Eastern Promise: UMI Japanese Cuisine

Holly Tracey finds perfectly balanced flavours in a Stockbridge basement

The latest venture from the team behind Kenji on nearby St Stephen Street and Bentoya on Bread Street, UMI is the capital’s newest Japanese eatery, located below Stockbridge’s oldest Chinese restaurant, Ping On. What the space lacks in natural light, it makes up for in authentic atmosphere with red paper lanterns, horigotatsu tables and shoji screens transporting diners to the back streets of Kyoto. Most crucially, for anyone who has fought for space in Kenji Sushi, there is more seating making it a more comfortable dining experience.

Settling in, we start off with Salmon Tiradito, £8.90, and Hamachi Carpaccio, £9.90, from the Cold Plates section and immediately get quite excited. The delicate slices of salmon with passionfruit and coriander, and yellow tail with ponzu sauce and grape puree are both beautifully presented with balanced flavours-a clear sign that the menu is raising the bar. Next, the Aubergine Goma, £4.50, is equal parts sweet, sticky and mushy, as it should be, and the Green Dragon rolls, £11.90, have a respectable filling to rice ratio. We finish off with Chashu fried rice, £8.50, which comes with pork belly, sticky rice, scallions, mixed vegetables and miso soup - heavier than the delicate dishes though no less pleasing.

Offering an authentic experience with an impressive assortment of dishes, UMI is well worth checking out.

18-24 Deanhaugh St, EH4 1LY, 0131 343 6991, umiedinburgh.com