Umi Cafe — Restaurant in Issaquah

The food was decent. It wouldn’t be my first choice but if I need to get something to curb the Asian comfort food cravings, I’d come back.

Pet friendly: no Family friendly: yes Parking: small parking in the front and street parking in the back

FOOD:

1. Popcorn Chicken (deep fried marinated chicken coated with potato flour, served with house made mayo sauce and deep-fried basil) $10: 3 Stars – Very crunchy but not crispy which is weird since it was deep fried. Maybe it was the potato starch… I really wanted to like this more but it didn’t have a lot of flavor but oddly enough I don’t think I’d mind eating this again. The house made mayo was super thick so I ended up dipping the chicken in the sauce that came with the lime wings and the curry from the roast duck curry.
2. Szechuan Sliced Beef (beef shank sliced thin tossed in house-made sweet & spicy Szechuan sauce topped w/ cilantro and green onion) $9: 3 Stars – This was sliced way too thin as it made the beef kind of hard, not chewy, but hard like if it was air dried. Overall it was okay but I can see why folks like it.
3. Lime Wings (deep fried wings tossed in house made zesty sauce topped with red onion, scallions, cilantro, and fried onions) $12: 5 Stars – One of the best items we had over all during this visit. The combination of everything was really good. The sauce was zingy and very yummy. This is only second because of Burnett Pub in Renton is the bomb.
4. Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (Thick egg noodles with Taiwanese beef broth, bok choy & scallions, served w/ a side of braised beef) $15: 3 Stars – One of our group said this was really good so I had high hopes. The broth wasn’t bad but it was missing something. I cant put my finger on it but it was something that would have completed the soup.
5. Caramelized Pork Belly (tender caramelized pork belly served w/ bok choy, napa cabbage) $15: 4 Stars – The pork belly was braised amazingly! Great flavor.
6. Roasted Duck Curry (roasted duck w/ coconut milk red curry, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, basil) $16: 3 Stars – The curry base was good but the vegetables were seemingly thrown in last minute as they weren’t cooked down at all.

RESTAURANT/MENU: We were in the area and one of group mentioned it as she really likes this restaurant and they have something for everyone, even one of our friends who have a lot of food restrictions. The restaurant is small with about 4 booths and 5-6 tables. When you walk in, it smelled so good, like a restaurant you know the grandma was making things fresh daily - I was excited!

I was a little confused by the menu as the exterior had Chinese character so I thought it was a Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant but the menu had a mix of Taiwanese/Vietnamese/Thai items so yea… I guess it did have something for everyone.

SERVICE: Our interaction was pretty limited with the folks that worked there. They seated us, took our drink/food order, and brought us our food. There wasn’t a lot of checking in or discussion. Pretty much the benchmark of a stereotypical Asian restaurant...

That was quite an experience, and not in a good way, unfortunately! After a walk along the city trails, my friend and I chose to stop by this place because it offered both coffee my friend craved and a full meal for me. About half the tables were available when we arrived. We ordered food within 5 min, and got the food 5 min after that. The food was ok. I was still halfway through my pho when my friend picked up the menu left at out table to order some more food. Here's when things took a turn. The mail server / owner approached our table but instead of asking my friend - who was just looking at the menu - whether she wanted to order something else he bluntly told us that we either have to order more food or we have to leave soon. I pointed out that my friend was just about to order but instead of taking the order right away after receiving such information the owner continued his lecture about us having to leave early if we're not eating. Mind you, I was working on my pho non-stop since it arrived, pausing only to respond to my friend as our conversation was unfolding! My friend got very upset, feeling like the server was picking on us for no reason. It was clear to me we didn't give a reason for such treatment but my belief is that behavior of this kind should be addressed. So, after hastily finishing our meal and paying for it, decent tip included, I approached the server/owner, and the following conversation unfolded: (Me) Do you have a sign somewhere specifying how much time customers are allowed to be in here? Because it'd be nice to know that in advance, and not be rushed throughout the meal. (Owner) No one have these signs but time is always limited to 90 minutes at all the restaurants. (Me) We were 30 min into our meal when you told us we need to hurry up! (Disclaimer: I checked later, and based on all my devices it was, most probably, 45 min into our meal.) (Owner) Look, I don't have time talking to you here! (Me) Ok, I'm gonna post a review online then! (Owner) Yes, you can do that!

Just hilarious! The owner who doesn't care about his clients. Seriously, I'm laughing at the thought of it more than I'm feeling enraged. And yes, it's a pity that the business may go down all because of the owner who doesn't know how to deliver good customer service! Very sad. I sincerely hope the owner finds it in him to...

This is not our first time to Umi but from past experiences + our recent visit, we have to leave a comment on the service here, hoping that the business will improve and continue to serve the Issaquah area as they have a unique outdoor space that everyone can enjoy. Especially we like to support Asian businesses in the area. The owner and also seem like the only server here is not pleasant to communicate with. This happened more than one visit, and maybe our last. He seemed annoyed when we asked questions about the menu. From past visit when couple of the drinks and dessert items were not available, we ask nicely if a drink is availble. Only to be responded with a very rude, annoyed answer “what you mean? Everything on menu is there”, when it could simply be a yes. Throughout the meal, he ignored us twice when we called for his attention and he was not far away, not w/ other customer and only 2-3 table left including ours. When dishes are delivered, it was not handled in a nice way. When we said thank you to most of the time he came over, he left without responding anything and not even saying thank back. It felt like we were an inconvenience to him, and his lack of courtesy made us feel very unwelcome. Similar experience when we came in with family previously. This ruined the whole Japanese zen garden atmosphere they’re lucky to have for a business. The first time, we wondered if he having a bad day, understandable in a service industry. Our repeated experience & seeing other similar comments proved us that’s not the case. Maybe he just treats one customer different from another and we are in a ‘mistreated’ batch? I mean we dont ask for much, only expect basic communication manner & courtesy when we pay our own money for goods & services. Aside from service, most dishes of the 6 dishes order seem a bit too sweet for all of us… and we have dined at countless Asian & Viet restaurants. The only thing we really liked was the summer latte and szechuan beef, which we recommend if you stop by to try this out. We wont return as we rather spend $ at many other great options in the area. We hope the owner will take this to improve or consider hiring serving staff, as we wish to support local...