Kume Sushi Lounge — Restaurant in South Portland

I use to be a server at KUME. I will first say that it wasn't all bad there were postive aspects but the negative drastically outweigh. I had never been a server before but a friend recommended I apply and so I did and eventually got the job. Things started to get odd though; I messed up a few times at the beginning and the chefs (they barely speak English) told Olivia ( front lady) that I needed to pay them back for the dishes I messed up. Now this is illegal actually and when I told Olivia she brushed it off, but I was pressured into paying for everything I ever messed up (again illegal under labor laws). The chefs; the chefs who are all 30-40 would flirt with underaged girls the entire time and nothing would be done, along with harassment and screaming at them. They would body shame select servers. The chefs smoked multiple times a day inside, in the kitchen next to all the food, and many times when things fall on the floor they aren't washed and are just used. Now there was Olivia; skipping a lot of personal stuff I was never rude to her or raised my voice at her ever. I was always professional to her since she was my manager. I'd picked up her coffee a few times I helped actually get her back 10,000 dollars she had been scammed out of. Near the end she started cutting my hours quite drastically, picking any little thing to be the reason for cutting my hours. I tried harder to be better and more perfect but nothing seemed to help. One week I had been schedule on a very important day and told Olivia I couldn't work that day but she said no one else could so I said yes. (Mind you I work ed the day of my senior prom when no one else could). Turns out the person I was covering for said they could work that day but she chose to never tell me. So Saturday we have a busser (my cousin) which means i need to only focus on taking orders, bringing food, just checking on my customers til they check out. I was already extemly late to my sisters bachelorette and Olivia said I could leave, which was good because my last table already checked out and all my side jobs at been done. When I had left the busser was still there. Olivia basically texted me and blew up that I didn't clean the table even though it wasn't my job. I had left while my customers were still there chatting, but they stayed chatting up until after the busser left. So no one knew to clean the table. She then cut my schedule IN HALF just because she was so mad, going as far to check the camera to see if I was lying. (It was hierarchy of who Olivia liked the most on who would get the most hours each week which is unprofessional). I finished my side job. I checked out my customers til. I got permission to leave. She only contacted me and never contacted the busser. She blamed everything on me. This isn't the first time they would try and pressure you to come in to do a five minute task instead of doing it themselves. Many times Olivia would be on her phone watching shows then help with anything. I quit the following week realizing that she had been trying to get me to quit. All else would be the social environment is incredibly toxic; without trying, many of the bilingual employees will talk bad about you to the others and flat out berate you. There's no where servers can reach out for help because the big boss; Kevin and Joe, only care about the business and none of the servers and would ignore any complaints. Overall highly unprofessional, illegal, toxic, and not family friendly. Pictures below are of the PROFESSIONAL conversation Olivia and I had 😍. Highly recommend yosaku in Portland much better food...

We were celebrating a birthday last night and decided to try Kume for the first time. When we first entered we immediately felt very comfortable with Kume's laid back modern Japanese decor, plenty of space between tables, different types of dining spaces (sushi bar, tables, booths, and teppenyaki grill), and extremely welcoming friendly faces from all the staff. Our server was Jimmy, and he was perfect. We had some older family members and he cared for them fully, gently, patiently, and he gave our birthday guest lots of attention. He had support wait staff who were similarly excellent who he utilized very effectively and with grace. I would always like to be served in a restaurant by someone exactly like Jimmy. The menu has a lot of different choices including many raws and cooked. You can take both sushi and non sushi eaters here and everyone finds plenty of choices. We ate our way across the menu from beginning to end, and literally every single thing was spectacular. The tables are sized appropriately for multiple courses and also sharing, so there is plenty of room for everything, making everyone fully comfortable during the entire meal. I was shocked and delighted how excellent the nigiri was. The Itamae were EXTREMELY skilled, comparable to what you find in established Japanese sushi houses in the biggest cities and Japan, and the fish quality was amazing. We had no problem getting a table for six on Friday night, but we were eating quite early, so IDK how crowded such a standout excellent place in a smaller market may get later in the evening. This is the best restaurant I have eaten at in the Portland/SoPo/Cape Elizabeth area, and we will be back again soon. TY Jimmy, Itamae, and the rest of the Kume staff for the best dinner out that we have had in...

They followed my 3 different online order requests perfectly 😭😭💓 I asked to do clear soup instead of miso, and to not have Bamboo Shoots or Mushrooms in the hibachi vegetables, and they did and added more of other veggies to replace the ones missing! I'm so happy. Definitely order from them! They actually follow special requests!🙏🙏 so blessed. I hate mushrooms! Awesome to be able to order food with our them and get more of the veggies I do like! 🥰🥰

This place has WAY MORE THAN JUST SUSHI!! They have hibachi style fried rice, vegan options, and so on! Plenty to enjoy here whether you eat fish or not!!! This is the same place as the Kume in Augusta and Topsham!!! Even though the name is different (sushi lounge instead of steakhouse).

I highly highly recommend the Kume Fried Rice and the Tofu Teriyaki 🤩😍😍😍😍

I ordered through the online system! Got an email with my receipt and wait time (15 minutes). The Online prices are identical to the prices of eating in the restaurant with the menu! Nice that there are no extra charges!

I specified in my online order that I wanted Clear Soup instead of the Miso Soup that normally comes with it, and they substituted it with no issues! (Free substitute.)

Everything was packed up beautifully, hot, and super fresh. They made it right on the spot, it was clear. Was hot and fresh. They were bringing it out to the front right as I got there. Guy was very nice, just gave him my name! Receipt was stapled...