Umami Pittsburgh

Atmosphere and Service were excellent. Staff seemed to enjoy their job which is important. Good music and interesting location. Menu was very intriguing but I don't have the biggest background to compare to. As a casual in the Asian food world, it sounded and tasted good. The staff were very knowledgeable and thorough when it comes to the menu. Drinks were good and $2 off before 6pm, even on a Saturday. I would like to return again to try more of their sushi menu. The quail eggs and octopus balls/takoyaki definitely live up to the "Umami" name with the sauces used.

Overall not bad experience, the staff was nice and the ambience was relaxing. We didn’t have to wait terribly long for a Saturday night, and the service was pretty timely. The food itself was only okay. We enjoyed the eggplant and oyster mushroom skewers, they paired well with the burned flavors and the teriyaki sauce. The fried tofu were surprisingly impressive, it had very crispy outside and soft and hot inside, and the yuzu sauce was very unique, unlike most Japanese spots only serve it with a soy sauce based sauce. The Shoyu ramen was a bit disappointing. The ramen eggs weren’t marinated but just soft boiled, and the dish really lacked a good stock for flavor. The stock more or less just tasted like soy sauce mixed with vinegar, rather than a good broth flavored with soy sauce. The pork belly had good texture but again it lacks a base flavor. At the very least it could be saltier, and I wish it were marinated with something to complement with the dish. The noodles though, were perfectly cooked. That definitely was the highlight of the dish. But overall I wouldn’t recommend the dish especially given the price point, the dish looked much better than it tasted. My husband got the teriyaki eel hand roll and Okonomiyaki. He liked the hand roll but complained the Okonomiyaki being too greasy, which was actually difficult to eat towards the end. I am indifferent about the hand roll and can’t comment on the Okonomiyaki. Overall it was a good hangout spot. The drink was pretty good but the food was on the more expensive side. I would recommend the small plates but otherwise this is not the place for a remarkable Japanese food experience.