Umu Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Makati

Was really looking forward to dining here but the experience was a little underwhelming. Perhaps my expectations were set a little too high by the Tatler nod. Food was not bad but just okay, which makes it terrible value for hotel pricing (Eatigo offers 45% off on off-hours though).

The appetizer seemed like it was just stewed tuna from yesterday's trimmings. Very uninspiring.

The Miso soup and green salad with onion dressing were okay.

The sashimi was good quality but not quite excellent like Inagiku's (which is priced higher) or Tsukiji's (which is priced slightly lower). The tuna, salmon, and vinegared mackarel were good, but the two slices of red snapper and four slices of Lapu-Lapu were quite redundant to be honest. It would have been good to have octopus, eel, or uni as the sixth item. The portions are smaller than at Inagiku and Tsukiji.

The tempura used nice big tiger prawns but for some reason was served a little cold. It might have been because of the slow service that day. The vegetable tempura was limp and nothing to be pleased about. The tempura sauce was served sparingly. A refill was served in a ramikin, which stood out from the otherwise consistent Japanese ceramic ware.

The mango ice cream was nice and creamy but took forever to arrive.

We ordered the spicy tuna sashimi because it's a thing in Manila. It turned out to be unnecessary.

The interiors were very very good though. And the sushi chefs were...

I recently dined at this restaurant with a group of six.

For a start, great ambiance and decorations. The service was excellent, with attentive staff ensuring a pleasant dining experience.

The standout feature of our meal was the incredibly fresh seafood, a testament to the restaurant's commitment to quality ingredients.

The beef dishes we ordered were also of high quality, showcasing the restaurant's dedication to providing good meat.

However, I found the overall taste of the food to be just okay. While it was decent, it didn't quite reach the level of exceptional flavors I had hoped for.

As for the prices, they were in line with what you might expect at a hotel restaurant, so they were on the higher side.

In summary, while the service and the quality of seafood and beef were highlights, the overall taste was only satisfactory. Keep in mind that dining here can be on the pricey side, as your group of six ended up spending...

Food was good. The restaurant was clean and very true to the Japanese theme. Loved how they went an extra mile to decorate their outdoor area to replicate a Japanese yard. Made the ambiance all the more special.

The Ebi Tempura was fantastic, perfect shrimp to batter ratio. The Gyudon could have been better as the flavour was kind of lacking but the portion was ginormous! The vegetable udon soup came with its own side of vegetable tempura selection and honestly, after we tried the soup, our bodies were thanking us because of how healthy it was for us. Much needed for sure after eating all that gyudon meat.

Definitely a great place but we feel that this restaurant would be best suited if you are looking for a place to host business meetings or luncheon with work colleagues as opposed to, hanging out with friends or having a...