UMI Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar

Location

150 Cobblestone Court Dr, Victor, NY 14564

Hours (as of December 2010)

Monday - Thursday: Lunch 11:00am to 3:00pm Dinner 5:00pm to 10:00pm

Friday: Lunch 11:00am to 3:00pm Dinner 5:00pm to 11:00pm

Saturday: 1:00pm to 11:00pm

Sunday: 1:00pm to 9:00pm

Phone

585 223 1388

Accessible

Yes

Alcohol

Yes 1

Website

http://www.UMIJapaneseHouse.com

UMI Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar is a Japanese restaurant located in Cobblestone Court across from Eastview Mall on Route 96 in Victor.

It officially opened on December 4, 2010.

Comments:

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2010-12-23 07:47:34   Added hours and website URL though their website is still not complete as of now - Review Soon —MelSmith

2010-12-28 12:52:07   We tried UMI on Christmas Eve. It looks great - nothing like the Asian buffet that formerly occupied the spot. We ordered hibachi and sushi. The eel and cucumber roll was quite good, but the shrimp tempura was rubbery in our specialty roll. The entree line-up contained all the usual proteins along with tuna. They have a variety of combination plates, but not the filet and tuna I definitely would have ordered. Instead, I ordered the filet ($19.95) while my two fellow diners ordered chicken ($14.95) and vegetarian ($12.95). The meals were served with the usual soup and salad. The soup was neither too salty nor too bland. Much better than I expected. The salad was served with the standard ginger dressing, but the dressing was quite watery. Meh. The waitstaff was attentive and kept the table cleared and our drinks full. The meat is served with the same ginger and cloyingly sweet "seafood sauce" so popular at area Japanese restaurants. I prefer the ginger and mustard sauces served at Plum Garden (and pretty much every other Japanese Steakhouse not in Rochester). If you like seafood sauce, or don't use the sauces, this would be just fine. My boyfriend, however, really likes mustard sauce and will only go to Japanese Steakhouses that use it.

Our chef was actually the sushi chef, and it showed. He performed with most of the flair you would expect at a Japanese steakhouse. However, I would have preferred him to be more focused on the food. The fried rice was subpar. The onions were still slightly raw and made the rice unpleasantly crunchy. The servings were smaller than other restaurants, yet there was still not enough for the table. There were 2 children at the table who had ordered from the children's menu. Perhaps they were supposed to get smaller rice portions. Who knows. When my meat was added to the grill, I expected to be asked how I wanted it. Alas. He first asked the child at the opposite side of the table who had ordered steak. The kid wanted his medium. Therefore, I had to wait until his steak was cooked to medium and served before the chef could turn his attention to my filet. By then, it was no longer the rare filet I would have wanted, so I had to settle for medium-rare, heavy on the medium. At one point, the chef dropped a utensil and looked poised to just wipe it off and keep going. Luckily, a server caught this and quickly took it away. (I cannot stress enough how much I appreciated the attentiveness of the servers!) Each entree also comes with two shrimp. Unfortunately, the chef accidentally gave them all to the couple who ordered a shrimp entree and forgot several people's lobster tails altogether. The manager quickly fixed this and brought out the missing lobster and extra shrimp. Once all the meat was cooked (and recooked), the vegetables were served. By then, the rice was actually cold. COLD. Again, there were not enough vegetables for everyone at the table. The vegetarian entree came with nothing but the same small portion of vegetables served to everyone. At $12.95, for vegetables and rice, I would expect at least a larger serving of veggies.

Sadly, UMI was a disappointment and, while many of the problems could be chalked up to an inexperienced chef, I don't plan on giving it a second chance any time soon. I was really looking forward to a Japanese Steakhouse in Victor and hope that UMI gets better with time.

—ChristineH

2011-01-16 12:25:38   I tried UMI on 01/14/2011 for lunch. I didn't have time to dine in so I ordered take out. First the decor is amazing. It is something that you would see in some of the fine dining restaurants in Las Vegas. However that is where the wow factor ended. For lunch, I ordered the Steak Teriyaki Bento Box and a side order of Shrimp Shumai. The steak was a bit on the thin side with a thick brown sauce and my steamed shrimp shumai was cold...and I don't mean cold from being Rochester weather cold. They tasted as if the dumplings were quickly thawed. I'm hoping that my experience was part of the growing pains of a newly opened restaurant and that the food will improve over the next month. A friend of mine went there for dinner and loved it, so I will try it for dinner in about a month and let you know. —FrankieEngelbert

