Umi Japanese Restaurant

First time eating at Umi. The restaurant was very busy. We had no issues getting seated. Service was good. The food was good. We didn’t stray too far from the usual Japanese steakhouse food. Teriyaki chicken, soup, salad, fried calamari, and two sushi rolls. Each dish was the standard Japanese restaurant food.

Best sushi around... Superman rolls are still my favorite. The atmosphere was a little cluttered and there were strong incense-type odors. Always polite and professional service and crab salad is a must!

Im never disappointed with Umi. This is not only my favorite spot downtown, but one of my favorite places for to go orders. Their accuracy has always been 100% in the several years of ordering from them. To go orders in no way lack quality or quantity.

Comfortable establishment for Japanese fair. Shrimp tempura was light and delicious Enjoy a flaky egg roll. We enjoyed dinner very much. At the time we were there it was very busy and loud with all the people talking.

EVERYTHING was delicious. We got green salad, veggie gyoza, shrimp tempura and some sushi rolls. Everything we bit into was an instant eyebrow raise. Even the coco cola was the perfect fizz and syrup.

It took a while for someone to greet me at the front, and a worker even made eye contact without helping, which made the entry area feel awkward since I didn’t really know what to do. Eventually I was sat at the sushi bar without being asked first, though luckily I was fine with it. I ordered their special toro appetizer, which was honestly the highlight of the meal — a perfect 10/10, the flavors mixed beautifully and it’s rare to see toro on a menu. After that, things went downhill. The softshell crab dish was disappointing, with an overpowering onion and a heavy creamy sauce that just didn’t work. The Philly roll also wasn’t what I expected with cucumber — it only had cream cheese and salmon, no crunch or balance, so it fell flat. I didn’t end up finishing either the crab or the roll. When I was done, it also took a long time to get my check. On the bright side, the restaurant itself was clean.

Great food, great service and a perfect place for lunch with Big Mamma Suzy of Hendersonville ‼️

We tried this Japanese restaurant for sushi for the first time and were really impressed overall. The sushi was fantastic, and the menu was expansive and diverse, with plenty of options to choose from—including some Thai dishes. They also offer a full bar with a wide variety of drink selections, which was a nice bonus. Even the “basic” (non-specialty) rolls stood out—they were generously sized and beautifully presented, which speaks to the quality and care of the sushi chefs. The atmosphere was pleasant, clean, and welcoming. Despite how busy the restaurant was, we were seated immediately, which we appreciated. Our server was pleasant and brought us water right away, but beyond that, the service felt a bit low-effort—we weren’t asked if we wanted to order drinks from the bar and had to request refills ourselves. It wasn’t a bad experience by any means, and perhaps he was just having an off day. That said, the sushi and overall vibe more than made up for it, and it certainly won’t stop us from returning.

Umi's used to be my favorite place to go to in the past years. We haven't been there in a long while so we went last night. We ordered several different varieties. One of my fav is the volcano roll. It was good however the oyster was deep batter fried instead of a warm not battered oyster like they used to be. We also ordered the crab salad which had more lettuce than crab. And no flavor. It used to be mostly crab chopped into small pieces with less lettuce. The tuna roll tasted just on the verge of going bad. And the salmon roll as well. Ate one and that was it. Let the owner/manager know and she said they just got it in the day before. Sorry, but not sorry. Instead of making excuses own up to it and just take it off our bill. She didn't offer to. She even remembered who we were even though we hadn't been there in forever it seems. We sat at the bar and she actually took care of us. Checking on us at the appropriate times. No complaints about the service except for not owning up to the fact that the tuna and salmon was rank. Atmosphere isn't what I prefer. I've always wondered why they don't make it more cozy/inviting with candlelight. I'm a hopeless romantic so that's the first thing I look at when going to a restaurant except for the menu of course. It's not a big place but big enough. Just be sure to get there before the rush otherwise you may have to wait. We went early so we didn't have a problem. All in all the issue with the two orders of sushi makes me not want to go back. And it's only about a mile or so from our home. Edit: Most importantly I forgot to add that my stomach has been messed up today from last nights rank tuna I assume. And I'm really not one to complain unless absolutely necessary. Not reviewing this just to give Umi's a bad rap. Because I'm so fond of this place. However, don't cut corners when it comes to food. Either just raise the prices which I know they have anyway since Covid., and keep using the high end products you used before. And don't sell food that you know is going bad to save money. Sorry, Umi and Mary. You're doing yourself more harm than good.

