Umami Burger

Let me start off by saying that the first time I when to Umami I had a wonderful meal, one that I remembered and wanted to return to. This was the week of their grand opening. Today I went back craving the same meal, but was utterly surprised at how terrible it was. How could it have fallen so hard? No wonder their restaurant was pretty much empty.
The truffle portobello burger, which they charge $ 14 for, was nothing more than a bun with a microwaved portobello and some sauce. What? The black bean burger wasn’t much better, dry with some large chunks of carrots thrown in? Really?
Do yourself a favor and stop by McDonalds, you’re sure to have a better meal, and you won’t be paying $ 40 for two lousy burgers.
On a positive note, the fried oatmeal cookie with ice cream was good.

My first one star review, and let me start off by saying that Umami Burger is maybe the worst burger I have ever had. I ordered the Truffle and the boy ordered the Umami. Mine was bad, but his was awful! Let’s break it down:
Flavors: My burger was fine, except for being over cooked and doused in sauce. I know Umami prides itself on balancing flavors but there was so much of the savory truffle aoli that I could barely taste the truffle cheese. Overwhelming, and not at all in a good way. We also got the tempura onion rings which taste like… you guessed it… regular onion rings. Nothing special at all.
Price: Burgers here range from $ 8 (the cheapest but largest option) all the way to $ 15. The sides are sold separately for $ 3 – 6. The portions were fairly small considering what you pay. And to not have a side included at that price — that is just plain greed. It had me wishing I had just decided to pick up a Double Double for ¹⁄₃ of the price.
Atmosphere: Service was not great (sort of unfriendly), and I didn’t love the vibe there. Maybe I am not upper crust enough to appreciate a run down beach theme masquerading as high end eats.
I will never be back. Do yourself a favor and treat your lunch with more respect — find another burger elsewhere.

Before coming, I thought their prices were high for burgers, and I thought I would conclude that the burgers were really good, but pricey.
Unfortunately, the burgers were some of the worst I have ever eaten, and some of the most expensive.
We ordered the umami burger and the truffle burger. Both of them were completely overcooked and super dry.
The umami burger was nasty! The ingredients sound good on the menu, but the execution was horrible. The burned cheese on top, which they daringly call parmesan frico, was disgusting.
The truffle burger was only slightly better. The truffle cheese tastes like it’s half cheese and half mayonnaise. I love cheese, but this was hard to swallow.
Onion rings were pretty standard.
The house-​made sauces were really good. But the food was awful. Any fast food chain makes better food than this.

I tried Umami for the very first time here, and had a positive experience. Had a truffle burger and tried the manly burger and really enjoyed the unique flavor packed in them.
I also ordered a side of fries and liked the fact it came with different dips to besides your regular ketchup. Im a fan of my fries beingsuper thin and slightly crunchy so these were perfect. The host was even very attentive to us and I even got the chance to conversation with him about the history on the whole umami restaurant chain.
Overall, this restaurant was great despite how expensive it was. It’s good to know that they now have an umami open in Oakland which is much closer to me now.
Side note: Idk if it’s just me or if this is the case at all Umami restaurants, but this restaurant had this weird smell to it when you dine in there. It didn’t bother me but I just took notice while I was there.

This is the second Umami burger I’ve been to (1^st was at the camp in Costa Mesa). Impressed with the food and attitude of the staff. This location is set in what must have been a Bed Bath and Bodyworks store, it’s very bright inside, not like the hipster Costa Mesa location
Burgers are awesome and the beer is tasty.

The restaurant was decorated nicely and the staff was awesome. The staff were nice and very funny. They had more personality than most places I have been to! The food of course was delicious. The truffle burger was amazing, anything with truffle sauce is :) The sweet potato fries were the bomb! Can’t wait to go back soon!

Next to great food, there’s nothing more awesome about a wonderful restaurant than an amazing staff. When it comes to customer service, these people have it down! We opted for this restaurant because of the unique selection of burgers, but when we walked in, we were greeted with smiles from everyone. Our server was so enthusiastic, but not in the corporate way that feels forced and fake. He was extremely knowledgable and excited to share all the details of the menu as it was our first time at Umami. He was able to give honest opinions to help us make our choices. Throughout our delicious meal, the staff continued to remain attentive to our needs and they far exceeded our expectations. In fact, we will be going for lunch again tomorrow to grab a bite before our long drive home to the desert. Thank you for the great experience, Umami staff!

This is more like a 3.75 star rating…
Truffle burger ($ 12) — fantastic.
Ahi Tuna burger ($ 15) — ok — (note to self: should have ordered beef).
Cheesy tater tots ($ 5) — ask the server specifically bc it’s on the secret menu.
Cute location. Outside seating. Free parking in the back parking lot (turn on Boat Canyon Dr.).

I ordered the greenbird — turkey, avocado, green cheese, sprouts YUM! — and the truffle fries and was not disappointed. They were both really tasty and of quality and the sides were all good especially the garlic aioli. No complaints on those fronts but the size of the burger was really too small to fill me up. I’d recommend getting an appetizer or coming on a half full stomach because the burger is not likely to do the job on its own.

