Ooma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma!!!! Solid sushi making happening in here tourists and residents of Manila! Japanese resto on the third or fourth floor of this mall and the place is similar to a small sushi place here in Toronto with only about 10-15 tables that extend inside the mall so you can 'people watch' while you munch on some fresh well-handled ingredients. The chicken teriyaki dinner was served on a bed of fresh leafy greens with bomb teriyaki sauce drizzled on top that can activate salivation in an instant. The sushi rolls were compact with flavour and filling that is heavily squished between master hands and a wooden roller perfecting a trip coming to an end in my beautiful city. I forget which ones we ordered but we came near closing and the options were limited to what's available for the chef to make so we settled for what it is, but it never felt like settling. Service was also warm despite us bombarding into the server's wishful thinking in getting the restaurant cleaned and empty in time for clocking out. Please refer to the pictures taken as all of the above have imprinted quality sushi in our minds whenever we are back for some shopping next visit. A bit on the pricier side compared to other cheaper options in and out the mall but it's equivalent to paying $60 and on par with the a la carte restos here in Toronto. read more

Ooma is a play on the Japanese word "umai," meaning "good" but for me Ooma is more like OOMAGOD! Everything here is soooo GOOD!!! Ooma is a well known Japanese restaurant that offers fusion dishes that fits the Filipino palate. They have three locations in Manila but we decided to dine at their SM Megamall branch. We were told to expect long lines at all Ooma locations but we got lucky to be seated right away. The hostess greeted us right promptly and the entire staff were all friendly, fast, and efficient. We were very pleased with excellent customer service provided. The food? OOMAGOD! I loved every single dish we ordered. From sushi to soft shell crab to hangar steak to dessert. I didn't bother knowing the names because I just went on chomping and devouring every dish brought to our table. They tasted as good as they looked. It's just WOW! Amazing food yet very affordable. Highly recommended! read more

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Pretty good Japanese restaurant in the SM Megamall ... but does not really offer raw fish like shashimi on their menu? No poke? What's wrong with this picture?! They also don't offer hot sake and when asked, they didn't really know what I was talking about? They brought out their regular cold sake collection and said they can warm it...ahhh! Really?! Place is decent size and for large groups, they offer seats outside of the restaurant. Their soy sauce is offered in a small container with a brush? I guess it's not really use much on their dishes like in the states? Staff was attentive and nice. Place is clean. Hanger steak was good but too oily due to truffle oil and butter. All other dishes we tried were good. All the sushi rolls were partially cooked but still good. I just was looking forward to lots of raw dishes. Still a place I will go to if you can afford. [63/100] read more

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I always love their food. The night we were there was a busy one but their service was still very good. read more

Ooma - Japanese Near Me

What?! No reviews for Ooma yet?! No reviews for the OMG-so-good soft shell crab tuna-maki and OMG-OMG-so-good uni udon?!!!! No raves for the oyster and corn karaage?!! No woohoos for the Sensei sushi-quality?!! No yaaaays for the fast service?!! NO FIVE STARS FOR THE BEST SUSHI PLACE IN MANILA AT THE MOMENT?? Guys, c'mon. read more

Ooma - Want. Need. - Japanese Near Me

Ooma is the third concept restaurant by Chef Bruce Ricketts, the first two being both blockbuster hits--Sensei Sushi in BF Parañaque and Mecha Uma in Bonifacio Global City. Both offer Japanese dishes with a contemporary spin and have had standing waiting lines during peak hours since their opening. Ooma's interiors have this military-bunker-meets-sushi-house feel, telling you immediately that this is no Mecha Uma, which is fancy and almost intimidating. It also doesn't seem like Sensei that wants you to relax and get comfortable, much like life down South of Metro Manila. Ooma's branding is fast-paced and fuss-free, at least from looking at its interiors--tables cramped together, forcing you to overhear the conversations from behind and beside you. But looking at the menu, this is an easy compromise. In terms of price range, whereas Sensei and Mecha are on the high-end mark of the spectrum, with dishes that go as expensive as P600 to P1000 a plate, Ooma happens to position itself on the more economical end. Its rice bowls each costs less than P300 and could easily satisfy two persons. Their maki offerings which reminded me of the mind-blowing flavors of those in Sensei Sushi come in for around P200-300. So this is all very exciting to me. I came with two friends and we each had a different rice bowl--the Gyudon (beef), the Oyako Don (chicken), and the Buta Kakuni Katsudon (pork). Order the Oyako Don for the crispy chicken skin, and the Buta Kakuni if you're looking for a twist on the classic katsudon. But if you want a rich, sweet and indulgent flavor profile--go get the Gyudon. We also shared the Salmon Tartare Maki, and it didn't disappoint--generous salmon tartare topping in each bite, super good with a dab of soy sauce and a pinch of wasabi. Their staff are very friendly too, not just the minimum requirement of being polite and pleasant. I was surprised how for a casual restaurant they really take their time talking about the dishes with our every inquiry. It's been more than a week, and I'm still dreaming about Ooma and trying out the rest of the dishes. read more

