The bestest first time Omakase experience ever! Enjoyed our 18 course meal and it was absolutely wonderful! Can’t wait to visit again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tim Q
Great Japanese cuisine, and the service was very attentive. Be aware of the mandatory 15%“kitchen appreciation” fees in addition to tips. Caught my friend and me by surprise. Would have appreciated if stated in advance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
sal sapia
Each course was better than the last. The sake pairing were excellent and I loved how they explained every course as it arrived.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Katherine Yang
1.5-1.8/5TL;DR: SUPER LONG REVIEW - not a true omakase and more of a tasting menu. Modern sushi fusion gone wrong. SO overpriced. Took 3 hoursMy friends and I wanted to try an omakase spot when visiting Boston and decided on this spot due to all the good reviews. The interior is cute, and service is nice. We quickly realized that everyone in the restaurant were doing the omakase, so they are serving ~30-40ish people simultaneously.RED FLAGS/Negatives:--Serving 30-40 people at once: can cause delays/timing issues--A lot of the pieces of fish/nigiri were pre-cut--First dish of Miso Soup was so bland (bad start)--Sushi chefs were handling iPads with their hands then handling the food directly after--They tried to upsell dishes (like Japanese uni) party by party: when we declined the salesman made a condescending comment "oh, you don't like uni?" Like no, we do; but you are aggressively upselling it to us--It was ~10+ minutes in between dishes--Experience took almost 3 hours (they said they were down a sushi chef)--Rice was so weird (each grain was a different size and was coated in something weird)FOOD RATINGS by order (see pics for more):~Miso Soup (2/5): bland and clam was overcooked~Oyster with tomato puree (2/5): oyster was raw and temperature was on the warmer side. Tomato puree seemed like an odd choice~Assorted cuts of fish with fruit and fruit gel (1/5): what even was this. It tasted like a fruit cocktail with jello and pieces of fish~The spoon (5/5): toro, quail egg, ikura, uni, and caviar on a spoon. Tasted good~Spanish Mackerel (3/5): mid~Chopped salmon with yuzu tobiko and sweet cream cheese (1/5): I assume this was their play on like a bagel and lox. They said to mix it up and eat, and it just tasted like sweet cream cheese, and the texture was off-putting. Honestly, disrespectful to the fish.~Aji (I think)(2.5/5): Mid~Snapper (3/5): Mid~Multiple types of toro with caviar (4/5): can't go wrong with toro, but rice and temp made me dock a star~Chawanmushi (2.5/5): had a shrimp and scallop on top which were both severely overcooked. The egg was decent, but the soy gel on top was tasty but strange texture (maybe too much agar agar or something)~Baby squid (2/5): Could only taste mayo~Scallop (3/5): large piece of scallop; but just wrapped in some nori~Another type of snapper (2.5/5): meh~Smoked duck breast (2.5/5): great presentation; half warm, half cold. Very dry~Wagyu (3/5): can't mess up wagyu, but it was just okay and the topping did not complement the wagyu~Foie Gras (4/5): Foie gras was torched and tasty but ruined by the bad rice~Unagi Tamago (3.5/5): decent but nothing special~Mango Mousse (1/5): As a lover of dessert, I was so disappointed. Overly sweet, and again had some kind of gel.I haven't had a disappointing meal like this in a very long time. It took WAY too long; was WAY too expensive; was NOT an omakase; did NOT taste good.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Dennis Luong
Most authentic omakase experience. No frills, but straight focus on quality dishes—seafood, meat, flavors all amazing.This is the spot. Don’t hesitate, book it for that special occasion or if you just want a couple hours of amazing food.Service was great. Recommend the bar seating to see all the prep.Not fancy necessarily, but that’s what makes this place great. It’s an awesome experience that feels like a Japanese hole in the wall.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Omakase
Sharon
Not bad, but I personally prefer omakase where the dishes/nigiri are a bit more intense/flavorful. To me this felt like it was a bit more on the light side and I often felt the pieces were missing something such as more sauce or some acid etc. And for the price, I might expect some more creative pieces. Overall still a good meal, but not my favorite especially for a special occasion. On the plus the service was stellar - could not be beat! :)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Jeremy Blaustein
We have been to Umami twice and both were a wonderful experience. The service is friendly and enthusiastic and the food is really top notch. Great variety of fish, creatively prepared without ever overwhelming the flavors. They also do a nice job of showing exactly what the fish is that you’re eating with some of the more unfamiliar types, like cornet fish, which was new to me (and delicious).
