The popularity of Japanese cuisine has been accelerating significantly in Edinburgh with new Ramen and Sushi outlets popping up across the capital. One of the newest Japanese restaurants to open is Umi, based in Stockbridge, and Hidden Edinburgh was asked along to try out this sensational new Sushi and Ramen restaurant!
Background
Umi is the newest venture by restaurateurs Kenny and Jimmy Zhong, who also brought Bentoya Japanese Fusion and Kenji Sushi to the Edinburgh food scene. Bentoya was the original restaurant created by these passionate restauranteurs.
Kenny and Jimmy explained, “It all started off in my kitchen with a struggle of making the perfect sushi rice. It began as a rather love hate relationship, we loved making it but my first attempt of making it was not successful. But we persisted and found a love and passion we never knew before. We started experimenting with flavours and before we knew it, we wanted to open our own restaurant”.
The restaurateurs opened up Bentoya in Edinburgh’s Fountainbridge in 2014 and it was an instant hit! The success of Bentoya led to Kenny and Jimmy opening up Kenji Sushi in June 2016 in Stockbridge. With two successful, bustling Japanese restaurants, Kenny and Jimmy were ready to offer something edgy and different to his two previous restaurants which is how Umi was born.
Ambiance
Umi means the ocean and sea in Japanese and is located on Deanhaugh Street Stockbridge below Ping On. When stepping down into this basement restaurant, you leave Stockbridge and enter into what does feel like a small slice of Tokyo.
Firstly, they use shoji doors to provide privacy for tables from other guests. Originally shoji doors were born in China but were imported to Japan between the seventh and eighth century as an object to divide rooms.
Further to this, Umi uses red paper lanterns to decorate the ceilings. These lamps were made in the image of myths, things in nature and in spirit of local culture. They aim to symbolise celebration, good fortune, longevity and are deemed to protect from evil spirits. The walls are covered with street art to make you feel as if you are sitting in a restaurant located on a quiet Japanese pathway.
Service
When you walk in your are instantly greeted by a waiter and shown to your table, the service is polite and polished and GM Saki really knows her stuff about the menu so don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions because it is quite a big menu.
The Menu
It is no surprise that Umi means the sea or the ocean in Japanese as the menu has a broad selection of fresh fish options. Umi has over twelve types of Sashimi ranging from Tuna, Salmon, octopus, sea bass and many more.
Their sushi rolls offers diversity in their flavours and they are pieces of art in themselves and the quality of the sushi presentation and taste is incredible.
Not only does Umi offer fresh fish on their menu, they also offer a fresh take on some of their dishes in regards to their flavour combinations. On their menu, Umi pairs salmon with cranberry or passion fruit and yellow tail with jalapeño.
One of the key dishes to try at Umi is their ramen. Ramen was originally based in China but arrived in Japan in the 19th century. Today, every region in Japan has put their own spin on their ramen, offering different flavours and ingredients.
Umi wants to spread the joy and happiness of having a bowl of homemade ramen and offers ten versions of smooth and creamy dish for guests will try. Umi ramen broth is cooked for twenty hours and contains freshly homemade noodles.
What We Ate
Going on Saki’s advice we choose a few of the smaller dishes, some sashimi and some sushi rolls.
Sashimi
We started with the large sashimi, even Umi’s presentation shows great attention to detail with the sashimi presented in a large bowl of ice and the sashimi arranged in a cluster with a carved bamboo leaf in the middle. The large sashimi set includes 20 pieces of 5 different fish.
Sushi
For the sushi we choose a couple of the longer rolls which were both gorgeous, and they do also offer maki and nigri portions too if you want to sample additional flavours.
Small Plates
For the small plates we went for the Aubergine Goma, which is served with a sweet sticky miso sauce glaze, the aubergine pulls apart into pieces and is melt in the mouth. The Chicken & Vegetable Gyoza were also winners and the Teriyaki Salmon is pan seared and has that classic Teriyaki flavour.
Final Thoughts
We love sushi at Hidden Edinburgh and Umi really hits the mark which is why we have included this hidden gem in our guide to the best sushi restaurants in Edinburgh. The quality of sushi, ambiance, service and price point are all spot on so we highly recommend checking this restaurant out, just make sure you book in advance as it is very popular!
Address: 18-24 Deanhaugh St, Edinburgh EH4 1LY
Web: umiedinburgh.com
