Umami Japanese

The timing was right! Thursday early evening around 515pm! We opted for nicely shaded outdoor seating. The staff totally masked up. The tables were spaced out so other parties weren't up in each others' business. I think it'd been a year or so since my last visit. Brought my "someone special," this time. She especially dug the lemon roll. I dug...ALL OF IT.

Julie Hong

My family and I love UMAMI and we’ve been coming here for years. Best sushi restaurant in town, hands down! Everything is soo fresh, perfectly seasoned, and beautifully plated. The staff were so friendly and attentive. Easily a 10/10 experience for me and my family!! Can’t wait to go back! 🍣✨

Wandering in Paradise

Delicious Japanese cuisine at Umami Japanese Restaurant in San Marcos! Was not expecting the sushi to be so good, but it really was top class. The honeymoon uni and oyster shooter was an incredible flavor that I highly recommend. We also really enjoyed the toro roll, baked crawfish roll, mini sushi cone, sushi plate A set, and gyoza. Cool ambiance and nice dog friendly patio. Very friendly and accommodating service. Recommend!

Volodymyr Korsun

Delicious sushi and sashimi! All fish was served fresh and presented beautifully 😀 pork bao buns were amazing, and the bento box had lots of tasty food samples including gyoza, miso soup, spring salad, and Philadelphia roll. They also have Asahi and Sapporo on tap which makes everything even better :) portions were pretty generous for Japanese restaurant, so lots of delicious leftovers.

Lauren B

I usually have a few rolls that I normally get. However, when I came here I could tell from all their different rolls that I would try something new. I got the Lemon Roll, the server let me know that the Spicy Lemon Roll was more popular but I didn't want to test out the spice. I only tried one roll this time, but it was really good. Can't wait to try more of their specialty rolls. Arrived here around 650/7pm and it was pretty packed with a line waiting to be seated, although it was July 3rd so they may have been understaffed. Overall great experience and friendly staff. Looking forward to getting a few more their menu items.

Amy Loeber

I've been to Umami a couple of times now and the food has always been fresh and delicious. The sushi is great, as are the bento boxes and the tempura! The atmosphere itself is very nice and laid back, and is overall a good spot to grab a bite with friends and hang out. I love their bao buns, and always ordered the mixed tempura. I would definitely recommend this place for sushi, as their rolls are plated absolutely beautifully and are always delicious!

Lawrence

We had a good server experience and was even more pleased with the presentation and taste of the food. The miso soup was hot, although the steamed rice was slightly hard, I didn't like that, but it was still good. The main dishes like the sushi muffin, pork belly bao, 18 pcs B set Sashimi plate, the takoyaki, Alaska Roll, and green tea mochi all met, and in some ways, exceeded expectations with taste and presentation. The atmosphere was nice, not too loud, not too quiet, and they have a nice tv display of Japanese scenery. Also we liked how they cut up the mochi ice cream, it was easy to share between two people. Thanks for a great first time experience Umami!

Jay Schimke

This place is awesome. Didn’t expect great sushi from a campus restaurant but due to the ratings we stopped in. Everything was delicious. Their rolls that have krab have a slight sweet taste that we all loved, really sets it apart from other restaurants. The Dynamite was also different from what we are used to, instead of having a thick sauce on top that is broiled until browned, they fry their roll and put their spicy Mayo on it and then put fried shrimp and scallops on top, beautiful! Everything we have was great.

Jessie Park

I always had an amazing dining experience here. The sushi was incredibly fresh and full of flavor, and the presentation was absolutely beautiful. You can really tell that a lot of care goes into every dish. This is a place I visit regularly—about once a month whenever I’m craving sushi—and it never disappoints. The sushi chefs are always so kind and welcoming, which makes me feel comfortable every time I come in. The staff are friendly and attentive, the restaurant is bright and clean, and the overall atmosphere is warm and inviting. Everything—from the food to the service and the ambiance—is excellent. I truly enjoy dining here and will definitely continue coming back. Highly recommended!

Kikue Fiora

Such a cute sushi spot in San Marcos! This was my first time coming here and we (my girlfriends and I) got a fresh roll with lemon, a salmon and tuna roll with ponzu, and hamachi slices with truffle ponzu, which was so fresh and clean on the palate! The atmosphere was bright and fun, and the service was quick. The waitress recommended the best tasting sake which wasn’t too sweet or bitter. There isn’t much parking on the street so we had to park in a parking garage down the street which is free for 2 hours. The staff were happy to validate our parking. Overall really cute spot to have a sushi night out with the girls or go on a nice date!

Alan Bautista

The timing was right! Thursday early evening around 515pm! We opted for nicely shaded outdoor seating. The staff totally masked up. The tables were spaced out so other parties weren't up in each others' business. I think it'd been a year or so since my last visit. Brought my "someone special," this time. She especially dug the lemon roll. I dug...ALL OF IT.

Linda Wang

I ordered take out through DoorDash and decided to get a new place. Oh boy am I happy about this choice! The rolls were amazing, the fish from this place just tastes different, so fresh and flavorful, melts in your mouth. Poki Poki salad is 12.95, this place offers poke salad for $13, but the quality is 2x better. The lemon roll - out of the world fresh. I’m definitely visiting this place in person. Even my 5-year-old son gave his sushi a thumbs up!

