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    Umami

    3.5 (39 reviews)
    Open 12:00 pm - 11:00 PM

    Umami Photos

    UMAMI ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - Umami

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    Reviews With Photos

    Char siu ramen
    Penny L.

    I have been meaning to try this place for ages, so finally it was my lucky chance. The walk from town felt endless due to the weather, eventually we climbed down the stairs to enter a very clear cut place. Lots of benches and tables were laden out in rows ready to go , and a kind waitress let us choose where we wanted to sit. I have read previous reviews that the service is typically aggressive. The majority of waiters were young chirpy females who were bright and accomodating, however the one guy with the tattoos...yeesh he needed to really cheer up. Anyway on to the food...wow I thought I had died and gone to sushi heaven. The sashimi was really well priced at £3.50 for tuna ( I normally pay at least a fiver) and the sake...£.3.50 for a flask!....and it was good sake..cheapest sake ever. We ordered lots of tuna maki, salmon nigiri and temaki handroll for starters , and a spicy ramen noodle dish for mains. The sushi was really nice quality espcially for the price, the main meal i thought let it down. I love udon noodles but these were like the ones you buy as student ..those cheap supernoodles for 10p.. Normally I would lower my rating, but the price of the sushi and sake is soo good that i know when I come back for the sushi I will not be disappointed. I think if all the waiters had the same ethusiasm this would be a great place..oh and there is 10 % off your food when you check in on yelp in the evenings. But anyway I wouldn't come here for dinner again as its not posh enough, but for a quick sushi fix it is, I might risk a main again..

    Beki loving the char sui ramen...
    James G.

    I got a sushi craving... I looked in yelp... I avoided a few chain sushi joints and ended up at Umami. Being a bit of a sushi novice... I kind of guessed at the menu a bit and thought that sashimi meant raw and nigiri by process of elimination meant cooked... How wrong I was... Umami offers a mix of sushi, noodle and soups which I thought was great and we ordered a mix of Sushi and Ramen with some side dishes. The Char Sui pork Ramen was great... needed a little soy sauce, but that was available on all the tables. The sushi... well the whole plate came raw with the exception of Smoked eel and prawns. Raw octopus - not for me(difficult texture) Raw tuna - really good Salmon - great! Smoked Eel - to die for! Prawn When you enter the restaurant your greeted by large wooden tables with benches either side. It's quite basic and a bit too bright for my liking. If i'm honest I don't think I'll be returning as it didn't have the atmosphere or vibe that I like from a japanese Sushu House. Overall - It's not a bad place to get sushi & Ramen. Top Tips - All the sushi is raw except (eel & Prawns) asked the waiter. 10% Off evening bill with Yelp Checkin

    King prawn starter
    Rob T.

    Not sure what to make of this place....on one hand it's cheap but on the other hand I felt a little unwelcome. I arrived at 14:55 knowing that they served a lucnh menu until 3pm...It had to be authorised by a 'manager' who allowed it...bit of fuss over nothing really as most places alow you on set menus as long as you arrive before the stated times. Not really a friendly welcome. The selection is quite limited but adeqaute for lunch. The price of about a fiver for 2 courses is pretty amazin really. I ordered fried king prawns to start with. These were ok but lacking a little salad to accompany them. For main I ordered a chicken thai curry which was suprisingly very good. The portions aren't massive but qhat do you expect for less than a fiver? I will probably only go back if i'm in the area.

    This week's lunch menu!
    Katharine S.

    When you need a spice hit to get through the day this is the place. The lunch time deal is always really good and I'm left feeling full. The serivce is super quick but if your any later the 12 noon you might have to wait for for a few mintues. The food is also healthy so if your looking for something that fits in to your healthy eating plan this is the place.

    Umami
    Shrimoyee C.

    Umami's best marketing strategy is their location! They are right in the cent re of Oxford road amidst the University attracting all the students there. When you are a student in Oxford road and want to have something different besides subway and MacDonald, Umami definitely is your best bet. Their food is decent but I cant say the same about the service because the staff look so annoyed and irritated all the time. You always feel like they are doing a massive favor by even coming to take your order. Having said that, their lunch deal is actually pretty awesome for less than 6 pounds you can have a good meal. Despite the not so good service I used to frequent this place ever so often when I was bored of studying in the library and cluster of Manchester Business School! The seating arrangement is more like a fast food joint and boy they dont let you sit for even one extra minute after you are done with your food. They also have a 20% discount if you opt for take away (I guess they just don't like people :p) Things to try: 1. Thai Green/Red Curry 2. Sushi Palate 3. Tom Yum Soup Verdict: Cheap and good food but not ideal for dining in!