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To sum it up, excellent tasting Japanese dishes with some interesting twists. What I enjoyed and recommend would be in no particular order scallop and tuna aburi sushi, salmon skin aburi sushi (though am sure the other sushis are equally as good), california tacomaki, uni udon (very rich and texture is great), oyako don (interestingly served with crispy chicken skin), buta kakuni and hanger steak (i liked this one a lot though it does get too rich at times). Ambience: Great, i liked the recycled stools made from plastic bottle cases Taste: Excellent, not what I expected Presentation: Great Value: Great, not too pricey considering the quality Service: Excellent, the wait staff stay in close proximity and are knowledgeable enough to make recommendations Overall: Excellent, would eat there again soon read more

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Place + ambience + service + flavor. 5 (industrial, Japanese vibe and woodwork passes) 5 (busy street side, trendy) 4 (could be better, but well staffed) 3.5 food quality is up there, but the makis did not impress when compared to kimpura and other great places. Hanger steak was good but was a bit too sauced up for my preference. I enjoyed most of it. I would recommend to people around. read more

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There was a ridiculously long line outside of Ooma when we arrived, we were shocked to know that we were 32nd in line, but we decided to wait anyway. We walked around the mall for around an hour and a half and when we came back, we were already next in line. We were in a hurry because we bought tickets to watch a movie which would be starting in less than an hour. We ordered their bestsellers - hanger steak, tori kara-age, scallop and tuna aburi maki, and salmon skin aburi maki. The maki were pretty good but I was not that impressed with the salmon skin aburi maki. The torched salmon skin didn't taste as good as the one I recently tried from another of Chef Bruce Ricketts' restaurant. The hanger steak was wonderful! It was extremely tasty, and the truffle oil definitely kicked it up a notch. Instead of serving the steak with mashed potato, they came up with an amazing substitute which was mashed sweet potato. The tori kara-age was covered with crispy sweet potato strips. I found it too oily though because it was deep-fried. This restaurant offers great Japanese fusion dishes. If you're feeling experimental, this is the place to visit! Service was also impressively fast. read more

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My husband and I would visit Ooma for that famous Hanger Steak and Crispy Calamari. We dine in with family, sometimes with friends and sometimes just the two of us. Highly recommended are the special California Taco-Maki and Ebi and Kani Aburi Maki. The staff are friendly. Their service is awesome. The only problem, not actually a problem, but an inconvenience is the long waiting line at SM Mega Fashion Hall branch. The cravings are there but still out of reach. LOL. But still we kept on waiting and dining. Visiting soon. read more

Ooma - Japanese Near Me

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Loved the concept of this place! Not the biggest resto, but the food is bomb! Service was great - our servers were very helpful & attentive, waters were always filled and food came out quick. We ordered the tuna & scallop roll, salmon skin roll, beef rice bowl, california tako maki, and my favorite of the night: the spicy lapu lapu maki. All the rolls were really tasty, but the lapu lapu takes the cake! Spicy mayo, pickled onions and truffle oil...omg im just dreaming about it!! Definitely a MUST TRY! Also really intriguing how they serve the soy sauce - you brush it onto your food as opposed to dipping. Would definitely eat here again when I'm back in the PI! read more

Ooma - Spicy lapu lapu maki with white truffle oil - Japanese Near Me

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Went here for the first time via a friend's recommendation. I was just going to get small bites as I was moving around pretty much today through the mall, as it was Christmas Eve. Decors are pretty nice. Staff was still getting the hang of things. If it's a lot of people to service, they seem to forget to do check-ups (on how the food is, if they'd like to get more water/drink refill, etc.). The price is quite up there, but I guess that comes with the location. Food is good though. Quite different styling from your usual Japanese resto. Will give them another try. But yah, took a star out due to service. read more

