UMI Sushi — Restaurant in Ellicott City

FIRST REVIEW: We love this restaurant. Been there several times. Management is on point!!! So many options!!! Food is fresh and prepared well!! Highly recommended!!

SECOND REVIEW: May 14, 2023, UPDATE!!! I am going leave my initial review, which was seven months ago. Since that time, I been there several times, each not good experiences with the service. Sunday (Mother's Day) was the last time that I plan to go there. Had a 6 p.m. reservation. Arrived at 5:50 p.m., was seated. Jennifer, was the server. She arrived at the table about 6 p.m. It was my girlfriend and I. I placed the entire order for the evening, which my entree was Hibachi Chicken and my girlfriend Shrimp Yaki Udon. We also had several appetizers.

My girlfriend's meal finally arrived at 6:45 p.m. She began eating. My meal basically never arrived. At approximately 6:58 p.m. I stopped Jennifer as she was bringing food out for other customers who actually arrived after we did. I told her that I no longer wanted my meal. Jennifer then told me that my meal was ready? Now if it was ready, why didn't she bring it out? I told her to bring me the bill. I remained calm and didn't create a negative scene. Jennifer tried to tell me that the other tables were there BEFORE we arrived. Definitely not true.

A short time later the Manager arrived. She was nice and attempted to smooth things over by continuously offering me a gift card, which I declined several times. I expressed to her that I was not there to get something for free. I was there for Mothers Day and expected good service, which was not present. The manager was very persistent on giving me a gift card. I declined yet again. She offered me cheesecake, I declined. I asked the manager why would Jennifer lie? The manager then told me that Jennifer was very popular there and liked by many customers. Funny, because after reading through these reviews, I see where Jennifer was very RUDE to a customer because she desired more for a tip. Well Jennifer received no tip at all from me yesterday, I made that perfectly clear to her face.

I told the manager perhaps Jennifer treats her "known" customers better than those who she does not know. Well Jennifer definitely lost out, because I always start my tip at 25 percent and go up from there.

The appetizers were good and my girlfriends meal was good. So I can't down the food. However, the service is HORRIBLE. So based upon that, I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS RESTAURANT.

My initial rating was five stars, NOW IT IS...

Went in for a late lunch hoping to catch the specials but were 2 minutes too late. Server was great with answering questions and making recommendations. He had the sushi sashimi dinner that came with soup and salad. I had the teriyaki snapper dinner that came with soup, salad and California roll. The soups and salads arrived first then his sushi followed shortly thereafter by my teriyaki. His sushi was fresh and firm. One white fish in particular was very delicious - it was topped with either a caper or a lemon-soaked wasabi dot/ball. Whatever it was, it gave the fish a hint of lemon spice that followed the miso soup and ginger salad very well. As for my meal, the fish was great - perfectly cooked and lightly drizzled with teriyaki sauce! I chose steamed white rice for my fish meal and had no regrets there - I almost forgot to pair my fish with the rice, I was enjoying the rice so much. I was pleasantly surprised to find hibachi stir fried vegetables under my teriyaki snapper - delicious. I also had some tempura vegetables - one was a squash and very seasonal yet tasty.

Once I had some food in me (I barely had breakfast), I was ready for a better drink than H20. In Monterey Park, CA where we lived, we had yuzu soda everywhere so I had been pining for that. They didn’t have it but they DID have a lightly alcoholic yuzu-flavored bottled drink so I ordered it. I was pleasantly surprised when the server brought a champagne flute, opened the small bottle tableside and poured it into the glass. Very elegant touch and much appreciated. I also loved the drink, I’ll have to look for it at GW or H-Mart (if they have those on the East Coast). As we were finishing our meal, the server asked if we’d like complementary cheese cake. We accepted and were presented with a Japanese style cheesecake slice cut in half drizzled with chocolate syrup and served with two spoons. Biting into the cake texture (different from a NY cheesecake texture) took me back to the Japanese bakery we lived above in Southern California. What a wonderful finish to a delicious meal and enjoyable...

Absolutely Disgusted – Never Eating Here Again

I’ve been a loyal customer of Umi Sushi for years, always ordering the same things and spending a lot of money here. But after my most recent order, I’m beyond disappointed—I’m furious and disgusted. I ordered two rainbow rolls one sweet mango, one salmon avocado roll, and a volcano roll. That night, both my partner and I got violently sick. We were up all night vomiting, sweating, shaking, and feeling absolutely awful. The sickness lasted all through the next day. We didn’t eat anything else that could’ve caused this—we know it was Umi.

I called the restaurant, hoping they would care enough to at least offer some kind of apology or resolution. Instead, I got Michelle, who was incredibly rude and dismissive. She cut me off constantly, told me to go to the doctor, and said it wasn’t their fault—just flat-out unprofessional and defensive.

Then I spoke to the manager, who was at least polite and pretended to care. She asked what kind of resolution I was hoping for, and I told her I wanted a refund. She agreed, but said she might not be able to refund the full order—which I accepted, even though we couldn’t eat any of it because it made us violently ill. After putting me on hold, she came back and said she actually couldn’t do anything, no refund, nothing. Just a half-hearted “sorry” and a “have a great day” while I’m still literally sick to my stomach.

The customer service was an absolute joke. This place has seriously gone downhill. I used to love Umi, but after being treated like this when their food made us physically ill? Never again. If you value your health or your dignity as a customer, I’d strongly suggest taking your...