I took my mom here. She was visiting from the south so I thought it’d be a nice place to take her to try.
Our waiter was nice. He recommended that I get a burger not on the menu. It was called the spicy cow, or something.
It came with fried onions on top, but they were soggy and cold. I told our waiter and within a minute the manager was back to tell me that they aren’t refrigerated so there is no way they were cold. Okay, smart-​ass. I’m saying they’re not hot. «Again, they aren’t refrigerated so they can’t be cold.» «THEY ARENT WARM.» «Well they aren’t right out of the frier. That’s how they come.
Interesting, seeing as my mother’s manly fries had them on top and they were pipping hot.
Pretty good food. Crappy manager experience. A bit of a wait even though it was nearly empty. Also, I wish their menu said their desserts and other options or that the servers would tell you about them.

I went here yesterday with gf as a Sunday Funday meal. When we arrived the place was pretty empty. Unfortunately, they were short staffed as well. We walked in and were told to sit anywhere. Maybe 10 minutes later a group of 3 were seated next to us. They were helped before us and luckily the guy who I think was the host noticed it. He came to our table to try and save the day and offer us something to drink. We ordered our drinks and waited for the waitress to address us. Eventually we were addressed and able to put in our order. We got our burgers first and slightly after our fries. Food was delish as always, but super disappointed in the service, especially when the place is not busy. Maybe I’ll be back for a second chance.

I’ve always wanted to try this place because I see it all over my IG and I thought I would give it a try.
Me and the bf came here around 5 ish and the place was almost close to empty (a good or bad thing?) and we were seated almost immediately. Our server, Ashley, was very friendly and was very sweet towards us when we told her it was our first time dining with them. So one star goes to her.
I ordered the Original Umami burger and he ordered the Manly burger. I was very surprised that gibes such simple ingredients, the tiny burger tasted pretty good I may say. So there’s a star for that. And I guess I shall also give my final star to the complementary sauces we were given. I believe it was the garlic aioli, jalapeño ranch, house made ketchup, and their diablo sauce. These sauces are all house made and are jam packed with flavor.
Even though the burgers and sauces had amazing flavors that danced all the way from my mouth to my stomach, I was very disappointed in the size. I’m a type of person that when I order a burger, I want a good amount of it. I left the restaurant satisfied but not completely full, and mind you I’m a fairly tiny girl. I could have ordered sides but I just could do it to my wallet as the burgers themselves were $ 12 each and a side of fries were $ 3 (in my opinion, not worth it when I saw the serving)
In my opinion, it’s an awesome place that serves very flavorful burgers however it won’t be my first choice if I am hungry for more than a snack.

Since Umami is supposed to be the 5^th human taste hailed by chefs and foodies alike, I think I may have placed some pretty high expectations on Umami Burger. Like my life was supposed to be changed by this amazing flavor sensation.
Well, while the burgers were good, life is pretty much the same.
We tried:
Umami Burger: a medium-​sized patty topped with shiitake mushroom, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, and swanky ‘umami’ ketchup. I am not sure how they get the ‘U’ on top of the burger buns, but it is a cute touch.
Manly Burger: same patty as the Umami Burger, topped with beer-​cheddar cheese, smoked salt-​onion strings and bacon lardon. NOTE: I really think they need a different description for the bacon pieces in this burger, because ‘lardon’ is really an unappetizing sounding word. Don’t you think?
Tempura Onion Rings — battered with malt liquor tempura. These were bland without using one of the four supplied dipping sauces.
Truffle Fries — my favorite out of the things we tried — thin fries topped with truffle cheese and truffle salt. Just the right amount of truffle flavor.
Our waiter, when we could find him, was friendly. He did disappear for a while, leaving us without refills on water or the all-​important beer. Speaking of beer, while there is a nice selection of bottled options, there were only 3 beers available on tap. Kind of weird for a place with a full bar.
Overall, A-​OK sums it up nicely. I will keep looking for my life-​changing burger.

I’ve already reviewed another Umami Burger location (Anaheim), but after visiting I can’t resist the urge to review this one too. I want to yell from the rooftops how good this burger is (I get The Hatch Burger every time). And it isn’t just the burger. The smushed potatoes too. And the sauces. And the ice cream.
The burger wars are over, people. Since our visit to this Umami, we went to another place that is a direct competitor where the the two chains’ geographies overlap. No contest. The other burger was good, but to compare it to Umami’s is to equate adequacy with excellence.
We hope Umami Burger makes it to San Diego sometime soon. Until then we have to drive up to Laguna Beach or Costa Mesa.
The Laguna Beach location is obviously not doing great — it is too far north for its market, it isn’t very visible, its signage is poor and it may be on the wrong side of the street. We walked right in, which isn’t consistent with my experiences at other Umami locations. Come on locals — please start frequenting this place so we don’t lose this location.

3.5 rounded down.
Umami has a cool concept. Server was friendly but nothing particularly special. Windows were taken out and it’s right on the PCH so every motorcyclist going by will rustle your jimmies pretty good.
The burgers are not too large — good if you’re not gorging, bad if you’re a big eater and extra bad if you’re a big eater on a budget. The burgers are fairly modest considering their $ 11 – 14 price tag, and fries have to be ordered separately and run in the $ 3 – 6 range depending on how fancy you want to get with them.
The sweet Portuguese bun was my favorite part of the Cali Burger. Overall a good spot that serves a pretty unique burger, but even fast food phenom In-​N-​Out and char-​grilling The Habit locations stay pretty competitive tit-​for-​tat with Umami.

Best service from an umami joint I’ve ever had this little gem was hidden away in a strange location (good for us I guess because it was empty when we got there.) Tried the spicy off menu burger and literally died/​went to heaven. Such a great day and their UFO dessert was perfection really got busy towards the end of out meal. Defiantly worth a visit