UMI Sushi & Seafood Buffet has opened in Deptford NJ with a completely new interior build-out, featuring large number of buffet stations in the center of the restaurant surrounded by plenty of seating in a comfortable setting.
I stopped by yesterday on opening day for lunch, and then popped back at dinner time just to give things another look.
They are offering a 10% off discount throgh 10/31! Coupon is on Facebook (Link)
The first thing that will strike you on entering is the bright and beautiful interior buildout, and an “instagrammable” pink tree in the front waiting area.
But of course the food is a main star of the show! From my rough calculations I believe there is probably around 100 feet (long) of food buffet tables!
A signature buffet area at UMI Deptford is right up front with the large allocation of space to fresh sushi. During my lunchtime visit they had at least three sushi chefs constantly creating new items for the large sushi display.
Plus to fill out the remaining buffet space they also offered crabs, shrimp and other seafood dishes… as well as a variety of beef, Asian, and American food items.
They even offer pre-made boba tea drinks as part of the buffet price, and in the back grill area where they cook juicy steaks, pork and chicken… they will create a custom ramen noodle soup for you. I believe over time they will introduce additional features for the back grill.
The signage as you walk into the entryway states they are “UMI Premium” buffet, which in my experience yesterday matched up with the food selection available.
I stopped in at lunch yesterday on opening day and found a very busy restaurant. They have been actively promoting the opening on Facebook, and I had covered the opening just a few days ago to let people know they were coming… seems word has really gotten out!
UMI Sushi & Seafood Buffet – Deptford
Honestly I was very happily surprised by how nice the UMI Deptford restaurant looks.
If you remember, prior to the pandemic there was another seafood buffet located in the exact same unit, and you would think the new owners would have had the opportunity to just dust off the old setup and reopen.
But no… this is a completely new interior rebuild.
The entire space had been previously taken down to the bare concrete and outer walls, and the folks at UMI redeveloped an all new construction bright and colorful restaurant with multiple comfortable seating spaces around the perimeter.
And just when I thought I had the “lay of the land” figured out in the mostly square space, I stopped back quickly at dinner and found another separate dining area in the back right of the restaurant “Where did this come from?!” ha
The new UMI buffet is located in the Locust Grove Plaza which sits at the corner of Clements Bridge Road and Almonesson Road, catty-corner from the Deptford Mall (Macy’s).
To help place the location, the Locust Grove shopping center is also home to Saladworks, Johnny Long Hots, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Cannabist dispensary and other businesses.
UMI takes on the prime center position of the center, in what is the largest space of the center.
UMI is a growing brand of Sushi & Seafood buffet restaurants with seven locations open (according to their website) and probably another 7 coming soon.
While half of those locations would be in the Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York markets they have locations opened or planned in Maine, Detroit, Chicago, Indiana, Texas and Florida.
UMI Sushi & Seafood Deptford – The Food
While the “all-you-can-eat” aspects of buffets are the same, there are actually several tiers of buffets with matching price points; from Asian cuisine buffets, to the national chain “Golden Corral” style, all the way up to the amazing Las Vegas Casino buffets.
UMI Deptford is positioning themselves more near the premium category, and in fact has added that to the signage as you walk into the front foyer.
This means they have a very large selection of seafood and sushi… as well as beef, chicken, vegetables pork, soup and more. How about Snow Crab Legs, Lobster and Steak too!?
There are numerous buffet stations for the hot and cold dishes but right at the entrance to the restaurant is the large sushi station that is probably 24 feet across and eight feet deep… and the full front of the unit and down the sides, is literally all allocated for the numerous varieties of fresh sushi.
And to keep the sushi fresh and well stocked, in the center of that large front buffet unit are multiple chefs constantly creating fresh and delicious sushi, from the traditional sushi to sashimi, nigiri sushi, maki rolls and more.
The back part of this unit features the pre-made boba teas and a variety of flavors (Mango was great!), as well as desserts and ice cream along the back of that front station.
Behind the front unit are SIX 10-foot buffet units loaded up with a wide variety of food choices, as well as a grill and counter area in the back for items that were cooked hot off the grill, such as steak, chicken and pork dishes.
You can also get fresh ramen soup in the grill area…just ask the folks working in that area.
Beyond the sushi there was a large variety of seafood including traditional steamed shrimp, to salmon and flounder, oysters and squid, and yes they have crabs!
For my “lunchtime special” visit there were a variety of crabs including stone, but the Snow Crab legs that are a signature buffet item are reserved for the dinner and weekend menu.
So to be clear the lunch special that is offered during the week (Mon-Friday) includes all of the same dinner buffet items, except for a very small number of premium entree items which are only available on the dinner/weekend menu, such as snow crab legs, lobster and steak.
That being said my lunch experience had a huge selection of food including the full sushi offerings, crabs, beef and pork.. it’s an amazing amount of choices!
The weekday lunch special is prices at $21.99 for Adults and the menu for all dinners and all-day Saturday/Sunday is priced $36.99 – $38.99.
Links and Location
Umi Sushi & Seafood Buffet
1692 Clements Bridge Rd
Deptford NJ 08096