    Thomas B.

    Umami is the fat man's (aka me) choice for a fancy lunch. This place is great with simple decor and bucket loads of noodles it hits the nail on the head over and over again. Think Wagamama's then tone down the price and you can see it all clearly in your mind. Umami do a wide range of eastern dishes from sushi to ramen. Students get a 10% off and a 2 course lunch can be snapped up for a superb £4.95. The seats are the typical bench malarkey with chip stocks and all. The food is constantly good whatever you order being fresh and quick, they do takeaway as well!

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    10 years ago

    The food is not what I expected from the menu, but it tastes quite ok. Lunch deal was good. Thai salad tastes quite Thai, in my opinion.

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    Review Highlights - Umami

    But those with the beady, curious eye gain pleasure from the knowledge that on entry to this establishment comes £4.

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    Sakura House

    Sakura House

    (11 reviews)

    ££

    West Didsbury

    Usually I go to Kyatoya nearby but this was closed on a Monday so this was the back up plan…read more Stepping in it was definitely more of a takeaway place than sit in. It was so small you had to go through the kitchen to use the toilet. The choice of food and drink did surprise me.. how could they find room to stock it all? With loads of different sake, juices and wines. Selecting a glass of plum wine ..himself green tea we pawed the menu. There was a great use of pictures which helped us decide. From various sushi Nigiri, temaki, sashimi etc to noodles and ramen dishes. I found the sushi a little over priced to the average sushi joint of this nature..we decided on the 12 piece sashimi and sushi platter ..for mains I chose my usual spicy seafood broth with udon noodles, beef and kimchi. Himself had the beef yakisoba. We inhaled the sushi as soon as it hit the table. It was good healthy amounts of tuna and everything tasted fresh. The wasabi did not mix well with the soya though.. My main was a far cry from what I had at Baekdu the week previous. This was packed with veggies..tender beef and seafood. The broth was also excellent. Looking up I could see my other half wolf down his..giving it the thumbs up . Overall the service was very good and food was a stark contrast to the restaurant. I would probably use this more as a takeaway if I were local but I wouldn't go there to eat again as didn't find it relaxing enough.

    We just happened to stumble across the newly opened Sakura House on Saturday night whilst exploring…read moreDidsbury. It seemed as though a lot of locals did the same too, as people kept popping in to investigate whilst we were eating, in the hope of an opportunistic free table. Despite only opening three weeks ago Sakura Houses' popularity is clear, the restaurant was packed but it's also only 6 tables, which may play a part! Either way we were lucky enough to snaffle a table for two off-the-cuff as there was a 45 minute space before a booking and our waitress was happy to make time and space for us. Due to being short of time we decided to stick to a simple meal each, so we didn't sample the sushi - which seems to be the main fare. I opted for a comforting plate of pork katsu curry and it was very tasty and freshly cooked, so fresh I almost burnt my mouth on the cutlet! My only issues were that it is currently cash only and that my meal came a good 5-10 minutes after my partners - but I honestly think these are just opening month niggles. Sakura House isn't fancy, it's an honest little restaurant with lovely staff and I think it's a welcome and refreshing addition to the area.

    Sapporo Teppanyaki - Lumpy rice

    Sapporo Teppanyaki

    (52 reviews)

    £££

    Castlefield

    Amazing service. Had hibachi grill. Did king prawns in teriyaki sauce. Also fried rice. So…read moretasty. Chef did an amazing job of entertaining and cooking. Highly recommend this place.

