UMAMI Street Food — Restaurant in Portsmouth

!! The Allergen list on the website is incorrect as of March 2025 !!

In reply to the response 19/3/2025. The main issue is Umami changing ingredients and not listing these leading to me nearly consuming gluten containing food even though my order notes mentioned gluten free, that your allergen list showed the food was safe. I'm guessing the notice you have in the restaurant also has not been updated to show it now contains gluten which is why the order notes were missed.

Yes I understand there's always a risk of cross contamination, I take that risk every time I eat something not prepared by myself, but Umami add gluten containing ingredients to what you have listed in your allergen list as gluten free. Thankfully the crispy onions were sort of easy to see, what other ingredients have been changed without notice or updates? How can someone with allergies, intolerances or autoimmune issues trust and feel safe eating food when you do this. I get this is only for a minority and I'm lucky that it's not an allergy for myself, but for others may not be.

I've ordered so many times from here mostly deliveries but also in the restaurant too. The food is always delicious and I personally prefer Umami chicken and sauces over Nandos, Umami is one of my favourite places for over 8 years to eat from.

I recommend the Lebanese, Lemon and Herb or hot sauce, be warned it is very hot! The chips are perfectly crispy and you get a good amount. Halloumi salad and ranch sauce is a great addition too. Personally I get Lemon and Herb chicken but with hot sauce to dip on the side and wings in hot sauce.

The staff are really nice and helpful always and the restaurant is nice too but most of my orders have been deliveries or takeaways. Very few orders have ever had issues and those have been corrected quickly.

March 2025 Uber order - I decided to try the Loaded Fries. The allergen list shows it was gluten free (I'm coeliac) on the Umami website and on my Uber eats I stated Gluten free. On opening it it had crispy onions, called the branch and confirmed it was crispy onions. I binned the fries and I'm annoyed at the waste of food, Uber have refunded the item.

I ate the rest as the glutened food was in its own plastic container so thought I be ok... wrong either another unlisted ingredient change or cross contamination but I'm having the symptoms of consuming gluten. First time this has happened in years of having food from Umami.

Was offered 'something free' in my next order as compensation which is kind and the girl on the phone was apologetic and it's not her fault but I doubt I'll be ordering again because of this. Accidental I can forgive, but changing ingredients without updating the allergen list is a...

Since Umami is run by the same owners as Desi — the only place I ever order Indian food from because of their consistently delicious & generous portions (I have a review on Desi), I walked in expecting the same level of quality. Unfortunately, I left disappointed. We were a party of two women and noticed several booths available, but were told they were reserved. We were offered a cramped table squeezed between two others. However, seeing our faces, they said we could sit in a booth but would need to move if the reserved guests arrived. After placing our order and receiving drinks, we were asked to move. Yet no one claimed the booth. Moments later, a staff member sat in that same booth, in front of the window, doing her makeup. Other booths remained empty. After "Miss Makeup" left, 2 males were seated in that booth. It was confusing especially since there were many available booths for larger groups if they had come in. The food didn’t justify the price. Fries were hard and dry, coleslaw lacked flavor, the chicken strip was dry inside and hard - it tasted like the sauce was just brushed on during cooking rather than being marinated. The smash burger had a strange smell when reheated at home, and the patties were pink inside. I tried removing the very pink parts, but couldn’t get it all. Ended up with an upset stomach the next day. The birria taco was the only item that tasted good. Even getting takeaway containers for our burgers felt like we were asking them to solve a complex problem. I’ll be sticking with...

It was my second time visiting Portsmouth and my friend decided to drive me to Umami.

Upon seeing the restaurant through the passenger window of the car, I thought to myself… “This place isn’t that busy, it looks dusty and the food is most likely going to be garbage” 😐

We stepped out of the car, walked up in to the restaurant and sat at the table closest to the window. And from what I can remember l, we needed to order at the desk.

I’m not going lie. The place kinda had a nice vibe to it although, I was anticipating how the food was going to come.

About 15 - 20 mins later the staff brought the food over to us. I leant forward to get a closer look at the grub and to my surprise the chicken wings and kebabs actually didn’t look too bad. 🤨

The food looked well cooked but a little bit saucy for my liking.

I picked up one of the piping hot chicken wings and took a bite…then another…and another.

To my surprise “It was actually better than o thought it would be” 😌

I didn’t take much pictures of the food when it arrived. But I did manage to snap a few shots of the ashes of the chicken.🍗 R.I.P

Would I recommend this place to others…?

Yeah, why not. The restaurant had nice settings, the music was a little bit loud. However the food was better than I expected and seemed to be on point! (In my opinion)

I would suggest giving it a try if you ever visit Portsmouth, it might be the best restaurant this place...