IchiUmi

My parents love this place for some reason so we come here every time I’m in town. Even though they have a lot of variety, I just don’t think any of it is very high quality so I don’t end up eating very much. My husband got really bad food poisoning here once so I am wary. I actually felt brave enough to try an oyster here over the weekend and was happy that I didn’t get sick (I only had it because I watched the guy shucking them so they seemed relatively fresh). I also had the tonkotsu ramen (you have to order it) and the noodles were actually cooked al dente. Hot pot is also included which is great if you’re looking for a healthier alternative to all the fried foods they offer. Their dessert selection is also smaller now and not as good as it used to be. They stopped having an actual person working in the dessert area so no more crepes (at least not when I was there for lunch on a Saturday) and the ice cream is pre-​scooped and sitting in a freezer. Meh…

Good food real Korean style buffet and the food is very god even if half the time I don’t know what it is tastes great

Decent sushi buffet with shabushabu. A mix of sashimi, sushi, and cooked stuff. Fair price. We got in quite early so plenty of oyster. The quality is not bad for the price.

Food appeared to be fresh, the place was clean, they have hot pot, but not really explained how it works, sushi rolls were at a good variety.
Sashimi not as good variety. Overall pricey, service ok. Pay extra for drinks. Deserts were not great. Very loud when crowded.

Went there for early dinner around 5:30pm. All dishes are fresh! The oyster and clams are great. King crab legs was bit too salty for my taste. Great price, food was good. Never like any buffet, but I would say this is best Buffett I have been to.

Horrible customer service. Low quality of food (in terms of variety) and I highly doubt the food is fresh. Also, they said they would close at 9, I walked in at 8:00. My server informed me that they would close at 9 but they never specified that the kitchen would close at 8:00 and there wouldn’t be any food except for leftovers. Never coming again.

Good quality and freshness for the price. Lots of variety from raw to cooked foods.
Those haters down there were expecting 3 michellin star quality for $ 23.95 a head. What a joke.

PROS:
There’s a pretty wide variety of foods: salads, sushi, sashimi, cooked meats (teriyakis, tempuras, etc), soups, noodles (ramen, udon, etc), fruits, and desserts. Their selections for hot pot are also AYCE, and you can request for a hot pot broth to be prepared when the wait staff seats you. No one plate is hardly the same each round because they do everything pretty well.
CONS:
i feel like this place started out as a 5, and then something happened. It just seems like the quality of the food dips at least a little each time I come here. The sushi isn’t presented as nicely. The cooked meats are either thinner or more fatty. Even the fruit isn’t as fresh. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not horrible. I guess I’m just a little let down because it used to be freakin awesome.
Overall, IchiUmi is solid, but it just won’t be the best ~$ 30 that you’ll ever spend on sushi /​Japanese food /​buffet food. At the end of the day, it’s a buffet. Also, it’s there’s no other place like it in that area; so it’s not like there are better alternatives nearby.

This is all you can eat buffet, so you shouldn’t expect the highest quality fish or seafood. Their selection is wide and their food is good for a buffet. It is a plus you can do all you can eat hotpot with your sushi too.

The Ichiumi on 34^th street is mediocre, but this one is way worse and far below its standards. I personally don’t hold I high standard for food, but this place is horrible, here’s why:
This place is way understaffed, the first thing I saw when I came in was dirty tables that no one cleaned up until maybe an hour later, not very appetizing.
The plates at the buffet is always empty because they only full it up half way every time. Stingy.
Most of their fridges aren’t cold enough, and they put their sushi and sashimi on fake ice, so cold raw food are warm. Nasty.
Shellfish weren’t fresh, sea urchin was scooped out of a box from their warm fridge. Gross. But their snow crab legs were alright.
Hot food: lobsters taste rotten, clams weren’t clean, I’d say it’s a safer bet to eat land animals like beef and chicken. Can’t believe they charge you $ 30+ dollars per person for this. Definitely not coming back.