We went for a weekday lunch. There were numerous vegetarian options, including sushi, tempura, and curry. Delicious!

We have not been in awhile and it was time to go back since it was my favorite sushi place to go. The waitstaff seemed off and confused. I wanted to do something different, i wanted mushrooms shrimp tempra roll. It took a long time and it was not best i have had. My wife and friends was getting anoyed with waitstaff. The manager came to us if we could vacate table for another party of 4 and there was 4 tables close to us avail. I did not care for that nor did my friends and wife. We was at our table 45min and still finishing our meals. We will not be back

Omg!!! Fresh, the flavors...the salmon, tuna crab, avacado....delicious!! I hope they tip share, because their Sushi Chrfs are "rolling it out"!! Crowded Sunday after church, but I've yet to see the parking lot empty, except when closed. Great atmosphere, service and sushi!!

No flavor. No presentation. No value. This place is horrible. Tails on shrimp. Plain white rice and sprouts. The bento was half empty. Gross.

We were a party of six. Note that a tip is included in the final bill presented to the credit card holder to sign for large parties, yet it doesn't say so on the final bill and there's still a line to add a tip. It wasn't until later reviewing his photos of the bills that the Hubby realized he had tipped on top of the included tip, so be careful! They did take really good care of us though! Kitchen made one mistake and sent out salmon roe sushi instead of flying fish roe sushi, when we pointed it out they let us keep the salmon and sent out the flying fish roe really quick! Everything was delicious and fresh. We are visiting from California and would definitely come back here next time we are in Hendersonville!

Quality and service. Excellent! Food was fresh and we were seated immediately on a Friday night.

The quality has plummeted. So very disappointed. I ordered Lobster and they served an overcooked lobster tail that must have been frozen first. It was inedible. Each time we have gone there it gets a bit worse. We won't go back again.

I'm convinced we would have been surrounded by fewer flies if we had chosen outdoor seating. Disgusting.

Absolutely fantastic sushi. They have very creative and delicious rolls. Also the appetizer rolls are phenomenal. The summer roll is great. Love the sauces. The rice and egg noodles are great. The ginger dressing on salad A++ High recommend for Umi!!!

I have to warn people - I've never had such a severe reaction to food in my life. I had the spider web roll (without mayo in the tuna) and my stomach immediately started cramping up (and still is 30 minutes later). I'm in severe pain almost couldn't drive home. I have no clue what caused this, but it's awful. The roll was tasty but never again. My kid had udon noodles and avacado roll which he liked and the steamed pork dumplings. Everything tasted good but something isn't right -

Sadly I gotta take off a star for the way we were treated/greeted. Came in here 40 mins till closing which we hate to do but we were starving. The host merely looked up at us and said "yes?" In an annoyed tone. We had our heart set on sushi so we stayed but I was definitely anxious about it the whole time and it tainted the experience. The server also tried to rush us despite there being 3+ other tables still enjoying their meal. When I went to the bathroom, someone was already cleaning it. Maybe google and Yelp have the hours wrong? I meant to ask but I was hurrying as fast as I could so I forgot. The sushi menu is great- lots of variety in both rolls and prices. They're easily understood- great for beginner sushi lovers and experts alike. You have classics and unique ones. We ordered a few of each. A set of two classics and two pricey ones set us at $35. It was enough for a dinner for two. The classics we got (tuna and Philadelphia) were excellent. The other one (sorry- forgot) was also good. All tasted fresh and delicious. Was not a fan of the spider roll. Too huge and weird in it's texture. Oh well- here's to being adventurous. :) I would like to go back but it feels a bit uncomfortable now due to the way staff approached us. If they were closing early, I wish they would have just said so. Good sushi though.

