Ukami — Restaurant in Tulum

10 out of 10, or whatever the highest rating is! We were staying across the street at Coco Unlimited (a wonderful hotel, by the way), and we were tired and hungry after a very long day of travel. The concierge suggested Ukami, and it was close, so we strolled over. I was intrigued by the menu, and though my wife loves Mexican food, Asian food is generally lower on her list of favorites. However, our 14-year-old daughter can sometimes by a picky eater, so her willingness to give it a try sealed the deal. We were greeted by Spencer, one of the owners, who was a fabulous host and made us feel very welcome. It was obvious he took great pride in his restaurant, and deservedly so. Everything about the place was wonderful: the music, the décor, the ambience, the service, and of course the most important part, the food. We tried the Taka Taka; Yakimeshi Mixto (with shrimp); Teppanyaki (with salmon); and the famous Rock Shrimp Taco. The tacos can be ordered traditional style, with a crispy corn shell, or the “Chef’s special,” which is served in fried rice paper. Order a traditional, if you must, but you absolutely have to try the Chef’s Special too (you will not be sorry!). We ate at a few other restaurants in Tulum, and they were fine, but Ukami was our favorite, by far. So much so, we actually returned two more times before we (sadly) had to leave, and my daughter announced that it was her favorite restaurant, ever! I cannot rate our experience(s) there highly enough. Thank you, Spencer and staff, for helping to make our trip to Tulum...

This strip really needs a Mexican/sushi restaurant as it suits Tulums clientele. I loved the idea of trying innovative flavours and a bit of ‘je ne sais quois’ to regular sushi. The sushi rolls were delicious, I would highly recommend the Kem Poo Poo (I think that’s the name) touched with the grapefruit soy. You can tell the fish is fresh and I love the idea of mixing sushi with fruit. On the other hand, I also had a bowl of teriyaki chicken which I felt didn’t add any twists, so should be experimented a bit more. My criticisms are that firstly, although the staff were lovely and hospitable everything seemed slightly frantic, whilst they were preparing for people to sit down, I noticed that other things were going a bit slower in the restaurant for example our order was slightly wrong. It became distracting and quite stressful but I think they just wanted to get as many people in. I also think this place is quite expensive (especially the water) so don’t come here if you are on a budget. Nonetheless, it’s...

AVOID. First no mask or hand sanitizer, but forget that because is irrelevant. You will likely get food poison here, you can just tell fish is warm (raw) . The guy also came (after we ordered) asking to my friend whether she would like sashimi or nigiri better for lobster. Then we got that dish and got charged for it . Keep in mind that we had already ordered food and drinks. So , they will do anything to rip you off , sketch about giving you the receipt etc. if you have no appreciation for food OR money , go here. Otherwise ,i would recommend to go to other local restaurants with good food just down the road. In my opinion , this place does not belong in Tulum. Go to better restaurants in the area uch as ziggys’s . I love paying for good food but hate touristy type of restaurants.

Response to owner response: not kidding , i even asked the server if they were required to wear a mask and said no, will not be surprise if the place gets shut down. I had dinner also Ziggy’s and Mia , worth...