Umi Japanese Restaurant Ajax - Review

We have been eagerly awaiting the opening of Umi Japanese Restaurant here in Ajax, Ontario. Most of my family, kids included, love Japanese food, sushi in particular. We even make our own at home when we can get into Toronto to the St. Lawrence Market for fresh fish. So the opportunity to try a new restaurant serving one of our favourite cuisines is a big event.

My husband and I went for lunch there today with my mother and grandmother. We walked in the door and were greeted right away by the friendly staff and shown to our table. On the way to be seated, several diners told us that their meal had been excellent, and one went so far as to say it was far better than another popular Japanese restaurant in the area.

You can imagine how excited we were as we took our seats and began to peruse the menu!

The Good Points

The dining area was lovely. Very bright, spacious, and clean. Seating was well spaced and comfortable, however the chairs were quite a bit lower than the bench on the other side of the table.

The service was terrific. Attentive but not pushy, around when they needed to be, very polite and informative. The iPad ordering method was fast and easy, and the food came really quickly.

Some of their dishes were plated beautifully. Simple, but with elegant touches that we haven't seen very often at the other local Japanese restaurants.

The Not So Good Points

The plating was inconsistent. Some dishes were beautiful while others were hardly better than tossed on the plate. Our salmon sushi was gorgeous, precisely sliced fish, consistent amounts of rice, evenly placed on the plate. The tuna, red snapper, and butterfish, which all came on a separate dish, were poorly sliced, all different sizes, and had pretty much been tossed on the plate. Seriously, my 11 year old has been displaying better plating skills since he was about eight.

The Really Bad Points

The food itself! The salmon sushi was fine; no better or worse than anywhere else. The albacore tuna sushi was absolutely terrible; dry and stringy, more or less inedible. The rolls (and we tried several) were for the most part tasteless, even the spicy ones. The sushi pizzas were overcooked and tasted of nothing but oil. The only thing that anyone at the table enjoyed was the black pepper beef.

Umi has tried to differentiate itself by offering a salad and dessert bar, however some lettuce, tomatoes, and seaweed salad does not a salad bar make. And while the dessert bar offered several options, only the ice cream was palatable.

Are We Going Back?

A resounding "no" from all four of us. Disappointing, to say the least. Our recommendation? Don't bother. Our favourite sushi place is still Sushi T&T. Why? Because the food is amazing, it's that simple. I don't care if it's located next to an adult video store, I don't care if the seating is cramped. The food is heavenly, and if I'm going to spend my hard earned on a meal, I want the food to be the star, not the iPad ordering system.

But hey, that's just me.