Umami Global Bistro

We used to LOVE this place, and every time we are in town we make it a point to go. Yesterday, we drove out of our way to get a take-​out order for a birthday celebration. It was early evening and when we picked up, there were only two other people in the restaurant.
1. They gave us three out of the five items that we ordered. The missing orders were for our vegetarian eater, so she had nothing to eat. Since we live over a half hour away and had plans for the evening, we could not drive back to pick it up.
2. They made sure to charge us for all FIVE of the items that we ordered.
3. The remaining items that we did receive, a chicken kabob and a two beef kabobs, were so overcooked they were nearly IMPOSSIBLE to cut through and eat. It was inedible.
4. We called and asked them to give us credit for the missing items. They said they did not know how to do that, and that the owner was not in last night. They took our number and said they would call in the morning when the owner returned. We did not get a call, but when we called today to talk with the owner we were told that he would be back «sometime this week».
It was a great place, and the owner is a great cook. Apparently it is a one-​man show, because we were very disappointed with both the service and the food and will not be back.

Good food, reasonably priced. Although the meat kabobs were on the tough side, the accompanying sauces solved the problem.
We ordered the combination platters that came with salads. Come on Umami, give plates! We either added food to our already used salad bowls, or had to return to the counter to actually ask for plates.

Tonight was my third and probably final visit to Umami Global Bistro. I don’t take any pleasure in writing poor reviews, but tonight’s experience just wasn’t worth my money or my time.
At about 8:30 PM I placed a take-​out order for one $ 14 Lamb Qorma and one $ 13 Chicken Tikka Masala. They said it would be ready in 20 minutes, so I showed up in 25. When I arrived the place was nearly empty. The counter attendant brought out a bag and informed me that the meat portions of my order weren’t ready. After a while she apologized and confessed that the kitchen had forgotten to make my food. Given the lack of customers, I wondered what they had been doing instead.
I asked what — if anything — was in the bag I had been handed and began removing items. It turns out that an unexpected container of soup on top was meant for the take-​out order that walked out before me, so she took that back. The rest was a small salad, rice, and supermarket pita triangles in a styrofoam clamshell. Finally my meat arrived and I left.
The most exciting part of the meal was the challenge of conceiving the balls it must take to charge this much for a few hunks of boiled gristle. Both the lamb and the chicken were fatty, tough, and mealy; they tasted and felt like they had been reheated in a microwave. The salad was a soup, steamed flaccid by the rice while I waited for the kitchen to start cooking my meal. The sauce was flavorless. What bothers me the most is how much worse everything tasted than when I ordered the same meal a few months ago.
I regret not buying two $ 7 gyro platters from the halal truck on Route 40. This place might have potential in spurts, but it’s consistency that makes a restaurant deserving of a customer’s loyalty. For my part, I think I’ll consistently look elsewhere whenever I need a local meal on a Friday evening.

Maza plate special, hummus, grape leaves, naan, fantastic! Abby and I love this place. Never had anything but GREAT food there.

This is my first time at this place and I tried the chicken sheesh kabab. I liked my dish, it is really good and clean food !

Great amount of Mediterranean food. the sampler for 2 offers a lot of food for 2 ppl… 2 kabobs, rice, salads, hummus, baba ganoush, grape leaves, falafel, nan. they have flatbread pizzas, wrap sandwhiches, n even kampucha.
The kabobs n rice came out last which I was a little disappointed about especially when we were filling up with all the other stuff. Chicken was tender but the lamb didn’t seem like it was cooked all the way, it was a bit pink. The nan was hot n soft. Salad was just average salad with oil dressing. Hummus was ok, baba ganoush has a smokey flavor. The falafels were good little balls with nice crispy outside.
All in all was good enough n not too terrible a place.

I was so excited to try this place, based on the good reviews, and the existence of one of my all time favorite foods, shawarma, on the menu. I’m sorry to say that my limited, but my interaction with a staff member named Sarah who had a surprisingly bad attitude left a sour taste in my mouth. I enjoyed the fries that came with my shawarma, found that the vegetables were not fresh, so made the sandwich a little slimy. With such positive reviews and my love for food from the Mediterranean region, I’m inclined to go back and hope Sarah has been relieved.

