UMAMI RAMEN & DUMPLINGS — Restaurant in Annapolis

Oh boy. Where to start. First of all, I went with my toddler (2), partner, and infant. We got water in open lid cups and weren’t offered a close lid cup for our toddler, who still is testing gravity. You can probably imagine what happened. The staff saw us cleaning up the water and never offered more napkins. We ordered our food and it came out all at different times. My toddler got his last. His food was probably the best dish. The soup dumplings were too sweet, and the pork in it didn’t taste right. At all. My dish, was the reason I rated so low…. Not only did it smell like sewer water, it tasted like it. I mean the actual food smelt like sewage, not the dish it was served in. I asked my partner if maybe it was just me (I’m breastfeeding so my tastebuds can be off) or if he tasted/smelt it too, and he confirmed. There was also black hairs in it, and none of us have black hair. We left shortly after sending the dish back and paying. Almost immediately after getting home, both my partner and I got physically sick. I don’t think I’ll ever come back after this experience. It’s a shame especially since this place just opened and I was so excited to...

Ordered tonkatsu ramen and edamame. The edamame were steamed nicely and seasoned well. The ramen broth was rich and creamy with nice pork flavor. The ramen egg yolk was perfect as well as the flavor of the egg. The chashu pork was cooked well but a little too plain for my tastes. My dining partner disagreed with me about that however. The noodles were also cooked just right with a nice chew to them.

Regarding my low score on service: We waited an excessively long time for our food and had to inquire about its status. Apparently there was a printer snafu which caused our order to be overlooked. I will give them credit for resolving the issue immediately and they provided us with excellent service after that. Things happen, especially during a soft opening, so I can't fault them for a printer breakdown. However I will mark them down for not noticing a table sitting there nearly 45 minutes without any food in front of them.

All that being said, we enjoyed our food and will definitely be coming back to try some of their...

Umami is okay. I personally wouldnt say its the best ever, but its food is good! Its just very overpriced. I got their ramen when they first opened, and while it was good, it was a small bowl for the price. I also asked if I could get the miso spicy which never happened. The atmosphere is amazing. The decor is beautiful and I seriously enjoy just sitting down in the resturant and just enjoying the architecture and decor. The staff is also very attentive and nice! I just can’t get past the size of the food I get for the price. The bowl was half the size of a large ramen bowl you get at regular ramen shops, which for $16-$17 is crazy. The taste isnt mind blowing or anything either, its just…okay. Its good, but not great. Its not terrible but nothing I’d recommend. Its very middle of the road, and considering Annapolis has 2 other ramen shops with much better ramen options, I would rather go to either 2 of them before I went to Umami.

Umami isn’t bad, its not great, its just okay, at least for...