Uma Uma

Reviews 8

MA

Mark Jakubowski

For reference, I came on a Saturday evening, at around 6pm. Upon arrival, I was the only customer, which was a bit disconcerting at that hour. However, I was seated with no wait. The waiter was using a cell phone while they were taking my order, which was a bit confusing and seemed unprofessional until I realized that this restaurant uses a cellphone app to take orders, in lieu of written slips or memory. Soda here is per-can, but ice water and hot tea are refillable (ice water costing nothing extra). I ordered the pork gyoza, and some tonkotsu ramen, with a level 2 spicyness. As a note, you can get it with no heat, all the way up to 5. 2 put the spicyness on par with, if not slightly above, Katana Sushi in Baltimore and their spicy ramen. I found it to be quite enjoyable, but I know there are some heat-fiends out there that might prefer a bit more. Your mileage may vary. The gyoza came out quickly, and was pain-fried together in such a way that it added to the presentation. The fried bits holding it together were easy to break with chop sticks, and tasted delicious. Nearing the end of my gyoza, my ramen came out. The spicyness is not mixed in, so if you want it all the way through, you need to start stirring it in with your chop sticks. The portion provided was delicious and filling, and everything was cooked to perfection. I finally ended my meal with a piece of green tea mochi, which arrived and was summarily devoured, a good, cool ending to the spicy ramen I had just eaten. By the end of my meal, the dining room had brought in a decent few more individuals, and I was happily stuffed. The cost was not horrible, and my meal came out to about $24, which I bumped up to $30 for good service. All in all, I enjoyed my experience at Uma Uma, and will both recommend it and visit again.

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Tom Fryzel

The food here is very good. I do not think that much more can be said about it that has not already been said. With that in mind, let me hit two issues for constructive feedback. 1. The music is not family friendly. I was surprised to be eating dinner at around 6pm on a Saturday and hearing music with graphic lyrics. 2. $1.75 for a can of soda, I get it, there is something to be said for buying drinks at a restaurant and paying way more than it is worth. I actually have no issue with that, I get that margins are razor thin. However, handing me a can is weird. There are better ways to do, installing a fountain, installing a Coke freestyle (my favorite option is the freestyle). The bottomline is this, the food is good the service needs a little refinement but is friendly. The choice of playing music with so many curse words stops me from recommending this place to people I work with. I know theyd love the food, but they also have kids around 10 or so, and would not appreciate the music. I will be back in a few weeks to see if an updated review is needed.

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Brad Beachum

IMO, this is the best ramen in the Howard County area and would hold its own against some of the best places Ive been to so far. Every protien and vegetable in the ramen (I ordered tonkatsu) was fresh and of top quality. I also ordered the pork dumplings and they have to be in the top 3 of fried pork dumplings Ive ever had (Rens Ramen had excellent dumplings as well) and I appreciated the pickled onion garnish which proved to be a wonderful, light, contrasting flavor to the dumplings and served well as a palate cleanser. I appreciated the wood grains, earth tones, and black drop ceiling for lighting, percieved height, and some sound deadening. I also enjoyed the vintage style bulbs and fixtures. Uma Uma was BYOB and served soda in cans when this review was first written. Experience: Ive tried ramen and ramen-ish noodle soups from the Columbia area from Hanamura and Ichiban Sushi, as well as from Rens ramen down in Wheaton. In addition to a couple of places in Seattle and one up in Edgewater NJ. Does Shin Ramyun count?

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Brendan Heckman

I had miso ramen with takoyaki and onigiri. The onigiri scared me as an appetizer, but I gave it a shot hoping for something I could get my hands on and eat traditionally. Unfortunately, the onigiri was brought out on a plate covered in sauce; there was no way to pick it up to eat. Even worse, the rice seemed to be seared onto the place and was impossible to eat without utensils. To put the final nail in, we ordered a "bulgogi" rice ball, but it was obviously plain ground beef. Miso ramen is known to have amazing flavors in its broth and tare, but it tasted watered down. If you have ever been to a halfway decent place with miso ramen, youll be disappointed. Toppings were okay, just nothing great after having a disappointing broth. The takoyaki was made fresh and I saw the chief pull out a traditional styled pan for takoyaki and rolled the batter around. It was pretty good and the tentacles were not too tough.

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OM

Omar S

A delightful ramen specialist in the county (!), with additional Japanese menu items, a Sake list, and a short selection of Japanese beers. On this first visit, the Tonkotsu ramen was delicious. Well balanced, delicious broth, and very satisfying. If you drink, make sure to pair it with one of the reasonably priced imported beers. I tried the Orion (from Okinawa) which was served with a short, chilled glass. It complemented the spicy dish nicely. Friendly, efficient staff when I was there. Theres plenty of parking (shared with several adjacent restaurants). The modern interior sports tables, booths, a bar, and a narrow counter with stools along the front window. Uma Uma also offers a lunch time special ramen special (regular sized bowl at a discounted price). Ill definitely be back. Recommended.

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JA

Jaime Smith

Granted, I know theyre busy, but Ive been to much busier places and received better service. They didnt give us menus when seated. They actually forgot, and we had to ask. For two of the orders they didnt know if they gave us the right thing, and they had to go back and check. One persons beef in the curry was cold. Everything else was hot, just the beef was cold. The food was alright, but thats it. Just alright. They never asked if any of us wanted refills. They took forever to give us the check (they thought we wanted to order more) and didnt ask if we wanted it split. When we requested it, it took nearly 20 minutes. It was my first time here. I wont be back.

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DR

Drh2069

Clean, open spot to eat. A little dim inside but eh. Staff were attentive and friendly and answered questions my wife had since it was our first time there. My miso ramen was very well presented and tasted as good as it looked. My wife had the Ni beef bowl and was meh at best to her. I tried it and was very tasty, she didnt dig the mayonnaise. Not the restaraunt fault since the menu explained what was in it. My two gripes are menu is not very broad. I understand keeping it simple but this seems too simple. Then the prices while not ridiculous are quite higher than I would expect to pay for such a meal. I would definitely go back again and recommend to others.

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Shadow

Decent sized place that is not over crowded with tables. Nice open feel to it and clean. Staff was friendly and service was prompt (it was not busy at the time). Ordered a Spicy Miso Ramen with a spicy level of 4 (out of 5) as well as Grilled Cheese Spicy Pulled Pork Bun. The ramen was good, however the half egg seemed to have been cooked prior and then refrigerated. The yolk was no longer runny as a result. The Grilled Cheese Spicy Pulled Pork Bun was quite good. Prices are a bit steep with ramen at around $12 -$14 and the Pork Bun at $7.50. The amount of food was enough for me. For a Grand Opening, (prices aside) it is a pretty good start.

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