolls). It's not best in class, but the taste definitely exceeds the price. Highly recommended if you're looking for budget-friendly sushi or a place to both eat sushi AND get a buzz. read more

I was enjoying a family birthday dinner when Brett H. (previous reviewer) drunkenly entered with his half-eaten take-out order and promptly knocked over the half-wall separating the entrance from the dining area, falling to the floor. He then started demanding his money back for a shrimp dish he ordered mistakenly online, thinking he was getting traditional shrimp tempura instead of his actual order containing shrimp. While the workers remained calm explaining his order was described and filled correctly, he continued in his drunken broken English (see below example) to get louder and more obnoxious, using crude swear words standing right in front of my teenagers who by then stopped eating. This person should be banned from all restaurants, and hopefully soon returns to Maine. BTW, our dinner was excellent, and the wait staff was great. Nice selection of sushi and drinks. HIGHLY recommend to anyone in Northeast Ann Arbor, unless you are drunk, rude, and crude. read more

I'll preface this review by saying I used to come here once or twice a month and it was very good. Great, fresh food and terrific service. I came back over the weekend and was a little disappointed. The presentation of our sushi was terrific. Really beautiful but the fish was not as fresh tasting and eating as I expected. The service was adequate. Miso soup and salad were both terrific. This is just a strip mall sushi place, and for that it's still ok. The unfortunate thing is that it was so much better than that several years ago. read more

Had fantastic samon sashimi. Loved the pink lady roll. Service was excellent. Vanilla and strawberry mochi was great. Great sushi place :)

Went to Umi this evening, hadn't been there in years. Food and service were excellent. I won't wait years to go back.

I have driven past this place countless times. My job started at an offsite location nearby and I decided to try it for lunch. They have great lunch specials however I was not impressed by the sushi roll. I ordered the spicy lunch which came with one spicy tuna roll and a spicy California. The spicy tuna was just okay and spicy California was the crab salad style California roll you would find in a grocery store. Disappointed read more

Today's lunch special was Bibimbap. My favorite. Here, it was awful. I had to get carryout. The beef was not fresh and I'm not eve sure it was real beef. It had no flavor except a little burnt tasting and it was hard! Gross. Not worth the price. Tiny portions of veggies. Where was the spinach?!! So disappointed!!! I almost want to go back and demand my money back it was so bad and not edible. read more

I really wanted to like this place. The location means that it's en route to family visits, so convenience would be a plus! I was out in this neck of the woods, and hungry. I was geeked when I recalled Umi. I had actually only read Tony's review so far, and wanted to try it myself. The lunch specials were reasonably prices, since they included soup and salad. However, the portions of everything (soup, salad and the two rolls) were so relatively small that I was hungry again pretty soon after eating. The taste of the sushi was fairly plain. But, the servers were all trying very hard, it was clear, and UMI is just getting started, so I guess if I found myself in the area (and hungry) again in a few months, I would might give them another shot. Sometimes it takes awhile for a place to get some bugs figured out. But for now, I would probably just go down to Saica down the street instead -- see you in a few months, Umi? I'm hoping that your rolls get a bit bigger and tastier! read more

Umi Sushi used to be decent. Everything about it was average. But yesterday I went and ordered takeout with what I usually order- sakedon (salmon sashimi with sushi rice). It was the worst sakedon I had ever laid eyes on. The salmon was so thin that when I held it up with my chopsticks, part of the salmon ripped and fell off. There was also a noticeably less number of pieces, and they were all scattered haphazardly on top of the rice. The rice literally looked like it was one scoop of rice. I'm not exaggerating here. It was about a centimeter thick spread out, when it was usually around one inch. I don't know what happened, but one thing I know for sure is that at least one of their sushi chefs can NOT make sushi. This is absolutely unacceptable. I paid $15 for that, and I was still /starving/ after finishing it. Not just hungry, but starving. Avoid this place. Sushi is expensive. Don't risk wasting your money. read more