It’s a buffet, so going in you already know that you’re not paying for quality, but quantity. The quality was exactly what you expect, average at best. The uni in particular though was the standout, but for all the wrong reasons. It was easily the worst uni I’ve ever had in my life, period. The dark color should have been enough for me to not to go anywhere near it, but my uni obsession got the better of me and I had to try at least one. It tasted extremely bitter with some notes of rancidness. I had to spit it out. Everything else that I tried was very mediocre. The biggest problem though was that unpopular items were left out for what seemed to be unreasonable lengths of time (starting to turn dry or change colors). And many of the popular items were not replenished in a timely manner just sitting there empty for long periods of time. So most of the time, you’re picking from a buffet of leftovers.
The only positive was that service was attentive.

I really do love the food here. I’m not a fan of sushi, so I never eat it anyway. The hot food is awesome. Great fish, chicken and beef dishes. Love the soft shell crab tempura! They do also serve grilled crawfish, but it’s awful because ¹⁰⁄₁₀ times it’s super salty to the point where I feel like I’m about to have high pressure from just eating one!
Salad bar is awesome; love their greens and dressings. They have a large shabbu shabbu section to make your own hot pot, basically. I’m Vietnamese so maybe I just don’t know how to mix the ingredients correctly, because my soup always tastes not so great lol! I always use the shabbu bowl of bowling broth to warm the cold crab legs and cook my raw clams! Love cooking my own raw clams!!! Super fresh and juicy! Perfect!
The major bad thing about this restaurant is that the last ⁵⁄₅ times, I’ve had food poisoning. I don’t understand why. My first few times here, everything was awesome. No stomach pain; nothing. But then things changed and it just never got better. I’ve consistently gotten food poisoning right immediately after I eat here. Always. Weird. Sad, because I really do enjoy the food here

Since I have fond memories of previous visits to this Ichiumi and the one in Manhattan a few years ago, I had soaring expectations for dinner on Lunar New Year’s Eve – so my level of disappointment was equally high after my last visit.
The layout:
I like the visual aesthetic of the main dining area: sturdy wooden chairs with high backs and wooden rectangular dining tables that are spaced out far enough from each other to create a sense of privacy; wide aisles to accommodate two-​way traffic; and a center island that is curved instead of rectangular which creates the illusion of an endless spread. Three or four private party rooms with flat-​screen monitors are located toward the front. The men’s restroom is behind the dessert section, and the ladies’ restroom is on the opposite side, by the shabu shabu section.
The food:
The best stuff is in the center island (cold foods): sashimi and sushi are served in glass trays over ice; raw shellfish and shabu shabu ingredients are plentiful; grilled seafood and mushrooms are available in very small batches; the three types of salad and asparagus with mayonnaise are the only vegetables I recall seeing. Dishes are for the most part accurately labeled with descriptions of their contents.
The square island (hot foods) closest to the kitchen has all the grilled, fried, and steamed foods. Aside from the grilled fish options (I had two types of salmon steak), you probably don’t want to waste too much of your digestive space on the mediocre stuff from this area. The sweet potato and broccoli tempura I tried were lukewarm, a bit soggy, and not at all crispy. Everything else in this section is standard Asian buffet fare.
The last island, the dessert island, has cookies and small pre-​portioned cube-​shaped cakes, four types of fruit, a crêpe station, and a mini-​freezer with single-​scoop dishes of ice cream. With the exception of the pineapple and the crepes, I found almost everything from this station disappointing, and here’s why:
–None of the cakes were properly defrosted and all the ones I tried tasted of freezerburn. The cookies clearly came out of a box.
–The cantaloupe chunks and thinly sliced apples tasted fresh, but who the hell wants to pay $ 30+ to eat cantaloupe and apples?
–The freezer only had two flavors of ice cream: green tea and red bean. The woman scooping the ice cream was more interested in chatting to her friend manning the crêpe station than in refilling the depleted freezer. Mango was also available, but only upon request.
–The circular dish of baked flan, the only dessert that not pre-​portioned, was brutally mauled by customers who didn’t know how to cut flan. This was also true during my visit a few years ago, and I’m shocked that management hasn’t done a thing to change it. Why is it so difficult to pre-​slice portions of flan and lay them out in dishes like all of the other baked desserts?
The service:
The waiters were very cordial and quick to clear tables but did not proactively refill water or tea unless asked to.
The men’s room was in the worst condition of any restaurant restroom I’ve ever seen, visibly abandoned and need of cleaning and repair:
–Only one toilet was in service (handicapped stall) and there was toilet paper all over the floor.
–No paper towel dispensers were available, and neither of the two Dyson Airblades were operational.
The experience from this location has severely soured my perception of the Ichiumi brand. I have some reservations about visiting the Koreatown location, but I can’t see myself revisiting the Menlo Park location anytime soon.

