Umi Buckhead

My favorite sushi restaurant period. We have been going here almost weekly for the last 7-8 years. We prefer to sit at the sushi bar when it’s just the two of us and order as much as we can eat. Our usuals include yellowtail jalapeño, miso soup, spicy tuna crispy rice & edamame. This is all then followed with sashimi, nigiri, signature nigiri and sometimes a lobster tobanyaki. Everything… and I mean EVERYTHING is AMAZING. I can honestly say I’ve never had a single thing I didn’t like or a day when anything wasn’t beyond perfect. The only downside is that I love every single dessert and have room for only 1 or 2 each time. The chocolate kyu, angel food cake, green tea ice cream + chocolate soufflé, donut… ALL THE BEST DESSERTS. Out of all the restaurants in Atlanta- Umi’s the best. I’ve also been to M upstairs (10000000/10) and love Himitsu as well but I wanted this review to only be for Umi.

Made a reservation at Umi to celebrate my birthday with my girlfriend and we were seated promptly upon arrival. Our waiter was friendly and asked if we were celebrating anything. I mentioned it was my birthday, he acknowledged it, and that was pretty much the extent of it. I expected the atmosphere to feel a little more intimate, but we were seated very close to several other tables and it was fairly loud. To be fair, it was busy for a Tuesday night, so that’s understandable. For cocktails, we ordered the lychee martini and the ceremonial punch since I’m a matcha fan. The drinks were decent, but not particularly memorable. My girlfriend actually preferred the lychee martini she had previously at Nobu. For food, we ordered the spicy tuna crispy rice, lobster tempura roll, and spicy tuna roll. The crispy rice and lobster roll were good, but nothing that really stood out. The spicy tuna roll was much spicier than expected compared to what I’ve had at other sushi restaurants. Service overall felt a bit transactional. Our drinks were refilled, but interactions felt very quick and impersonal. When we asked for suggestions, the responses were brief and didn’t really add much to the experience, so we honestly felt better off deciding on our own. Overall, the restaurant definitely has a great atmosphere, location, and trendy vibe, which I think is a big part of the appeal. However, based on the food, drinks, and service, I personally left feeling that the experience was a bit overrated for the hype.

Think about running a marathon. Instead of every mile getting harder, every mile is another level of flavor that you didn’t believe was possible. That is how our night went at Umi. Our experience started off rough. We had a reservation at 7pm, but were seated at 7:46. Management offered our party of 6 a free round of drinks. Our server made our experience one to remember; she engaged with us all, made us laugh, and impressed us all with her memory. She took an order of 15+ things and instead of going straight to enter it into her computer, she went to wait on another table. She may be a robot. Despite our 46 minute wait time, this restaurant’s food, service, and atmosphere deserve a 5-star. I cannot think of a better restaurant I’ve been to. The overall 4-star is due to the wait. I would go back.

The food was incredible. We ordered the Wagu nigiri, Sake aioli nigiri, Lobster Toban-yaki, Crispy rice, seaweed salad and spider roll. For desert we got the chocolate bento box which is similar to lava cake with green tea ice cream. The Hakuto cocktail was also divine. The first three are a must! The only downside is it’s extremely dark and loud.