I went here for lunch last week, and was pleasantly surprised since I had expected below average from past yelp reviews. I like the decor inside... very feng shui. Service was nice and helpful. I ordered the spicy combo, which is a spicy tuna roll and a spicy california roll - nothing too exciting here, but that's my stand-by when I get sushi just for myself. I suppose it wasn't incredible/amazing sushi, but it was on par with other sushi places in town - definitely not any worse than sadako. Which really is good enough for me. My friends really liked their sashimi and the ramen (not a sushi fan, but we dragged her along anyway). Everyone got salad and miso (except for friend that got ramen), even my friend who just ordered one roll. I definitely would come back, and I look forward to trying some of the more exciting rolls. Also - beer and wine available! read more

Reviewing sushi places in Ann Arbor is tough; it's a super-saturated market, and at times can be difficulty to distinguish one from the other. Umi Sushi deserves mention because of a few innovative features and a very accessible location. It sits right next to Sweetwaters Cafe on Plymouth Road in North Ann Arbor (see my Sweetwaters review!), which makes for a great 1-2 lunch-coffee punch. Parking is a piece of cake. Umi boasts a really nice contemporary space, and a well-designed sushi bar. Service is fast, if not incredibly friendly. I'm a big fan of the lunch special, which varies daily, but always includes miso soup, a small salad, and a sushi preperation that is generally always a good portion. I've had it multiple times and have always been happy. The fish is adequately fresh, and there are some unique rolls. The stand-out to me is actually the "Banana roll." I usually order it is a dessert/finisher but this is actually more a savory-sweet roll, which works well after a good helping of raw fish. Not pushing 4 stars because, frankly, there is better sushi in Ann Arbor, but for lunch I'm a big fan of Umi. Worth mentioning: direct quote from waitress when ordering a banana roll in addition to the lunch special when here with a friend - "Oh, really, you're not full?" Yikes. Apparently we were being over-indulgent, but still, not really the best business model to point out your customers' gluttony when they are ordering. Pros: location, parking, ambiance, banana-roll, lunch special Cons: so-so service, average sushi read more

Aw Hell No! I'm sorry to be so forthright about my distaste - I know people work hard to keep a restaurant running and I don't mean to offend. I just... I can't do it. Unfortunately I was suckered into eating here by someone who knows nothing about sushi but refused to drive into downtown to appease my desperate suggestions. Nine times out of ten, sushi restaurants that are Korean-operated are generally not the most traditional. This place supports that rule. The rice was hard and not at all sticky. The rolls were falling apart. The cuts of fish were butchered and stringy. The vegetables were bland. The interior is nice and the service wasn't bad. But the food? No thank you. read more

I've only been in once (attempted another time but the plaza parking lot was being torn up, not the business' fault clearly) but it was super yummy. I had salmon nigiri, which tasted fresh and flavorful. My friend had a couple of the rolls, and had been there multiple times before. Said the place was always great. The staff were cordial and polite. I look forward to eating here again. read more

What people should remember is that every restaurant takes a bit of time to work through its kinks. (the PG kind) I too forget this sometimes. When this place first opened, I was thrilled because I live fairly close and was excited to have a sushi place near me. Unfortunately something was so very wrong with the fish and I had blown it off as a sad could have been. Recently, a friend and I decided to give it one more try and we were VERY PLEASANTLY surprised! They've definitely improved since their opening. We went there for lunch and both got one of their katsu bentos. Due to the fish issue from before, I was not willing to go straight for the sushi. Our bentos did however come with california rolls and they were pretty good! The bento was wonderful! The katsu was well cooked and the portions were huge. I was more than stuffed afterwards. It turns out they have a happy hour M-F 3pm-5pm where everything is 20% off so I hope to go back sometime to give their sushi a second try. I'm pregnant and not eating raw fish right now so it may be a while before I get to do this but I'll be updating this post as soon as I do...though that may not bee till the summer. One of its remaining issues seems to be staffing. I've seen a "help wanted" sign on their door ever since they opened. I'll admit, the service was really slow when we went for lunch. It took about 45 minutes for our food to arrive. The day we went, the restaurant was completely full and there was only 1 server so we didn't complain. More than anything, I felt bad for the poor woman who did her best to make sure all the tables were well served. One final thing - try the green tea. It was quite good and actually green tea with real tea leaves. Often when you order green tea in a restaurant, you get the generic tea bag bland stuff. This was a pleasant surprise and kept us happy during our wait for our food. For those of you who were sad at the experience when they first opened, I hope you'll give them a second chance too. read more

