12 of us were very lucky to be invited down to Umezushi for a Sake and Sushi evening. Umezushi is a favourite of mine so as always I had a wonderful time. We tried different types of sushi - the standout one for me being the swordfish nigiri!! An in-depth talk also followed each course explaining each Sake, how they're made and how to distinguish good ones from cheaper ones. Safe to say it was an excellent event!! read more

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Stunning! Amazing! Before the Yelp event on Monday, I had been to Umezushi once before and had a great time. Like Emily, not really show why I have never been again - it suppose with it being a little bit out of the way is part of the reason/excuse. Probably not a very good reason/excuse, but one none the less. Umezushi are usually closed on Monday so they opened especially for us Yelpers. There were about 12 of us lucky enough to be there for the Sake and Sushi taster. We had a welcome from Matt (who kept it short since he had a sore throat) and then Terry, the very knowledgable Terry, from Umezushi explained about what we would be eating/drinking and details about sake and how its made, its "rating", what makes some more expensive etc. We got a different sake to pair with different sushi. As the evening progressed, the sakes we drank gradually got stronger but all had different flavours. I think I actually liked the 1st one which was more of an easy drinking one. (Although fav of the whole night was one not on the tasting menu but a plum sake. This is THE plum sake - had it before and its delicious. Mmmmm. Its a bit thicker in consistency than I remember but still GOOD! My personal favourite sushi was probably the swordfish, although all of them taste really good. Nice and fresh. Never had the pickled veg one before and I think maybe once had the Unagi (eel) one. Its an usual texture but tasted good. And don't be put off with the thought its an eel - think of it like a long fish. Fans of Friends will recognise the name "unagi" - which Ross thought was a "concept". LOL. So I very enjoyable evening at Umezushi. Thanks to Matt and of course to Terry and everyone at Umezushi. read more

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Another 5-star Yelp event! A private dining experience just for a few of us lucky Yelpers! We were introduced to a short background on sakes by Terry, who runs Umezushi. Luckily for Matt who was suffering from a sore throat that Terry did most the talking! We were to taste five different sales from various grades and they would be paired with a complementing sushi dish. The hosts at Umezushi were great and clearly very knowledgeable about bother their food and the sakes! I was surprised that sake is not really made in a one step sugar-to-alcohol process like wine and was equally surprised that it has some aromatic qualities like wine and that some can be aged for 10 years and they'd taste of whiskey! My favourite sake was the fourth one - Manabito a Junmai (which means pure; no added spirit when it was made) and a Ginjo (the second top grade meaning that a lot of the outer layers of the rice grained is milled away)! It was flavourful and had a bit of a greeny yellow tinge like white wine. My favourite of the sushi were the nigiri, because the way the fish was expertly cut and their quality made them melt in your mouth! At the end of the night Chloe asked about the plum sake and we got to taste it!!! So we had a bonus sake and got to taste extra of our favourite sakes too. All in all a great night catching up with fellow Yelpers in a great little restaurant looked after by super friendly people! Thanks Matt for organising! read more

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First time I've been to an outstanding sushi restaurant, I was so chuffed when I got invited to this event :) It was a lot smaller than I expected, but good things come in small packages. I was pleasantly surprised. Terry gave us a masterclass in saké whilst we munched on salted edamame beans. Thanks Rich T (biscuit) for teaching me how to use chopsticks - you have succeeded where many have failed before. We tried 5 different sakés, all of which were delicious; my favourites were Katafune Junmai and Manabito. These accompanied the tasting menu - I loved the swordfish and salmon nigiri, but I wasn't so keen on the unagi. I have never tried eel before, and when I tried this I just couldn't get the image of snakes out of my head. It was a bit chewy (apparently that was the skin, if I ever try it again I'll try it without the skin). A fellow Yelper has told me in the past that the plum sake (shiraume umeshu) here was to die for, so I asked if I could purchase some to try as it wasn't on our menu...then glasses were bought out for everyone! This was my new favourite saké and because Terry generously offered us 15% off bottles and Rich T said that sake doesn't cause hangovers I invested in a bottle. Rich T lied! My hangover of doom is on you :P - nothing to do with the fact that I drank 7 measures of sake lol. I'm entertaining at the weekend so I'll serve it to my guests and tell them that they won't get a hangover...muahahahaha! Oh and soz for the shaky pics, my hand got cramp from practising with my chopsticks (nothing to do with being drunk, I swear) Great night, great food, great hosting, great company and great saké. Thank you! My birthday is in a few weeks, I'm gonna see if I can get the folks to take me back here. read more

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That's was amazing Sushi and Sake evening. This little restaurant is 5 min from Victoria Station and next to Tempus Tower building. It is 5 min walk from Arandrl center easy to fund. We was welcome with 6 different types of Sake, from casual Sake to very posh Sake. My favorite was number 4 and 1(names you can see on pictures ) Between Sake testing we was eating Sushi , my favorite was swordfish with little fish eggs on the top and traditional salmon sushi. Restaurant staff was amazing very helpful and knowledge about drinks and food.100% I can recommend this restaurant. Matt thank you for inviting. read more

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Umezushi was, I think, the first place I ever ate when I moved to Manchester. I loved it and then proceeded to never visit again in my 2+ years here, for reasons largely unknown. I was thrilled when I got a place on this event and the whole experience - food, drink and atmosphere - reminded me why I liked this place so much in the first place. I won't go into great detail about the sushi and sake pairings that we had as others have gone through it and I've uploaded a snap of the menu. If I was forced to pick a favourite from the sushi dishes it would have to be the swordfish nigiri - so fresh and meaty. But honestly I loved them all. Kimchi sushi is something I want more of in my life. As a total sake newbie I don't think I could choose a favourite but they were all delicious. I'm not sure if I've only ever had bad sake or if my palate has changed but I was (pleasantly) surprised at the smoothness and depth of flavour in all of them. The plum wine brought round at the end of the evening was also delicious, and tasted like Christmas. I wonder how it would taste mixed with champagne/prosecco... Terry and his team were all very charming and made us feel right at home. Big thanks to them, and to Matt, for such a lovely evening! read more

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This is a very interesting experience. I'm not usually a huge fan for sushi, but I have been to many teppanyaki places in China. There are 5 sushi & 5 sake for tasting today. For the sushi, loved the Unagi uramaki & Pickled Vegetable Hosomaki. For the Sake, I liked the Katafune Junmai. It didn't taste like the usual sake I had in Japanese teppanyaki restaurant, but lighter & sweeter. Overall a good experience & i have recommended this place to my Chinese friends. read more

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This was a great introduction into Sushi and Sake - something which I have never had (apart from the supermarket variety...). I really enjoyed all of the Sushi but the standout thing for me was the Plum sake...I could probably drink large quantities of this! My favourite sushi was the Eel. The cooking process is very involved and is finished over a hot pan but not touching it giving it a sort of bbq finish. The restaurant is very small and I guess that you would have to definitely book if you want a table at the weekends. The menu prices are a little high but this is justified due to the amount of time which is put into each dish. I am going to return and try the steak - i've heard it's some of the best i'll ever have. read more