Ordered their katsudon for my first visit to ooma. The pork was pounded too thin for my taste, but apart from that a quality dish :) read more

Ooma - Katsudon with a side salad - Japanese Near Me

To satisfy my curiosity, I checked this restaurant and found out that their food is good! Their Hanger steak is a must try. Sous vide hanging tender, sautéed mushroom with truffle oil plus pickle dressing and ponzu butter read more

Ooma - Japanese Near Me

Maybe I had to higher expectations when i first tried this place . However the food was nicely displayed very decorative . However the sauces lacked flavor and flare . If I have time I might give it a second try. read more

Ooma was something I've been meaning to try since I heard that Chef Bruce Ricketts was at the helm of the kitchen and I enjoyed dining at Mecha Uma (one of the other restaurants he is behind along with Sensei Sushi, review to follow because it's been a while and I'm giving myself an excuse to go back). Ooma is a Japanese rice bar and their dishes focus on, you guessed it, rice and enhancing the flavor of the often times bland staple. Mom and I (yes, it's us again) went on a Saturday a few months after they opened at around 130pm hoping to grab a late lunch. We thought that since we stopped by a little later than the lunch rush, we'd be seated immediately. We still waited a good 20 minutes for a spot to open up for the both of us. After perusing the menu, we started with the hamachi (yellowtail) and kani (crab leg) aburi (grilled topside) maki. The aburi maki seemed very plain to me. I don't normally order rolls but when I do, I do prefer the fish to still be very fresh and raw and I dislike using soy sauce for dipping. Hamachi is a wonderful piece of fish on its own and I just didn't think that torching it did it justice. I also didn't enjoy the teriyaki sauce because it made everything sweeter. Another starter was the uni (sea urchin) tempura tamago (sweet egg) taco maki. This one did better in my book. First off, I really like the plate/container/whatever they presented it on because I think it gave it a "rawer" feel. The pickled onions on top gave a tangy contrast and crunch to the sweet and rich sea urchin. The tamago was just kinda there and I forgot about it. I also think that eating it by hand like an actual taco was an innovative approach to interacting with food and is also the proper way of eating nigiri sushi. Then because I'm basically addicted to ceviche, we got an Uma Viche. This dish essentially contained the marinated grouper, pickled onion, carrots, and daikon all of which sat on top of a bed of deep fried kangkong (water spinach) leaves. I found the fish itself very normal. The fish is what you would expect of traditional ceviche but I did find it more interesting to wrap the fish along with the pickles in the kangkong leaves. Two different kinds of sour tastes plus the crunch gives it more depth overall. We got a gyudon because we felt that we should really get a rice dish at the rice bar and sous-vide beef sounded really delicious and tender. I'm not super familiar with how sous-vide works exactly but I know that the gist of it is cooking something, in this case beef, at a regulated temperature for a long period of time to ensure even cooking without the overcooking. Something like that. The gyudon came as a big serving, definitely for sharing. The beef wasn't as tender as I expected it to be though. It was a little tough to chew and somewhat dry. The rice was also kinda dry and there didn't seem to be a right ratio of beef to rice. The fried shallots were decent though. And the dish I was looking forward to the most was the hanger steak. If you've noticed, I really enjoy eating steak. I didn't say beef because I'm ho hum about burgers and stuff. I specifically like steak and prime rib which probably explains my poor health... Anyway! On a bed of sweet potato mash and topped with baby potato chips, the hanger steak looked to be cooked medium rare. It's easy to overcook because it's so tender so that makes sense. I thought that they had sliced the poor thing too thinly though and it was kinda oozing oil. Thin steak means easier to chew but that also means not getting a lot of flavor in one go. The saving grace was probably the sweet potato mash which was also seasoned with white truffle oil and I think we can all agree that it's very difficult to go wrong with white truffle oil. Ooma was more of an Oo-nope for me. I actually had to go to Tuan Tuan across the hall and get a Hong Kong milk tea with coffee to cleanse my tongue a little and make myself feel better. I'm disappointed because I was just hoping for a lot more considering all the rave reviews and beautiful photos. Note to self: the internet, especially social media is a deceiving place. Maybe it wasn't too bad for other people but hey, can't please everyone. I guess I'll just order a bunch of uni tempura tamago taco makis next time if I ever decide to come back because it's very very painful to look for parking at Megamall. read more

iv been to Ooma twice and like their fresh take on japanese food very much. food quality and consistency is very good also. wished they serve local beers though. read more