    This restaurant is in the waterlogged city centre - with blocked drains, flooded streets, uneven…read morepavements and generally untended. Nine of us turned up for lunch on a miserably cold, wet day. The meal here was just about better than ok, but not at all near great; scrapes two stars against price paid. If I were invited back I wouldn't be looking forward to going again. The teppanyaki 'show' is almost non existent. We've been to dozens of these shows over years in USA and on cruises. The shows are usually highly entertaining with food portions tasty and generous. This place was lifeless in comparison so if it's the show that attracts you'll waste your time and a lot of money too. Customers are also being ripped - off. This is the biggest shock I had - although the cooking left much to be desired as it's not simply cooking that's essential: building and concentrating flavour and plating up tasty food is important and mostly missing here. My wife chose what was a mean - portioned duck spring roll starter at a stonking £8 - 75p in ingredients to make (see photo). It tasted ok but not super. I got a 1 star tempura seafood £9.5 starter. It was also quite poor, not generous, lukewarm and the tempura wasn't crispy light either. I do better/tastier at home. A £1 chicken breast becomes a £20 teppanyaki with the addition of some sliced fried potatoes, about 20 pence worth of potato and tasteless thin sliced vegetables, tipped from a plastic bag onto a hot plate (beansprouts/carrots/snow-peas) then steam cooked to limp, unappetising, served with a very small bowl of fried, long grain white rice; say about fifteen pence worth. The rice wasn't cooked in front of us but at the hot plate behind our 'chef'. My pitiful small portion of cheap rice was al mush rather than al dente, with lumps of starchy boiled rice still prominent (see photo). No second portion was offered. I opted for fillet steak main £26 for 4/5 ounces of raw meat; had I opted for sirloin it was £24 for 6/7 ounces. The meats were tasty and cooked as ordered. I chose the Sapporo peppercorn sauce. It was far and away the tastiest part of the whole meal by a distance (not a big challenge) but the 'chef' slightly burned the pepper sauce. My first 330ml ale choice at 7% wasn't available (£12.05 a pint) I got a 6% tasty amber ale (£10.32 a pint). The staff are polite and courteous. The atmosphere was surprisingly muted despite the fact that the restaurant was very busy ripping off lots of folks at one time.

    Yuzu - Yakitori

    Yuzu

    (54 reviews)

    ££

    Chinatown

    Around the time I went here, I was craving some Japanese food in Manchester that wasn't just sushi…read moreor ramen. This place kept popping up on my socials so I knew it was fate I had to try it. I was glad I did!! I went in around noon, quickly got sat down and given a menu, and then the problem was choosing what to have. I went for the teriyaki chicken meal set and it was quick to arrive. For a drink I just went with a Japanese green tea. The meal set was quick to come and it had a plate of teriyaki chicken, a bowl of white rice, and a bowl of miso soup. I loved all of it. I read up on the correct way to have it all, picked up my chopsticks and went to town. I was a little nervous for the miso soup as I've had one before and didn't like it but this one was amazing. The chicken was perfectly cooked and full of flavour, the rice shot, fluffy, and hot. I definitely will go back here as there was more I wanted to try. The ambiance was amazing, I was in front of the kitchen so could see the chefs preparing the food, and all the different bottles of sake were around so I could look at those and pick one if I wanted some alcohol. I can't wait to return

    Went to one in York and didn't love the food hall location. Then it took forever. Finally I ordered…read morea simple chicken fried rice and it was so salty I could hardly eat it. After a few bites just picked out the chicken and left the rest. Maybe it's a cultural thing as I'm from the US but not what I was expecting.

    Yakisoba

    Yakisoba

    (34 reviews)