Repeated quality experience. Sushi is always track and delicious. Definitely one of our favorite places in town

We really enjoyed Umi! The sushi quality is great! They have many gluten free options and gluten free soy sauce. The service was excellent and the outside patio is great!

THIS IS NOT FINE DINING! The food is bland, Service is HORRIBLE!!!! Managers "non Existence" or Manager will tell you their boss said no. It was really cold, I even help the waiter's hand letting them know we are freezing and it's uncomfortable to eat. The waiter didn't care, and when we asked for a manager twice, they brought a fake manager that told us they can't do anything but give us $4 discount on our $200 tab! WHAT AN INSULT! It's better you said you don't want to do anything for you! I would rather take take than your $4 Discount! DO NOT GO HERE!! HORRIBLE PEOPLE!!! HORRIBLE STAFF!!!! HORRIBLE SERVICE!!!! BAD PEOPLE! BAD FOOD!

Sushi boat. I can't remember everything we got here, I know there is a California roll, crab salad roll and salmon roll. It's always very good every time we go and service is great.

Food was excellent! We were craving Japanese and checked Yelp app to look for high rated restaurants in the area. I'm glad we found this place because we were starving and deserved a delicious meal after a long drive. The server was nice and overall service was superb. There is indoor and outdoor seating. I also ordered a small hot sake. I was craving sushi since the weekend. I will definitely recommend this place.

This was a wonderful sushi experience. I came alone for a quick early dinner and was sat quickly. My service approached fast and was so attentive my whole experience. I got some hot sake, dumpling soup and a crab roll. All 3 were fantastic and the presentation of the sushi was spectacular! It's been hard to find real crab instead of imitation crab so I was so excited to see some on the menu! Kudos for that! As I left the restaurant started to fill up so I'm guessing it's a popular spot. Looks like they do a lot of Togo orders too. I'd totally come back here solo or with a group.

We love coming here when in Hendersonville and they do not disappoint. The miso soup and seafood soup were great. Our appetizers were the spicy tuna, Philadelphia, spider rolls Other rolls were the American dream, dynamite, sunflower and there was another shown in picture that we cannot remember. They were all awesome!! A few were large rolls that sort of fell apart as we picked up but the experience cannot be missed and enjoyed.

I was really saddened by my experience at Umi. It was terribly unorganized with a pileup of customers right at the front door. I waited for over 20 minutes in this pileup only to be informed that the system was down and I would need to pay cash. After another 20 minute ordeal of getting the cash and waiting again, I received my now cold food and half melted mochi. Also, my order was incorrect. Instead of receiving rice with my king of the sea entree, I received a crab salad. The best part of the meal was the sushi (particularly the nigiri). However, everything else was just ok. My entree, the King of the Sea, had a $33 price tag but was chewy and unseasoned. My boyfriend's entree of shrimp Fried rice was subpar. He said he could have gotten the same at a local Chinese restaurant for half the price. For an $80 meal, this experience was quite the letdown. We ended up tossing half of the food.

Best Japanese food i have ever had in 16 years service was amazing and the ambiance was top notch with traditional Japanese music the whole time

Great pricing for quantity and quality of sushi! The presentation was also really nice.. heart shaped sushi with mango definitely was very unique

Super fresh sushi in clean, pleasant restaurant. We got the sushi boat for two and it was a great assortment of sushi. The pieces are just the right size. Our waitress was wonderful. The house large sake was reasonably priced and tasted high end. This restaurant is everything you'd want a top notch sushi restaurant to be. Delicious good, , fresh fresh fresh sushi and kind staff. I will def return.

