Umami Ramen & Dumpling Bar

Reviews 4

ST

Stephanie OBrien

Went to dinner last night with a friend, and we still dont even know what to make of our experience at this restaurant! With all of the great eating options in Madison, we will definitely not come back to Umami. We ordered the pork buns, and ramen. When we tried to order a bowl of soup to go to be taken home to my friends husband, we were told this was not possible. When we asked why, the waitress told us that the to-go containers didnt hold the soup well. We thought it odd, but moved on and ordered our dinner. The tonkotsu ramen was bland and basically contained only pork and noodles. The veggie ramen was also bland and one-note, and the only veggies to be found were some mushrooms that tasted like they were reconstituted. In both bowls, the noodles chewy and not cooked enough to be considered al dente. (The pork buns were very good however!!) Food aside, the real reason we arent coming back is the service. We were at the restaurant a little over an hour, and were rushed all the way through by the staff. From the waitress who asked repeatedly while we were trying to read the menu if we were ready to order, to the staff gathered around the POS station, glaring at us after we finished our meal, as though mentally willing us to leave so they could turn the table, it was kind of uncomfortable. In a weird twist, when we were done with dinner, a waiter came by and asked us if we wanted to take our soup to go. While the soup was not something we relished taking home, we wanted to see how they handled the whole "our to go containers are not suitable for soup" dilemma. When we asked why this was possible with our soup we ordered in, but not for take out, we were told the same thing, that it was an issue with the containers..(uh, ok). Then we were told that in Japan, ramen was never taken to go, so that was another reason we couldnt order it to go. It was very confusing, because while this was being explained, our soup reappeared on the table, in the inferior containers, ready for us to take home. Also, most of the items are not Japanese in origin on the menu - so this is a strange sticking point. Since we are in Madison, Wisconsin, so I am sure Japan would forgive our uncouth ways. Soon after our soup was brought back to us to take to go, we were asked by management to vacate the table, because they had a party of four waiting for our table. We told we could move to another table "if we wanted to continue to sit and talk", but at this point, we realized that we didnt want to be there as much as they didnt want us there . (Again, we were there just over an hour! from the time we sat down to the time we left) Between the bland soup, the strange reasons for letting us order some to go, and the obvious disapproval from staff for our not realizing that we needed to just scarf down the food and LEAVE, I can safely say that I wont be coming back to this place.

JO

John McGreevey

Ive been going here for dinner probably 4-5 times a year since they opened. Its consistently pretty good. Sometimes its great, sometimes its a little on the just ok side. I typically always get the tonkotsu ramen. Its usually a very rich flavorful broth, but on occasion can be a little flat on the flavor side. This can always be rectified with a spicy bomb, though. The dumplings are almost always great. The pork belly buns are usually awesome, although the rice buns themselves are sometimes slightly dry and chewier than would be ideal. They make one of my favorite cocktails in town, the ocha-mark. Its basically a variation on a julep with Makers, green tea and mint. Consistency varies on this as well depending on whos behind the bar. My girl really enjoys the lychee martini which is too sweet for me but has good lychee flavor. Ambience is pretty standard Madison, loud and crowded. Its cozier than most places though due to the low ceilings. They have those high powered hand dryers in the bathrooms, so if youre sitting in the back you get to hear those things going off regularly through your meal. You get used to it I guess. The patio is great even though its right off Willy St. Ive only had brunch here once. I thought it was pretty good and interesting having the Asian flavors mixed with standard American breakfast dishes. My girl is more of an eggs and bacon kind of person, so we havent been back, although Id like to go. The staff is generally friendly. I dont know whats up with the consistency here because while I cant speak for the back-of-house staff there are at least two people out front that have worked there for years. Maybe theyre the owners, dunno. Overall, I would recommend Umami. Ive never had a bad meal here, only those that werent as good as others. There are several other places in town to get ramen but this is our go-to.

JO

John Lundquist

The wife and I met my brother and sister-in-law for dinner here last week, and I was pretty impressed with Umami. Since moving to Madison, Ive been consistently surprised at how many ethnic joints there are in town, and it was fun to find this place tucked in amongst the other great stores/restaurants on Willy St. I realllllllllllllllllllly wanted to give this all "excellent" ratings, but I try and reserve that for only truly fantastic places. Umami is *so close*, but the service we had made it only "great" and not "spectacular." The restaurant itself is an interesting set-up, as it seems to be an old house, renovated into a "hip" restaurant/bar. Im always a big fan of outdoor seating, so I was pleased that we were able to snag a table outside on a nice summer night. In terms of service, our waitress was just okay. I think my experience with her was tainted after being very impressed by the service of a waiter/host inside (maybe he was the manager?). The four of us wanted to get out of our comfort zones and order new things/authentic drinks & dishes, so it was important for us to be able to have stuff recommended to us. Whoever the guy was inside hooked me up with a delicious drink (O-cha Mark) but the waitress didnt seem to know much about the menu. GOOD: - Decent selection of beer/cocktails - The ramen itself was quite tasty. Im used to the cheap variety, so I was pleasantly surprised with the way it should actually taste. The flavor-infused egg was delicious as well! Get the Spicy Bomb to add. - The dumplings. OHHHHHHHH the dumplings. We tried two kinds (pork, chicken) and they were fantastic. - By far my favorite were the pork & beef buns. Holy crap were they tasty, especially when you mix in their sweet&sour or spicy sauces. BAD: - Service was fair (at best)

YE

Yeong Nae Chae

Well, if you see lots of Asian ppl, you know its a good place. This place is obviously for yuppy American ppl who think they know what good Asian food is. For the price, its not even worth it. But I guess ppl are going for the atmosphere, not the food. Saigon Noodles is definitely the hot spot to get authentic Asian food. As far as good Japanese food, Id rather go to Chicago or Schaumburg to get good Udon and Soba. I like giving places chances, but this is ridiculous. But then again its not as bad as Dumpling Haus, which is also a joke. About our experience, we had waited for table for 3, but they told us we could wait in the bar. So we waited and ordered our food there too. Once the table was opened we told them we would like to get to those seats, but they refused to seat us, stating we had already placed our orders and that because we had separate checks and different ppl serving us, it would get too confusing....uhhhh, ok? Thats ok, no tip for their ppl then. It was quite obvious they wanted to give that table to the party for 4. The Noodle bowl was not fresh, and the portion was less than impressive. The only positive I have is that the broth was decent. Thanks again for the GREAT SERVICE!