Umami Sushi & Asian Cuisine — Restaurant in Ashland

The atmosphere is cozy, warm, and inviting. I chose upon being asked to be seated in the intimate back room. I placed my order: the sunomono salad, saba sashimi, and veggie maki. The sunomono had an unusual presentation. The cucumbers were sliced lengthwise into long, inch thick slices. All ingredients were separated into piles: cucumber sticks, octopus slices, imitation crab sticks (eww), seaweed salad with masago (which was actually the best part aside from the octopus), and shrimp. Visually it wasn't very appealing and the cucumbers were awkward to eat with chopsticks as opposed to round slices or thinly julianned. The saba sashimi was delicious but the pieces were extremely thin and not very substantial. I was still hungry after those two dishes and made the good decision of ordering the veggie maki. Not only was it beautiful with all the brightly colored, vibrant and crisp veggies, but it was also flavorful and satisfying.

The hostess, servers, and staff were all friendly and service was prompt with no issues. Food came out fast. Our server even brought a candle to the table to light up our dark little corner. It was a nice, thoughtful touch.

I really wanted to give this place four stars because the staff was so welcoming and attentive but two out of three dishes I ordered fell flat and had me wishing we chose a...

So far this establishment is where I have experienced the worst customer service. Not only did we wait a while for the waiter to come by to take our orders, but the waiter was also rude, inattentive, and practically berated my friend and I for making a complaint about the quality of the food. I ordered the Futomaki sushi roll--this was not my first time ordering this roll, typically I have been really happy with the presentation and freshness of the ingredients, but this time the roll was sloppily made and the vegetables used looked old, withered, and stale (not only that but the roll was missing some vegetables it stated it would have on the menu). I mentioned this to the waiter and he proceeded to take the plate away in a haughty manner--as if I had insulted him. He then continued to ignore my friend and I. He also didn't put in a new order to the chef for a fresh roll--my friend asked if he was going to actually serve me food in which he responded quite negatively. He angrily asked for us to leave and that he would comp the meal. I have NEVER been so disrespected as a customer in my life. This server definitely needs to work on anger management!! I honestly will not set foot into Taroko again and will take my...

I was fortunate enough to be in Ashland visiting a friend and was extremely hungry-- swung by Umami and sat at the Sushi bar and met a person preparing a few rolls. The man was extremely down to earth and shared some information on some of the sushi there and long story shortened- I happen to be talking to the owner. He prepared some of the most perfectly cut and prepared sushi I have had in my life, but this wasn't yet the best experience I would have at Umami. The owner ended up providing his contact info and set up Wagyu beef for a celebration with a friend, it was served after 8 hours of preparation and three different types of flavors you could use with the meat. It was more cooked than I thought and was prepared for something more raw, but was not prepared for how amazing the taste was. I have had Toro and heard the similarities of how it just melts like butter, but this was something way beyond anything I have ever had. It made filet taste like beef jerky. My friends and I had all pretty quickly after tasting our first bite realized that it was the best meat and meal we had ever had! Whether just looking for the best Sushi or the most delicious "steak",...