Umami Ramen & Dumpling Bar

Food is phenomenal, but the service is laughably bad. It almost seems like a schtick. When I asked the waiter if I could sit with my wife for 10 minutes while she waited for her friend for dinner on a patio with roughly 6 other open tables, I was told doing so is against their «seating policy.» I even ordered a drink. Hard to believe a place that has a «seasonal» dish that is easily the best thing on the menu and could undoubtedly be offered year round has a policy for anything, but okay.
Don’t waste your time. There are too many other good places to eat in Madison without being made to feel like you’re unwelcome.

We ordered potstickers and they tasted just like the frozen ones sold at Trader’s Joe. The noodle soup did not taste anything near Japanese food.
Maybe, the taste is adjusted to the local taste. I’m just saying. If you want to taste the original Japanese food, this is not your place.

Japanese place for breakfast? I was a little skeptical about this place but my wife was really counting on it and we went to this place. I really had the best time… The bloody mary was out of the world and the steam breakfast buns were really interesting. My wife had mango mimosa which she seemed to enjoy it a lot, but the omu rice she was hoping to taste for a long time was not upto her expectations.

Here’s the deal: Even though the hostesses are consistently going out-​of-​their-​way to be sassy, I love their ramen. And that’s saying a lot. Because, let’s face it, I’m picky.
As a vegan, I order the vegan ramen because, ramen, and occasionally dive into dumplings (get multiple sauces — and pro tip, save them to put in the ramen).
Let me give it to you straight with the ramen: it’s not all *that* flavorful until you toss in some heat, and I’m talking a good amount of heat. I don’t know what happens, but the broth and entire dish become magical.
I always tell myself I’ll save some for the next day, but then I’m stuffing my face less than a few hours later. Worth it.
Try the wonton chips, too. And the salsa they give you with the brunch burrito. Aaaaamazing.
Oh and you can sit outside on the awesome patio, people watch down Willy Street, and be around mostly young professionals.
Areas for improvement: more veggies in the vegan ramen for the price, train your main hostess to at least be not sassy — I don’t even care if she’s not outwardly nice, just dial back the ‘tude, add more substance to your food cart tofu buns because they’re skimpy portions and not worth the price.

If I lived on the Eastside, I would probably go broke eating here. Steamed buns, dumplings, and Ramen are all my favorite things to eat and Umami does them all right. I have such a hard time ordering when I go here since everything I have ever tried has been amazing. Dang, now I want to go to Umami now for lunch. If you are reading this still, stop, and just go get yourself some steamed buns from Umami now.

I really like Umami. I love the pork buns, the pork belly brightened by the tangy sauce, and the freshness of the scallions and pickles cucumbers nicely counters the fat. It’s really the perfect combination in a single bite.
As for the ramen, I always get the tonkotsu, and I really really love the way they do their meat. I love pork fat. The broth is super rich and creamy without being weighted down, the eggs are always cooked perfectly rare and the bamboo slices are nicely marinated. I strongly feel that they are levels above other ramen establishments in town in terms of understanding the ingredients and execution. That said, the broth is a bit too salty for my taste, to the point that it leaves a slight bitter after taste. I wish they can hold back on the salt a little so it doesn’t distract from all the other wonderful things in the bowl. Comparing to their competitions, though, they are outstanding.
Umami will continue to be my family’s asian restaurant of choice.

Loved everything about this place. The noodles were amazing and the drinks as well. I enjoyed the mango mojito, it was fresh and just prepared to perfection. Next time I am in Madison I will definitely hot this place up.
Service was also great!!!

The food is good, but the brunette, plain-​faced hostess ruined it. After the bartender informed me that my order had been misread by the kitchen and I was given a small and not my large order of dumpling, large to follow when ready, he asked her if he should comp me on the large upcharge, or $ 2. She snarkily replied in a nasally and uptalking way, in direct earshot halfway down the bar, «no way, absolutely not!» I hope she’s not a manager.
She then proceeded to trash talk previous customers and generally create an intolerably annoying atmosphere for those customers unfortunate enough to be inside and in hearing distance.
When I received my bill, no accommodation of the fact that I had been inconvenienced or forced to endure that woman.
Umami, you have good food, but get your staff straightened out. Don’t hire these rude prima donnas.