Umi is going downhill. Owner at front is rude and dismissive. Fish is borderline fresh, sushi rice is tough. Plus the woman having a conversation on her speakerphone next to me all added up to Im not coming back.

Sushi rolls were mushy with no flavor no seasoning and we picked it up within 2 minutes of being finished and bagged up. Sushi was a 1/5 and we had several different rolls. The only things that were good were the different variety of fried rices and noodles. Wouldn't go again

Food outstanding.. some of the best sushi and sashimi around. We live sitting at the sushi bar and having crab salad app... so delish. I love their sunshine roll made w/o nori... and special sauce sooo good... the service is impeccable and always attentive but not intrusive... the ambiance is also great.. highly recommend

What a great find! The sushi was excellent. A variety of fun flavor combinations that will have you excited to come back. The service was great. We did a to go order and Steve was super nice and walked me through everything. Can't rave enough about this place, the only thing on our order that wasn't outstanding was the fried rice. It was good, just needed a little more flavor.

This place was great. I came here for lunch and they were able to accommodate gluten free items. The fish was fresh. The place is clean and the service is wonderful. This place is a great place to go.

Excellent service, food, and atmosphere. While in Hendersonville for a bachelorette party, we decided on eating here for dinner. The parking lot was full so we parked on the street in a free space. We did not have reservations on a Saturday night. Nonetheless, we were seated right away. We requested a table outside and the host was so concerned that a 5+ top table was not available. We said the 4 was fine and he brought us an extra chair. Then when other tables opened up, he pushed them together to create a larger space for us. We didn't even request a larger space, he was just very concerned for us and wanted to ensure we had a positive experience. We really appreciated it and soon our appetizers arrived. I enjoyed the oyster shots, but found the ponzu sauce way too salty. They could remove half of the sauce and it would taste much better. We also ordered pad Thai, sushi rolls, and tofu agedashi. Each of us loved our entrees and sushi. The portions were large so we each requested a to-go container. A storm rolled in as we were finishing our meal. Luckily, our waitress quickly rang us up and brought out takeout containers. We made it to the car just as it started to sprinkle and home before it poured. Overall, we had a great experience here and recommend this restaurant to others!

Food was very good but service was just ok. Very busy place and seems that they cannot keep up with the demand.

We are vegan and love the tempura asparagus roll & the inari avocado roll, and the ginger dressing on the house salad is also yummy and refreshing! The staff is friendly and welcoming and helpful when you ask questions. The service is very fast! You can easily be in and out of there within 30mins. Food comes quickly and they are very attentive. Even though the place is packed with tables it's still comfortable, clean, and cozy. I went alone for lunch and had 2 rolls, a salad, and a beer and only spent $20!

Love going to UMI. The food is delicious and you will not be disappointed. We go to UMI every time we go to Hendersonville

This is now our "go to" Japanese restaurant in the greater Asheville area. Have never had a bad meal there- we take my out of town friends and they are wow'd at the quality and taste.

Went there once and was very disappointed. My Sashimi (some not all) was frozen. Enough said. Staff and atmosphere were nice.

So had some doubts on the sashimi quality and overall food. But I have to tell you I was very nicely surprised. Ordered the Sashimi Special. All the cuts were nice portions and good quality fish. I ordered additional Uni sashimi, and although from California, the Uni was very fresh, sweet and smooth. And although it was a Saturday night, service was quick. Will definitely return!

Husband took me to Umi for my birthday. It falls during the Christmas week so it was busy, we took a seat at the sushi bar. First time coming here and it didn't disappoint. We also ordered summer roll but didnt get a pic of it and it was one of my favorites. We will definitely go back

Well done, delightful Japanese dining! This review coming from a former manager of a Japanese restaurant in the Chicago area, Takatsu, which featured authentic Tonkatsu style Japanese cuisine. Well done Umi! Delicious, authentic and well managed.

