Michi Japanese Cuisine — Restaurant in Napa

Went in Dec for the holiday tasting menu, $128 for 8 courses. Their normal 7course menu is $98. The additional dish in our menu was a thimble size cup of sunomo (basic vegetables & imitation crab meat). If this is the reason for the $30 upcharge it is quite upsetting since it was basically 1 bite of low cost ingredients (not even real crab meat) that I saw them pull from a deli container from the fridge.

1st course: a warm savory egg custard with a gelatinized dashi broth on top, with a segment of shrimp and 3 slivers of snap or snow peas. It was quite tasty and the texture of the egg was very silken.

2nd course: the offensive sunomono

3rd course: 3 pieces of hamachi & a small side of boxed spring mix seasoned with ponzu and lemon zest. The carpaccio was tasty, although I could not discern any strong flavors from the fish itself but the seasoning was excellent. The salad had the same sauce drizzled over top but was underdressed.

4th course: 3 pieces of tempura (shrimp, lotus and broccoli) with a fermented or savory marinated kombu and bonito(?) mincemeat-like side dish (very salty, very fishy). Tempura was mediocre, the batter was slightly heavy. The shrimp was really skinny and small, the lotus was fine, it reminded me of an undercooked hash brown, slightly crunchy and the broccoli was ok. It looked like it was dipped in mashed potatoes and then fried but I suspect it was undercooked tempura batter.

5th course: miso soup with parsley topping, it had an interesting sweetness. The waitress said they add a sweetened mirin to it. The small cubes of tofu had good flavor.

6th course: a small omakase sushi box with diced cucumber and tamago, about 2-2.5 small pieces each of salmon, hamachi, tuna (very thin very small), and giant fish roe. This was my least favorite dish, the topping to rice ratio was off (way too much rice). The small dices of cucumber & tamago were hard to eat, none of the fish were super flavorful and the roe was extremely fishy. The only dish I did not finish

7th course: chef’s signature dish; grilled miso cod with a cheesy sauce and parmesan topping. I usually wouldn’t pair cheese and fish together, in this case the concept sort of worked and also didn’t. The cheesy sauce was mild tasting and actually quite good with the cod but the topping was wayyy too strong and pungent for the delicate flavors of the fish and I did not care for it. Overall the cod was well seasoned and cooked perfectly that it still came out as one of my favorite dishes.

8th course: they served a yuzu sorbet instead (ran out of matcha). No big deal, I actually really enjoyed the yuzu sorbet, it was a very tart yuzu citrus flavored shaved ice, with a small topping of candied citrus peel. I enjoy very tart things so I liked it a lot but it may be too sour for some. It did make my tongue feel furry from all the acid.

Overall thoughts: The ambience is very nice, you can tell they spent a lot of money on all of the furniture and decor. They have an open kitchen style concept that sits in the center of the restaurant. Watching the kitchen staff helped pass the long wait times. There was some miscommunication that delayed our service; overall ended up taking ~2.5hrs. The staff was friendly but overwhelmed.

For 2 chef tasting menus & no drinks the total came out to be over $300. I enjoyed 4/8 courses very much (egg custard, carpaccio, cod, yuzu sorbet) the others I could take or leave. I was most disappointed by the portion sizes, I get that they’ll serve smaller portions for multiple courses, but some were downright laughable. The custard came in a teacup and the sunomo was the worse, the “cup” was smaller than a shot glass.

TL;DR While the presentation and ambience was very nice, I did not find great value in the food (quality and size), I really only enjoyed half of the courses (4/8) very much, but we left debating whether or not to grab more sushi at Eikos or go to In-N-Out. It’s a nice date night spot but I’d definitely skip out on any of the holiday specials (wait for the regular priced menu) or...

Held hostage by Sushi. 3 hours. That's how long it took for the UME course meal, curry bowl and tuna nigiri to come out. 3 hours. Arrived at 6, waited and waited, I would say, 1 part of the course every 30mins or so. Curry and Nigiri about 1:45 hours after arriving.

I had high hopes it would be a perfect end of the day. The wife's Bday, I have the 2 kids with us, the place had only one table with guest to serve...it was 6pm, what could go wrong...I would be home by 8pm, kids in bed...late movie with wine...voila!

I also took into account that the one table they were serving, there was a family with 2 kids the same kids age and my kids behave well.

So here it is for you to make this review useful. They took their dear time, with no sense of urgency to get people their order. When we left their was 9 tables to serve, nobody served their meal in a proper time. Maybe the chefs were lacking, with timing or maybe they didn't care...there was an older gentleman chef washing dishing at one point in the 2:45 hour mark of the meal.

The UME course wasn't worth the $. The bento box looked like it belonged on a economy class airplane flight. It was about 3.5x3.5 square with fish cuts that seemed like scrappy.

The best part was the robata grilled cod at the end.

You are better off paying for Nigiri's at the $14-$25+...they would be better cuts.

The Curry Bowl had 3 pieces of Waygu beef. I counted. Kiddo ate it, but spicy. As a curry loving person, this was more Indian sweet style curry vs. Japanese curry. Disappointed none-the-less.

After the 3rd hour and it was time to leave, the original family that was there...their table was still a mess and never cleaned. And the next table that came in after us, received their first course in the 3rd hour. That's trouble.

For all the good reviews, maybe it was just a bad day for them? I'd try it again, but if I have to wait that long again, something is wrong. Spent near $200, fair pricing for high end sushi and atmosphere. It just throws out the feel good experience and I am very patient. Maybe if I was on business and had 3 bottles of sake, 3 hours would have been fine.

It was so late and the kids fell asleep in the car, wife's birthday cake was cut for breakfast the next day. Happy birthday to her.

PS: The nice waiter felt bad and offered free...

One thing that always stands out about Michi (since even before the restaurant name was changed from Hal Yamashita) is the super high quality and fresh fish (don't miss the salmon and ikura!!). I have had the privilege to try virtually all the items on the menu over the years and all of them have a distinct and delicious flavor and texture. I have yet to find something I did not enjoy.

The lunch price point is accessible for those who want a reasonable but also tasty eat (~$20) OR if you feel like spoiling yourself, her dinner coursed menu options are also great for a premium price ($55+ for 3+ courses). But of course, you can always order sushi if the coursed menus aren't for you. Omakase is great!

Michiyo (owner and chef) is also accommodating and very kind. Definitely may Michi and Michiyo a visit!

My only complaint (as a customer in a power wheel chair) are the tables. I think Michi would benefit from replacing the tall, wine barrel tables and having rectangular topped tables (with + or x shaped bases or corner legs). But for any normally functioning person, there are no worries.

Lastly, regarding Marney Tyler's 1-Star review: Marney clearly did not compare other Japanese restaurant udon pricing. Local places such as Sushi Haku & Sushi King charge $18-$22 more for a lower quality than...