Food: 5
Service: 4
Uniqueness: 4
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So I didn’t know what to expect from a ramen joint in Madison Wisconsin but the steamed buns from their food cart by the campus were incredible. As a result my wife and I went to check it out and we’re blown away. This place is on par with ramen in San Francisco or Seattle and is probably one of the best places in the midwest.
Definitely try the buns. The porkbelly buns are standard and tasty but the unique ones are the spicy beef buns with cucumber kimchi and spicy mayo. Those are delicious.
The tonkatsu ramen is outstanding! The broth is rich and flavorful and the noodles are perfect. The other ramen broths are ok. We’ve tried several of the others which are good but not nearly as noteworthy as the tonkatsu.

This gem was on my list for some time now. Stopped in with my girl on a Tuesday night. (Last night) once we walked in, there was a small line. However we were seated quite quickly. Still could not believe how packed for a Tuesday night!
I like old houses revamped and zoned for restaurants. Décor was nice and simple.
Waiter was very kind and helpful.
Beef Bun apps were Freaken amazing!
The Ramen noodles were definitely home made. My mother makes home made for her chicken soup. Ramen Noodles were not as starchy.
In short, the Miso Ramen with added pork was fantastic!
Can’t wait to go again!

We ordered the following for takeout:
1 order of pork buns: I’ve had these at their cart before, and they are just as tasty at the restaurant. This was the highlight.
2 seaweed salads:
Nicely dressed with some lightly pickled (I think) mushrooms
2 large orders of dumplings (18 total) — classic pork and chive and pork/​shrimp combo:
Thoroughly mediocre. Greasy, overcooked, and slightly dry. It doesn’t seem like they serve steamed dumplings, which is a pity. They’re not bad, but they’re not particularly good either.
The whole thing came to $ 38. That’s too much for a moderate spread of appetizers. I doubt we’ll be back anytime soon.

I’m so glad we stumbled upon this gem. Located in an old house turned into a restaurant this place has lots to offer. We came for lunch on Sunday. It was pretty crowded but the staff was nice and we ended up not waiting too long at all.
I started off with a guava mimosa! Just based on that alone I would be back. Yumm! They had regular mimosas as well as mango and peach ones. The Bloody Mary was intriguing as well with a quail egg but we passed on this Sunday.
Our waitress was nice and quick to take our order and refill waters. She even made us kid friendly chopsticks for the 8yr old in the group.
We started with the beef buns which were very good. I want to try the spicy tofu ones next time. For entrees I had the tofu kimchi hash and my boyfriend got the brunch ramen. Both things were very good and cooked perfectly. There are also dumplings on the menu which look amazing and veggie and began ramen as well.
I was very impressed by how many vegetarian and vegan options they had on the menu. I will definitely be back with my veggie loving friends to try them out! Can’t wait to try dinner and their other cocktails!

Ramen? In the morning? I’ll admit it took me some time to come around to Umami as a brunch option. Friends have talked about how magnificent and unique of a place Umami is for brunch and I finally caved.
First, the Umami bloody mary. Goodness! It is a delicious take on the traditional bloody mary, and for the chance to try a quail egg it is totally worth the upgrade from the standard offering.
I opted away from ramen, and instead tried the Spicy Umami Burrito which I am still daydreaming about currently. The combination of spicy pulled pork, scallion pancake, and kimchi makes for quite the breakfast treat. It never hurts to add in some side dumplings or buns because why not!
Umami’s portion sizing is very generous, and I find that I am always taking home leftovers whether it be from dinner or brunch. Can’t recommend this place enough!