Avoid!!! They don't even have soy in their soy sauce. It's made up of "water, salt, caramel color, sugar, MSG" and one other preservative. See my picture. Tastes just like salt. How cheap can you be to not use real soy sauce?! Even Kroger sushi comes with soy sauce with soy in it. o_O This sushi is a pretty standard price for this area and I expect to have soy in my soy sauce. read more

Umi Sushi - No soy in their soy sauce! Their soy sauce is made up of "water, salt, caramel color, sugar, MSG, and sodium benzonate" - Sushi Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

This place is great. Tucked away in a small strip mall area it stays hidden and never super busy. They have a solid sashimi selection here. One thing i really enjoy about this place is the care and passion that the chefs take in making their sushi. They attempt to be very unique with the presentation of the sashimi platter and is different every single time we order it. Also, the yum yum roll is awesome and is a different offering for people who might not like rice or just want a different type of roll. Def worth a stop. read more

Well, we love sushi, so we thought we should check this place out. Pros: Tea and water cups were always full. Or half full for a few minutes, and then full again. The staff are really nice The ambience is nice for a quiet date night. Ends up neutral: The food is decent, but not deluxe. I got the tonkatsu bento box and liked all the options for sides, but I was disappointed to just have a drizzle of plum sauce across the pork. The sauce is one of my fave parts about katsu. Cons: A little pricey, considering you can go downtown and get the same amount of food for less. Overall, not bad, not great. read more

I love this place. Yes, there is better sushi in downtown Ann Arbor, but Umi is good because you don't have to go downtown and struggle with parking. The sushi here is good, the spicy rolls are actually spicy, the miso is flavorful and the staff is attentive. The food is fairly quick to come out, too. Yes, there is better in Ann Arbor, but for an easy stop without having to battle traffic or parking, I have no faults here. I just wish more people shared my experiences. read more

Surprised to see poor reviews on here for Umi so far. Me and my wife are big fans but we mostly only eat rolls which I think Umi does quite well. The sweet potato tempura roll is fantastic and most of the other rolls that we tried were quite good as well. Prices are good in my opinion, as Umi is one of the few places we can gorge ourselves on sushi rolls for under $40 for the two of us. I also picked up a lunch bento one day and was a bit disappointed in that as the portions were kind of small. Perhaps if I ate in the portions would be bigger. read more

I think this place is pretty good. The decor is nice - in fact surprising based in the exterior if the building- and the food is pretty good. The bento specials are a good price, and the staff is attentive. Umi will probably be better for lunch than dinner. It's a good option if you're in the immediate vicinity, but I wouldn't cross town to eat there. I work close by and will likely eat here regularly. read more

Umi Sushi - Tempura Bento at Umi. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

We ordered a carry out and it took 30 minutes wait for 3 rolls (tempura roll, fire cracker and philly) and 1 sashimi regular. The price compared to the size and servings of the rolls were rather expensive. Taste is fair. I will not return. read more

Forgot what I had here but it was good. I had some type of crab and asparagus with eel sauce and the sake choices were great. I'll be back

