Umami Noodle Bar

We’ve been coming here for almost a year. We are always greeted with a smile and the staff is always friendly and helpful. Today was the best for me. We walked in and were told that the curry broth was still cooking and that they were out of Tom yum. I was bummed since I love both of these. I made a comment about how tomyum was my favorite. He went out back and they gave me the last of what they had for the night. Needless to say I was one happy girl. Can’t wait to come back again.

Delicious warm custom noodle shop. You order at the bar 1) broth 2) noodle/​rice 3) protein 4) add ins (kale, eggplant, egg, etc. So good and with vegan options! Four star is simply because the ladies bathroom was less-​than. Food, however, was 5-​star!

Totally random and oddly decorated spot, would probably do take out more often than not but I was in town two nights and had ramen both of them. 5 star food, 2 star atmosphere so get take out and enjoy, you won’t be disappointed.

Loved this restaurant! Fresh and flavorful noodle bowls and a warm atmosphere! Food came out fast and a very friendly staff (the chef even came and checked on us and made sure the food was good)! I encourage anyone in the area to visit here.

Upon arriving to Umami for the first time, we were warmly greeted by the host who explained the menu, ordering options, and provided some recommendations. There were many options and combos of noodles, broths, proteins, and add ons to chose from. However, just by choosing options down the menu such as udon noodles (+1), onions (+1), and daikon (+1) an average sized noodle bowl will run you 11 – 12 dollars. That is fairly expensive from my experience in noodle shops.
That being said, all four of us enjoyed our different bowls tremendously. We drank Thai iced tea and beer while sitting on the outdoor patio. The wait staff was friendly and attentive. The ingredients were fresh and the broth was richly flavored without being salty. We will return!

After having visited this restaurant a couple of times I have come to the opinion that it is one of the better places to eat in Bangor. Which is doubly true at night when the venues for masticatory activity is largely overtaken by bars or pubs. In all fairness there is a small bar attached to the dining area where if you wanted to, you could dine; though I’d suggest taking your meal in the regular dining area which is (in my opinion) fairly well decorated and gives a nice view into the city streets.
The food quality is spectacular, the portions are very large; I went with my girlfriend who was unable to finish her order, though she did agree on the high quality of the dish. The price, I find is pretty fair, around eight dollars (I wasn’t considering any level of frugality so I don’t recall the exact cost) for a custom bowl of good Raman, even adding a soft drink it’s probably cheaper or at the very least comparable to any other sit-​in-​dining locale, and where it wins is that in contrast to other places nearby it’s a lot quieter. There is music playing in the bar and in the main dining area, though it didn’t bother me either times I have been here.
I think it’s a breath of fresh air for those wishing to dine out in downtown Bangor. Fairly well priced, high quality food, polite employees as well. It’s definitely worth a visit.

I tried out Umami Noodle Bar tonight while in Bangor for business and was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the tom yum broth with soba noodles, pork belly, and shiitake mushrooms. It had delicious flavor and was some of the best Asian cuisine I have had in Maine. Fresh ingredients and huge portions. The pork belly was great and well worth the $ 1 extra for meat.
The staff was very helpful with recommendations since it was my first time there and the food came out quick and fresh. It wasn’t full of sodium and fried food like you would find at some Chinese restaurants. The happy hour drink specials were really good and the atmosphere was great. Definitely worth trying out in Bangor if you’re over the whole lobster thing. I will definitely try this place again.

A great place! Good food — filling, fresh, and inventive. Nice atmosphere dining on the patio. Many great options and combinations for every taste. Not just noodles as they had some delicious goyza and edamame. Even our two littles enjoyed splitting a bowl. Highly recommend it!

The flavor is excellent! The atmosphere was a bit chaotic and disjointed. While the man taking the orders did a pretty good job of doing that quickly, the wait for the food for our part of 3 was a bit longer than should be expected.
As many of the other reviewers have noted, the pricing is rather bazaar. Honestly, the add ons are not worth it. Stick with the base and you’ll be great! My friends and I thought it was weird that everything was up in the air with so many choices to choose from. It may help their ordering/​assembly to go more smoothly if they put together some «house bowls» for recommendations.
Overall, it’s a good spot, but definitely has a lot of room for improvement!

I have to agree with the other reviews. Cool idea, poor execution. Felt dirty and unfinished. Service at the counter was awkward at best. Pricing structure absurd. I’ve got to say I was excited when I heard about this place. I hope they can make the needed changes and keep things going. The soup really wasn’t that bad!

I got the spicy Tom yum with steak and ramen noodles. It wasn’t too spicy but very flavorful and fresh tasting. I can’t wait to try some other combinations! Yum!

