We raved about how well sushi and New Year’s eve go together in our top five sushi restaurants in Springfield, so there was no choice but to visit the winner, Umi, for the festivities leading into 2010. With a terrible lack of insight, we walked into the popular sushi restaurant near the end of happy hour without reservations. The place was booked for the night, but we just beat the bar rush so we happily bellied up. Our bartender, James, promptly saved the day with a beer suggestion (Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew) after he informed us they had sold out of Xingu Black Beer. The Hitachino was incredible, but this review is about the restaurant.
Umi helped us ring in the New Year with this beautiful plate.
Umi’s décor blends a traditional feel with LED lighting and rows of high-def televisions to go with a large menu, but our eyes don’t even give it a glance. All we need to look at is the sheet of paper with funky names and room for tally marks. The Hard Rock roll is the one we crave. It’s why we choose Umi, but somehow in previous visits we had never looked at the Geisha Roll. It might have been the $15.95 price tag that deterred us, but I wish somebody would have shaken us before. Yes, it’s pricey, but holy hot damn!, what an incredible creation. There’s not a chance that I could reveal all of the ingredients or how it was made, but I can confirm shrimp tempura was involved and I believe it had seared tuna wrapped along the outside (if the tuna was raw, this roll probably wouldn’t work for me at all – the taste changes so drastically). We also got a simple Avocado roll to fill out the meal.
A very nice but equally rare, bonus at Umi is the complimentary Miso soup and house salad with each order. The cost for the restaurant to provide soup and salad is certainly low, but it’s a touch patrons remember. (I can recall the first time I confused a server by trying to order soup. It was quite exciting.) After a healthy grip of Ginger Brews and polishing off the massive presentation of sushi, we finish with some warm sake.
In all, we had three beers each, three enormous rows of rolls, soup, salad and sake for less than $50. Can you say “ideal dinner date?”
Visit their website for a full menu.
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