Not a very good Sushi Restaurant. The customer service was horrible. Waitress forgot to place my entree order and wouldn't admit it. Just said it was almost done, just 5 more minutes, when the group at the next table came in 15 mins after us and they already got their hot entrees. The sushi is mediocre at best. The appetizers were filled with rice to cover up the small portions of filling. And on top of all that they charge you $2 for hot green tea. $2!?!?? Please! You want a sushi restaurant travel a little more west to downtown and go to Miki Sushi (Sushi Zen) or travel a little more South and go to Yotsuba! This place is cheap! Their food and service proves it. read more

I have eaten at every sushi joint in A2. There are 3 good spots. Miki, Saica and Umi. With regards to Umi, their service can be hit or miss(for me, more hit than miss) but the food is always spot on. Whether it's a New Michigan roll or spicy tuna or white tuna, or the include miso soup and salad, they are consistent. I tend to get the same, or comparable, rolls at all 3 restaurants so gauging price is easy for me. 2 large rolls, 2 small rolls and a couple pieces of sashimi, along with the salad and miso soup runs me right around $35 at Umi. The same at Miki runs me about $39 while Saica lightens my pocket to the tune of $42. I have never found the quantity of food at Umi lacking in comparison to the other players but I suppose it's possible to get a roll made smaller from time to time by the chef. The place is always clean and the atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming. Despite being out of the downtown traffic nightmare parking can be a bit of a nuisance. For those of you who don't like this place, it's good you're in Ann Arbor where you have a multitude of choices read more

The fact that Umi Sushi is so near us, yet we forgo it for places like Miki Campus should be a very telling sign. We tried it out once for lunch. Waitress was friendly, but that was about the only good thing about this place. She was friendly, but flat-out ignored my request for my salad to have no dressing. I tried to man up and eat it, and found the dressing so sour it physically hurt. Sushi portions were small for the money we were paying, and the tea was subpar. You're supposed to serve tea piping hot, and this was lukewarm at BEST. We haven't been back since. read more

This place sucks.! I ordered my food on line. The order was incorrect. I called, to get it corrected...woman told me I am speaking broken english...she not understand. So I bring my food back. I said to owner I want my money back He said, since I'd and shove ordered on line, I have to call the on line company to get my money back . I told him to take his food and shove it up his ass! read more

Most of the bad reviews seem to be about the waitstaff. when I eat sushi any where I only sit at the Sushi bar. The Fish is very fresh the miso is tasty salad is your ordinary Sushi bar salad. I've had sushi all over Ann Arbor and the prices aren't the Downtown prices but I think it's just as fresh and prepared as well as any this is just my opinion but I recommend it read more

Dined at Umi Sushi for the first time for lunch. The lunch specials are an awesome deal, two rolls with soup and salad for $10 or less. That being said, the sushi was very "fishy". Something didn't seem right. The service was attentive and the inside was really quite nice. I'd probably skip this place again as there are better options in Ann Arbor. read more

This place is horrible. I genuinely do not understand the positive reviews. Did pickup last night, and had the chicken skewers..nothing more than breaded chicken nuggets on long toothpicks. Had white tuna and yellowtail rolls, both with avocado..literally couldn't see the fish in either of them, OR the avocado-if it was there it was microscopic. The 'sushi' at Meijer is better, and that's saying something. Had the soba noodle dish w/chicken, which was..no joke..cheap, sticky ramen noodles in hot sauce. It was all bad. I'm not exactly the most picky person when it comes to food. If it hadn't been just before close, I would have taken it all back. This place is horrible. read more

I've only been here once, and eventually I'll make it back. I wanted this place to be really good, since it seems to be the only sushi place on Plymouth Rd. I had one of the sushi/sashimi lunch specials. It was only ok, and probably not the freshest fish I've ever had. The service was fast and friendly. Since this place is still fairly new, I hope that they can improve and this will become my go-to sushi place. read more

This place is rarely busy, food comes out fast and the sushi is amazing! And we have always had good service here as well. Highly recommend!

Beer was cold fish was fresh. 9/10 would always recommend. Prices were decent. Rolls were on the tiny side but it's quality not quantity when it comes to SOOSH read more