I've driven by this inconspicuous place so many times but after reading the reviews decided to give it a try. The prettiest presentation I've ever seen! Food was great. Must give it a try! And they have a drive-thru!

Came here after seeing a post in Facebook group I am in. So glad that we did. We came here at lunch time because of their great lunch special pricing. The restaurant itself was clean. Our server was very friendly and attentive. The sushi was phenomenal. I had high hopes based on what I had read and I can say my expectations were exceeded. I highly recommend the crispy bagel roll. Cannot wait to come back.

First time at Unami. Family of 4 and everyone had really good dinner items, even my vegetarian daughter. I had the Dragon and Philadelphia rolls. The presentation was very lovely. The staff was super friendly. We will certainly go back. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is my Dragon roll pieces kept falling open at the bottom, but this may have been a fluke since everyone else in our party didn't have theirs do that.

Every single thing we got at Umami was delicious, and we got a lot of items. Tempura jalapeños were amazing and not too spicy. Gyoza was great, and so were the 8 different sushi rolls we ordered. We split the tempura ice cream between 3 people, and it was great, too. It was a little too hot in the restaurant for my liking, but the food was so good I didn't even care.

The quality, the flavor, the variety, the music… everything amazing all together. Never judge the appearance of a place, just go inside and check, then you can do it. My opinion, the exterior was not look to welcoming but one e you get inside is a different story. Enjoy!!

My husband and I love Umami! We’ve been a couple of times now and it became a fast favorite. The staff is my favorite part (the are ALL so friendly, even the chefs greet and say goodbye with genuine smiles). We’ve had the same waitress twice as well and she is very sweet and attentive. Their sushi is also fantastic with a great selection. I love the roll that has mango slices in it, and my husband loves the Buffalo chicken roll. We could go many times though and always have something new. They also decorate the plates really nicely and it’s so fun to see what they choose each time. Seems like the employees are genuinely happy to be there based on the atmosphere. Highly recommend!

Regular visitor to Umami in Matthews and it is always wonderful. Tried a few new items tonight and one of the highlights was the Spicy Midori.

Wonderful food, wonderful service. Very attentive people and the most wonderful sushi I've ever had. The prices are in line with other sushi places and I enjoy the intimate atmosphere.

I don't always get to give 5 stars, but the presentation was just as good as the food. The sushi deluxe was amazing! All food was very fresh.

Took my wife for lunch. We were nicely greeted. The food is very good. Ordered the hibachi chicken, beef and shrimp. Waitresses were very attentive. Will be going back and highly recommend.

No more “all you can eat” offered on the menu. Some google reviews and online menus still show this as an option but it is no longer available. My rating does not reflect this. Otherwise the food is good and your average is around $9 a roll. Service could be a little better. This place is pretty cool though, it has a drive up window. Order ahead and pick up at the window.

THE BEST SUSHI EXPERIENCE EVER! THE FOOD IS DIVINE, THE GUYS ARE SO NICE! I LOVED HOW THEY WERE ON POINT WITH TIMING AND THE FACT THAT WE GOT TO WATCH THEM PREPARE A ROLL WHILE WE GOT OUR ORDER! HANDS DOWN THE BEST SUSHI JOINT IN NORTH CAROLINA!!! DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND GO GET YOUR SUSHI ON!!!!

Very good sushi! Very slow service but I’m not docking a star! Friendly staff. Rationally priced!

A Hidden Gem that I am behind on trying. My friend and I went and the food was sooooo gooood!!! Harty and full of flavor. The great thing about this place is they have a drive-thru.

Great little local spot for sushi and I am sure the hibachi would be equally delicious! The service was fantastic! The lady that served us was attentive and helpful. I would definitely go back next time I am in the area and craving sushi!

Shaping up to be my favorite local 🍣 joint. Friendly, fast and above average quality with an interesting selection of menu options. This week's favorite: the fried tofu roll. Yummy! Also, the spicy tuna pizza is awesome x3!

I’ve driven past this place for YEARS and never thought about going in. Someone recommended it recently, so we went to check it out today. The outside doesn’t do justice to the inside atmosphere. Don’t judge a book by its cover! The sushi was very good and the presentation so fun and happy. The plate decorations truly make it feel like a special meal. My son said “wow” when they laid the plate down. The server was just so on his toes. At one point I saw him run to get something for someone. He was really kind and I could tell he wanted to do a great job. He only came to refill drinks once, but it was only him in the entire restaurant. Overall it was a wonderful meal for us. The atmosphere and plate presentation are my favorite things about it. Next time I’ll probably get the lunch special because we eat with no thought to budget today!

