Umami Steak and Sushi Bar Reviews

Excellent. Never expected such fresh and tasty Japanese food, in Philadelphia…but now we have a new “go to” Japanese restaurant that serves bento boxes, and sushi, and poki salmon bowls, etc etc. Lovely atmosphere

The best sushi in the city,and the steak also to die for,u have to check it out yourself to see how good it is..the quality and the freshness of the fish is really the best I ever had,also the cocktails selection is so different than any other restaurant, if u like sake this is definitely the place to come

Most amazing sushi place ever - people are so nice and welcoming. The omakase menu is sooooo good . Been there 3 times so far and always amazed

Finding top-notch sushi in Philadelphia is still a challenge. (We've eaten our way through New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Paris.) Through the foodie grapevine, I heard good things about Umami Steak and Sushi Bar, a fairly new establishment. A birthday is always a good excuse for a splurge, since good sushi is always expensive. At Umami, we were rewarded with chirashi of superbly cut, impeccably fresh fish on a bed of sushi rice. Scallops and sweet shrimp---"botan ebi"--sparked the assortment of bluefin tuna, salmon, yellowtail and sea bream, accompanied by subtly pickled ginger, and, of course, real wasabi. Arriving around 2:30 p.m., we found ourselves the only customers in the place and were welcomed warmly and seated immediately. The ambiance of the basement location was reassuring---lighting from fish-shaped bamboo fixtures softened the exposed brick walls, mellow jazz saxophone music floated in the hall. Our starter of miso soup arrived quickly, served in textured, black stoneware bowls; hot green tea was kept warm by cast iron teapots. Our chirashi was served in deep white bowls; the menu stated that we were getting 15 pieces, but it seemed more generous than that---we savored each slice with barely space left for the matcha mochi ice cream--on the house---to celebrate my husband's birthday. If I were to nitpick, I could mention that I would have liked the sushi rice to be more assertively vinegared, and the short grains to be more on the soft side of al dente. Our waitstaff Alex was pleasantly attentive and happy to note that our standards for good sushi were met by the house. We will be back---as often as out pocketbook allows.