Umami

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jweff

Joined 6 years ago

LOVE IT. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. THIS RESTAURANT WAS BADLY NEEDED EVERTHING WAS FANTASTIC. Go here support young business people with a heart for great business

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catmontes

Joined 6 years ago

Great Enviroment! Great Food!. **FIRST TIME THERE AND HAD A GREAT EXPERIENCE**

So I had dinner there last night with my good friend. The atmosphere was awesome and the employees were great, very friendly. Love the entire decor of the restaurant very comforting and romantic. Seating areas are kind of tight upstairs, but it?ll work. Downstairs, they have a cute bar and sushi area with table seating too. Food ? Black Cod, Shaking Filet and Papaya Salad ? Highly recommended. The Cod melted in your mouth, Filet was very tasty and tender and the Salad was great and left a fresh feel in your mouth. Reservations are highly recommended because they fill up fast, they were really busy even for a Tuesday night.

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lesley77

Joined 6 years ago

Great Food and atmosphere. YUM! More places should follow this lead. Really good food, great ambience and for the most part, good service.

It was a Wednesday night and no reservations. We walked in and were nicely greeted by the hostess, then walked over to a bar side table and must have turned invisible as the bar staff completely ignored us.Their was a nice group of folks but not crowded or that busy.

After sitting there a good fifteen minutes a waiter came over.. He was great so as far as his service goes no problems. The food was great and the place is cool. The only thing I would suggest is for the bartenders to at LEAST acknowledge when people come in and sit down in the bar area. That was just rude.

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brewnoox

Joined 8 years ago

Nice Space, Ok Food, Major Service Issues. I went to Umami with a party of 5 on a Wednesday, and of course being a new hot spot, seating took about 30 minutes. No Problem. While waiting, I ordered drinks for everyone, and the bartender confused the order. I explained I had one too many glasses of wine, and one too few cocktails, but for some reason, it took several attempts for her to understand what I meant. I then asked her to hang on to my credit card, in case we wished to order more drinks, to which she nodded and handed me my card and the bill on the spot. Once seated, things went a little better, until the waiter asked if we were ready for the check, to which we informed him two big plates had not been served yet. He apologized, brought the plates, and even gave us a free large bottle of Asahi. Once the bill came, one person put cash down, and two of us requested the remainder be split equally. The waiter seemed confused, but after explaining it 3 times, he seemed to figure it out. When we got our credit card bills, it turns out the restaurant charged one credit card for $15 more than the other. We were completely baffled as to why they couldn't figure something out as simple as splitting a check. The service was never rude or dismisive, just ... confused.

Service aside, the space is sleek and modern and looks very nice. The decor is a little reminiscent of something one might find in South Beach, but certainly works fine in the Marina. The food was ok, but not amazing. I was looking to have sushi for dinner, but it turns out they only have about 3 rolls. The other dishes are somewhat creative, perhaps similar to Betelnut, but not as creative or refined. I don't remember what the bill was, but it was priced similarly to Betelnut.

I may go back several months from now to see if they work out their service issues, but I think the Marina has too many great restaurants offering great food at reasonable prices to get caught up in one that falls short on so many fronts.

Doesn't Recommend

sfexpert

Joined 6 years ago

Horrible Service!!. So, I have been to Umami twice since its opening. The first time, I was seated 45 minutes after my reservation. To top it off, the recommendations given were over salted or tasteless. I highly recommend avoiding the main courses. I just attended again tonight. Unfortunately, I walked out infuriated. Not only were we seated after our reservation time, despite open tables, it took 50 minutes to take our order. Even the edamame took 35 minutes to arrive. Are you kidding me?!?! Then we kept getting told our sushi was coming when it came out first. Our salads took a whopping 55 minutes and arrived last. The food was tolerable, but certainly not worth the wait. Finally, I was double charged on my credit card! The whole endeavor took 3 hours. ON A WEDNESDAY!!! Who has that kind of time?! I do not recommend this place except for drinks and to sit around waiting for nothing!

