Hit or Misso? Umi Buffet White Plains NY

I’m on a mission to find a buffet that’s actually good. My mom has been raving about this all-you-can-eat spot called Umi Buffet in White Plains, NY. It’s a chain specializing in AYCE sushi, seafood, and hot pot. Their website boasts the “freshest, finest seafood,” sourced from around the globe, so I was pretty excited to see what they had to offer.

Unfortunately, I completely dropped the ball on the pictures, but I took plenty of videos, which you can check out on any of my social platforms below. All photos on this blog are from Google reviews.

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Youtube: Umami Index by Kellia

Sushi:

They had quite an assortment of sushi rolls, sashimi, and nigiri, including tamago, mackerel, squid, etc. The quality itself was decent - it's what you would expect from an AYCE sushi spot - not the best, not the worse. Of course, to make profit, they were quite heavy on the rice. Surprisingly, the rice wasn’t the worst I’ve had. It wasn’t overly sweet or mushy, which, honestly, was a small win in my book.

I particularly enjoyed the spicy salmon sandwich, stuffed with avocado and tokibo, and stopped with spicy mayo and eel sauce. Of course, this isn't traditional by any means, but it's hard to mess up "sushi" when it's covered in sweet, salty, spicy sauces. I probably wouldn’t come here specifically for the sashimi or nigiri, since the fish quality wasn’t the best. But if you’re a fan of American-style rolls where the fish is generously masked by mayo (my guilty pleasure), Umi Buffet will definitely satisfy that craving.

Seafood:

I was pretty disappointed by the seafood. Maybe it was because we went for lunch ($26 per person) and the turnover was low, but everything tasted noticeably less than fresh. The Dungeness crab, for example, had little to no meat and barely any flavor. Additionally, I had to spit out the crawfish. The moment I cracked it open, I could tell something was off—the meat was unusually soft. Still, I took a bite, and it was bitter.

Dim Sum:

The dim sum wasn’t much better. They were so cute that I couldn’t resist getting one of the bunny- and bear-shaped buns, but both were hard and dry. I’ve honestly never had a bun with that texture before, and I’m not sure how they managed to make them that way. The mochi had the same problem: hard, dry, and stale.

Hot Pot:

The hot pot meat was cut a bit too thick for my liking, and there were only two options: beef and lamb. Unfortunately, neither were particularly good quality. They did, however, have a pretty wide selection of other hot pot add-ins, including vegetables, fish balls, and seafood. My mom and I enjoyed the mushrooms, veggies, and tripe.

We went with the Szechuan and sukiyaki broths, but both were lacking in flavor. Thankfully, the sauce bar was there to save the day—you can mix and match your own dipping sauce to add some much-needed flavor.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I don’t think I’d be coming back here anytime soon. That said, if my mom suggests going for dinner, I might be willing to give it another shot—especially since crab legs are available during dinner service. The concept is definitely fun and exciting, but unfortunately, the food didn’t quite live up to what the website promises. Of course, I wasn't expecting to have amazing food, which is very difficult to find with AYCE buffets, but out of all the buffets I have visited in my life, I was quite disappointed with Umi. Our favorite items were the pork belly, tripe, ribs, and chicken wings, none of which were particularly advertised by Umi. However, if you're a big fan of American sushi rolls and crab legs, you would probably enjoy dinner service at Umi Buffet (as recommended by my mom). Maybe becoming a chef has made me a little too critical of ordinary food.

Food: 2/10 - Needs adjustments

Atmosphere: 8/10

Service: 8/10 - Good, fast service. I save my 10s for a place like Eleven Madison

As always, these are simply my personal opinions, shared with the hope of offering constructive feedback. Every dining experience is unique.

What do you think—do you agree with my thoughts on Umi Buffet? And more importantly, where should I review next? Drop your favorite omakase or sushi spot below!