Buffet style, but really nothing special here in terms of service, variety, or quality. I haven’t gone to the one in Koreatown in a couple years, but I swear that one had more food that was fresher, hotter, and tasted better. This one was a poor imitation. I don’t expect much in terms of waiting service — they only come to fill up your drinks and take away your plates. Sometimes they linger just long enough for you to say thank you, or give them a glance of acknowledgement, but other times they are on the move, grabbing your dirty empty plate as they pass on by. Fine by me, everyone has a job to do and they’re doing it. Kudos. A large restaurant with smaller sections/​areas for privacy or larger parties.
A lot of people were into the hot pot here, with a burner built in per table. As far as I know, the one in Koreatown doesn’t have that in all their tables, so that’s something interesting.
But the food itself seemed old, lackluster, dry. Overall, unappealing. I had to really find something to put on my plate that looked appetizing. Chicken wings were so tiny, and hard to bite into because they were overheated or maybe old leftovers that were reheated. It had no meat and, I swear, it was the size of my thumb! Cesar salad was limp, soggy, overdressed and browning. And yes, why would I get that at a sushi buffet? Because everything else was meh.
Gyoza/​dumplings were so hard, the edges were crusted and hard to chew. As in, it would crack against, and stick to, your teeth. That’s not fresh at all. That’s reheating old food, once again. My dad didn’t even finish what he took on his plate, and trust me, that guy eats really crap food sometimes.
Salmon Sashimi was pretty good and fresh, sliced thinly, over rice. I noticed the guy would only make a few at a time, maybe 5 – 6 pieces and he certainly took his time making more. I understand that they don’t want any waste, but that really limits what people can get, because if one or two people take everything, no one else gets to have any. Just seem stingy and cheap, to portion it out that way. There was a fair amount of people eating for lunch, and the lunch hour wasn’t nearly over. I noticed a lot of plates of food didn’t have enough for everyone to try, and they didn’t always refill it quickly enough.
Desserts were typical at these restaurants. Cheesecake had a hardened crust, and the filling had no flavor. Maybe something generic and frozen. I did really enjoy the tiramisu cubes. Super flavorful and that small bite was wonderful. I could pop those like crazy! They also had a small clear glass fridge where they portion out scoops of ice cream in small, curved mini bowls that were smaller than my palm. Adorable, and it felt like a little colorful tasting menu of cold treats with their various flavors of green tea, mango, etc.
I’m not sure if dinner is better quality or heartier, fresher portions, but lunch was already $ 19 + per person, so with tip and tax, close to $ 50.
Attached to Menlo Park mall, plenty of parking, and you could hang out afterwards, see a movie, do some shopping, or hit up Barnes Noble/​Starbucks for coffee.

Looking to stuff your face with an unlimited supply of mediocre sushi? Really, you are? Well, OK then, this is the place.
I came here recently for a disappointing dinner. I sampled many of the sushi offerings, and found them below average. Rice was essentially unseasoned, and the rolls contained only tiny pieces of fish — they were mostly veg and rice. Many of the ‘hot’ food items were lukewarm, and looked like they had been sitting out too long. Edible, but unimpressive.
Many of the other diners seemed to be opting for the make-​your-​own soup thing. Maybe that’s a better way to go.
On the night of my visit, the place was more empty than full. That’s probably not good for turnover of the buffet items. I’ve been here previously a few times for lunch, and it seemed busier and a bit better on those occasions. So if you insist on coming here, at least come when it’s full.
Dinner was $ 37 per person after tax & tip. At that price point, you can do better.

