Umai Ramen & Rice Bowl — Restaurant in Herndon

Umai Ramen and Rice Bowl located off of Ellen Street in Herndon VA is a quaint small restaurant in which you can choose to dine-in or take out. Umai's claim to fame is its variety of Ramen Bowls served fresh daily. On this chilly evening, I decided to stop here to grab a bite to go, but if was virtually empty and decided to eat in. I reviewed this eatery from other posts comments with respect to its food specials. It didn't take long to be seated, but prior my temperature was checked and seated by the window seat, which I liked a lot. The hostesses advised the menu could be accessible via a QR code posted on a stand on the table. I ordered the Chicken Karage Teriyaki rice bowl and the Karage appetizer to go. Upon receiving the bowl, I was impressed with the size and portions served, it looked very fresh and the songs of the seasoning permeated my nostrils with delight. However, ager consuming several bites,I noticed the Teriyaki sauce was slightly salty and the overwhelming taste, no longer were the caramelized onions and chicken were tasteful. Maybe it was me, but halfway through i childbirth eat anymore, the Teriyaki was just to much. I didn't manage to finish my bowl, but I really need to condone fluids because if the saltiness after taste. I did like the presentation, and the Stevie of the staff, which made the expressive very pleasant. And the did was fresh and good, so I have then a four out if five stars because the experience was worthy of it. Overall, Umai Ramen and Rice Bowl is a nice place to eat and the variety of foods is enough to bring you...

Wife and I had a craving for ramen and Umai Ramen and Rice bowl came up as one of the top results from a quick Google search. We arrived 30 minutes before closing, placed our order for a ramen, rice bowl, an appetizer, and 2 drinks ($38.36 after tax). When the food came out, it was freshly prepared, piping hot, and tasty.

What stood out for me more than the food was how the staff at that time of our visit interacted with us. See, we placed our order 30 minutes before closing, which meant that by the time the food was prepared and brought out, we had just a few minutes left before the place closed for the day. They could have easily said that because of the time, we can just order for take out. Instead, we were allowed to dine in (outside seating though, because of health regulations). The outside seating was a bunch of folding chairs and tables that the staff had to bring into the restaurant at the end of the day. We tried to finish dinner as fast as we could, but we still went beyond their closing time of 8:30pm. What made me appreciate this place (in addition to the good food) was this: even if the staff could have started packing the other tables and chairs as soon as 8:30pm came, they chose to do it right after we had finished eating. Small gestures like that go a long way. It is a sign of respect in some cultures, which is oftentimes overlooked, or just taken for granted.

I will continue to visit this place every time we feel like having Japanese food, even if it takes 10 more minutes to drive to than the other...

Ambiance: 2/3

Pretty comfortable to stay at, but nothing that wow or amazing by their decorations or ambiance.  It is pretty crowded tho with not many chairs/tables. We went at lunch time on a Thursday and it was packed.

Service: 3/3

Service was amazing! Everyone went above and beyond. Everyone was extremely nice to me! They were on top of everything and made sure our food was good.

Food: 3/3

Matcha Lemonade & Thai Tea Lemonade: It was soooo good. Ill definitely order this again the next time I come here! It was unique. I love lemonade. The matcha one was better than the thai tea one in my opinion but both are good if you like lemonade!

Chicken Karaage: The chicken was moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Sauce was good. But I think ill try another appetizer next time.

Tonkotsu Ramen: My husband ordered this and I tried it. It was pretty good. If you like spicy, dont forget to ask for the spicy sauce. They will give you a small bowl, and its actually spicy! ♥️

Umai Curry Ramen: This was a first for me and it was super good! It had chicken in it and the chicken was tender. I love the crunchy noodles on top, but the chewy noodles on the bottom.  Very flavorful!

This is definitely our new favorite ramen place in the area. My husband and I already said we will definitely come back to try everything else...