One of the largest sushi and seafood buffets I've seen. Good variety of sushi, grilled fish, shellfish, and more. The quality is commensurate to the quantity and price. One of the details I liked is the milk teas and hot pots that were all included, which is not the case elsewhere. I would return.

I was familiar with the Umi brand from one of their New York locations. The new Rockville location is consistent with my other experiences - quality food and Asian drinks galore! We came here for lunch on a Friday - $25.99 for weekday lunch is a deal! (Note: This is before tax and tip.) The restaurant is in a shopping center, so there's free parking and additional spots by the Aldi/Michaels/Bed Bath & Beyond. The restaurant opens at 11am. We arrived at 12:45pm and were able to get the second seating. The space is nice and bright; it has that new restaurant feel to it. They have a kiosk by the door to get on the waitlist. You'll enter your phone number and party size, and they'll text you your spot in line. There's extra chairs and bench seats by the door to wait inside. We were seated around 1pm (approximately 15-minute wait). They won't seat you until your whole party is present. Once we were seated, they took our drink orders - drinks are included! But don't fill up on tea/soda - they have a fridge of bubble tea and other drinks to help yourself to which are part of the buffet! Though the drink fridge wasn't ever fully stocked while we were there (and perhaps the lunch selection is pared down to reflect the price), there was still a good selection on the shelf and each drink flavor was labeled. Umi's major offerings are in their name - sushi, hotpot, and seafood - but they also have a ramen and hibachi station. If you want hotpot, you need to give your broth order to the server and they will bring the pot to your table. Hotpot meats and veggies are available at the buffet in trays. They also have a DIY sauce station. My first stop was the sushi station. The staff did a good job of refilling everything. I never felt like I was waiting around for ages for food to be replaced (which puts Umi leaps and bounds above Sushi On in Fairfax). While most of the hot foods and desserts were labeled, the sushi station didn't have any labels on the rolls. Overall, the sushi was fresh and I was pleased with the quality. They also have the sushi accoutrements at the ready (soy sauce, wasabi, ginger). Seafood selection when we went included snow crab legs, clams, and sea snails. They also had crawfish, shrimp-scallop-octopus salad, and hot items like steamed crab, shrimp, salmon, and scallops. While I was eating at the table, a server came by and gave me a seafood cracker to help open the crab legs, which was much appreciated (I didn't even have to ask!). They had standard Asian buffet selection - lo mein, fried rice, white rice, soups, dim sum, crab rangoons, multiple chicken dishes such as General Tso's chicken, etc. There were other specialties like spare ribs and pork belly (a standout). There's not a whole lot of veggie selection, but who comes to a buffet primarily for the veggies? I got a bowl of tonkotsu ramen from the ramen station, and I have to say, this was as good of a bowl as I've gotten from a ramen shop. The nitamago (ramen egg) was perfectly cooked. With the bowl of ramen, sushi, and unlimited drinks, it's easy to get your money's worth. Once you've had your savory fill, bring on the desserts! They had a fridge section filled with chocolate pudding, banana pudding, jello, and Asian jelly. There's also a pastry section of cakes, cookies, and fruit, and a freezer full of ice cream cups and popsicles. There is something for everyone! My sweet tooth was satisfied. Kudos to the staff for constantly clearing plates. Each time I went to get a new plate, my old plate was always cleared by the time I got back to my seat. Umi did not disappoint for a buffet and I will definitely be back!

We went on a Saturday afternoon to try out this new buffet. It was a little confusing how it all works.....standard table ambience. Nothing fancy. 1) There is electronic check in at the door if they are busy. 2) Once seated you can order a drink or choose from the bubble tea selections in the beverage case. Non alcoholic drinks are free. 3) If you want hot pot, tell the server then, there are 4 broths to choose from. 1 pot for every 2 people. Sections: *Line of sushi & sashimi rolls with wasabi & sauces. *Side area for vegan and meat for hotpot. *Large selections of sauces on one section .*Back wall: Ramen made to order with 4 choices of broth. *Hot foods such as prime rib, stuffed scallop shell, various chicken dishes. *Dumpling section is small but the shumai was good! *Crab legs, snails, clams, oyster, calamari- some cold and there is a section that has warm. *Salad section with various salads. *desserts & ice cream bar by the boba teas. Overall, was different from Korean BBQ. I like both but think I prefer Korean so I can choose mixing together. Plus is getting fresh Ramen. A fun experience, cost $39. I would do it again !! Options in different area:

I had heard about Umi when they first opened this summer, but I didn't have a chance to check it out until today! There are so many great Asian restaurants on the Pike, so it can be easy to miss this one. I noticed there was an AYCE hot pot and KBBQ place right across the street from this restaurant, while also knowing Urban Hot Pot and a few other AYCE places were within a mile too. Umi definitely stands out for their large variety of options. They have a huge selection of seafood, both raw and cooked, a hot pot station, a habachi and ramen station, and a nice selection of traditional / popular Chinese dishes. A really nice aspect I appreciated was their beverage station! I was excited to treat myself to some of their boba flavors. I don't eat seafood, but my friends throughly enjoyed their large array of sushi options! The warm food was good but some dishes fell a little short. The hot pot is basic, but there are honestly so many options, I was content with my udon noodles and protein options. You definitely have to come here on an empty stomach. I saved myself for this meal and still didn't have room to try their ramen or hibachi.

Not gonna lie, this was a very good buffet! Haven't had one in a while. Went on a weekend and everything kept coming out quickly and fresh, leaving it hot and not stale. You also have your own personal hotpot if you ask for it, also unlimited. A huge variety than a normal buffet. But watch out for the manager(?) because he's going to know is you're yanking too many drinks like boba or canned drinks or the glass drink. Make sure you make a reservation or go early and put your name down to make sure your wait isn't long.

Great location for an AYCE seafood and hotpot experience. Also plenty of parking since it's next to a shopping center. It was a 5-star experience at first because of its new, despite the 1 hour wait. Since then, traffic has dropped sharply and there's no longer a wait line. The lunch deal of $25.99 is not to be missed, but it's not something I'd do every week. Still, one of the best seafood AYCE in the area (for the price); tho there's room for improvement, e.g., keeping hot food hot, and cold drinks cold.

I really think this place has a ton of variety and would definitely recommend to others. It is pretty pricey but there's so many choices, I think it's worth it. The service is not it. We've been here twice and both times, the servers were just not the nicest. But the good thing is you just really need them initially when you're picking your hotpot base and your drinks. The rest of the time, you're getting your own food! Sushi, hot pot, seafood, crab legs, stone crabs, blue crabs, hot foods, ramen, and other things! The place has pretty decor but it's so very busy that you don't really notice it unless you're really looking at the pretty flowers and umbrellas on the ceiling. Anyway, really liked our time here!