Izakaya Ume — Restaurant in Tewkesbury

Outstanding little restaurant. Best sushi I have had by far. I had tempura shrimp rolls which were just amazing. Fresh, vibrant with freshly made to order tempura shrimp remains crisp and full of flavour inside the roll: a world away from the versions I have tried in a well known Japanese establishment in Cheltenham!

To start we shared gyoza which were excellent and age tofu which was good but was diced into small pieces. I would have preferred this to have been one large piece of the softer silken tofu as it is unctuous and delicious when prepared this way.

The okonomiyaki skewer was delicious. However, we enquired if this was vegetarian and were told that it was. It came served with Bonito flakes on top and there was also fish inside which to us does not count as vegetarian! As two of us do eat fish we were happy to eat these and they were fab.

The character of the building has been respected with some tasteful additions to give it an authentic Japanese vibe!

Service was casual and unhurried and was so happy that waiting staff were not over attentive and thankfully did not feel the need to say "enjoy" every time they brought a dish to the table.

So great to have something a little different...

Honestly one of the best restaurants to eat at in Tewkesbury. The songs playing in the restaurant are very calming and soothing. The food is a straight up 10/10. Honestly one of the best sushi I’ve ever had was here and the workers are very kind and helpful. I will definitely come here again! They have loads of options and even though you may not be sushi fan, or you just haven’t tried out sushi yet. There are loads of other options such as, chicken katsu curry, chicken teriyaki etc. The food is either not spicy or it just has a slight kick to it, but nothing too much. If you don’t like it spicy you can simply just ask for it to not be spicy. They have loads of sakes, including the traditional hot sake. Loads of soft drinks and Japanese beers as well. You can order food and pick it up or enjoy it in the nice cozy restaurant. My personal favourite sushi is Pink Lady, highly recommend it! I genuinely advice you give this place a go if you happen to be...

I recently had the opportunity to dine at Izakaya Ume for the first time, and it was quite an experience. While the food itself was worth the wait, the overall experience and service left much to be desired.

To begin with, we waited over an hour just to have our order taken. It was frustrating to see other tables receiving their food before us, especially when they had ordered after us. This left a sour taste in our mouths, particularly given the positive reviews and recommendations we had heard.

The value for money was disappointing as well. The menu promised crabmeat, but we were served crab sticks instead. This felt misleading and further dampened our enthusiasm for the meal.

In summary, while the food at Izakaya Ume was enjoyable, the service and overall experience were lacking. Unfortunately, based on this visit, I won't...