    ££

    Chorlton

    I didn't set out to go to Yakisoba. We ended up going in here after wandering around Chorlton for…read morethe better part of an hour on New Year's Day, trying to find somewhere which was both open and still serving food. We actually tried to go to Double Zero, which is practically next door, but as there was another 20 minutes until they opened which would've meant standing outside in the cold we went elsewhere and arrived at Yakisoba. The restaurant itself is a bit narrow, but there's room inside for a decent amount of people - say 30-40 or so. We were a group of 6, which wasn't an issue as they weren't very busy. Unlike other restaurants serving Asian food, Yakisoba had already provided cutlery on the tables as well as chopsticks so you don't have to make that embarrassing admission that you can't use them. The menu is pretty extensive, with a selection of starters and sharing platters, but practically everything comes with a bento box with a range of accompaniments for a larger main dish. We ordered three of the mixed dumpling platters to share between us, and for a main I went for the Kare Katsu Chicken, which came with steamed jasmine rice as well as the bento. The mixed dumpling platter had 10 dumplings (2 of each of the five varieties), as well as some dipping sauces such as sweet chilli and soy. I liked all the dumplings, which were filled with a variety of meats and fish, and the sweet chilli sauce was great. There was a little bit of a wait between the bento aspect of the meal arriving and the main dish following it, but that wasn't too bad. One of our party had a little mishap where one of the staff dropped a portion of rice on the table, which we made a little bit of a joke about and the lady who was waiting on our table took it in good humour too. The Kare Katsu was a hearty portion, and I mean hearty. The chicken was crispy and perfectly cooked without being dry, and the katsu curry sauce was fantastic. The chicken pieces were huge too, which made it interesting eating with chopsticks but I enjoy a challenge and it also stopped me from basically inhaling my food. The rice was good also, but I think sticky rice would have been my preference - especially for eating with chopsticks. The others went for a range of different bento meals, including the teriyaki beef steak and the duck in red thai curry, all of which looked delicious and went down well. They have a decent range of drinks as well, including Asian beers like Kirin Ichiban and Tsingtao as well as wine and spirits. Overall, even though we didn't set out to go to Yakisoba I'm quite happy that we did. Some of our group couldn't finish the meal, due to the size of the portions not any issue with quality, so if you're after a hearty meal then this place will provide. At £25 each for a starter, main and a couple of drinks each including a tip it's also not going to break you financially either. If you just wanted a main course, all the bento boxes were around £9-12 and would make a good meal on their own. I'd certainly be happy to return to Yakisoba in future.

    A couple of friends and I wanted a decent feed after a day spent helping them move house to…read moreChorlton, so we had a wander down Barlow Moor Road to see what was on offer. Initially choosing the new Caribbean place, The Drop, we quickly left once we'd been told by other diners that they'd been waiting two hours for their food! Thankfully Yakisoba was right there and so we gave them a try. I'm really glad we did as the food was lovely; their menu is varied and appetising. I love places with open kitchens, it somehow makes you feel like you're no longer sitting in the UK. After sharing a platter of starters between us, we each ordered a Bento Box which, together with your main course, comprises an assortment of salad, vegetable miso soup and steamed Jasmine rice. I ordered the Teriyaki Fillet Steak (grilled slices of fillet steak with ginger, rice wine and soy sauce). The sauce was particularly rich but when 'diluted' in the rice made for a delicious and hearty dinner. A thoroughly pleasant evening and I'd definitely eat here again if I was in this neck of the woods.

    Cottonopolis - Prawn Dumplings

    Cottonopolis

    (26 reviews)

    £££

    Northern Quarter

    I came here for dinner with friends as it had great reviews and I found the food to be quite good…read more It's like Japanese fusion served in tapas style, the flavour of everything was great and I loved all the things I ordered, which were the Salmon tataki, chicken Shumai and the broccoli side dish. The portions are on the smaller side for the price, which is about £30 per person for a meal of 3-4 dishes. The atmosphere is on the lively bougie side, they had a DJ for a while as well. I liked the decor and how vibes overall. The staff were friendly and polite but service was quite slow as it took ages to get the waiters attention to order. The one thing that disappointed me was the lack of sake ok the menu as they seemed to be a Japanese tapas bar, so sake seems like an obvious option. They only have whiskey, beer, wine and cocktails though. Also they only accept card, no cash and also American Express which I found out when I tried.. Overall good food, chic atmosphere and lively, but quite pricey, no sake and not so efficient service.

    Been here a couple times since original review. Most recent times there to eat - and trying out…read moremuch of the menu. Most recently, went with friends and tried the Summer Set Menu. This was 4 small plates for just £15. Very good value! There are 4 different sections with 3 different items in each - since there was 4 of us, we tried every item - plus duplicates of what sounds the best. Depending what you get, you won't leave hungry. But it depends - the ribs are more filling than e.g. the dim sum selection. My fav from the Summer Set Menu were the ribs, and the mackerel donburi I think. Duck and watermelon salad was good even though I don't like watermelon! Fish collars were yummy too! So much of it was good! We also got dessert which was not included in the set menu - costs £6 each dessert. My rating has gone up to 5 stars from 4 because every time I have been, the food is almost spot on. Would recommend it to anyone. Service is friendly too.

    Umami - japanese - Updated May 2026

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