Kumai Sushi Restaurant

very disappointing food. the calibber of people who eat heer is clear how bad the food is. not authentic. the below review is funny coz the person thinks california rolls is authentic

Hello, before I begin my review/rant let me state I am in no way affiliated with this establishment...

A large problem with most Japanese restaurants these days are catered to the general public and as a result their food is psuedo run of the mill crap. Its actually appalling what some places are calling authentic. There are i'd say less than 5% AUTHENTIC, quality Japanese restaurants in ontario (excluding downtown toronto) and Kumai is within that 5%.

In response to... Wilson Huang, thank you good sir my thoughts exactly.

In response to... Kumai Sucks, I don't know who would have turned you away I think your lying. (perhaps your a competitor)

In response to A... i'm sure your idea of Authentic Japanese food is the crap you find at the food court or the crapload of poor quality sushi you can buy in supermarkets.

In response to K Lam... if your salmon sucked than thats bad on their part but again, if you would prefer to eat at a cheaper place be my guest.

In response to Slow service... I concur services is slow, but if you want fast service go eat at manchu wok or McDonalds.

The absolute reality is Japanese food is expensive that will never change. It has been that way for all of my young years.

As part of my ancestry is Japanese I have been devouring the food since birth and consider myself a connoisseur, and have the knowledge to understand whether a place has quality food, or not just by judging one piece of sushi.

While Kumai is not the best Japanese restaurant in the world it is certainly one of the best places to find good authentic Japanese food in ontario.

Sidenote...
I blame ignorant yuppies for the all the pseudo japanese restaurants popping up recently.

Food Highlights...
California Hand Roll, really Oishi!

Tempura, if you don't like their Tempura your previous experience with it has been poor in comparison as there are few places that have Tempura as good as Kumai.

If all else fails move to Vancouver.

Kumai Sushi has the best Japanese food in Mississauga of what I've tried. Everything on the menu is prepared just right with lots of attention to presentation. The waitresses are very friendly and make good suggestions if you don't know what to get or want to try something different. Nice quiet, private atmosphere as well. The only problem is that they are sometimes understaffed. I've been there maybe 9 times, 6 trips were great, 2 I had to wait longer than normal and once it took almost 2 hours to complete the meal. Still, it's more than worth the wait.

Went to Kumai on a Tuesday night. Hardly anyone in the parking lot which is never a good sign. The place looked nice from the outside so I went on in. It was almost empty inside as well but I staid against my better judgement. Service was great (possibly because they only had 1 other table to serve). Ordered oysters for appetizers, which were definitely not fresh. They put a lot of "dressings" on them to cover this fact up. Then I ordered various nigiri and was extremely disappointed. Couldn't get myself to eat it all. Very poor quality. Too bad - the interior is nice and so are the people. They just need to step up the quality of their food.

My Japanese friend recommended Kumai so my husband and I went to Kumai to try it out. I have read the reviews before and was expecting the service to be slow. However, it was not the case at all. We were seated as soon as we walked in and our food arrived just 5 minutes after we have ordered. The waitress was very friendly and polite. She recommended the fish cakes and they were great!!! The fish in our sushi and sashimi combination for two was very fresh and the uni sushi was wonderful. My husband wanted to try the salted squid guts and our waitress warned that it has a very strong taste. We tried it anyway and my husband loved it. I don’t think it is for everyone and would recommend plain white rice to go with it since it does has a very strong taste to it. I will for sure go back again!

After reading the mixed reviews for Kumai, my boyfriend and I decided to give it a try! We were STARVING.

The waitress was helpful in her suggestions. I found her to be attentive - coming by a few times because we weren't sure about our order.

We finally decided on a "set" (12 pieces of Nigiri/12 sashimi for $37!), i.e. tray, boat, combo that the waitress said would be enough for 2 people.

While we waited for our food for arrive, we enjoyed the restaurant's environment and thought that the general design was very nice. However, we could only enjoy it for so long after our starvation became almost unbearable. We probably waited for 20 mins. in which only soup/salad were served - no other side dishes.

From where we were sitting, there were only 2 other couples, so it's not as if the restaurant was overwhelmed with patrons.

After the set finally arrived, we devoured the entire thing. My bf even ate the garnish and every morceau of roe/rice he could pick up with his chopsticks!

To be fair, the set was very nicely presented - very colourful, fresh tasting fish/seafood that isn't usually available at those other sushi restaurants. There seemed to be a real art and care behind it.

Maybe we're just used to more generous portions, including side dishes, common cuts of fish, cheaper prices, with less care/art?

We were so hungry after eating everything on the boat that we decided to stop and get pizza.

I think that I would only go back if it was a special occasion or something.

I visit this restaurant a lot and have taken may friends there. I do agree that the service is a little slow there, but otherwise they are very attentive and very polite. As expected from the Japanese.

I've tried almost everything on their menu because I visit so often. But beware to not go for their special dinner boxes as it changes each night and sometimes there will be food in there that may not be acceptable for your taste. I believe those are more for their Japanese customers.

The washrooms are always nice and clean, the whole restaurant is neat and there is always parking.

I've ran into the owners of this restaurant several times early in the morning, they do go out and purchase the ingredients themselves to ensure they are getting the best for their customers.

The tempura appetizer was fairly tastey. I also ordered a salmon skin sushi roll which is not recommended. Salmon skin rolls are supposed to be crispy and have avacado. Kumai's had neither. The spicy tuna roll was bland. Service was a joke. The food was very slow to arrive (even though the restaurant was empty). The first waitress did not speak English. Our replacement waitress had a terrible attitude. When asked for the bill, she snarked back "I have so many to do". Absolutely not recommended.

Every time I have tried to visit this restaurant I have been turned away by the extremely rude hostess. Apparently, a party of two is not big enough for them to make it worthwhile. "We're expecting a big reservation so we won't be able to serve you..." Meanwhile you look around the restaurant and it's empty. How many people are they expecting? I don't know how this place stays in business turning away customers. To this day I have never eaten there because I've been turned away every time. What kind of restaurant does this?

You cannot beat the service here!! Although they may be a little slow at times, they are attentive and friendly. Sushi is not meant to be as quick as McDonald's! Sit up at the bar and watch the sushi chef work, you will then realize why the service may seem slow.

BEST SUSHI IN THE GTA!!!