I finally tried Umami after months of wanting to go there. After trying Ramen Kid, I was a little nervous to try ramen again, but Umami did not disappoint!
I loved the atmosphere there– the décor was modern and the lights were tinted giving a romantic/​formal feel. The Japanese décor was also flowed very well with the atmosphere.
I ordered the Shoyu Ramen and my friend ordered the Miso Chicken Ramen both with spicy bombs ($ 1 extra). The food came out pretty fast! The Shoyu Ramen was perfect. It had the perfect amount of salt and the perfect ratio of noodles to soup. The pork was the cooked to the ‘t’, it was soft but not too soft. The bamboo shoots were fresh and flavored with a little mix of savory and sweetness. All the other vegetables tasted fresh as well. Would definitely recommend for anyone who is looking to try ramen in the Madison area.

We visited Umami Ramen & Dumpling Bar on Martin Luther King Day as part of restaurant week.
The atmosphere was inviting. The restaurant is in a house built during the 1800s which has been renovated into a chic space. The entrance is on the side. There is street parking in front and a small parking lot in back. The décor was inviting and interesting. There are a couple of different rooms in addition to the kitchen. It’s not a big space and the waiting area always had patrons waiting for a table. The bar was packed. The clientele was mainly 20 somethings.
The drink menu includes a variety of good beers, a few wines, saki, and a variety of Vietnamese inspired beverages including some excellent cocktails. The menu is composed primarily of various varieties of dumplings, steamed buns and ramen.
Our waitress was prompt and polite. Originally we were all planning to do the Restaurant Week menu: pick a bun, a dumpling, a ramen, and a mochi for $ 25. Based on the menu we originally guessed the main advantage was getting the mochi included in the price. However, after close inspection of the menu and questioning the waitress, it turns out the Restaurant Week meal was only ½ the bun and ²⁄₃ of the dumpling. There is no savings for Restaurant Week. The waitress explained it as a chance to try a little of everything. I guess my expectations for Restaurant Week were that you were getting a discount for going out in the middle of Winter but that was not the case here.
The sweet buns were all excellent. Chewy sweet buns, tangy fresh insides. We tried 3 different types. I thought the BBQ was the best, but all were tasty. We also enjoyed 3 types of dumplings. All were best with the soy vinegar sauce. The spicy sauce didn’t add much flavor, nor spice. The ramen was the biggest disappointment for me. The broth was bland. The texture of the noodles was good, but although I ordered the tonkotsu which was described as a rich pork broth, it really tasted more like miso but with very little depth.
Although I would return to Umami Ramen for drinks, I think you can get as good of buns and dumplings elsewhere and as for the ramen, I’ve had much better elsewhere.

Need to update after having better experiences. In particular, Umami offers an awesome restaurant week special.
Even my favorite restaurants tend to disappoint me during restaurant week. The portions are small, not nearly as good as usual and often aren’t what the restaurant usually serves. They’re dishes designed to be made in bulk, and probably cost less to make. Umami’s restaurant week is superior in that they serve the most popular dishes on the menu, unchanged, for a great price — at $ 25, it’s amongst the cheaper restaurant week meals.
The buns are phenomenal. I got the Korean beef and ate it in about two bites. The pork dumplings were very good and the Tonkotsu ramen was amazing. I don’t remember it being so good! Definitely worth purchasing a spicy bomb. Enough food in there for two meals.
Took awhile to seat us but both the hostess and our waitress were friendly and smiled. Glad to see the improvement!

