Umino Modern Sushi
January 2025
It is well know that first you eat with your eyes. This could not be more true than at Umino Modern Sushi restaurant, But once you taste the gorgeous looking food, the flavors will far surpass the look.
The story starts with Sushi Tuesday. Ariel, owner of Paseo Rooftop restaurant (without a teudat kashrut) on the second floor of the building, decided to stir things up at his restaurant with off-menu sushi on Tuesdays. Sushi Tuesday became so popular that bother Gil and his partner Kobi opened Umino Modern Sushi restaurant, on the ground floor of the building. Umino has a separate kitchen with a teudat kashrut.
Umino is an Asian restaurant combining Japanese fusion cuisine with excellent cocktails and a beach vibe. This is a combination that I could get used to. "Modern" at Umino starts with the menu that is delivered to your phone when you scan the disk on the table. Magic. The digital menu is available in Hebrew and in English with many pictures that may help you choose, but do not do justice to the dishes.
| There's an artist in the kitchen |
The menu offers a great variety of sushi and several other Asian dishes. There are raw, cured and cooked fish dishes, generous salads and wonderful combinations. Gil points to the Bangkok as the signature salad. Bangkok is a mix of vegetables, beans, peanuts and crispy sea bass topped with colorful red beet chips that look shredded, and a Thai dressing. We chose a gorgeous and plentiful Poke bowl with fresh cubed salmon and beautifully freshly cut vegetables. This dish was not an individual portion but was sized for a table of diners.
 We were very enthusiastic about the platter of tempura salmon fish fingers. These were beautifully presented on a bed of lettuce and were served with a sweet sauce. The outer coating of the fish fingers was crispy while the salmon was perfectly cooked on the inside. We were licking our own fingers while Gil protested that the fish fingers were nothing special. Special to me, for sure.
The menu offers several stir-fried dishes. These are all basically vegetarian and meat can be added.
Gil and Kobi are forever experimenting with new ideas so on every visit to the restaurant you are bound to find new menu items, While we were at the restaurant they were tasting a noodle dish with chopped peanuts. Very Asian indeed.
The highlight of the menu is the sushi. Umino sushi is the way sushi should be.
The sushi rolls are big round slices that are a wonder to behold. These are the kind of slices that retain their shape when you dip them into soy or teriyaki sauce. I generally spread a healthy glob of wasabi on my sushi, but these pieces were so good I didn't want to mask their flavor. We tasted both the fish sushi and the vegetarian sushi. I don't know where they got those ideas for the fillings, but they were wonderful. The Sashimi tuna, Gil says, is the signature sushi. But every piece that we tasted was so outstanding I can't imagine that any one of these is the specialty dish.
I don't know when sushi became the go-to take away food. But when that happened, it did a great injustice to quality sushi like Umino. Though the restaurant offers take away, you would miss so much of the quality of this restaurant if you did not actually dine at the restaurant. So forget take away sushi stuffed into a plastic box. Reserve a place and show up.
We aren't going anywhere without tasting a cocktail. Cocktails are in two groups: classic and Umino cocktails. After some experience with the Umino food, we would not miss the Umino choices. You choose, we told the bar man. This is dangerous but effective. The Nikko cocktail suggested was made with white tequila, Cointreau liquor, juice of a blood orange, and spring flower syrup. This was a beautiful cocktail wtith a dark orange base with a frothy white topping. Yes! After a meal like this we can use a siesta, another drink made with spicy white rum, pineapple and mint. For another time.
Umino will cater your party either in the restaurant or at your venue. Arrangements can be made to hold your party on the rooftop . Speak to either Gil or Kobi and give him our regards.
 From the Menu
Bangkok salad NIS 64
gyoza (steamed) NIS 49
salmon tempura fingers NIS 62
salmon sashimi NIS 68
I/O vegetarian NIS 41
I/O salmon NIS 46
Fish & chips NIS 72
Nikko Cocktail NIS 58
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