This is a great gem in Catonsville. The food is great, and Rehan’s commitment to his food and customers is amazing.
Food is cooked-​to-​order, and portion sizes are generous.
We have ordered catering from Umami for a couple parties and have never been disappointed.

I love this place! You can tell the chef puts a lot into his craft. The portion sizes are generous, but not overwhelming. The flavors are robust and authentic. We shared the sampler for two with our two young daughters and it was more fan enough. The fresh handmade picnic pops were a nice after dinner treat!

We ordered a salad, few entrees and got some frozen fruit bars. Everything just ok. One of the few times Unilocalers let me down.

Absolutely amazing food. My favorite place in town. Chef Rehan is a genius. It’s the best rice I’ve ever had. He also supports local businesses and carries locally made juice and popsicles. Everything I’ve had there is amazing.

Great, little Bistro in downtown Catonsville. The menu has some great selections that will spark your interest. Greek salad is very tasty & makes for a great lunch. Whatever you try I’m sure it will satisfy the taste buds. Prices are reasonable and the food is done well. Good to have a place like this in the area. Try it, you’ll like it!

This small restaurant in the middle of Catonsville was a pleasant surprise for us. I ordered the falafel flat bread and mango chair tea. My son got the kids size kabob platter which was huge for a kids option. He was happy with the chicken kabobs, salad and fries, and washed them down with a mango lasse he said was delicious. We finished off with a gluten free chocolate cake for him, and the server gave me a free vegan cupcake that was AWESOME.
Service was friendly and quick. The seating area is small and mostly clean except for the floor being a bit dirty, it was perfect.
Flavorful food, great service and prices, I love this place.

Was looking forward to eating here and was not disappointed! Located on the main street through the heart of Catonsville. The owner was very nice and gave us falafels on the house as first time customers.
Had the chicken tikka and the base sauce was delicious! And since it’s supposed to be a healthy version, no dark meats were used. Portions were good – i wasn’t uncomfortably full after our meal, which is also a healthy thing. What I didn’t to expect to enjoy was the green dressing (?cilantro-​based) that was on the side salad. Yummy!
I also had the chai tea, but without my usual Splenda, as they only offer natural sugar.
Looking forward to try their seasonal Sunday brunch befire they transition to their farmer’s market stand!

The food is always fresh and delicious. Rehan, the owner, is constantly thinking of new ideas to make Umami Global Bistro feel new and exciting. Check out the specials which change frequently.

This is my first time going to Frederick Road on my own and since it was my day off yesterday, I decided to go to numerous places there before dropping lunch off at my brother’s work.
This place was the first because I love Mediterranean foods and I heard this place takes a while to cook their food according to some Unilocalers here. Thanks fellow Unilocalers! :)
I ordered their Falafel Flatbread, Chicken and Beef Schwarma and the Lamb Gyro.
They said it’ll take 20 – 30 minutes. Perfect! I walked to some nearby places (Reviews coming after this!) and came back in about 25 minutes. The food still wasn’t ready so I went to a place I didn’t have bookmarked then came back again. Food was ready! It took about 30 – 35 minutes for the food to get done. Mind you, all of the place’s tables were filled with people so I understood.
I drove to my brother’s work which took about 20 minutes and decided to try out the Lamb Gyro. It was fantastic. The gyro was packed with tender and juicy lamb and the bread was a bit chewy, which I love.
I gave the Chicken and Beef Schwarma to my brother and another worker so I don’t know how it tasted.
I did have half of the Falafel Flatbread and it was different. When people say Falafel, I automatically think fried balls of chickpeas and spices. I’m sure many others think the same! But maybe I’m wrong to always think of it that way. Maybe I’m slightly ignorant when it comes to Falafel? :(
Anyways, the flatbread had hummus on it. Maybe some people call Hummus, Falafel and vice versa? Either way it was pretty good. Just not what I was expecting lol.
Definitely a good place to eat at if you’re around the area.

