Umimatsu Japanese Restaurant BGC — Restaurant in Taguig

Overpriced, poor service, and not authentic Japanese food

This was one of the worst Japanese dining experiences I’ve ever had.

We went to Umi Matsu BGC on a Sunday night for dinner. The place was not busy (just two other tables), but the service and food were a huge letdown.

Service: When I tried to call a server to place our order, one of them literally looked at me and turned away as if I wasn’t there. Another server came, but when I asked her to explain the difference between “Katsudon” and “Donkatsu Rice Bowl” (since their menu descriptions looked the same), she flat-out said “Di ko po alam eh” and left mid-conversation to call someone else. The next server vaguely explained that one was “sweeter” and the other was “saltier pero mas may sauce.”

Already confused but opting instead to be safe, I ordered a Katsudon expecting the classic dish: pork cutlet simmered with egg, onions, and a savory-sweet sauce. What I got instead was plain rice topped with scrambled egg and a cutlet drizzled with tonkatsu sauce. (My mistake was not taking a photo before sending the order back, I’m sorry.) When I told the server this wasn’t a katsudon, she insisted it was, argued with me, and even tried to say I was “changing” my order.

What made it worse was how the situation was handled: she left the entire tray of food for our group just sitting there while she went back and forth, instead of serving the other dishes so they wouldn’t get cold.

I’ve worked in the restaurant industry before — four different restaurants in Australia, both in the kitchen and in front of house. I know how hard hospitality can be, but I also know the basics: you never leave all the food on a tray to get cold, you apologize sincerely, you serve what you can, and then fix the wrong order quickly. None of that happened here.

Eventually, they took my dish back and brought me a “new” order (see first photo), but this time it was just the same pork cutlet flipped over so the tonkatsu sauce was hidden (see second photo). It wasn’t simmered in sauce with egg and onion as a proper katsudon should be. The pork was paper-thin, the rice portion was small, and it was extremely salty. At ₱520, this was absolutely not worth it.

Food: My “katsudon” was the saddest I’ve ever seen — nothing like what you’d get from any other Japanese restaurant. The gyoza was overcooked, unevenly browned, and definitely not authentic. My dad’s cold soba + tempura combo was also done completely wrong. Normally, the noodles are served cold with a separate dipping sauce (tsuyu), but what he got were noodles already soaked in the sauce. By the time it arrived, the noodles had absorbed most of the liquid, were soggy, and already drying up. It was unappetizing and nothing like how this dish is meant to be served. Everyone in my party felt the same: overpriced, poorly prepared food that did not match the menu or the price tag.

Overall Ratings: Service: 1.5/5 Value for Money: 1.5/5 Taste: 1/5

We usually budget around ₱800–₱1,000 per head when eating out, and we don’t mind paying that at all — if the food and service are worth it. Here, it honestly wasn’t. In the end, you’re not paying for quality food — you’re paying for the location. It’s BGC after all. And sadly, even the service couldn’t redeem the experience. If the service had been excellent, I could have considered that maybe the kitchen was just having a bad day. But with both food and service falling short, there’s really no reason...

Hi, sorry for this late review.

First of all, thank you for the best food and the good service. Greatly appreciated! As a tourism student that soon will be working on the hospitality industry I appreciate the kind gesture and also to "ate" who did not hesitate to hold the phone and took a video for our social media content.

Since I am a little free today. HAHAHA! I will share our funny experience with Umi Matsu. Here we go!

We came from Mindanao who just had a competition in FEU Manila. Since at that time we just concluded our event, we decided to explore BGC because some of my friends were first timers. However, at that time we actually came so late so most of the restos were closed and there are restos opened at that time but we don't like to eat dry food anymore because that's what we've been eating the whole time our stays in Manila. My friend Kat and I were looking for something not dry (specifically ramen). Although, we're starving so much we still chose to roam around and try to find some resto to dine in. Kat used her Google maps to look for resto and we found the Umi Matsu, we actually don't have any idea what this resto offers. We just opened the door and we all sit down. Right there and then, we're actually surprised coz it's expensive 😭. We thought the servings based from the menu can only fit to one person that's why it's sounds so expensive for us. But when we got our orders it's actually pretty big that would even fit to 3 people. Note this... So far in my entire life, the best sushi that I tasted is from Umi Matsu!!! No cap!! Ever!!! The rest of the food we ordered is just right on my taste bud. I will have my Sushi again in Umi Matsu!!! I am proud to leave a review here coz you deserve it. Everything in your resto is cool and pretty! I just knew that I love Japanese Food... Thanks for the best experience UMI MATSU! Next...

The company opted for this restaurant for our events. We able to order our food beforehand so once we arrived, the staff was already ready to serve us our food.

What i ordered was the Shrimp Set A which consists of: Shrimp Tempura, three piece sushi, tuna maki, pickled cabbage, sweet potato pudding, and miso soup. The size of the portions were double the size from what im used to with other Japanese restaurants. The tempura was huge and crispy. The tuna maki, which was also huge, was creamy from the mayo and complemented the tuna well. The three piece sushi was a slice each of tuna, salmon, and shrimp on top of rice coupled with some wasabi and thinly sliced pickled ginger.

Despite the size of the portions, it didn't fill me up. The set sadly didn't have a cup of rice. The only rice was from the maki and sushi. If i do come back, i would try their rice bowls or ramen instead and maybe a side of maki or gyoza. Those seem to be more filling. I feel they are on the pricey side also.

The ambience of the place was amazing. With beautifully lit Japanese lanterns and cute Maneki-neko (beckoning cats). The section where they grill their meat was a treat to look at with the fire effects. The staff was also very friendly and attentive.

We had a great time at this restaurant, thanks again...