Having moved to Edinburgh from living in Vancouver, I dearly miss good quality and fresh sushi at an affordable price. I often crave fresh seafood in the summertime, so I was delighted to go along to try Umi Japanese Cuisine’s newest location, says Megan Amato.
Tucked beside scaffolding on Shandwick place is Umi’s newest location, a quiet, gentle haven away from the hustle and bustle of the busy intersection. Light-coloured woods, softly lit Shoji panels and touches of nature ease you into the space along with the wall of sake, koshu and other Japanese wines.
The seating space is cosy and wooden booths offer the illusion of privacy along with a minimalist eating space that’s comfortable without too much external stimulation.
They leave that to the food.
Despite admiring the wall of drink, we were there for lunchtime so both my guest and I decided on toasty genmaicha tea rather than an alcoholic drink.
Umi’s menu is quite extensive and as an undecisive eater who likes to eat everything and anything it took me a little while to decide on what I wanted. Both my guest and I decided on the Bo Tan Set (£33 pp) with six dishes – perfect for little ol’ indecisive me who wants to try everything.
While we waiting for our food, we started with the Sweet Corn Sichimi (£6.90) coated in a spicy miso sauce. These had a great balance between spicy and sweet and were extremely satisfying if a little inconvenient to eat at the centre. I wish they had cut them in half.
Not long after our sets were brought out and our eyes nearly popped out of our heads like cartoons at the impressive spread in front of us.
Every dish looked fresh, colourful and thoughtfully prepared. The set itself came with miso soup, one ebi ‘lollipop’, Iberico shogoyaki, salmon nanbanzuke, three pieces of nigiri, three pieces of umi futomaki and three pieces of mixes sashimi.
Even the miso soup which I am not usually that enamoured with had good dimension with a pickled or sour note that enhanced the saltiness of the broth.
The ebi lollipop was perfection. Simple and yet perhaps my favourite dish of the afternoon. The tempura batter was perfectly crispy with just the right thickness and light flavour so not to overpower the gorgeously juicy prawn inside.
I would go back just for these and am tempted to order them often via takeaway apps.
What I was most excited for and which didn’t disappoint were the juicy and fresh cuts of sashimi. What looked like a mix of salmon, toro and seabass or halibut was carefully displayed on a bed of ice and cucumber, keeping the fish cool and fresh for our hungry mouths.
Each generously cut piece tasted just as it should; soft and tender with the sweetness of the sea. The nigiri and futomaki were both just as good, providing a carb for a little textural difference with the fresh fish.
The Iberico Shagayaki was beautifully tender and seasoned well. The soft poached egg added creaminess to the dish with the ginger breaking up the flavour so it wasn’t overbearingly rich.
Not pictured was the salmon nanbanzuke which was seasoned and marinated well with the perfect balance of savoury and sweet.
Our overall experience at Umi was positive with thoughtful waitstaff, a comfortable and elegant atmosphere and delicious and fresh sushi and seafood. I’ve heard from my guest since we visited and she has since been back with her husband to enjoy all Umi has to offer.
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