Location: 923 Williamson St. Madison, WI 53703
Umami, the new "ramen and dumpling bar" on Williamson Street, is still shaking out some of those new-restaurant bugs: the schedule keeps changing, most recently to eliminate lunch service and go to dinner only starting on Labor Day. The construction on Willy isn't helping them either, but despite some logistical glitches it's still one of the better new establishments on the Madison food scene.Atmosphere
Umami is definitely one of those places that wants to be known for having a little "atmosphere." Seating is funky and sleek, with modern-art chairs in minimalist layered wood (maybe bamboo? it's made to look like bamboo, at any rate) and walls etched like a Japanese rock garden. Service is prompt, casual, and very friendly; I felt like we were sharing a bit of fun gossip with our waiter instead of ordering food.
You can opt for a funky-industrial feel in the bar area, where little tables are lined up along a single, wall-length bench, or go for more intimate seating at the tiny tables scattered around the upper section. There's also an outdoor patio, though they've crowded it a bit more than's conducive to relaxation.
We enjoyed the bar area most -- it feels very modern and even a little cyberpunk, with a sleek metal, backlit bar and the modern-efficiency lunch tables. Music from the overhead speakers was a little loud, but overall it was one of the more effective dinner settings we've seen in a while.
Not Your College Days' Ramen
People who associate ramen with little rectangular packages might have a hard time grasping Umami's appeal, not to mention prices. For your $10-12 you get a bowl the size of your head, filled with locally-made wheat noodles, intensely meaty broth, and about five or six different toppings: meats, seaweed, onion, bamboo shoots, and "flavor-infused egg." We couldn't tell what the flavor infusion was, but the eggs were deliciously melty half-eggs that broke apart to add their yolk to the broth.
Portion size is definitely nothing to worry about. You're going to be eating as much pasta as you would on any restaurant's plate of spaghetti, and the broth and extras pack plenty of calories too. Umami might actually be one of the best bang-for-your-buck restaurants in its price range in Madison.
Dumplings on a Stick
The "dumplings" section of the menu could use a little explaining: "small" orders are a plate of six potstickers; "large" gets you nine. The potstickers are authentic, tougher and crispy on one side from cooking, and filled with a lot of fresh taste. Chicken and shiitake mushroom dumplings with carrot, scallion and ginger were out of this world.
A warning to hopeless Westerners: this is not the sort of place that sets forks out on the napkins. You get a spoon for your broth and a pair of chopsticks, end of story, so be ready to practice the art of picking a dumpling up, dipping it, biting it in half, and not dribbling food all over yourself. Or you could probably wimp out and ask for a fork, but it felt kind of sacreligious to us.
Salads and Afters
Umami won our love by having small salad sizes -- lots of restaurants have great salads, but almost all of the really good ones only come in full, dinner sizes at the cost of an entree. The large salads at Umami fill that role just fine, and should leave you plenty full, but the smalls make a great accompaniment to a bowl of soup or a plate of dumplings. They're uncomplicated and don't try to get too fancy -- good ingredients in tasty dressing, nothing more.
We enjoyed the taste of a green tea creme brulee enormously, though the custard was not quite as solid as I felt it should have been. It was also the smallest version you usually see at restaurants, very shallow and not particularly broad -- not a cardinal sin, but a bit of a let-down in light of the otherwise-generous portions. Then again, maybe they were just trying to show my stomach a little mercy.
Umami's in a tough location right now with the construction on Willy Street, and times are tough for new restaurants all over. We're keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that this one sticks around, because it was honestly one of the best dining experiences we've had lately.
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