umi japanese cuisine & bar — Restaurant in Somerdale

I usually never leave reviews however I am very displeased with the way I was treated this evening when ordering take out from Umi Japanese In Somerdale NJ on Wednesday April 29th, 2020.

When calling I ordered some sushi and because my girlfriend doesn’t eat seafood she decided on the Scallop & N.Y. Steak combination that costs $23.95 and was planning on giving me the scallops.

The combination comes with 2 pieces of shrimp as advertised on the picture directly from the website. Once I stated that I would like the scallop and NY Steak combo I asked if it came with fried rice and then if I could replace the 2 pieces of shrimp with 2 pieces of the EBI shrimp from the Sushi or Shashimi section #7 EBI (Shrimp) for $2.25 which the lady that took my order said “No we do not have that shrimp.” I said ok and settled for the 2 pieces of shrimp it comes with and after confirming the soup and salad she said ok Come pick up in 40 minutes.

She did not repeat the order which is usually standard when ordering over the phone. She also did not ask me how I would like the N.Y. steak. Rare, medium Rare, Well done which also is common practice when somebody is ordering a steak.

After 45 minutes my girlfriend and I arrived at Umi and the order still was not ready so after another 5 to 10 minutes we finally got the food and I paid the order total of $53.80 and left the store.

Finally after over an hour after ordering we sat down to eat to which the Combination Steak & Scallops was about 10 shrimp 4 scallops NO steak and the 2 extra pieces of shrimp!?

I immediately called Umi and told them of their mistake and the lady insisted that I did not order steak because she always asks how people want their steak prepared, which to her, supposedly confirms that I did not order the steak like I said I did. She said that I could come and get half of a steak for her mistake even though it was obvious that she still thought I ordered shrimp which I did not. She acted as though she was doing me a favor and to add insult to injury she still did not ask how I wanted it prepared!!!

I arrived back at UMI about 15 minutes later now almost an hour and a half after placing the initial order and she had a small bag with about 1/4-1/2 of a steak precut that looked well done, when my gf would have liked medium rare but again she never asked for a second time. Now my gfs dinner consists of a salad and a 1/4-1/2 of a well done precut steak.

The cook said your welcome before I even had a chance to say thank you because even after this I was just happy to be on my way to finally eat over $50.00 of cold food.

At minimum I fell as tho I should have been given the full steak and an apology for the misunderstanding. Had they have simply made it right this review would be about the food and not the poor customer service.

I’m afraid that we will not be ordering from Umi again due to...

Tucked into an old house on the side of a highway, given a thatch and tile roof, it wouldn't look wholly out of place in coastal Japan.

Umi is a cozy spot for excellent food, at very reasonable prices. Not "excellent for South Jersey", but by the standard of any similar place.

We were greeted and seated promptly on arrival, at a table. There are also a few small booths, which look cramped, as well as sushi and liquor bars.

The kitchen menu is what you'd expect, with perhaps a couple of items you don't see everywhere but should, like soba and ramen. We ordered a Joanne Roll, which was tempura shrimp, tuna, and mango, with an outer wrap of salmon and avocado. Sprinkled with tobiko, and drizzled with nitsume, it had an attractive appearance, a fresh taste, and a pleasant crunch. I don't usually go in for rolls, but my dining partner in this instance is sushi-averse, so I thought I'd start her on a gateway drug. I enjoyed it, and if she didn't, she's a convincing liar. The rest of the meal came from the kitchen; for appetizers, we had shumai and yakitori, and of course the de riguer miso soups and house salads. All you can really do is screw these items up; they somewhat defy elevation. But the soup is especially rich in flavor, and the salad dressing is a shade less sweet, and more acidic than what I consider par for the course.

For entrees, we ordered beef teriyaki and shrimp tempura, both of which were well presented. Umi eschews the typical sizzle platter, instead delivering your teriyaki on a square white plate. The benefits of this are that not only can you actually see your food, it doesn't continue to cook while you eat it. The steak was done to an absolutely perfect medium rare, and very tender. It was garnished at the corners with steamed broccoli and julienned carrots, which added color, but not much else. The tempura dish was sizeable, with six very large shrimp, butterflied the long way to match the length of an accompanying asparagus stalk. Also in the dish were a large onion ring, four pieces of eggplant, and a huge broccoli floret. It was a struggle to finish, due to the size, and we failed. This marks the first time I have ever been offered a take out container at a Japanese restaurant. The check came to about $64 without tip, and no one could reasonably expect more in terms of quality and quantity for the price.

The last thing I would mention is small, but it calls into question the care and pride of the staff. On the sushi bar is a dead bamboo plant in a pot, and it hadn't gently passed into the next world the night before. I know this because I have a yard full of bamboo, and I actively try to make it die. The devil is in the details, and that one is being glaringly overlooked.

Otherwise, Umi is tremendously good, and absolutely...

UPDATED April 2016 - As of the last year the quality has really gone downhill. The size of the sushi, sashimi and special rolls has been cut in half with no reduction in price. When I brought it up I was told that is the way it has always been cut / made. When I showed them a piece of sashimi the size of a bottle cap that was so thin you could see through the chef finally admitted "maybe that one is a little small." The "special rolls" are the size of your normal roll yet exactly the same price as before. I left my old review (5stars) to show how much I loved this place. I have been going here for years but I will never go back

EXPIRED - As all but one person has pointed out this is an amazing place for eat in or takeout sushi / Japanese cuisine. Prices are not the cheapest but the quality of food makes up for it. The people are always charming and the atmosphere is great. I have been about a dozen times either to eat in or takeout in the couple of years I have lived in the area, and am going...