Ume Restaurant

Imagine my surprise when what I thought was going to be a casual little Japanese dinner turned out to be a one hatter that I’d never noticed, right there on Bourke St!
It was still a casual dinner, light as well, but you do tend to pay extra attention to your food choices when there is an obvious potential for awesomeness, or even the Mother of all meals.
And the kingfish sashimi did not disappoint. A home made wasabi sauce and a purée of greens (seaweed maybe, with soy? wild guess…) on which laid a healthy portion of rich and fat sashimied kingfish, on a great piece of dark grey crockery!
My friend had a small bowl of rice and salmon, simply prepared but a little A-​bomb of flavour on the tastebuds.
For a very reasonable price, I will definitely go back in a hungry night to enjoy some more!
Itadakimasu!

Ume is great. It’s definitely not a regular meal, you’re paying $ 100++ per person.
The quality is excellent, we had the 9 course meal, which put a nice hole in our wallets. I’m sad to say I left feeling not entirely satiated? But then again, I eat alot.
it was definitely worth trying out but not too sure I’d be back for seconds …

Finally made it to Ume last night after 3 years of talking about it. My only regret is having left it this long.
Ordered the 9 course degustation and enjoyed every last bit of it. Beautiful, delicate food with all the balance and subtlety I love about Japanese food, but with a modern (and perfectly-​excecuted) twist. No exaggeration — the wagyu sukiyaki was the most delicious thing I’ve eaten in 6+ years of devouring Sydney.
Décor and service were excellent. Chef Kerby even threw in a special 10^th course as an anniversary gift.
Phenomenal dining experience. ⁵⁄₅.

The first (and last) time I went here was when it first opened a few years ago. They’ve changed strategies since then — they now offer a degustation menu. We got the 7 course meal. One way of describing the food would be «exquisite» — the food is prepared in such a way that it brings out the subtle flavors of the ingredients.
The desserts were amazing!
Service was good. They have a good range of sake, if you’re into it. Book early though, because it’s a relatively small restaurant and seats can go fast!

My new favourite as I’m currently infatuated with the food here. Fantastic service, great ambiance but above all, amazing food. It simply doesn’t get any better than this. I’ve come twice in the past 3 weeks. I’ve done both the 5 course and the 7 course degustation. Faultless. Such attention to detail and amazing execution. Everything comes out beautifully presented and tastes brilliant. Absolute stand-​out dishes: wagyu sukiyaki, the riverina braised lamb, and the roast vegetables (yes you heard right! I said roast veggies! You won’t believe it until you taste it). Looking forward to trying some of their a la carte dishes next.

Attended the special ‘Regions of Japan’ dinner banquet for good food month 2014. I have to admit I walked away severely underwhelmed… I wanted so badly to enjoy the meal and be blown away by the techniques and plating– being a SMH one hatted restaurant and all. What I experienced was a mediocre and mostly disappointing line up of dishes that left us wanting more both flavor wise and portion wise.
The dishes included:
–kingfish sashimi
–fried soy chicken wings
–oden soup (this was in fact salty soy broth with a myriad of ubiquitous fillings like an egg and radish)
— rice with cod roe (simple but super underwhelming flavor wise)
Then two desserts:
–sponge cake with ice cream
–pumpkin mochi (gelatinous and oily)
Nothing stood out and I felt as if we’d been jipped out of what should have been an amazing experience.
Although I didn’t get to try the much raved about normal menu, I don’t think I’m game enough to come back– or recommend it. Instead of show casing the best for this special event, I feel as it it was an excuse to charge 80 $ for «6 courses» in a marketing ploy during the good food month. Chef resting on his laurels for one night. Disappointed.

Excellent place for a special occasion. I had the set menu and I could not fault any of their dishes, all were equally outstanding and beautifully presented.

Excellent food! We had 7 course set menu. It was my husband’s birthday and the restaurant made up a desert plate with chocolate piped writing «Happy Birthday» on it. I booked online and in the notes said it was hubby’s b’day– so they did that without me even asking! It was a lovely and elegant surprise. Top service.

This is definitely one for the go-​to date spot list. It’s small and charming, the décor is subtle, the lighting romantic and waitstaff are discerning.
If you’re in a twosome or onesome — perfect. Ask to sit up at the bar.
Food: so so good. A good case to prove Japanese is so much more than sushi and bento. Definitely order the pork belly dumplings. Oh my! Even if you detest pork belly, like myself, get those dumplings. Trust me. Or you could ask the opinion of the young guy who sat next to me and took a trip to the heavens on a five course meal for one. ‘Cos with food this good, who needs a date?

Definitely have the salmon carpaccio, desserts (that change depending on the season), and their excellent range of sake and beer

I didn’t enjoy the food as much as I wanted to. A few people have added Ume to their favourites list but sadly I won’t be one of them.
We had the 6 course tasting menu with 2 added dishes from the a la carte menu. Overall, some of the plates were too ‘buttery’, ‘rich’ and ‘fat’ for my liking. There were no bonus dishes between courses that I had heard about – not even a soup. A mate told me to look out for the magical rice that comes out near the end. That didn’t happen either. But I theorised 3 possibilities why it was so:
1) We ordered 2 extra dishes and Ume probably thought that was enough food. Serving the little bonus dishes and rice would’ve put us into a deeper food coma.
2) I was at dinner, it may be possible that they only serve the bonus in-​between stuff at lunch only. Katsu Yachiyo (down Devonshire St.) does this with their menu. Miso is served first, then salad, tofu, this egg custard thing, then the main, and followed by a spoon of chocolate. And according to a friend, none of this bonus stuff is served at dinner either.
3) I asked my fellow diners if they were enjoying the wonderfully presented food. «Ehh, it’s alright». I contemplated the thought that maybe Ume had an off day, or the main chef wasn’t in the building. Maybe the chef was at a wedding or something.
The staff were welcome and friendly though. The food wasn’t bad, far from it! But it wasn’t great like everyone had severely overhyped either. The citrus edge in the seared salmon was a delight, the wasabi-​pea sauce served with the lamb is my new favourite sauce, and the Houjicha milk pudding and berries was a great way to end the session. But the rest of the uninspiring food adventure won’t be enough for me to make a return anytime soon. Pity though, because it was a One Chef Hat restaurant. Whatever that means.
This is the problem with stepping into a restaurant with expectations, especially when it’s for something special like a birthday feast too. But then again, I’m no foodie. I’m no connoisseur of the fine art of flavours. I’m easy satisfied by a chocolate thickshake and fillet-​o-​fish.

You could easily walk past Ume and dismiss it as another Asian hair salon — It just blends in like a Green Power Ranger behind a garbage bin. But once you sit down and order a few dishes from its succinct menu, the Green Ranger leaps out and slashes your tongue with amazing new tastes and textures not commonly associated with a cuisine deeply rooted in tradition. Spanking fresh scallops matched with soy butter dressing and poppin’ finger lime is rockin’, but the grilled wagyu topped with powdered wagyu fat and bottlebrush flowers (you read correctly) is as ridiculous as seeing Green Ranger at lunchtime.
If that sounds a little too out there, the chefs can do old school sashimi with the best of them. If you listen carefully, you can hear the chefs weep as you dismantle their visually stunning creations. Service is ever polite, attentive and giggly like a geisha, except there was a male waiter so he’s a MAN-​GEISHA. Hmmm sexy.
So for those tired of the Nobu-​esque fusion of sashimi tacos and ceviches, Ume finds and holds its own just like the Green Ranger when he was bad-​ass on TV.