Amazing food! Always fresh!!!
Go for lunch during the week, it’s the same food but better prices!
Their desserts are little and sad. But their food more than makes up for it.

Beware of the raw seafood. Came here a total of four times, twice in the past few months. Each time every member of my party (that ate raw seafood) had food poisoning/​fell sick within 48 hours of eating here. I usually only eat the cooked food, but a few days ago I tried the raw seafood and am currently suffering from food poisoning. For a chain that charges so much for lunch/​dinner (or any restaurant, for that matter), this is unacceptable. The oysters were left out for who knows how long, the extras were stacked on top of each other (meat touching the shell), sashimi looked dry and didnt taste fresh. Eat here at your own risk!
The cooked food, however, is decent but nothing you can’t get at any other Asian buffet. The presentation of the food and restaurant ambience is what you’re pretty much paying for. Good for big groups and there are party rooms available.

I so love this place! I have been to the one in Manhattan twice before, and came to the Menlo park location for the first time this past weekend. And I love it so much better! The sushi is so fresh, I kept going back just for sushi and sashimi. Salmon was most delicious. White tuna was also really good. Crab legs and clams also scrumptious!
We also tried the shabu shabu, where we tried various different noodle varieties. Ramen, udon and the clear thin noodles. With mushrooms, beef, fish, Bok Choy, and other things. Everything was so delicious!
Will definitely want to come back so many times. I ate so much. It’s also BYOB so do bring those beverages! Hehe

It’s little bit pricey for the dinner but if you think about how now days every where else is about the same price for one good (fancy) meal. As of all you can eat, I think it’s pretty clean, organized, presentable, a lot of choices. You have seafood, Chinese food, noodle, deserts, fruits, and ICE CREAM!
If you come for lunch, I think your gonna go back to work or whatever you were doing and fall into food coma and dinner is good for family or friends or even a date
You can bring your own Drinks! BYOB I think when your hungry and you want to eat out and drink with less pricey than normal restaurant price beers. This will be the place to come.
PS:
Owner is very Calm and welcoming, workers are very nice, restaurant setting is on fleek I would come back for special dinner

I’ve read the reviews for IchiUmi and as far as a sushi buffet goes, it’s one of the better ones in the area. My 4 star rating is for lunch buffet. I haven’t been here for dinner in a long time.
It’s expensive for lunch, but if you are going to eat Japanese food and sushi, you usually will pay around same or more than $ 21.95 (at least I do) for similar quality sushi in the central Jersey area but it’s AYCE!
You have to put things in perspective. It’s a buffet not fine dining. For lunch, you’ll get standard sushi, some sashimi, specialty rolls, veggie tempura, King crab, yakitori, salads, ramen, udon, fried rice, cooked seafood, raw seafood (clams/​oysters), gyoza, dumplings, even shabu shabu is included. It’s cooking raw food in vegetable broth in hot pot –raw surf and turf, veggies, noodles, and seafood balls. Desserts include ice cream, cheesecake, cookies, fresh fruit, jello. They also provide a bevy of dipping sauces and condiments for your food.
I have to say that the staff is very friendly! They come often to check on you, refill your beverages and clear your plates. The restaurant itself is clean and modern looking. The staff apparently is able to keep up with the customers as far as making sure nothing ran out for too long, although we went on a slow day.
Many years ago I did come for dinner and they did have more variety (food and dessert) but i think is like over $ 30, so lunch is a better value of you want to get your sushi fix. Kids can eat at a reduced price depending on their height.
I don’t know the next time I’ll return. Maybe my experience will be different. I’ll update my review accordingly.

Depuis le temps que je voulais le tester !
Ca y’est c’est fait ! un des meilleurs sushis de ma vie! c’est un buffet à volonté avec des vrais chefs japonais.
Makis, sushis, poissons frais, tout y est. Tout est préparé devant vous. des makis à toutes les saveurs: avocat, épicés, des mélanges sucrés salés. Bref un vrai régal.
Comptez 35 $ le soir mais seulement 19 $ le midi !
Vous mangez de tout et c’est vraiment délicieux ! votre palais sera ravie.
adresse à recommander: +++