A lot of «Why?» Why do you bring the end of the roll? Never put the end of the roll, it looks terrible! Why is the fish torn on half a roll? What happened to the guys who rolled up the roll? Don’t they see that they’re putting absolutely torn fish? Remove the scenery, there should never be NO edible decorations on the «Table/plate». By the way, I still don’t understand why they brought us all the rolls on a wooden island, it’s not hygienic, it absorbs germs like a sponge. The rolls were not bad, the prices are very high for such rolls. In the menu, you should always pay attention to the sharpness of the roll, even if pepper is drawn there! The menu is chaotic, many rolls do not have pepper nearby, but there are spicy products in the composition. I almost forgot, it’s very dirty here!

Best sushi restaurant in the Charlotte area! They have zero contact pickup if you order online and the food and staff are amazing! My husband and I love their sushi lunch special and also the all you can eat sushi special. The value is amazing and the service is great!

Only disappointment is that I can't give more than 5 stars. Food was amazing, and plenty of it for a great value. The service is out of the park. Staff is extremely friendly and helpful. Definitely will be back multiple times!

The place is small, lunch is served very quickly! I wouldn’t say that the food was completely fresh (the avocado in the sushi tasted bad) but the miso was great and my friend liked her sushi rolls.

Absolutely amazing!! The service was super fast and all the staff were incredibly friendly. Our server was helpful and the food quality was above average for sure. Some of the best sushi I've ever had for a great price!

Delicious sushi. We have never dined in but the plating is beautiful when we get takeout. They lay the sushi in such an elegant way that it still feels like you are dining in and having that special experience. They shape the wasabi into a beautiful leaf and arrange the rolls into a circular spread. The sushi is fantastic and fresh. We have eaten at many sushi restaurants across the globe and are pretty picky with sushi in particular. From the outside you would think it is some sort of fast food place but to your surprise you will be extremely delighted by the quality of their fantastic food. Much better than Osaka.

Great spot for sushi. Have had many great lunches here and now with Covid you can order ahead and use the pickup window.

Very good spot. The owners/employees are extremely kind and polite. The place is very clean. I had the hibachi and sushi and it was excellent! Amazing spot

What a phenomenal restaurant. A must go to to enjoy a delicious sushi 🍣 dish. The employees are fantastic! Whenever I come in town, I’ll be heading to this place first!

Umami is my favorite place to get sushi! So yummy they never disappoint. The best part is the most wonderful friendly staff, best sushi in matthews!!

Their sushi is wonderful but don't sleep on the rest of the menu, the hibachi and teriyaki are excellent as well 👌

Great sushi love this place and the people are so friendly.

The food is delicious. However, with a large group it is exceedingly slow. Also, every time I come the server brings less than my full order. I get it. It's an all you can eat place and it's awful that people waste food. But I ordered the food because I wanted it. Moreover, I know that it's intentional, because when I pointed out that three rolls were missing, the waitress asked if I wanted to start with two. I said no, I'd like all three. Two came. When I asked (again), I eventually got the last roll. The time before, they never brought my second order. When I inquired, they asked if I really wanted it. Why would I have ordered it if I didn't want it? Again, the food is delicious and the staff is very friendly. I'll be back. But it is frustrating...

Umami is soooo yummy and the staff are really nice people!

Love it! Best sushi in the area! Great customer service. Diligent mask wearing and sanitizing and they always give a pump of hand sanitizer at the drive thru!

Delicious, clean restaurant, excellent service. Salmon 🍣 was so fresh. 😘

A great place to get Sushi with the family. The people there are very kind.

Best sushi I've had!

Every time we go to Umami we are treated to delicious and fresh fish, friendly service and a lovely atmosphere. If you have a large group I highly recommend their "pick your rolls" party platters. It feeds a large group for about the same price as the all you can eat places around. If you're going solo, their sushi dinner options are perfect for making sure you leave satisfied!

They were able to accommodate our large group. Items came out a bit staggered but that was okay. Some items were better than others. Sushi was good. Ramen bowl was 2 out of 5. But bento box was good. 3.5 to 4 overall.

Very cool atmosphere and friendly staff. Soup and salad was just okay. Can’t say I was all that impressed with either the hibachi or sushi. It’s not bad but didn’t wow me either. The music is a nice touch and reminded me of the stuff they play at massage parlors. Didn’t really care to hear the same song for the entire hour we were there though.