I’ve had lunch at noodle bars in other parts of the country, and they’ve quickly become one of my favorite types of restaurants. When I learned about the opening of Umami, I was excited Bangor would be getting a noodle bar, but also had high expectations. It took me over a month to finally try it out, but I was more than pleased with my experience.
I liked both the food and atmosphere of Umami a lot. My dish, udon noodles in a spicy yellow curry broth with portabello mushrooms, was both delicious and filling. It was like taking a bowl of ramen noodles, and giving it a hint of thai cuisine as well. The self seating was convenient as well.
My only complaint is that the wait was a little long compared to other noodle bars I’ve eaten at. Considering how new Umami is, I’m sure it’s just because the staff is learning the ropes, and they will only improve with time. The food was worth both the price and the wait, so it’s only a minor gripe.
I am eagerly anticipating my next visit to Umami. There are a lot of other noodle bowl combinations, and I want to try them all.

Cool new place downtown, good for something different for lunch in Bangor!

This place was okay, but I guess I went in with my expectations too high after reading about it in the local paper. The wait to order was long, and there were not enough people taking orders to keep the line moving. The menu had lots of options, but no suggestions for what might be good combinations, which would have been helpful. Their pricing for noodles is a bit odd, with some noodles costing more than others for no clear reason. All the protein options cost the same even though the base cost of those ingredients (steak, tofu, mushrooms) would be quite different. The price of add ons was quite high, and by adding just a few items you could easily double the price of your bowl of soup. The might consider including one or two add ons in the base price to encourage more people to try them. The staff seemed rushed and not all that certain about what they were doing, which is somewhat understandable since they only opened recently.
The wait for the food to arrive was also rather long for a counter service place that promotes itself as having quick service. When the two bowls of soup we got arrived, they looked tasty, though they had a whole lot more noodles than is usual in noodle soup bowls. This may sound like an odd complaint, but there really wasn’t enough broth to flavor the noodles fully. The amount of meat was okay, though there could have been more. The noodles were decent, though I had been hoping for higher quality house made ones in a place that focuses on noodles. The soba noodles were not that impressive, nor were the rice noodles. Perhaps the default ramen is the way to go.
Oddly, they served plastic soup spoons with some of the meals to stay but traditional ceramic ones with others. I’m guessing they don’t have enough spoons, which is a problem because eating soup out of a plastic spoon is not what you usually expect when you’re served soup you’re not getting as take out.
There aren’t many other places like this in Bangor, so if I lived in the area and wanted this type of food I would probably give it another try to see if I could find a better combination than the ones we tried. As someone who is there occasionally to visit family and friends, I probably won’t return unless I hear they’ve improved. There are lots of other restaurants in Bangor I’m more interested in returning to than this one.

Yikes! It’s like someone had a great idea and woke up in bed with a traveling salesman and a high school apartment and then nine months later Umami was born.
The food is pretty good. Flavorful and large portions. The prices seem a tad unrealistic and slightly in the expensive side. The décor is just confusing and not very appealing. I think this place could really make it and I truly hope that it does. It’s different and Bangor needs that. The floors need to be redone and the ceiling needs to be painted.
The spoons are sharp! Watch out for the sides of your mouth! To top it off, the waitress took her cigarette break out in front of the shop in full view of the windows! Ha that cracks me up! Cigarette break right in front of your patrons?!
3 different songs competing from the bar, kitchen and main floor.
DRUMROLL! Hair in my noodles. See pic below!
Wow :/​

Very good food, although it helps to order well. There are zillions of combinations and some are much better than others. It would be nice if they had a few preselected combos to help ensure newbies enjoy the food. The pricing scheme is unfortunately outrageous. You can easily build a $ 16 – 18 bowl of soup, and I have. C’mon $ 4 extra for a few mushroom slices and some bok choy? $ 12 should be the absolute max, and that’s still pushing it for what they serve. It’s good, but it ain’t Ippudo in NYC. I was a bit dissapointed to learn there are no house made noodle options, but that’s a lot to expect in Maine. Overall great job, and I hope they succeed. We need more restaurants in town like Umami.

Delicious and way filling! Endless soup combinations. I love that they are focus on soups and perfecting the art of them.

It’s so unfortunate that there is not an option for zero stars. As a person with food allergies I have never had such a poor experience. Upon asking if the Tom Yum broth is gluten free, I was told that they would go check. After a fairly long wait, the server came back and very unapologetically told me that he was not allowed to tell me as its a secret recipe. He then directed me to two other broths that «only have a little soy sauce». Which I’m allergic to.
I don’t know when food safety and allergen information became a national secret but if you don’t know what’s in your food and/​or can’t or won’t reveal it, get out of the food industry.
Sat and watched my companions eat their soup, which smelled fairly good, and ate nothing.
My friends were here for their second time and said its inconsistent and pricing for add ons is ridiculous as they barely (if at all) give you any. $ 2 for non existent kimchi?
Friends gave it 3 stars. If you have allergies, eat at your own risk… or better yet, somewhere else.

Good, but pricing seemed odd.

Bangor has a cool new spot in Umami Noodle Bar! They offer quick service and excellent Ramen options in downtown Bangor in the old Thai Siam spot. This is my 2^nd visit and I have found the noodle bowls to be yummy and perfect! Hope this stays around for a while as both times I’ve been here the line has been stretched out the door!