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Omakase
Michelle Dao
When it comes to omakase in the Boston area, umami rises to the top as the best in the area. Tied for our favourite go to sushi for special occasions, the intentionality and care that goes into the food always goes beyond expectations.I first went for a birthday post covid where there was significantly less courses and it was more accessible price wise. At the time I thought it was the more under priced omakase in boston.They have since raised their prices and added more courses. One would assume it's for inflation but genuinely I think it mainly accounts for the additional courses and quality of ingredients.Umami does an amazing job balancing and highlighting the quality ingredients they source. executed with precision, the staff is caring and engaging when explaining each course or answering questions.This past trip, i honestly wondered why we haven't visited more often. but honestly saving it for the special days makes each trip more impactful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
M M
TLDR; Horrible case of food poisoning caused by dinner hereAfter a lovely evening here to celebrate our 20th anniversary, my husband and I left to walk around the city. Unfortunately, after less than an hour, I was hit with the horrible results of food poisoning. It was in a public place and extremely embarrassing and ended our lovely night.I reached out to the restaurant to let them know and got a response asking for a doctor's note. Luckily, I didn't have to go to the doctor as it passed quickly. But I was disappointed that after a $500 meal, the restaurant had little response and took no action to make it right.I waited years to try omakse and this was a big treat to splurge on this meal. I'm very disappointed at the ending.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
Isabel Freedman
Amazing experience and the service goes above and beyond. The food was sooo delicious. Great place for a special occasion!
Very understated decor to have you focus only on the food and experience. Each dish was better than the last. The chef shows you what kind of fish you are eating as some are very unique.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Omakase
YIDI WENG
It tastes really bad. I don’t know how it got so many good reviews. Not only does it taste bad, but it also causes diarrhea. Run away.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
VanAnh N.
If i could give 10 stars, I would. The staffs were so knowledgeable, caring and funny. The food was out of this world amazing. Every bite was full of flavors. The ingredients were fresh and were paired so well. I am not a sweet tooth but that panacotta dessert was so darn delicious I would eat it everyday for breakfast, lunch, dinner :)
Bria Schecker
Definitely not worth the price. Atmosphere is seriously lacking. There’s no art on the walls and it’s clear there wasn’t much investment made into creating any sort of ambiance.The staff were very kind, but could not accommodate my dietary preferences (dairy free) for every course. The food was good but I’ve had better for cheaper. Many of the dishes used chopped up bits of fish that were left over from what they couldn’t use for sashimi or nigiri. It’s a great way for them to turn a big margin. Don’t pay for the uni. At $25 for one piece, I expected it to come straight out of its shell and into my plate. What I got instead was something out of a box that didn’t taste nearly as fresh as it should. Total waste of money.If this meal cost half of what I paid, I would have given it 3 stars instead of 2.
The bestest first time Omakase experience ever! Enjoyed our 18 course meal and it was absolutely wonderful! Can’t wait to visit again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great Japanese cuisine, and the service was very attentive. Be aware of the mandatory 15%“kitchen appreciation” fees in addition to tips. Caught my friend and me by surprise. Would have appreciated if stated in advance.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Each course was better than the last. The sake pairing were excellent and I loved how they explained every course as it arrived.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
1.5-1.8/5TL;DR: SUPER LONG REVIEW - not a true omakase and more of a tasting menu. Modern sushi fusion gone wrong. SO overpriced. Took 3 hoursMy friends and I wanted to try an omakase spot when visiting Boston and decided on this spot due to all the good reviews. The interior is cute, and service is nice. We quickly realized that everyone in the restaurant were doing the omakase, so they are serving ~30-40ish people simultaneously.RED FLAGS/Negatives:--Serving 30-40 people at once: can cause delays/timing issues--A lot of the pieces of fish/nigiri were pre-cut--First dish of Miso Soup was so bland (bad start)--Sushi chefs were handling iPads with their hands then handling the food directly after--They tried to upsell dishes (like Japanese uni) party by party: when we declined the salesman made a condescending comment "oh, you don't like uni?" Like no, we do; but you are aggressively upselling it to us--It was ~10+ minutes in between dishes--Experience took almost 3 hours (they said they were down a sushi chef)--Rice was so weird (each grain was a different size and was coated in something weird)FOOD RATINGS by order (see pics for more):~Miso Soup (2/5): bland and clam was overcooked~Oyster with tomato puree (2/5): oyster was raw and temperature was on the warmer side. Tomato puree seemed like an odd choice~Assorted cuts of fish with fruit and fruit gel (1/5): what even was this. It tasted like a fruit cocktail with jello and pieces of fish~The spoon (5/5): toro, quail egg, ikura, uni, and caviar on a spoon. Tasted good~Spanish Mackerel (3/5): mid~Chopped salmon with yuzu tobiko and sweet cream cheese (1/5): I assume this was their play on like a bagel and lox. They said to mix it up and eat, and it just tasted like sweet cream cheese, and the texture was off-putting. Honestly, disrespectful to the fish.