The best sushi joint I've ever been to. Great selections and variety. Good service and vibrant location. Been here three times when visiting family. If you like sushi this is a can't miss selection. If you're going on a Friday or Saturday evening I recommend reservations

We met some friends here for lunch they have many options on the menu for every type of need. I chose a Bento Box and it was delicious I brought half of it home because the portions are more than sufficient. They have options for the Bento Box such as Sushi a skewer or maybe vegetables. There is garage parking that maybe many do not know about. It is in the college area of Cal State San Marcos. It was a beautiful December day so we sat outside. It was not noisy or cold.

Jeff Weber & Aurora Ruiz

We met some friends here for lunch they have many options on the menu for every type of need. I chose a Bento Box and it was delicious I brought half of it home because the portions are more than sufficient. They have options for the Bento Box such as Sushi a skewer or maybe vegetables. There is garage parking that maybe many do not know about. It is in the college area of Cal State San Marcos. It was a beautiful December day so we sat outside. It was not noisy or cold.

Located in a growing urban area near California State, San Marcos, checked it out for lunch and it's definately quite worth doing so. 👍 Great menu, some really interesting options as well as traditional items. 👍 Fair/Market prices. 👍 Great service. 👍 Great indoor and outdoor dining options.

My friend introduced me to this nice sushi restaurant next to CSU San Marcos campus. There's a lot of construction in the area right now and we parked in the large parking structure a block away. The restaurant was pretty empty while we were there for lunch on a weekday. We all chose to order their bento lunch specials. They were about $17-$19 depending on the main dish. We were all pretty happy with our orders. Service was good. We ordered hot teas since it was a cold day and our tea cups were kept full throughout our lunch. We appreciated it!

Sushi is great, by far the best sushi in San Marcos. Menu selection is phenomenal and the appetizers are yummy. The only downside is the service is so terribly slow. Only one server was working and there was so many people outside just standing around waiting for a table but they called someone from the waitlist like every 30 minutes. It’s located in a new neighborhood made for the nearby university, lots of young people and really nice setting and vibe around the surrounding shops/restaurants.

We came here for lunch on a Friday. Service was a little slow but otherwise we had no issues. The restaurant menu is a mix of Japanese and Korean foods. We ordered the miso ramen bowl, the chicken karaage bao, the takoyaki and one of the rolls (either ninja or red dragon, I can't remember!). The food was great! The quantities were big. The bao was falling apart a little bit, which I don't like, but the karaage was delicious. The ramen was definitely a good miso ramen but lots of veggies and meat. We ended up taking about half of that home. The roll was good. The takoyaki was decent but I've had better ones. We wanted to finish lunch within an hour and it took us approximately that long to do it. I would recommend coming here if you're looking for decent food and want a little bit of everything (sushi/rolls/ramen/apps, etc).

Erin Kelley

Located in a growing urban area near California State, San Marcos, checked it out for lunch and it's definately quite worth doing so. 👍 Great menu, some really interesting options as well as traditional items. 👍 Fair/Market prices. 👍 Great service. 👍 Great indoor and outdoor dining options.

Sharon B

My friend introduced me to this nice sushi restaurant next to CSU San Marcos campus. There's a lot of construction in the area right now and we parked in the large parking structure a block away. The restaurant was pretty empty while we were there for lunch on a weekday. We all chose to order their bento lunch specials. They were about $17-$19 depending on the main dish. We were all pretty happy with our orders. Service was good. We ordered hot teas since it was a cold day and our tea cups were kept full throughout our lunch. We appreciated it!

Tobin Heincy

Sushi is great, by far the best sushi in San Marcos. Menu selection is phenomenal and the appetizers are yummy. The only downside is the service is so terribly slow. Only one server was working and there was so many people outside just standing around waiting for a table but they called someone from the waitlist like every 30 minutes. It’s located in a new neighborhood made for the nearby university, lots of young people and really nice setting and vibe around the surrounding shops/restaurants.

Pranjali Sharma

We came here for lunch on a Friday. Service was a little slow but otherwise we had no issues. The restaurant menu is a mix of Japanese and Korean foods. We ordered the miso ramen bowl, the chicken karaage bao, the takoyaki and one of the rolls (either ninja or red dragon, I can't remember!). The food was great! The quantities were big. The bao was falling apart a little bit, which I don't like, but the karaage was delicious. The ramen was definitely a good miso ramen but lots of veggies and meat. We ended up taking about half of that home. The roll was good. The takoyaki was decent but I've had better ones. We wanted to finish lunch within an hour and it took us approximately that long to do it. I would recommend coming here if you're looking for decent food and want a little bit of everything (sushi/rolls/ramen/apps, etc).

We stopped in for lunch. It was past the normal lunch hour so it wasn't busy. Staff - constantly asked us if we were ready to order which made me feel rushed despite the almost empty restaurant. Tried the signature dishes and they were okay. Would not recommend the sushi muffin. I didn't care for the flavors. The sushi we ordered tasted okay and not super fresh. The bao bun was soggy so it just fell apart and was messy. The gyoza was the only thing I enjoyed. Good flavor and sauce. Parking is limited.

