Umai Zushi Buffet report

Tonight we had dinner at Umai Zushi Buffet (near corner of Westport Rd & Chamberlain Lane, across from Eastern Ford plant, just North of Walmart where Hometown Buffet used to be). My comments:

1. Is this as good as (or better than) the better sushi places in Louisville? Of course not! The cost of dinner at Umai is less than the cost of a single roll at most sushi places, what do you expect!
2. Would we go back? Definitely! It was fun, food decent, fish fresh, assortment good.

The good:

• The sushi by the piece was good – fresh, good ratio of seafood to rice, broad selection (around 10 different items, from squid and octopus to salmon, tuna, mackerel, all the usual suspects).
• The sushi had two different sambal sauces, and several others (from spicy mayo to more standard)
• The “hibachi” section (which strongly resembled the Mongolian buffet most Chinese buffets have) had filets of fish, small whole steaks, other larger items rather than solely stir fry sized ingredients.
• The steam tables had a smaller but higher quality selection than Chinese buffets. Two kinds of crab. Small, tender, spicy frog legs. Broiled butter shrimp. Salt & pepper shrimp with head and tail on. Stir-fried black bean steamer clams. Good looking soups.

The not so good:

• The sushi rolls were less successful. While the dozen or so different rolls were named, the ingredients were not itemized, and since sushi rolls do not have universally standard names I’m not sure what was in several. They all tended to taste alike, even the “spicy” rolls. The salmon skin roll was soft, not crispy skin.
• There were no little plates or dishes (even paper) to mix soy sauce with spices, or to carry back the sauces.
• The dessert selection was minimal (tho including an ice cream bar!), with unripe melons.
• Steam tables were close together, making it difficult to maneuver. Also, some expensive items went fast (not their fault – saw two people with plates overflowing with just crab legs, for example).

The cost (buffet, diet sodas, tax, and nice tip for friendly service) would have been $38, but used a 10% coupon Annemarie linked in an earlier post, so came to $16 apiece ($32 total).

Andy,
Thanks for the great report. Ironically just yesterday I was wondering if it was open , and most importantly, if it was worth given it a try. Sounds promising with family!

Was the seafood part of the standard buffet or an up charge?

Thanks!
Deb

The seafood WAS part of the "normal" buffet for dinner, but there were signs indicating it would be taken away for lunch.

Also, I later saw ads that indicated that there were 40 different sushi's available; this is likely, as I didn't count when there (and they had some raw octopus salad, others also). We just liked the pieces better than the rolls.

Also, their card says, "grand opening pricing," so I guess there's a very good likelihood that prices will be going up to levels appropriate for the selection in the near future!

Let me know what you think, Deb - as I mentioned, there are a LOT of sushi places we like a lot better, but for the money we do occasionally just want a real casual quick meal, and this is the place!

Edward and I went tonight, poor Richard was working - his loss. Yes, it was not the quality of Saporro or Sake Blue, but I thought pretty decent. We got there about 5:30PM the dining room was about half full. There is a small traditional salad bar and a cold seafood, salad area with cooked shrimp and crawfish, raw oysters, mussels, octopus salad, crab stick salad, The sushi looked and tasted fresh. The chefs were answering customers questions and seemed very friendly. My only quibble was the deep fried selection was cold. The hot side was kept clean, restocked and everything tasted good. I loved the small whole clams stir fried with vegetables. There was crab legs and cut up dungeness crabs. Good quality for a buffet. I did not partake of the hibachi section, but the selection looked good and not minced into obilvion. The traditional dessert selection of mini cream puffs, small cakes, cookies, ice cream et al was supplemented by several bowls of fruit and a chocolate fountain with marshmallows for dipping. Son has already announced this is going to be his choice for his birthday dinner, which will be cheaper for parents of "he-who-can-eat-his-weight-in-sushi". Plate clearing and beverage replenishment was a little slow, but they are still new.

We will definitely go back, hope they keep the quality up!!

Suzi,

Did you note prices per? Lunch vs dinner? Thanks,

I have gone twice. The last time being this past Saturday for dinner. The place was packed! I guess that is good for them. The sushi was not replenished very well. Hopefully they will get faster at that.

They have had crab legs on both occasions and they were good. I haven't tried the Mongolian BBQ section. They do always have a chocolate fountain which I thought was funny.

You see some people getting huge platefuls of just those. If I had to choose an Asian buffet, I would choose this but if you want a relaxing sushi dinner, I would choose elsewhere.

A funny story the first time I went. I saw Bob Sokoler there and I knew he was familiar but I wasn't sure why. I came home and found his blog and he has a review of Umai...
http://www.louisvillehomestoday.com/Blo ... shi-Buffet

Obviously he enjoys the place.

Don't know the lunch price but for dinner it is around $13 which I feel is a good deal.