Shumi - Review

Intro
Shumi - Not Recommended (for price and location)
30 South Doughty Ave, Somerville, NJ 08876
Phone: 908-526-8596

Porthos and I found Shumi two years ago and have returned multiple times for the value and quality of the sushi. Shumi walks a fine line between high end sushi and fun combinations, but not the avocado/mayo based rolls you find in every sushi restaurant across America. However, something wasn't quite right during this trip. The "bang for the buck" was way down and it's tough to justify the price and the travel time for the quality that we got. Overall, I give the restaurant a 74/100.

My Menu

1) Tuna Appetizer *
2) Toro ---
3) Akami *
4) Aji *
5) Fluke *
6) Red Snapper
7) Ankimo Toro
8) Ankimo Salmon Roe
9) Tai Skin Handroll **
10) Unagi ***
11) Tamago **
12) Squid **
13) Salmon Roe and Quail Egg *
14) Ankimo and Ume *

--- What the F - in a bad way
* Good
** Great
*** What the F – in a good way

Dish Comments
In the past, the sushi at Shumi were good to mostly great. The combos were stuff that you don't normally get - ankimo and toro used to be a favorite. But again for some reason the quality was way down during this trip. The toro served was not very good - flavorless and sub par texture. The ankimo which was a strong point was not as flavorful. Not sure if this drop in quality was due to the rise in food costs everywhere. It wasn't just me, but my 3 other companions said the same thing - that it used to be much much better and it wasn't very good this Sunday. Not sure what happened, but we've visited on a Sunday before. C'est la vie.

Overall Restaurant Experience (74/100)

• Food 7.6/10 – Mostly good sushi, but lots of big disappointments compared to our previous visits.
  
• Service 9.0/10 – The main sushi chef Ike is extremely nice and very accommodating. He goes out of his way to see what you like and always pinpoints exactly what you want.
  
• Atmosphere 7.5/10 – Tiny place that shares the entrance with a photo studio. Sushi counter seats about 10 and there are tables maybe for another 30. Sunday night at 8pm and there was 1 other young couple at the counter and 1 large table of Japanese businessmen. We called 1 hour in advance and got reservations right away.
  
• Price 6.0/10 – $70 a head including tip, which I believe is too expensive for the quality of sushi that we had. If we pay $70, I expect almost every single piece to be at least good with the majority being very good. Not tonight and especially disappointed with the toro which is usually one of the pieces I look forward to the most. For the same price, Lan would be a better experience and the toro is always spectacular there.
  

Closing Comments
In the past, the reason why we traveled 50 minutes to Shumi was the great combos (ankimo and lobster tamale), quality, and reasonable price. I do have to say that I've been to Shumi 4 times before and every single time previously I would have said highly recommended. But, something happened and although the sushi is still good, it's not worth the price and the 50 minute travel time (outside of the NYC area) to get to. If we lived 15-20 minutes from Somerville, then we would 100% go back. But, we don't live that close so Porthos suggested Sushi Seki for much better quality, similar styles, and similar price range. That may have to be a visit soon...