Helene K

We stopped in for lunch. It was past the normal lunch hour so it wasn't busy. Staff - constantly asked us if we were ready to order which made me feel rushed despite the almost empty restaurant. Tried the signature dishes and they were okay. Would not recommend the sushi muffin. I didn't care for the flavors. The sushi we ordered tasted okay and not super fresh. The bao bun was soggy so it just fell apart and was messy. The gyoza was the only thing I enjoyed. Good flavor and sauce. Parking is limited.

For an establishment that serves raw food to have a B health score is a little scary. ☺️ We ultimately spent $40 for 6 hand rolls (2 salmon, 2 yellowtail, and 2 tuna) which almost comes out to $7/roll and I have to say the experience was a little underwhelming Food is okay! Although I have to admit I expected actual pieces of fish, not mashed up yellowtail and cubed tuna. This gives me the impression they’re using leftover ingredients. To be specific, the cubed tuna was served in both lunch special and full price a la carte hand rolls, but to their credit, one of the tuna hand rolls had sliced fish, and the salmon was also sliced. What makes me question the service is that I was also told that I can’t order their lunch special if I’m allergic to avocados, because they will “not allow substitutions.” I pay the higher a la carte pricing of $8/hand roll with no avocados, only to find the lunch special rolls had no avocados in it. When I bring this up, the server and the chef discuss amongst themselves and the chef says there is no avocado in the hand rolls… so this is when I change my order to two lunch specials rather than paying a la carte for some of the hand rolls. As I leave with my takeout order, I noticed that their health score dropped down from a B to an A, (their Google photos show an A score, but the window sign currently is a B), so now I’m just sitting here wondering, if I want to even eat this? Maybe you’ll have a good time, but I personally will not return in the future and recommend all my family and friends to look elsewhere for sushi and Japanese cuisine. (Picture shows my two yellowtail hand rolls) For me, how you do the small things is how you do everything and I’m sorry Umami, this was a miss. I hope your future customers have a better experience than I did! 🙏🏻

Alex Oh

For an establishment that serves raw food to have a B health score is a little scary. ☺️ We ultimately spent $40 for 6 hand rolls (2 salmon, 2 yellowtail, and 2 tuna) which almost comes out to $7/roll and I have to say the experience was a little underwhelming Food is okay! Although I have to admit I expected actual pieces of fish, not mashed up yellowtail and cubed tuna. This gives me the impression they’re using leftover ingredients. To be specific, the cubed tuna was served in both lunch special and full price a la carte hand rolls, but to their credit, one of the tuna hand rolls had sliced fish, and the salmon was also sliced. What makes me question the service is that I was also told that I can’t order their lunch special if I’m allergic to avocados, because they will “not allow substitutions.” I pay the higher a la carte pricing of $8/hand roll with no avocados, only to find the lunch special rolls had no avocados in it. When I bring this up, the server and the chef discuss amongst themselves and the chef says there is no avocado in the hand rolls… so this is when I change my order to two lunch specials rather than paying a la carte for some of the hand rolls. As I leave with my takeout order, I noticed that their health score dropped down from a B to an A, (their Google photos show an A score, but the window sign currently is a B), so now I’m just sitting here wondering, if I want to even eat this? Maybe you’ll have a good time, but I personally will not return in the future and recommend all my family and friends to look elsewhere for sushi and Japanese cuisine. (Picture shows my two yellowtail hand rolls) For me, how you do the small things is how you do everything and I’m sorry Umami, this was a miss. I hope your future customers have a better experience than I did! 🙏🏻

Nick M

I ordered the Toro Roll expecting what was advertised: clean slices of toro draped over the roll, as shown in the photos. This isn’t a matter of taste; it’s misrepresentation. If you’re going to charge $24 for a toro roll, it should contain actual toro, served properly, not disguised under toppings and a blowtorch. At this price point, you’re not just serving food—you’re selling trust. And that trust is broken. I’ve had toro many times. This wasn’t it. Please fix the photo, rename the item, or deliver what you’re advertising. Otherwise, you’re just banking on customers not knowing the difference.

I was extremely disappointed with my experience at this restaurant. My group was seated, but no one came to take our order for a long time. We watched several tables who arrived after us get served right away and receive their food before we were even acknowledged. What made the situation even more uncomfortable was that every table receiving quick service happened to be white, while we were the only Mexican customers in the room. I can’t say what the reason was, but the difference in how we were treated compared to other guests was hard to ignore. Overall, we felt overlooked and unwelcome, and I would not recommend this restaurant based on our experience.

tania lopez

I was extremely disappointed with my experience at this restaurant. My group was seated, but no one came to take our order for a long time. We watched several tables who arrived after us get served right away and receive their food before we were even acknowledged. What made the situation even more uncomfortable was that every table receiving quick service happened to be white, while we were the only Mexican customers in the room. I can’t say what the reason was, but the difference in how we were treated compared to other guests was hard to ignore. Overall, we felt overlooked and unwelcome, and I would not recommend this restaurant based on our experience.