Had very high expectations for Umami. The reviews and such were good and I am always on the look out for great food. So my SO and a couple friends decided to give it a try.
Umami is a order at the counter, sit down and they will bring your food out to you type of place. We looked over the menu and all decided on what to do get… my SO and I ordered one of there large specials, which contains everything from hummus to falafal to kabobs to grape leaves… we were hungry! and we wanted fed! lol Our friends ordered something similar… oh yeah they come with salads as well. The amount of food that we ordered was massive so we all expected the food to take a good bit of time… especially since the restaurant had started to get busy… a good sign on a Wed night, so our interest was peaked.
The food came out almost too quick, the salad came out within 2 – 3 mins and the food right after that… so two huge platters out in less than 5 mins… hmmm small red flag but our hunger was screaming at us to dive right in… and that we did! We started with the salad… it was nice mix but still your standard salad. The dressing, I was hoping was a step above the rest… it was ok at best… it is an oil based dressing so you have to mix it very well and will most likley need to add salt and pepper. So salad was blah… but on to the main course… the platter… it comes out with grape leaves, falafal, chickpeas, chicken kaboob, hummus and bhabbghouh and rice… so a huge platter right! I dove right in and the first tastes were ok, the hummus nice and creamy but lacked any real flavor, same with the bhabbagoush. Moving on the the grape leaves and falafal, the only bright spot was the falafal… it was crispy and flavorful but the grape leaves were hard, not really tasty and I felt has though they had been sitting out for some time. Ok, but on to the kaboob right… I was holding out hope that kabob would steal the show! It did not! it sank the ship… the chicken was not tasty, very tough and pretty dry all at once… literally felt like the chicken had been sitting out for sometime under a lamp… it was chewy and tasteless and I was severally disappointed by not only the kabob but everything on the platter.
So overall, I had high hopes for Umami, but they didn’t come close to meeting those hopes and everything really tasted as it had been left out all day and just put together when ordered… not really freshly made. I hold out hope that this was a random occurrence but It will be hard for me to come back after such a dismal experience.
Try Umami if you dare, and hope you have a better experience than we did… Cheers!

Really enjoyed the flavors that was packed into my grilled shrimp wrap with vegetables and hummus. The staff is plesent and attentive. Excited to try the main dishes and flat breads. Resturant offers a lot, so excited to have them In the area!

This restaurant has something for everyone — from vegetarian options to deep fried options. The customer service is excellent — I was torn between two different dishes so the proprietor bright me out some falafel for free to try with the lamb gyro I ordered. Their meets are all cruelty free, and their produce is local– from the farmers market. Best of all, the prices are very affordable.

I stopped by here with a few others when there was a huge traffic jam on I-​95 South. After searching online for a decent lunch place, «global bistro» caught my eye, and I’m glad we swung by!
When you enter this place, your eyes immediately go to the shiny, jewel-​adorned metal screens next to the tables. They are pretty and add some flair. You go up to the counter, order food, sit down, and someone will bring your food to you. We got the sampler for two with the veggie kabobs, an iced mango chai, and a hot chai. The sampler was a filling meal for the three of us; the girl told us even four people could eat it. That would be true for two adults and two children. The pita bread was plentiful, and the flavors were traditional. I truly enjoyed the falafel because it wasn’t overly fried and you could see the chickpeas inside. The veggies, in my opinion, were overly salted, but they were nicely grilled. The rice was well made, and the hummus and baba ghanoush were fine. The drinks were pretty tasty!
If you’re looking for a simple sit down meal with diverse flavors, you should check this place out. It seemed popular for take out orders as well. The menu has many different items, but I was surprised to not see any Oriental items except for a tempura fish sandwich. The name of the restaurant doesn’t lend itself to have a Mediterranean and Indian-​inspired menu; instead, I think of other Asian countries. I was also confused on the menu pricing because some of it did not match online prices.
On the positive side, the girl who we interacted with was very sweet and helpful. She was very approachable. The restaurant itself was clean, and I liked the solid flatware and dishes. The place doesn’t look too fancy from the outside, so you may expect paper plates/​cutlery. You will be proven wrong!
There is free parking next door and two-​hour limit meters in front which is great.
Bottom line: if you find yourself in this area by chance, it won’t hurt to eat at this place!