Mitasu Umi
3 stars
495 Prospect Ave
Suite #21
West Orange, NJ 07052
862-520-1616
Mama Foodie and I went into Mitasu Umi for dinner at about 7:30 PM on a Saturday night. We decided we’d all do the all you can eat option. I had two beef teriyakis, one chicken teriyaki, and three miso soups. Mama Foodie had one miso soup, one A.E.C roll, one green hulk roll, seaweed salad, and the vegetable teriyaki.
Big Baby Says:
Atmosphere: 3 Cleanliness: 6 Food: 9.5 Service: 6
Average Score: 6
I liked this place more than the numbers indicate. The food was the best Japanese food I have eaten since my dad made sushi last. Their beef teriyaki was extremely savory. It was even pink on the inside. It had the best presentation, too. It looked like a very elegant dish with the broccoli and the carrots and the baby corn all laid out so well organized. They didn’t put in on too large a plate. The plate was the perfect size for the portion. I also liked the chicken teriyaki. Most chicken when you go out to a restaurant is dry and does not have much juice, giving it a terrible texture. However, this chicken was all the opposite. It had a ton of juice. It was soooo good. If I wasn’t more disciplined about only eating until I am full, I would have eaten ten helpings of that chicken teriyaki. The miso soup was deeeeelicious. I would have preferred it with more stuff in it, but other than that it was amazing. The broth was the best miso soup broth I have ever eaten.
The service was pretty slow, and the server forgot that I had ordered the chicken teriyaki. However, they were polite and they didn’t seem to have any problem with me asking for a fork for my teriyaki. The service was kind of hard to flag down, though. They were walking right by our table and they totally ignored us when we tried to get them to come over.
In the beginning, I thought the cleanliness was amazing. The restaurant was especially clean, and the bathroom looked good on first glance. Then I went in the stall in the bathroom, and I saw that there were pieces of wet toilet paper embedded in the floor.
The atmosphere would be my favorite example of the opposite of what inside a restaurant should be like. It was loud, cold, and there way too many televisions distracting people from who they were talking to or having a meal with. The acoustics were almost as bad as in Victoria Seafood, our last review. You can read that review here.
Overall, I suggest that place if you are having a fancy dinner party or if you are really, really hungry. I also recommend doing the all you can eat option because the portions are small, so you should eat a lot of dishes. However, you will be charged for all unfinished portions. I would give Mitasu Umi an 8 because the food tasted good and the portions were appetizing , and that is what I like and expect from a restaurant.
Mama Foodie Says:
Atmosphere: 5 Cleanliness: 5 Food: 7.5 Service: 5
Average Score: 5.5
Mitasu Umi is a welcome addition to the shopping center at Essex Green. Big Baby and I were very excited to try it out. We were there on a very busy Saturday night, but even so, we were seated in a timely manner, and it was not long until someone came to take our order.
The layout and design of the restaurant make good use of the space. The décor is attractive, sleek and modern. The acoustics are pretty terrible, so if you are there at a busy time, it will be hard to hear the servers and dining companions. My big complaint is that there are three very large televisions in the bar area and one in the back room. They are all playing different sports channels. I found the constant moving images to be a little distracting, and boxing is not really something I enjoy watching while eating. It was very cold in the restaurant, and I found myself wishing I had worn a shawl or a scarf.
The restaurant itself was very clean, and the tables were cleaned promptly in between guests. The cleanliness of the bathrooms was somewhat disappointing. The stall itself was clean, but it seemed as though no one had checked the bathroom once the evening shift started. The countertop was covered with water, there was spilled foamy soap all over the walls and the floor, and the trash can was overflowing with used paper towels.
The food was good. The miso soup had a nice flavor, although it could have been warmer. It was served slightly above room temperature, and I prefer my soup to be served hot. I enjoyed the sushi. The A.E.C. roll was very good. The vegetables were fresh, and the roll was tightly rolled. The Green Hulk Roll, a specialty roll with sweet potato tempura, asparagus and avocado wrapped in rice paper with a green sauce was not as good. The sushi itself had a nice blend of flavors, but the roll fell apart the minute it made contact with the soy sauce. The green sauce tasted like a cilantro basil pesto, and it overpowered the flavor of the roll quite a bit. The seaweed salad and the vegetable teriyaki were the real stars of my meal. The seaweed salad was truly the best I have had in the area. It had a subtle hint of sesame flavor and no metallic aftertaste. The vegetables in the teriyaki had exactly the right combination of crispy and tender. The mushrooms were juicy and flavorful. I will definitely order this dish again and again.
The service was not as good as the food. The servers were “all business”. I found them to be neither friendly nor unfriendly. Perhaps the acoustics had something to do with it. Orders were taken and entered into handheld computers tableside. Upon delivery, the food was plunked down rather unceremoniously. We did have to ask twice for Big Baby’s chicken teriyaki, but there were no other issues with our orders. I would not recommend Mitasu Umi if you are in the mood for a quick bite. If you have some time to linger over lunch or dinner, it would be a good choice.