Yume
Hamachi Ceviche. Yellowtail, mango, cherry tomato, ceviche sauce, jalapeno oil, scallions, and jalapeno
I crave sushi every week of my life. Not like what you get at Whole Foods or going to an all-you-can-eat restaurant. I crave good sushi. It can be as simple as a spicy tuna roll or as fancy as bluefin o-toro with truffle, Uni, and Ikura — it just has to be high-quality fish. A new friend suggested we go to Yume, so I figured I’d give it a shot.
To reserve or not reserve?
We opted for an early dinner (5:30/6 PM), and getting a table on a weeknight was no issue. If you go early, there’s no need to make a reservation during the week. By the time we left, the place was pretty full, so I don’t think it would hurt to have a reservation if you plan to go around 7 PM. And I’d definitely recommend a reservation for the weekend.
Too many choices for one trip
I looked at the menu before going, and it’s pretty expansive. It features everything from traditional appetizers like gyoza and tempura to flavorful ceviche to sushi rolls to ramen. It’s a full two pages. I couldn’t decide what to order; too many things looked good to me, so I had to rely on my friend to narrow it down.
Here’s the rundown of what we ordered:
Yume’s Spoon. Uni, Chu-toro, Ikura, tobiko, yuzu ponzu. My favorite of the night. The fish was delicate, yet flavorful. They all complemented one another. It then melded into savory soy, followed by a punch of citrus from the yuzu, only to finish with the creamy flavor of the uni. YUM!
Tuna Usuzukuri: Bluefin tuna, truffle oil, spicy mayo, kizami wasabi, ponzu, micro cilantro, and tender bluefin. This was very good, although the truffle flavor didn’t really shine through at all. The bluefin was very nice and had a great texture. The wasabi was delicate and provided the perfect bite, complemented by the ponzu. I’d definitely order this again — although I do wish the truffle was more prominent.
Kakuni Bao. Braised skin-on pork belly in steamed buns served with citrus mayo, scallions, and sesame seeds. The pork was an excellent thick cut and was delicious. It had a rich, quintessential pork flavor. The bun was hefty on mayo, and I didn’t mind it, but I know many people would hate this. It was a solid bun, but I feel if they went with the quintessential five-spice bun, it would be perfection with how they prepared the pork.
Hamachi Ceviche. Yellowtail, mango, cherry tomato, ceviche sauce, jalapeno oil, scallions, and jalapeno. This was a tie for my favorite dish. It was light, bright, delicate, and had the most beautiful yuzu citrus flavor to it. It was perfectly balanced.
Ume roll. Spicy tuna, Hamachi, cucumber, avocado, tobiko, and tempura crunchies. It was OK, a bit bland. There was only a mild spice, and a very mild tuna was used — I would have expected more flavor from spicy tuna. It would have benefited from a bit more heat and green onion.
Chubby toro roll. Seared chunk tuna, kaiware, and cucumber topped with negitoro, micro cilantro & soy ginger. Again, this one’s a bit bland. The flavor was VERY mild. It’s like they use a different quality tuna in the rolls, which has less flavor than in the sashimi. While I love cucumber in my sushi rolls, it watered down the tuna's flavor, making it a bit too mild for me.
Katsu Don. Panko-fried pork loin or chicken breast cooked in sweet dashi soy with scrambled eggs and onions, topped with sesame seeds, scallions, and red pickled ginger, served over rice. This was excellent — it’s exactly what you want on a cold or rainy day. This ultimate Japanese comfort food is very flavorful, rich, juicy and has a sweet finish — almost maple-like.
Tonkotsu Ramen. Just OK. You get to pick your broth, and I tried the shoyu (which I normally love). It wasn’t as rich as I’d have liked… make sure you ask for the pepper flakes and add these in; it makes the broth much more flavorful. The pork was sliced way too thin, so it got a rubbery texture and lacked the rich flavor you want a tonkotsu to have. The noodles were standard. But the egg… now that was PERFECTION. It was jammy with a slight runniness to it. I also like that they serve you a full egg and not ½ an egg.
For next time…
There are still so many dishes I want to try! There was no way I could have ordered everything; we were stuffed after eating everything we ordered as it is! So, what’s next?
Pork Gyoza Dumplings
Vegetable Tempura
Toro Truffle Salad. Bluefin toro, truffle dressing, mixed greens, and kizami wasabi.
Zuke Toro Tataki. Bluefin toro, togarashi (Japanese 7-spice peppers), sesame soy, and scallions.
Albacore Onion Ponzu. Albacore, onion ponzu, scallions, microgreens, and garlic chips.
Lobster Salad Roll. Lobster salad (lobster, mango, cucumber), shrimp, cucumber, avocado, wasabi tobiko, and soy jalapeno.
Crunchy Scallop Roll. Fresh sea scallop, crab stick, crab salad, avocado, cucumber, micro-cilantro, tempura crunchies, and spicy mayo.
Mango Kumo Roll. Salmon, mango, and tempura crunches topped with spicy tuna & spicy mayo.
Tekka Don. Six pieces of Bluefin tuna, kizami nori over sushi rice.
Assorted Nigiri and Sashimi Specials. Such as the live Santa Barbara Uni.
My verdict is…
6/10. The dishes were very hit or miss, and it was expensive when you don’t know what you’re going to get. Nothing was horrible, but in my opinion, the items ranged from “meh” and indifference to excellent. The cold appetizers were all phenomenal — this is where I recommend ordering most of your meal from. You can’t go wrong with the Katsu Don, either. The rolls — while featuring fresh fish with beautiful texture — lacked flavor. They were a bit too subtle for me. With that said, I’d still try some other rolls when I go back before writing off this portion of the menu completely.
