UMI Sushi & Seafood — Restaurant in South Portland

*Updating my review because I’ve returned a few times since my previous review, and this place has changed a lot. I suspect new ownership, because the food and vibes have completely changed; much of it is fairly generic “Chinese buffet food” now, and the unique traditional dishes have disappeared off the buffet line. Lunch is similar to the old Great Wall Buffet, but there is a better weekend/dinner menu with more of a seafood selection at the higher rate.

The service is far from good now, the last two times we went, the people were unfriendly. Our server was unfriendly, impatient, tried to rush us along even though there weren’t people waiting for tables and it wasn’t even late in the day, she didn’t pay attention to us at all and left our drinks empty several times. The bill shows different tip options (15%, 20%, etc.) and we tipped 15%. After picking up the check from our table, she returned to our table to complain at us and pointed to the 20% amount and said “This is 20%”! And I said “Yes, what about it?” And she said “20%, here” pointing to the option, and so I pointed to the 15% and I said “Yes, and 15% is here.” She left making a face at me and I don’t think I’ll be returning to eat here again.

Old Review: This is one of the most interesting buffets I’ve been to since moving up to Maine. They have your typical stir-fry dishes, like beef & broccoli, green beans, chicken & bell peppers, button mushrooms in oyster sauce, etc. They also have the usual things you’d see at a Chinese buffet: peel & eat shrimp, mussels on the half shell, boiled cajun crawfish, fried sesame balls, chicken on a skewer, lots of cut fruit, some cake slices/cake rolls, salad, random “American” foods like pizza, fries, and mac & cheese, and assortment of ice cream. I admittedly didn’t try the sushi because I’m rarely a fan of buffet sushi, but everything looked good and nicely plated.

But it gets interesting where they throw in a lot of traditional Chinese items on the buffet, leaning toward Hunan and Sichuan styles of cooking and flavors: dry-fried and hotpot style braised pork belly (similar to Hong Shao Rou), and chili fried shrimp, spicy cabbage stir-fried in chili oil with chili peppers and sliced pork belly. And back near the sushi bar, in between the pickled ginger tray and edamame, is a row of traditional Chinese cold meat dishes: Sichuan poached chicken in chili sauce (Ko Shui Ji, for those interested), sliced roast beef (similar to Fu Qi Fei Pian), spicy wood ear mushroom salad, and even cold spicy chicken feet. (FYI: For folks who’ve never had that style of food before, it’s not meant to be gobbled down quickly so that you can grab the next plate. It will absolutely taste bland if you don’t plan to taste your food!) It’s not drenched in sauce like how a lot of Americanized Cantonese foods are, because it’s meant to be savored to taste the complex flavors brought out from dry-frying the aromatics (normally, I eat this kind of food with a bowl of rice, or with bar snacks/appetizers and a beer).

I think it’s a very unusual menu decision by this restaurant to serve this kind of food, in a culture that often consumes quickly and moves along quickly onto the next plate. I think a lot of folks will end up missing out on the more subtle flavors in some of these dishes and the experience of a traditional Chinese family-style buffet meal where you linger over food with friends and family. I’m not sure how long this current approach will last, but as someone who doesn’t have much community or any family in the area, I really appreciate it!

Other note: The people here have been really nice and quick to refill our drinks, and the general manager even came by to ask what we thought of the food items! They were very friendly to the senior folks sitting behind us too, and overall seemed very welcoming (kind of a nice change from the previous buffet that was in this location).

We came during lunch ($18 buffet, +drinks +tip&taxes), so no idea what it’ll be like for dinner, but hoping to...

Opened today December 27, 2022. They also have an Umi in Queens, NY. Attractive decor, and the buffet was well operated. The food was good, but not exceptional for the dinner price of $27.99. That might work in Queens, but perhaps too expensive for Maine. Chose the take-out option of $7.59/lb (without seafood or sushi) and that was a reasonable value. The lunch price of $17.99 is somewhat more reasonable and special pricing is offered for children, but unfortunately not for seniors.🤨 There’s neither a website nor FaceBook page yet, which is odd.

*Update, January 6, 2023:

Visited Umi for the second time and got takeout for $7.59/lb (no sushi or seafood). The issue with hot food has been corrected, as the temperature of the steam tables has been increased to 200 degrees according to a manager. The food was actually still warm by the time I got home. The quality of the food is good, and the buffet attendants were doing a good job communicating with the kitchen and refilling pans promptly. The takeout price of $7.59 is actually lower than Whole Foods and Hannaford takeout (Hannaford charges $7.99/lb for their extensive salad bar, and $9.99/lb for their hot food).

Overall comments: The concept is definitely all about “all you can eat” sushi and seafood. If that’s all you choose to eat, the buffet price of $17.99 at lunch and $27.99 at dinner, $29.99 all day Saturday & Sunday is a fairly good value. And the Chinese food is good quality and a great value for takeout. But this is not a buffet which includes very much traditional American food. For example, the “salad bar” consists of a bowl of lettuce with several dressings along with some bacon bits, that’s it. And the only American hot foods were pizza and French fries. There is a fair selection of fresh fruit however. And some packaged ice cream in a freezer chest. Comparing this to Old Country Buffet and Golden Corral in their prime is a big disappointment. The buffet is not at all family friendly, as most kids aren’t consumers of sushi and seafood, and have few options of the kind of food which they enjoy. And the other glaring discrepancy is the lack of senior pricing. Most seniors are not big eaters and are also on a fixed income. Yes, Umi can afford to offer seniors a generous discount without hurting their profitability. So Umi is neither family nor senior friendly. Yes, they’ll attract younger adults who love sushi and seafood. But that might not be enough to sustain enough traffic to be profitable. And if Golden Corral were to open a franchise near the Maine Mall, Umi will face stiff...

Tuesday night at 5:30 a few of us went in to have dinner. What surprised us to begin with is the negative reviews that this place is received. Tuesday night. Middle of the week. Lobster. Crab two different kinds. 10 different shrimp dishes. Chicken, beef, all different style Asian foods are offered. Great salad and raw bar! Typical desserts but lots of fresh fruit. Now for the sushi. The sushi choices were extensive. Absolutely the most choices out of any type of sushi buffet that we have ever been to in the state of Maine, and that’s been a lot! The sushi was not overly spicy or seasoned on the Buffet unless it was a spicy roll. This is so that everybody can eat it and it’s not going to turn away old people or kids just trying sushi. The great part is they have all the sauces and sides that you want to have with it.. generous plates of pickled ginger, seaweed salad, all different flavorings to add, wasabi, and my favorite, spicy mayo! The raw fish selections we’re done very well. They were all cold and fresh, and really delicate. The Ahi tuna was delicious! The lobsters were cut in half and just kind of steamed with a little butter, but they were plenty of different sauces to put on top. I find a really hard time arguing with the price when you look at all of the fresh seafood that you literally can eat until you drop. For two people was just under $52 without tax and tip for dinner. If you go to, a seafood restaurant and say you don’t really care for what you order you can’t go up and get something else. The crawfish were good and spicy, I really think it’s worth a try. Opens at 11 every day and lunch is a little cheaper, but they have almost the same things. I was told that they usually don’t have the lobster at lunchtime because they don’t want it not to be eaten. They want to make sure they serve it when they’re going to be there and they have more people in evenings and weekends . I think they serve everything they have as long as it’s fresh and some days maybe what they have is not worth putting out so you might not get the same choices. Just my opinion. A solid four stars out of five. If you follow me, you know I rarely get five stars but this was pretty darn close! Will definitely go back again whenever we’re in the Portland area.

Much love in your...