Umami Japanese Barbeque — Restaurant in Vineyard

The food was amazing and our server Janna was a total angel and on top of things. The whole experience reminds me a lot of my time growing up in Japan...except 2 things: 1st: they marinate a lot of their meat which Japanese tepanyaki places don't usually...they let you make your own and 2nd: the managers customer service. Never, in a restaurant, have I seen someone be so confrontational and unable to calmly deal with a percieved problem. My mother was speaking with the hostess/waitress asking about the wait time and the waitress said it might be a little longer because of reservations. My mom responded with surprise and disappointment about reservations happening since they had been there three days before and asked to reserve for a family dinner on Thursday and were told they aren't doing reservations during this time. The hostess(whose name I can't recall but was very kind and professional) responded still kindly because they were both being kind, and said "we're sorry, they have been changing what we do day to day." And that was the end of the exchange. We sat as a family waiting and discussing that it was a little annoying to have things change day to day but understandable in the current environment. The manager approached my mom as she was updating my dad, who had just arrived. The manager said something like "you seem angry and I want to know if there is something I can do." My mom explained she wasn't upset, just disappointed that we didn't get to reserve a spot and the manager raised her voice a pitch and said "ma'am you have to check your expectations at the door if you are going to eat out during a Pandemic, we are doing everything we can and we don't need you getting upset because things don't go your way." My mom responded she didn't understand, and the manager said "I saw with my own eyes you were yelling at and chewing out my hostess." Which was a total lie. The hostess proceeded to ignore my mom saying that she wasn't angry we couldn't be seated right away or even angry at all, but merely disappointed and annoyed we hadn't been given the option to reserve, the manager kept repeating herself saying check your expectations or you're welcome to eat somewhere else, or you don't have to eat here...those phrases and others like them. Totally rude and unprofessional, she never should have approached my mom if she was upset and unable to remain calm and kind. I understand we all under pressure working during this time but that kind of treatment drives custom out the door. She could have handled it so much better by simply approaching at a later time when she was calm and actually listening to what my mom was saying and then saying "you're right, it isn't fair we change our policy day to day but we are at the mercy of the pandemic, we should look into keeping our procedures stable, thanks for coming in and helping keep us afloat!" I don't think I'll be going back, the manager was right, there are other tepanyaki places to eat and I don't need to go back if the manager can't even handle a percieved problem with grace and courtesy. Disappointed in the managment,...

Short story: disappointing experience, okay food, one particular worker was rude.

Full story: There is one grill per table and there is four to a table. When you have all seats full, eating is slow and the table is extremely crowded. Perhaps it would’ve been less crowded but plates were piled up at the end of the table and no worker came to clear the table until we had a good 7-9 plates stacked. With a white plate for prepared food, black plate for raw food, a sauce tray, a drink AND silverware; there’s simply no room on the table. It was annoying to sit there and have to watch the food cook just to eat. Even with the grill turned all the way up, you can only cook 2-3 pieces on the grill because you’re sharing it. Then when it’s cooked, it’s barely two bites and you’re back to waiting on food. I literally ate more edamame than anything else because I didn’t have to wait for it. I guess you can put me in the boat: if I’m coming to a restaurant, I don’t want to be “working”. I guess that’s why this is probably more of a dinning experience than a relaxing night out. For a buffet, the food was disappointing. There was a good amount to choose from but the meats all tasted the same. Granted, this could have been due to the grill being dirty when we were seated so all the meat no matter which one we chose just tasted like that burn charcoal taste. I even played with cooking times, it all tasted the same.

Lastly, they have this red hair male worker who was either having a bad day or is just rude. I’m from out of state and my boyfriend really liked one of the sauces. So I waited until the front counter wasn’t busy and got up to ask if they sold it. I merely stated “so I’m out of state” and the red hair started shaking his head no. I kept going “and my boyfriend really likes -“ and the read head cut me off and said no. I finished my question, “I was wondering if you sold the sauces”. He literally rolled his eyes and said no. So I apologized and sat back down. I guess my issue here is if you get this question so many times that it’s annoying, just put up a sign. There’s a sign about wearing masks, using hand sanitizer, where to find silverware, etc so you can put up a sign saying “sorry, we don’t sell our sauces”.

I gave two stars because out of the large party I went with, it was just my boyfriend and me that didn’t have a good experience. Maybe it’s partly due to expecting to go to Tucanos (which we love) so were excited all day until the plans were changed at the last minute. But definitely everything listed above...

• • • Over all, it has a great selection of meats and sides. It has some authentic dishes while still being friendly to those new to Asian cuisine. Well thought out restaraunt. No being held hostage to slow servers or having side dishes micromanaged like is common with Asian BBQ's in the area. Friendly environment. Excited to go back with friends.- - - -

I have been to a number of Korean BBQs buffets in the area. Umami is at the top of the list now for BBQ buffets. It is an adventure and would be a great place for a date or social activity with family. Across the parking lot is the movie theatre and other shops, all of which make for a nice activity after stuffing yourself on good food. While it definetly has a japanese theme, there is a strong Korean presence (i.e they have Kimchi, japchae, bulgoki, and other Korean foods). If you like Korean food, it's a win win. If you don't, there are still a number of Japanese dishes to stuff ones face with - Curry, miso soup, gyoza.... all of which are good. The meat comes in a wide variety of types and marinades, which adds to the adventure of the meal. for the price, wide selection of meat and sides, quality of meat/sides, excellent service - it is good on both the taste buds and the bank.

Some of the selection, such as the ghenghis Khan lamb, korean short ribs, and Korean bulgokis are fairly authentic and good. Everything is pretty mild and some traditionally spicy dishes are toned down a lot(especially the Korean ones). Wouldn't have a problem bringing people new to Asian food here and letting them loose on everything.

For the price and the selection you get, it is great. It is self serve - so you are not held hostage to the will of the servers..... sounds like an odd comment but if you have gone to the other Asian bbq buffets around you understand. Nothing worse than being excited to take someone to an Asian bbq buffet and then have it get ruined by busy/forgetful servers that don't bring out sides try to limit certain sides that they just discovered they enjoy ...... not a problem here! Number of house dipping sauces at the table- all are pretty good.

Only quirk was the tables are a little small and the plates, rather large. Don't get carried away when you arrive and grab too many sides/dishes at once (like we did). With even just the rice, a plate of side dishes, and the raw meat plate- it gets a little crowded trying to cook. Take it slow, maybe try eating family style, and it works out. It is a great adventure...