Umi Sushi And Steak House — Restaurant in Sheboygan

Tl;DR: Get the salmon, scallop, yellow tail, and unagi sashimi/nigiri, uni shooter, Ocean Roll and the Spanish Grass hopper roll! Also - their miso soup is really some of the best I've had in a long time. Now, for a more in-depth read:

So.. I gave Umi a 4 star previously because it was after my first time there, and a review of a solo lunch. Now I've been 3 more times (all for dinner with my husband) and I have to say - it is simply outstanding.

We have been looking for a great or even good sushi spot in Wisconsin since we moved here 7 years ago - and by God, since Umi moved to Sheboygan we've finally found it!

Not only are the staff impeccable and friendly (from Tina, the sweet waitress I've had all 4 I've gone in, to the sushi chef who gives us the most amazing salmon belly to tempt us, to the owner who is downright fun and amazing) but the entire experience of going in for dinner is a win. Never have I seen a restaurant in Sheboygan so consistently crowded and happy.

Sit at the sushi bar if you want an awesome experience. Behind you you'll feel the surprise of warm fire from the hibachi chefs putting on an amazing show, and the laughter and cheers of happy Wisconsinites. That and of course, the sushi chef (who's name I don't yet know but certainly will learn) is fantastic.

We've come to love the chef's special salmon dish he will sometimes serve you if you sit at the sushi bar. We also just plain love their salmon - it is West Coast quality in the Midwest - and I've literally never experienced that before. My husband loved it so much he got the 'salmon lover' dinner all for himself!

Their scallops steal the show for me, I think I could eat a whole plate full of them. We had a live scallop on our last visit, which was expensive but beautifully plated and quite good. My favorite is still their regular scallop though: it's creamy to a point of being buttery, with enough salty taste to make it something you'll want to order more of.

For rolls, you can't go wrong with the Spanish Grasshopper (I mean, spicy yellowtail and guacamole, come on!) or the Ocean roll (tuna, salmon, yellowtail and red snapper with avocado!).

I haven't tried any of their simple rolls yet though I should, I saw one of the other sushi chefs prepping them last night and they looked delectable.

Whenever Cynthia Li (the very lovable owner) is behind the bar again, I plan to get one of the volcano drinks to share with the hubby. Till then, I'll stick with pinot grigio and sake...

Random waitstaff take your order and serve you things, takes forever for each stage of the experience, except seated quickly. 30+ minutes before asked for drink order and food. 4 or 5 people dropped off things from different plates of the meal or drinks. Great teamwork I suppose but it felt more like chaos and we were never asked if we were OK on drinks, enjoyed the meal, even had to ask after done with meal for 20 mins to get a dessert and the check. The 'vegetable fried rice' had a few mini slivers of carrots, some onion, and that is it. Will post picture of the joke of an entree formed in the shape of a bowl turned upside down on a plate.

The ginger salad dressing was the best I've ever had, good consistency and flavor, it alone earns the one star they get because zero is not allowed for the rest of the experience..

Actually want to add more. The music wasn't too bad, at a decent level ... then a birthday happens and the birthday song is blasted through the entire restaurant extremely loudly where you can't talk to the person well at the same booth. All for the celebration and excitement, just half or third the volume to where it is only slightly louder than the normal music was would be nice. Sparklers and flames all great. HAPPY BIRTHDAY blasted in ears for 2 mins several times during the morning wait times between seating, order, different bits of food, etc ... you realize how many people have the same birthday 2 hours into a meal of sushi, overpriced fried rice with NO vegetables, and a but of soup and salad.

Learned a lesson, Ninja in West Bend is a far better experience from entering the door to done with meal. They even gave my kids free chopsticks to make it a special experience for them and myself as a parent; this Umi place barely knew...

1st Visit:

I went a few weeks after the grand opening. At first, I found the ambient lighting a bit too dark, but the service was friendly and efficient and the food was great. We didn't sit for a hibachi show, but I did order steak hibachi and some sushi rolls. I've always found that any place serving sushi is best judged by how they make their most basic rolls. Umi has good sushi: handwarmed, good cuts of fish, and fresh vegetables. Their hibachi food was good, but I found the main event to be their short grained rice, which was flavorful, chewy, and delightful.

2nd Visit:

I came here with my brother visiting from out of town. We were seated at the sushi bar. The workers were friendly and answered questions. Our server was friendly and helpful, even with a mild language barrier. We had just sushi this time and we really enjoyed our time here.

3rd Visit :(

I came here with my family. We had sushi and hibachi plates. Everything was good, per usual, except this time, the server started cleaning up around us AND at our table, literally wiping down the table in front of us as we were finishing our food. We were there at 630 p.m. on a Wednesday night. This was not a savory experience.

Overall: 7/10 would recommend.

For local ethnic cuisine, this is decent and I hope they last longer than the other two sushi places that have closed down over the past decade. If you want something 10/10, I would recommend going south to...