Worth the drive from Ft Worth for lunch. Pleasant atmosphere from the start to finish. Food was…read moregood, very extensive selection, even had beef and chicken for the non-seafood people. Mgr Jason and staff were very friendly and welcoming. Sonny was our waiter, very nice, polite and helpful. Can't wait for the next one opening in Arlington. If they don't hurry, may take another drive down to Round Rock.

We chose UMI because the advertised seafood buffet and hot pot looked fantastic. Unfortunately, the…read moreexperience was extremely disappointing, especially at $40 per person. The hot pot was particularly unpleasant. It was served in a small pot heated by a tin of burning fuel underneath. The fuel gave off a strong, offensive odor throughout the meal, making it difficult to enjoy the food. We tried two separate pots, one with mushroom broth and another with spicy broth, and experienced the same odor with both. Neither broth was particularly good, and there was no basic broth option available. The ingredient selection was heavy on various fish balls, and the beef was almost entirely fat. The seafood buffet wasn't much better. The crab legs were extremely small, served cold and had rubbery shells that were very difficult to crack. The salt and pepper shrimp were a decent size but had not been deveined. I tried a prepared mussel that had such an unpleasant fishy taste and rubbery texture that I nearly gagged. The remaining buffet selections were largely underwhelming, and some items, including the shrimp tempura, were not replenished during our visit. The dining room was also uncomfortably hot. Decorative umbrellas hanging upside down from the ceiling appeared to obstruct the air conditioning, making the experience even less enjoyable. To be fair, the crab Rangoon was good, as was a buttered shrimp and scallop dish, although the scallops were practically nonexistent. Our waiter was very attentive and provided excellent service. Unfortunately, those positives couldn't overcome the overall experience. We kept trying different dishes, hoping to find something enjoyable and justify the cost. We left full, but certainly not satisfied. At over $80 before tax and tip for two people, this was an exceptionally poor value. We would not return and cannot recommend it.

Well, it's time for a Soto update. This makes number three if you are keeping score. Soto is a…read moreperfect place for you to celebrate a special occasion, date night, or let's go have some 5-star sushi. Soto consistently delivers beyond fresh sushi and straight from Japan specialties. Want to mix some meat with your sushi? Then go for their imported Wagyu beef. It will melt in your mouth. The prices are certainly not on the "all you can eat" sushi restaurant scale, but you are paying premium for premium. On this visit, we arrived during their happy hour. Do check out their HH menu; it is more than generous. I'm not going to bore you with our selections, but the sushi is so tender and fresh that you are insulting the chef and the fish by adding soy sauce and wasabi! One highlight was the Spicy Tuna Katsu Maki; this entrée is wrapped in a seaweed cone with asparagus, avocado, wasabi mayo, and eel sauce. Another was Uni from their imported from Japan menu. My oh my, it was so fresh and creamy! If you do not want to break the bank, their HH and lunch specials will do you right. Do make reservations if you wish to sit at the sushi bar. Speaking of bars, they have a full bar and their martinis are perfectly made. You can expect 5-star service at this 5-star restaurant. Who would have thunk that one of the best sushi restaurants (IMHO) in Austin would be in the CP and located in a strip mall next to the Dollar Tree store!

I got to try the omakase here and boy was it delicious! I've never had omakase before and forgive…read moreme for my notes are not the most detailed because I was too busy eating. We picked the regular Omakase which was $160 per person and it came with 18 bites. We were given a few extra because we were celebrating early. Oyster and Japanese small mountain peach wakamoma Flounder miso sauce plum purée Fire salmon Lobster tempura Yellowtail Hamachi Tuna with wasabi purée and fried taro caramel Salmon with strawberry, truffle, plum purée and tempura cream Sea green and eye snapper Tuna flight (tuna belly tuna fat tuna cheek Redstrip jack Kambachi amberjack Fujisan white salmon Japanese scallop Fatty tuna with house made potato chip truffle and cilantro Wagyu you grill yourself Amberjack with Fuji apple and foam Yuzu sorbet ball with Thai basil Matcha tiramisu for dessert - This was soooo good. Definitely get it even if it doesn't come with the omakase. I really really enjoyed it.

I want to come here every time for sushi! The fish was so fresh and the combinations were…read moredelicious. I tried a roll that had some bbq sauce on it and it's the best roll I've ever tried! We also tried the chefs choice nigiri and it was amazing! This is truly a different experience from AYCE and I liked this so much more. The service was also great and quick. She was very kind as well. The ambiance was peaceful and lots of young couples, friends and families were there. The volume was low so you could talk to your table. I liked it.

The quick summary for this place is it's ok, maybe we got the B staff tonight. Lets start with the…read moreAmbiance and the metal rock music or should I say a really distasteful mix of music, one minute your normal elevator blend and the next hard core metal... Add in a louder than normal volume and I almost got up to leave, maybe some of us aren't deaf, no insult to the deaf. Next the food, not what I expected, the Miso soup was 7 out of 10, but the bento itself Meh, and I order the yum yum fried rice, again not what I expected that was more a sushi dish or better off as one and not as fried rice. The Cali roll, meh and the eel, I really said over rice, not on a plate. We also had to ask for wasabi, I mean "AS IF" my copart had a bento with fish and a cali roll and still zero wasabi, we had to ask for it, I mean even HEB give you some. Somehow how dinner came to 84.xx I was thinking wow, maybe if the tummy has happy, but I think next time I spend less and go to Honey Pig BBQ for some K food instead. Move along and if you do visit this place, bring headsets or ear plugs, I even took out my iphone and the d meter was at 97 to 100 for the metal songs ... "Yes, 97 decibels (dB) is very loud and can damage your hearing after just 30 minutes of exposure"

Their Oishii (black garlic oil) ramen is amazing. The karaage in their rice bowl tastes…read moreAmericanized because it is sweet. Their karaage appetizer is served with ranch/sour cream. Their bubble tea/boba is okay. I loved the vibe with the Japanese decor and music. Their service is good - even though it was busy, our server was very friendly.

Second time's a charm. Much better experience. The kaarage was so good that we ordered two…read moreservings. Ramen was spectacular. I love the decor. Service was excellent.