A group of friends and I went to Umami over the weekend for brunch. Before I write my review, I should preface it by saying… here is what I knew about Umami before I ate there. 1. Umami means the fifth taste sensation. 2. It’s Asian-​inspired. That’s it. Seriously, that’s all I knew. I am not a connoisseur of this kind of food at all. But, I gotta say… it was awesome.
We had a reservation for six people right at 10 a.m. Can I just say how much I LOVE that they take brunch reservations on the weekend??? Our waitress was amazing. She was exceptionally patient and helpful in explaining the dishes to us. She offered two people in our party a special gluten-​free dish that is not on the menu when they mentioned they didn’t eat gluten. She even knew all about the history of the restaurant and its owner (s) and was able to give us all kinds of information that I wouldn’t normally expect a server to know. The service alone was five-​star quality, but the food was even better.
Again, I’m a novice Asian-​inspired Umami eater… and I don’t eat meat. This knocked down my options a bit, but I ended up with the BELT buns (Bacon, Egg, Lettuce, and Tomato) without the bacon and the edamame dumplings. First, the buns. I asked if the buns could come with cheese instead of bacon, and originally the server said yes, but later came back to say the chef had denied that request. I am guessing that (s)he knew that cheese would just not work in this case, and I was happy (s)he didn’t let me mess up a good meal with cheese. The buns were delicious, the veggies were fresh, and the spicy Korean sauce that came on it was incredible. I am actually still dreaming of that sauce. Soooo good.
I also ordered the edamame dumplings. There is a choice of sauces, but I opted to let the server choose what she though would be best, and she chose some kind of sweet and sour sauce which was almost as amazing as the spicy Korean sauce on the buns. Before I ordered, I offered to share my dumplings with my friends, but after they came, I was second-​guessing that decision. I think I begrudgingly gave away one, but I ate all the rest myself. One friend let me try her gluten-​free special of hash and kimchi. I don’t know that I will ever be a huge kimchi fan, but the potatoes were pretty fabulous, not to mention it was just awesome that the server and the chef even offered up this special meal.
To drink I had a mango mojito, which was really good, though I’m a bit skeptical that it actually contained any alcohol. It kind of just tasted like a pricey juice. I missed the special drink menu with the mimosas, but I will definitely be trying one the next time I go. For someone who wasn’t even sure if she would like the food at Umami, I came out a lover and a believer. I now want to take everyone I know to Umami for the food and the service. I can’t wait to go back.

PROS: Tasty, decent portions and prices
CONS: ?
Rather than serving authentic Japanese ramen, Umami leans toward fusion flavors. My piping hot Veggie Brunch Ramen hit the spot. The soy milk in the dashi broth added a new, unexpected dimension to the usual miso-​based vegetarian broth. One of these wintry days, I would love to drop by again to explore more items off the menu. For example… dumplings!

Cool hip little place with interesting wall paintings (think murals of people swimming in bowls of ramen) and creative brunch offerings. Perfect place to eat for brunch the next morning after a late night — hits the spot!
The brunch menu is really creative and a bit asian fusion-​y. They also have your standard waffles for the less adventurous (or pure breakfast souls) :)
The portions are sizeable which is great!
They have 3 things essentially thay they’re known for– the ramen, dumplings, and the pork buns. Only had ramen and buns which were both awesome– so I recommend getting pork buns on the side and ramen as a main. You will be very full and satisfied.
The pork buns are good– could maybe benefit from a little more sauce and green onion filling but overall really juicy pork belly and soft fluffy buns.
The ramen was really delicious– especially the broth. Was not overly salty and was very flavorful. The noodles were perfectly Al dente and the variety of veggies was great. So yummmmm!!!
Would most definitely go back and would probably be a regular if I lived here!

Love the Asian fusion BRUNCH! Ramen is alright.
It is a cute little place with a fun patio you could hang out at when the weather is good. Design is adorable and modern Japanese. Love the artwork — both paintings and wall.
The seats are limited, you can probably seat up to 30 without the patio and an additional of 20 with the patio
The drinks are delicious, adapted from a popular New York Japanese joint Morimoto. White ice — delicious adult version of calpico, definitely for one with a sweet tooth and enjoys little alcohol taste in the drink.
The brunch has been a refreshing addition to Madison’s wide selection. Omu rice is amazing — egg over sticky rice with Chinese sausage and ham. Some kind bbq sauce over. You can’t really stop your bites. Biscuit and tonkatsu sauce is a savory delish. There’s no pork cutlet in there but the sauce is made of the tonkatsu broth from ramen. Biscuits are not crispy but very nice touch there! The eggs are a nice top layer. We also tried the BELT bun as well. Not my fave. Would probably stick to pork buns.
Finally, I would stay away from Thai ice tea — it is not sweet and taste more like iced tea, straight. It costs 50 cents to get more condensed milk too. Also ramen is just not my type — they had RP pasta make their noodles, which is awesome, but the texture is not chewy enough. I do really enjoy the ramen egg — very well done, runny and flavored. Broth is alright. Reasonable.
Definitely looking forward to return and try the brunch again! Hurray Asian fusion brunch!!!