Umeshu - Helsinki

We had the tasting menu with wine pairing. Most of the dishes were very nicely cooked and stayed true to tradition, but they offered nothing new and were rather unimaginative. Sushi rice stood out with its terrible packed consistency, it resembled those sushi sets you can buy at a supermarket. Wouldn’t really call our drinks a ”wine pairing” as for several dishes we had the same wines and the waiter didn’t even tell us anything about what we are drinking. Other than that the service was nice and I liked the lively atmosphere of the restaurant.

Generally simple, tasty sushi. Rice is seasoned properly and ingredients are fresh. However, there’re so much more they could do to improve the quality, especially for such a high price. Our maki were not rolled tightly enough, they broke down into pieces as soon as we picked them up. The ratio between rice and protein was not well balanced. Indoor area could have better air conditioning.

Our friend recommended this place so finally we had time to go and test this out. First impression was good. Small outside terrace had people drinking wine and having delicious looking dishes. When we walked in place was quite small but still did not have claustrophobic feel to it. You could see immediately fresh ingredients and chef preparing sushi under your own eyes. That really got my hopes up for delicious evening. We got seated by very polite and kind waiter. Menu had small but carefully selected wines and japanese beers. Waiter gave professional sounding recommendations and we got our wines and starters quickly. Garlic chili edamames were insanely good! We took 1 bowl and it was truly enough for 2 person. Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler Riesling worked great with edamame and our sushi so would definitely recommend that. Waiters spoke great English and smiled trough service. It felt like they actually care about customers and their dining experience which was nice exception compared to.. well almost any other place. For main food we took couple different selection on sushi that we hand picked from the menu and the prices felt really cheap especially after you see the quality and freshness of ingredients. For dessert there is only couple choice and time that we went there other one of those desserts were already sold out. No matter i changed the dessert for japanese rum that i hadn't tasted before. There was also japanese whiskey if someone wants to taste that. Overall this is one of the best restaurants in Helsinki. Everything worked so well, quality, freshness, professional chefs and waiters, price compared to quality and location is quite easy to find also. Only small minus was that it was very hot day, so the back corner table was quite hot but that does not happend that often here in Finland so not truly a problem. ;

They serve the best sushi I have had in Finland. It's totally different than what you can get from a generic sushi restaurant.

Great sushi. The fish is fresh and I love the chicken yakitori. I'd love to go back.