Had dinner here tonight which is one of the busiest nights for restaurants, the day before thanksgiving. There was a 30 minute wait but immediate seating at the end of the bar. We went for it. Sitting and watching all the amazing dishes zip by, I wanted to know which each thing was because everything looked delicious and interesting. Also sitting so close to the server station I really noticed what a well oiled machine this restaurant is. Everyone was so friendly and prompt. Our server were exceptional. The food was amazing and we will definitely be back. I think next time I will try bento box a or wasabi prawn. I hope you try it!

The sushi was good , I expected a better real Japanese sushi for the price , the staff is very nice and very clean

We ordered take-out on the way back from Asheville. The service was prompt and the food was delicious. I had red curry and my son and daughter-in-law had sushi. All were great. I can't comment on the ambiance because we did not eat in. The red curry portion was substantial; more than the sushi. When we return to the area, we will make sure to enjoy a meal indoors.

I love Sushi!! I am always looking for a sushi place to fill the void of the great Sushi places in Vegas! We looked on Yelp for someplace with good reviews. When pulling in the parking lot was busy so that was a good sign! There was a little wait but we were seated pretty fast. The ac was on and it was chilly when we sat down. The waitress was nice , came over fast. I had to order Seaweed Salad I love it! And I ordered Sushi and not husband wanted Thai so he got the Red Curry. Over all I enjoyed the sushi, it was good I didn't order anything fancy. I really liked that they don't over load the rice on the rolls. My husband wasn't too crazy with his Curry it could have used more sauce. There was not much on the veggies and when you added the rice it was gone. The veggies and chicken tasted fresh but he said it wouldn't be something he would order again. I would try some other sushi places but if we were close by and didn't have another place to try we would come here again maybe.

Haven't been able to post my review for this wonderful restaurant yet- so I thought I'd catch everyone up. My husband and I love this place. We haven't been back in a few months but I'm pretty sure this picture speaks for itself. Their sushi, sashimi, edamame, is to die for. Their service is exceptional. I have yet to meet a rude server there yet. A must-go when visiting or living in Hendersonville.

Very good cuisine, but be careful with the wasabi. Now, to post this review, Yelp wants me to ramble on and on when I have nothing more to write about Umi.

A lot of new sushi places have opened up around town, and I've tried them all, but in the end, I always come back to Umi for the best quality sushi, and unique options. The local owner is gracious and takes pride in his restaurant.

Great service and wonderful food! Will be revisiting when I'm back in town. Looking forward to many more dinners here!!

Excellent sushi and lovely host/waitress/staff. The place is always busy but it is consistently amazing. Our go-to for great sushi

When it comes to Sushi or other Japanese food, Umi, is definitely my favorite Japanese restaurant in the Hendersonville area. I have been there several times, always had an amazing meal with top notch service from the staff! The sushi bar is awesome and a great place to see how fresh the fish is! I love the Japanese decor throughout the restaurant as well. I definitely recommend Umi for sushi or any Japanese food!!

Just ok, I think if I was there for the sushi which looked amazing I'd have had a different experience. The dining room feels very congested, ordered chicken teriyaki, it was just ok. Rice was overcooked and chicken felt slightly spongy. The vegetable spring rolls didn't have any vegetables. Just expected more quality and pizazz.

This restaurant is AMAZEBALLS!!! The food is a little pricey, but WELL worth it It was my birthday, and they gave me miso soup free The veggie tempura had the widest variety I've ever seen, and cooked to perfection. The Albacore tuna tataki was simple but delicious. I had the Geisha, Godzilla and Paradise rolls. Obviously, I ordered too much, but even the next day it was still delicious The Paradise roll has shrimp tempura and banana , something I'd never seen before. It seems an odd combination, but was surprisingly tasty! Almost like a dessert. Everything was much better than I expected, and my sushi standards are pretty high! I LOVE Japanese cuisine and this is top-of-the-line