~Aji (I think)(2.5/5): Mid~Snapper (3/5): Mid~Multiple types of toro with caviar (4/5): can't go wrong with toro, but rice and temp made me dock a star~Chawanmushi (2.5/5): had a shrimp and scallop on top which were both severely overcooked. The egg was decent, but the soy gel on top was tasty but strange texture (maybe too much agar agar or something)~Baby squid (2/5): Could only taste mayo~Scallop (3/5): large piece of scallop; but just wrapped in some nori~Another type of snapper (2.5/5): meh~Smoked duck breast (2.5/5): great presentation; half warm, half cold. Very dry~Wagyu (3/5): can't mess up wagyu, but it was just okay and the topping did not complement the wagyu~Foie Gras (4/5): Foie gras was torched and tasty but ruined by the bad rice~Unagi Tamago (3.5/5): decent but nothing special~Mango Mousse (1/5): As a lover of dessert, I was so disappointed. Overly sweet, and again had some kind of gel.I haven't had a disappointing meal like this in a very long time. It took WAY too long; was WAY too expensive; was NOT an omakase; did NOT taste good.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 3
Most authentic omakase experience. No frills, but straight focus on quality dishes—seafood, meat, flavors all amazing.This is the spot. Don’t hesitate, book it for that special occasion or if you just want a couple hours of amazing food.Service was great. Recommend the bar seating to see all the prep.Not fancy necessarily, but that’s what makes this place great. It’s an awesome experience that feels like a Japanese hole in the wall.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Omakase
Not bad, but I personally prefer omakase where the dishes/nigiri are a bit more intense/flavorful. To me this felt like it was a bit more on the light side and I often felt the pieces were missing something such as more sauce or some acid etc. And for the price, I might expect some more creative pieces. Overall still a good meal, but not my favorite especially for a special occasion. On the plus the service was stellar - could not be beat! :)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
We have been to Umami twice and both were a wonderful experience. The service is friendly and enthusiastic and the food is really top notch. Great variety of fish, creatively prepared without ever overwhelming the flavors. They also do a nice job of showing exactly what the fish is that you’re eating with some of the more unfamiliar types, like cornet fish, which was new to me (and delicious).
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Omakase
When it comes to omakase in the Boston area, umami rises to the top as the best in the area. Tied for our favourite go to sushi for special occasions, the intentionality and care that goes into the food always goes beyond expectations.I first went for a birthday post covid where there was significantly less courses and it was more accessible price wise. At the time I thought it was the more under priced omakase in boston.They have since raised their prices and added more courses. One would assume it's for inflation but genuinely I think it mainly accounts for the additional courses and quality of ingredients.Umami does an amazing job balancing and highlighting the quality ingredients they source. executed with precision, the staff is caring and engaging when explaining each course or answering questions.This past trip, i honestly wondered why we haven't visited more often. but honestly saving it for the special days makes each trip more impactful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
TLDR; Horrible case of food poisoning caused by dinner hereAfter a lovely evening here to celebrate our 20th anniversary, my husband and I left to walk around the city. Unfortunately, after less than an hour, I was hit with the horrible results of food poisoning. It was in a public place and extremely embarrassing and ended our lovely night.I reached out to the restaurant to let them know and got a response asking for a doctor's note. Luckily, I didn't have to go to the doctor as it passed quickly. But I was disappointed that after a $500 meal, the restaurant had little response and took no action to make it right.I waited years to try omakse and this was a big treat to splurge on this meal. I'm very disappointed at the ending.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
Amazing experience and the service goes above and beyond. The food was sooo delicious. Great place for a special occasion!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Very understated decor to have you focus only on the food and experience. Each dish was better than the last. The chef shows you what kind of fish you are eating as some are very unique.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Omakase
It tastes really bad. I don’t know how it got so many good reviews. Not only does it taste bad, but it also causes diarrhea. Run away.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 5
If i could give 10 stars, I would. The staffs were so knowledgeable, caring and funny. The food was out of this world amazing. Every bite was full of flavors. The ingredients were fresh and were paired so well. I am not a sweet tooth but that panacotta dessert was so darn delicious I would eat it everyday for breakfast, lunch, dinner :)
Definitely not worth the price. Atmosphere is seriously lacking. There’s no art on the walls and it’s clear there wasn’t much investment made into creating any sort of ambiance.The staff were very kind, but could not accommodate my dietary preferences (dairy free) for every course. The food was good but I’ve had better for cheaper. Many of the dishes used chopped up bits of fish that were left over from what they couldn’t use for sashimi or nigiri. It’s a great way for them to turn a big margin. Don’t pay for the uni. At $25 for one piece, I expected it to come straight out of its shell and into my plate. What I got instead was something out of a box that didn’t taste nearly as fresh as it should. Total waste of money.If this meal cost half of what I paid, I would have given it 3 stars instead of 2.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 3
Very good service and fresh food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5