Umaii

"Was really looking forward to trying Umaii as my partner had heard it was great Japanese dining experience and was really excited, she even planned to have her birthday dinner there later in the year. To be honest it was a massive let down and we won’t be returning. Waited 5-10 minutes inside the doors before being approached by wait staff for a table Initially the server was great really helpful especially since we had a celiac in the group so had to clarify GF options, and also substituting oysters for another dish, but after taking our order service went right out the window, there was no continuity of service as servers seemed to change multiple times. Drinks orders were often forgotten and had to order several times, and then later the server returned asking for some to be substituted (as they had ran out of certain Sake on the menu). Often when we tried to get attention it was difficult to get the server to stop. When they did stop they were always very polite and friendly, so I suspect they were just understaffed. Food wise we ordered the tasting menu / feed me option for $85/pp and received 10 small dishes (2 dishes at a time in 5 courses), however it was up to 50 minutes between our tasting menu dishes arriving and at one point we had to ask if we had been forgotten and they apologised and it still took 10 minutes for food to arrive. We sat down for dinner at 6:10pm, ordered at 6:30pm and didn’t receive the last dish until 9:45pm. The salmon sashimi was amazing, as was the broccolini tempura (which didn’t come with dipping sauce so we ended up using our friends left over duck sauce which was really good). The pickled cucumber was a real let down, as was the rocket salad, dumplings, and the sushi plate. Further to this, the prawn dumplings in soup arrived cold and uncooked - when I bit into the dumpling the prawn inside was still raw and slimy and cold (prawns should never be eaten raw) and I had to spit it out, there was also no napkins. To their credit when we asked the server they took it back and remade the dish actually cooking them the second time and it arriving hot. However it left me feeling a bit gross. Other members of the dinner party ordered several courses from the menu including dessert (in lieu of the tasting menu) and none of the meals came out at the same time, it was awkward watching them eat, then vice versa as they had finished and had to continue sitting with us for over an hour and a half whilst the rest of our dishes slowly/randomly arrived, they ended up ordering coffees and drinks while they waited. The servers also didn’t seem to know/remember/care who ordered what so it was awkward reshuffling plates around by ourselves on the table. Often we didn’t know if it was an item of ours from the tasting menu or an item of someone else’s from the a la cart. The restaurant wasn’t very busy at all, perhaps half occupancy based on seating, and they were clearly very under staffed on a Saturday night. The gents bathrooms were also untidy, smelled horrendous and in need of a cleaner. The restaurant itself had a nice ambience, was well set out, music and lighting was great and the tables were nice. At times There was a comical amount of cutlery delivered with the dishes, which was always then taken away as plates were cleared and sometimes we had plates of food with no cutlery or chopsticks and had to ask for them so we could eat. I was disappointed as The server told us that we would be full/satisfied after the tasting menu ($85/pp) however the portion sizes were extremely small and my partner and I both left feeling hungry (we are not big eaters and actually had a decent lunch). The quality of the dishes did not really justify such small portion sizes as you often see at top fine dining restaurants. No apologies were really offered about the lack of service / delays / food and we ended up paying $200 for a really poor dining experience and leaving feeling tired and hungry and dissapointed. I have had better Japanese from Sushi hub on either end of Rundle mall ☹️"

"Completely a five star dining experience. Our host was warm as well as very knowledgeable and pleasant to talk with. Their otoro, chicken skewers, and broccolini tempura were the shining stars. Well worth the price and will visit again!"

"Came in a few weeks ago for lunch, my friend ordered the Sushi and booze lunch set and I ordered the oysters, sashimi platter and tenderloin steak. All the food was magnificent with different seating options, whether you prefer to observe the kitchen on the sushi bar or escape in the dining area, we opted for the sushi bar. Did also see they have a $85pp banquet menu, will definitely be coming back in the evening to try that next!"

"Fantastic service & very good food! We didn’t get the names of the wait staff (3rd March) in charge of reception/ cashier) + our waiter. I got a surprise candlelit on our dessert, as I was celebrating my birthday. Sashimi was fresh, right sized portions. Everything we ordered was very, very good. Will definitely be back ❤️"