I don't want to blow up my spot but this restaurant knows consistency which has become hard to find these days. If you order To-Go they have a convenient drive thru window that saves me a lot of time on my way home from a long day at work. David usually answers the phone and will remember your name at the drive thru window. He has excellent customer service & I look forward to my late nights at work bc I frequently grab this on the way home. The food here is fantastic and always piping hot!!!

I come here almost every week and every time I pick up my sushi they are always delicious and the customer service is great. They are always smiling:) It makes me really happy to see other’s smile. Definitely give this place a try if you have not already.

Sooooooo good!!! The presentation was also on point. Highly recommend the toasty roll, Himalayan roll and the super crunch. I literally had to save that in my notes because I want to come back and get the same rolls 😂 price is not bad too. Service was quick and they were really nice! Highly recommend this place to all sushi lovers.

Great entrées. Very wide variety. Fast friendly service. Got a table right away! Awesome presentation. We will be back often!!

The food is amazing and comes to the table in a good time. Loved the Bento Box because it has a variety of items from the menu and you get to try different things. The fried ice cream was delicious! Not to mention I had never seen it in that form of presentation. The only reason I gave it a 4 is because I've been there twice and they only seem to have 1 waiters that is not very attractive. Other than that I highly recommend it.

Overall medium value for money. $125 for 5 with no alcohol is kinda high for what we got. Service was not great, we had a hard time understanding our server, had to ask for trivial things and food did not come out together. Food was a mix bag too, the kids loved the buns and the tempura chicken. Fried rice dish was massive (easily enough for two). The sushi and sashimi combo looked great but did not taste so great - sorry.

Presentation was amazing! Being a sashimi connoisseur, I must say the fish tasted bland. Still, I would not rule this place out and give them another try. Might try their hibachi too!

Great little place! Both my husband and I really liked our rolls! Clean, friendly and not a long wait for rolls. Bummed they are closed on Mondays! Will definitely be back!

Absolutely amazing. Great japanese food, great service, and a very friendly and calming environment. A great place to go for good japanese food, and a great time.

Our server was good. The sushi was good. The shrimp fried rice had absolutely no flavor though. Putting on the sauce they provided helped, but it was still not good. Usually at other places fried rice dishes have a wonderful flavor & nothing more is needed. The tempura shrimp was bland. I had to salt it. The mushroom soup was nice.

The food was quick and good, however, one of the waiters were a bit annoying. She took off her mask while I wasn't wearing one and leaned in next to my ear. Would bother us almost every 3 minutes or loom over us. The experience was a little bit unpleasant.

Super friendly, clean place with amazing food. These spicy tuna rolls are huge and we totally got our money's worth tonight. We will be back. Great ingredients and quick service. Congrats on earning this review, yall!

Our favorite Sushi place!... I would give it 10 starts if I could..

Great service! Very friendly people

We waited 40 minutes for a table before we left, at least three (six feet apart) tables were available for 10 minutes. We sat there with another group and were completely ignored. Terrible service. Will never consider this restaurant again.

Love this place!

Jenny, you were so wonderful! Thank you for a great service.

Great food with great people! We go there all the time!

Umami is some bomb sushi. Matthews and golden roll are the best.

Amazing sushi incredible staff and an overall great experience order your next sushi experience from here

Food good..service so nice and server So friendly..I love it..

Food is wonderful and the staff is amazing!!

Best sushi restaurant in the Charlotte

Great food and friendly staff!

Loved it, definitely going back

Disappointed with that they got rid of ‘all you can eat’ sushi. It was the only reason why I drove over to Matthews from Indian Land.

This place seems to have an ego. Their food is way over priced. Takara in Monroe blows this place out of the water. Every Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday Takara has half priced sushi and it's better! I would recommend going there, it's a little further but you won't spend in gas the huge savings you'll get. I'm talking like $6.50-$10.00 for premium rolls.This is Matthews, NC not NYC. Get over yourselves.

We've eaten here twice and have gotten the Hibachi beef and broccoli both times. Very good. I like how they decorated the inside of the restaurant. They also serve sushi and have a nice seating area to enjoyit. I haven't tried it yet but I'm looking forward to trying it soon. The staff always greets me with smiles and are also very courteous. Would recommend!/edit: The service is still friendly but the quality of the food has gone down a lot. We've never ordered the sushi, always the hibachi steak and rice. The past few times that we have gone, we have not been happy with our meal.

Excellent service, tuna was lack luster though