Umi Grill — Restaurant in Terre Haute

We always love Umi Grill. I came here with my family last monday. We didn’t have reservations but they were able to accommodate the 6 of us.

Our server, Noah, was very friendly and accommodating. He interracted with us and made us feel at home.

Their food is outstanding. If you ever visit Umi, try their Volcano roll, diva roll (personal fave), spicy tako, and dr. singh special. It’s amazing! We will be back!!

Price Range: $$-$$$ We averaged $60-70 per person but we ordered a lot too. And their Japanese Honey Cake is amazing!!!!

Update APRIL 18, 2024: I have never been so aggravated in my life. I usually love this spot but their new server just ruined it for me. My family and I are always at Umi because it’s our favorite restaurant. We always get along with the servers and never ever encountered any kind of problem with their service or food until this Thursday night. We were assigned to a server we’ve never seen before (short haired, oriental woman). I was with my husband and our baby.

She first messed up my drink. She’s shuffling our plates without our permission and we’re so confused to why she’s moving it around because we usually do that ourselves since we’re very helpful people to our servers as I am a server myself. But she’s too hyper, moving way too fast for us, and poured my husband’s drink in a mug when he didn’t want a mug. I ordered spicy salmon and got something else. I let her know NICELY that I ordered spicy salmon and not whatever she served me. She argued with me that I was wrong and that this is what I ordered. I asked her if she still have the slip that I filled out since that would show if I marked the wrong box (if I did, I would pay for it no problem). She said she already threw it away. So I said that it’s not what I ordered and I’m not eating it. She was rolling her eyes the WHOLE time! She handed us our bill with the spicy scallop still on there when I didn’t even EAT it and I didn’t order it! I asked for a manager, and nobody came to see us. the server finally came back and removed the item on the bill. I don’t know why it had to be a fight! If I were to make a mistake at my job, we correct it right away. I have never been so aggravated ever! We will still come back, but not to be served by that server ever again.

Update APRIL 28, 2024: I have no idea why I can’t figure out how to respond to the owner’s response, but…here it is. It’s ALWAYS a lovely time whenever we visit Umi. And I mean ALWAYS! We love being there! That’s where we splurge, where we love spending our hard earned money because it’s ALWAYS so so so WORTH IT! Like I said, we ALWAYS get along with our servers! ALWAYS. As servers ourselves, we tip AMAZINGLY and try to be helpful to them ourselves. Owner, thank you for responding. It meant a lot. I wanted to be heard because I was so frustrated! We hardly eat out due to having a baby recently and when we do, I usually always choose UMI. This is my spot. This is the only thing I looked forward to after having a baby so I can have the tuna cubes, ceviche, and ofc sushi! 🍱 So just imagine the frustration of looking forward to a lovely evening only for it to be ruined by the service. I did asked for a manager the night of the incident and like I said, nobody showed up and that frustrated me even more. Now that I’ve been heard, the ratings are back to what it should be AND WE CANNOT WAIT TO BE...

I was stationed in Japan for three years, and during that time, I came to appreciate not just the food, but the spirit behind it. The chef at Umi Grill, whom I call Sensei, gave me a brief, nostalgic glimpse of what I deeply miss from Japan. He’s a phenomenal gentleman, and if I’m not mistaken, I believe he’s mentoring someone now. I hope he still works there. I dined here last December 2024.

The food itself is good. Sensei does what he can with the ingredients available, but no matter how skilled he is, you simply can’t replicate the quality of Japan’s fresh seafood in a landlocked state like Indiana. Still, his skill carries this place.

The atmosphere, however, is another story. Umi Grill feels like a restaurant trying to appear upscale in an area that doesn’t quite support that image. In Japan, a place like this would be one of many, but simple, warm, and full of heart. Umi, by contrast, feels more artificial than authentic.

Current experience as of June 2025: The staff, particularly the younger members, come off as dismissive, especially if you’re not dressed a certain way or don’t "look like money." As a DoorDasher, I’ve been treated like an inconvenience rather than a guest. Maybe I’m biased from my time in Japan, where service is given with humility and pride, regardless of status. Here, it often feels like the opposite.

To many, Umi Grill might seem like a five-star experience. But for me, the only thing worthy of five stars is Sensei himself. In Japan, I could see him running a humble shop with wooden floors, tatami mats, and warm conversation over fresh, honest food. That’s the kind of place I visited every week in Japan. Here in the States, the glitz feels misplaced, and the heart seems lost.

Side note as a Dasher: This is one of the worst places to dash for. I'm fairly certain they start making the meals when the driver arrives. It'll take 10-15 minutes to get meals in hand, then about 10-15 minutes to deliver, and then 10-15 minutes to return to base of operations. That's minimally 30 minutes for 6 dollars? And at worst it's 45 minutes for 6 dollars. What a horrible ratio. I reject most umi offers unless they are 10+

Updated Review to 1 star: You used ChatGPT to respond to my review. As I said before, Umi Grill does not seem authentic, and you've given further evidence. I wrote my review myself. I spent time and effort to write it. You copied my review, pasted it to chatgpt, and asked it to respond for you. You didn't even take the time to alter the AI response and make it more human. Shameful. I've been pursuing a degree in Computer Engineering and been forced to work with different AI modules. The one you're using is...

Nice decor and ambience. Most of the fish was excellent.

A couple of weird things... 1 - the first thing I saw as I entered the front door was the restrooms. I had never seen a restaurant with the restrooms right at the front like that. But I got over it. Probably better to have them by the front door than the kitchen I guess. 2 - I was travelling for work so I was dining alone so i sat at the sushi bar. The guest seating surface was a foot or more lower than the sushi chef work surface, so I could not chat with the sushi chefs; i couldn't even make eye contact. What is the point of a sushi bar if you cannot chat with the sushi chef about what the freshest catch is? 3 - There are apparently lots of sushi rolls that no one bothers to describe on a menu any where. When I asked "are these few rolls on the menu all that you have?" the waiter said, "oh no, we have lots, what do you like?" Well that is fine if you want to describe the favorite rolls you have found other places and hope Uni has something similar, but if you came here hoping to find a unique combination of roll ingredients that you have never had before, good luck trying to figure that out having the waiter describe every one to you verbally. I have not been to any other sushi restaurant in the countrry that did not print a list of their top 10 or 20 rolls. 4 - several people had posted photos of the tuna cubes and they looked delicious, so I ordered them. The first couple of bites were delicious, but then my mouth was on fire from the spicy oil they were sitting in. I looked back at the description on the menu and confirmed that there was no mention of "spicy" or "chili oil" or anything like that. I know it is the current trend in sushi to make everything super spicy, but if you are a sushi purist like me and you buy raw fish because you like to taste the raw fish and not have its flavor obscured by jalepenos, sriracha or other spicy ingredients, then either do not ordern or ask them to alter your order of tuna cubes.

Kudos on the selection of Japanese microbrews. Coming from Texas where the beer import laws are much more restrictive I appreciated those beers I cannot get at home and had not seen in other places either.

In summary... lots of things to love. I am not sure I would bother coming back, but I suspect many spicy sushi...