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ht2000

Joined 6 years ago

Best food experience; Advance reservation recommended. I went there with my wife to celebrate our anniversary. It was great experience, great food and highly recommended. Too bad the service it way too slow as they're understaff handling the big party upstair.

Our order was taken by another waiter while our waitress is handling the group upstair. It create some confusion that cause our order delayed for quite a while.

To put it into timeline, we spent two hours from sitting down and getting out; and we left immediately after we paid. It took them 35 minutes to get the sushi and tofu summer roll, but the wait is definitely worth it. Another 45 minutes for our order, Cod and Shaking beef with fried rice on the side. Once again, the food itself already a good reason to come back despite the slow service. The dessert is also excellent closer as we order the coconut creme with toffee, cream and caramel brittle on the top. We need to come back for the ultimate dessert, vanilla ice cream sushi roll as it's been gone (and it's only 8:45 pm; Umami open nightly at 5:30 PM BTW).

From the bus person, we found out that they just opened for about couple months, so this is a reasonable adjustment to schedule their waiter.

Excellent food that create a new experience for your mouth and tongue.

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Izakaya-style dining destination for locally sourced food sprinkled with flavors from throughout Asia.. A sign-less stone exterior gives way to low-lit interiors, filled with clean lines and natural elements: smooth stones accent the bar and sushi counter and the bar top is made of grainy live-edge cedar. The space, divided by shoji-style screens housing orchids, features banquette seating both upstairs and down, where young, stylish couples and groups of friends convene. Later in the evening, the bar area becomes its own micro-scene with Marina singles mixing. Diners snack through the menu, which reads like a "greatest hits" of Asian cuisine. The spicy-tuna-and-water-chestnut roll is fresh and garnished with bright tobiko, while the Wagyu beef tartar tataki, delicately charred on the outside, reveals meltingly tender pieces of beef flavored with peanut and fresh wasabi. The shaking beef stands out among the mains, but the kitchen excels most at small plates. The coffee-flavored pot du creme, a sleeper hit, comes topped with airy coconut-scented whipped cream.

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tywebb415

Joined 6 years ago

Crushing. 3 important things when eating out, 1: the food. 2: the atmosphere and 3: the people. Let me tell you Umami has nailed all three. I have eaten here 4 times now and typically with some many great options in SF I am not a repeat offender but. . . . .

The decor is sick! dark wood, slate stone, understated but not cheasy. its money. Having two floors gives you two options. kick it at the bar have some cocktails and small plates enjoy the great people theater or sit upstairs so your eyes don't wander too much off your "date". Its easy to do there as pretty much every person in the place is good looking.

In summary:

Beautiful women and men drinking and eating and being social. I hate that.

Good service that is relaxed, attentive and not pretentious. I hate that too

Tasty food that doesn't leave you so full you have to go home because you are in a food coma. Love that also, Alot.

Pretty much, you need to figure it out and go there if you have not already.

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teresapiro

Joined 7 years ago

Umami - a flavor fav. The Umami experience begins with an inviting izakaya-style dining atmosphere that is flavor for the scenes. The journey begins through natural elements as you first encounter shoji style frames that home live orchids and greenery. A dramatic piece of live-edge wood (and a smiling hostess) guides diners upstairs, where the food journey across Asia begins. Young, talented chef, Sam Josi (who's hot Mexican menu is nothing short of awesome at Mamacita) brings a education sequence of various dishes from Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and Korea. Balancing the courses is best left in the hands of the servers who will guide you through the menu and recommend sake pairings to go with favorites such as kanpachi carpaccio, yellow curry crusted mahi, an incredible duck okonomiyaki. Palate cleanse with the green papaya salad before finishing with the Korean bi bim pap - lovely to say and lovely to eat! Understated with a commitment to bring izakaya-style dining to the Marina, Umami is a welcomed new favorite.

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tdbryson

Joined 7 years ago

Perfect for entertaining clients. I came into town to entertain clients and was recommended Umami as a "New Spot" to try. The food was incredible, the wine was paired beautifully by our server with the food, and the ambience was uniquely suited for an entertaining environment. I recommend letting the server bring out their array of foods and wines as they see fit.

Will definitely come back!