Japanese restaurant Umaii | SA Weekend restaurant review

Quality seafood dishes and theatrical service make this Japanese restaurant a must-visit. Read our review to see where and what dishes to order.

Interior of the dining room at Umaii Japanese restaurant, Adelaide.

As longstanding readers of this column may well have deduced, I have a serious eel obsession. If it is on a menu, I’m ordering it.

Finding two different varieties of eel listed among the nigiri sushi at Japanese restaurant Umaii, then, felt a little like a kid on Christmas morning: excitement tempered by a nagging concern the presents you are hoping for might not materialise. They are both available, fortunately, and arrive presented side-by-side.

The “umatama” is a strip of glazed freshwater eel (or unagi) laid over a slab of sweetish omelette, the two layers bound to a plinth of pressed rice with a ribbon of seaweed.

But that’s just a prelude for the “anago”, a piece of sea eel that has been brushed with a light, soy-based tare sauce as it grills, the meat incredibly delicate, the layer of fat beneath the skin less prominent, the whole experience more refined, like comparing a Lamborghini to a LandCruiser.

The sashimi platter at Umaii.

At $10 for a single serve they aren’t giving it away. But considering the fillet is three times the length of the rice it still represents great value.

Umaii isn’t just for the eel obsessives. While the restaurant opened more than a year ago in the CBD with relatively little fanfare, the standard of cooking it turns out across a broad range of styles is remarkable.

Owner/chef Chester Chan is originally from Hong Kong, where his love for high-end Japanese food began. Since moving to Adelaide a decade ago, he has been on a mission to learn about the different techniques, while working everywhere from Sushi Train to Hanamura.

Otoro tuna, sea eel and freshwater eel nigiri sushi.

He hasn’t gone the easy option in opening his first bricks-and-mortar business in Elder House, where heritage protections for stonework and other details make creating a modern space a bit trickier. Still, the Art Deco ceiling is key to the look of a long room featuring banquette seating, booths down the middle and stools pulled up to counters facing the bar and sushi station.

Chan and his team work quietly at their craft in the open kitchen until a shout from the floor of “Welcome to Umaii” is met with a less-than-convinced “Umai-i-i-i” echo.

That little exchange starts with highly engaging manager Aki Edmonds, who manages to bring exceptional knowledge of the food, a theatrical manner and the occasional humorous aside to a performance that elevates the whole experience. He knows his stuff, from picking the right sake to helping chart a course through the selection of platters, sushi, snacks and mains that could otherwise be overwhelming.

Liking raw fish is a good start. This is one of the best places to try the state’s famed bluefin tuna, prepared as three different cuts from the lean “akami” to prized “otoro” or belly meat that is a paler pink and more voluptuous.

A Spencer Gulf prawn looks like it has been coated in rice bubbles rather than tempura batter that could not be any crisper or lighter, leaving the seafood to shine brightly. The wrapper on mushroom gyoza is also exemplary and the little pings of water chestnut crunch among the softer fungi lifts the filling.

The crab udon was served in a rich butter sauce cut with kimchi brine and clumps of blue swimmer crab meat.

Crab udon is like a luxury pampering session for the palate, with those slippery noodles, a rich butter sauce cut with kimchi brine and clumps of blue swimmer crab meat of such quality that I guessed it was picked in house – the highest possible praise for local firm Two Gulf’s fresh packed product.

Perhaps the duck dish, if anything, lets the side down. Finishing the breast fillet on a charcoal grill leaves a little too much unrendered fat and most of its bed of pumpkin puree has dissolved into a thin but flavourful miso sauce.

From a trio of dessert choices, the purin, Japan’s take on a crème caramel, is superb, with a decadent, silky custard and the sugar in the caramel taken right to the brink of bitterness.

The name Umaii, by the way, should not be confused with umami. This word can have two meanings, either skilful or delicious. Right on both counts.