2011-02-19 18:52:08   My husband, two children, and I decided to try this place for lunch today, and we were NOT disappointed. We used to live out of state and would eat out a local Benihana often. When we moved back, and tried all the local hibachi, we found that no other place quite lived up to it. That is until today. The decor was beautiful, the service was amazing. The waitress was attentive, and the chef very engaging, especially with our kids. My daughter ordered the kids shrimp, my husband the chicken and shrimp, and I got the chicken. We also shared the Amazing Roll. And let me tell you, it was AMAZING!!! Just absolutely fantastic. Our serving sizes were huge, we all had a lot of leftovers. I was floored at the freshness of everything. I really hope business picks up here, and this place stays around for a long time. Wonderful food and good service is very hard to find. —Linds

2011-03-14 10:58:17   We recently moved from VA and love Japanese food...we tried UMI for the first time last night and I have to say it was THE WORST Japanese food I have ever had! and way overpriced. For two dinners it was over $50.00! My husband and I ordered two chicken and steak Hibachi dinners and the chicken was boiled first and then just tossed with oil or something., completely dry and horrible., the steak was grey and way over cooked., the rice was undercooked and their sauce was disgusting! Do not waste your money on this restaurant., they have NO IDEA HOW TO COOK JAPANESE! We have had Japanese several times over the years and I am not lying when I tell you it was HORRIBLE! My 5 year old would not even eat the rice and she normally loves it., the soup was over salted and whatever they put in it was just laying in the bottom of the sytrofoam cup. DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will never eat there again. —jodier

2011-04-08 14:16:55   I tried this restaurant twice, hoping that it would be better the second time, but I was disappointed. I have experienced the hibachi and the sushi sit-down at this location, and both left me a little unnerved. The service is my main concern, as those who served us were rude, and seemed annoyed to be there, in general. I had quite a bit of trouble ordering drinks, and had to actually go and seek out someone who would take care of me, and I wasn't even one of those fifteen pepsi refills people...I was ordering martinis and drinks, as were the rest of my party. The food is just average, not bad, but average. The sushi rolls are not very creative and the hibachi was sub-par in terms of entertainment and presentation, when compared to some other places in the area. Our eggplant appetizer was laden with oil, and was served with one fork, which we assumed was to cut it up? We ordered the ice cream tempura, which was very dense, greasy and heavy, like ice cream covered in an old, unappetizing, thick piece of bread. There wasn't a bartender working one of the nights we were there, and, though the hostess was absolutely wonderful and polite, we couldn't get drinks at the bar, and, as i mentioned before, our server wasn't very helpful. While I'm at it, I must comment on the decor, which is cheesy and outdated. It seems like this restaurant is trying to be contemporary and unique, but electric candles and fake foliage aren't really my thing. I now understand why a new, exciting sushi bar in a prime location isn't doing well...both times I ate at this restaurant, there were probably only 10 other people there, total, and it was 7 pm, once on a Thursday and once on a Friday. All in all, it left much to be desired. —pbjilly

2011-06-12 16:38:47   Been coming here since February, usually once a week for lunch to go on my break. They have some really well priced and great lunch specials (2 roll special is my favorite!). We sat down a few times though and our servers are always wonderful; never had a bad experience-Han and Linda are especially great. Even the cashier/hostess who worked there was great, though I haven't seen her recently. She always had everything ready for me when I got there, right on time. The one time it wasn't ready right away I was offered a water while I waited and had a nice conversation with her.

However 2 weeks ago I went in for dinner and also decided to dine in for lunch instead of taking it to go lunch this past week. This time it was a different hostess (same one both time). She seemed completely disinterested, and rather rude. I think her name tag said Kayleigh. She barely said two words either time, which was such a change from before when I felt completely welcomed and was even given some suggestions with the menu. My friends who were new to the restaurant were completely put off by her. I asked my server if the other girl still works here and they said she's a bartender there now, so maybe we will opt to eat in the bar, which is VERY nice, next time.

The chef special rolls are amazing. One is certainly enough to fill you up for lunch. The Godzilla roll is one of my favorites, as is the Superman Roll. I want to try them all!

Don't be upset if your initial service is rude-I promise it gets better, and the food is certainly worth it. The only other complaint I have is that besides the lunch special, it is a pricey.

—TheresaThompson

2012-01-09 14:01:24   Worst service ever! We made reservations for 7pm, after an hour we had not been seated. The staff could have cared less and was very rude. They seated people who did not have a reservation before us, the hostess could have cared less. The manager was very arrogant and said we could wait or leave. We left and will not be back —monroebear

2012-05-30 14:39:35   I have been here for hibachi twice. The second time was better (more entertaining) than the first, so I suppose it depends on the chef you have. I had the steak hibachi the second time, and it was very tasty. I would probably go back for a special occasion with a few friends. —AndrewL