This restaurant failed me in so many ways 1. Got ignored by the host lady. She kept sitting, played with her hair while it's so obvious that I was standing in front of her 2. The waitress was not polite, she gave me a something far away from what is called good service 3. Another waiter took away my plate when there was still sashimi left. I had not finished it yet, did you not see??? 4. The taste of the food is just ordinary or even lower. Sashimi was not so fresh, ramen came with all-stick-together-in-chunk noodle. They did not know how to prepare grilled fish, it was way too juicy, Japanese does not cook grilled fish this way! read more

Best Japanese in Pittsburgh. Amazing cocktails. Wonderful ambiance. My favorite new spot

Very hip and fun place! Small restaurant where you can see into both the bar and the kitchen - so it feels very intimate. They have a large selection of Japanese beers - which is great if you're looking for that. Also a small, but refined selection of wines. The food is a bit expensive, but that can be expected of a sushi restaurant. It's a great place to go on a date or to celebrate something. read more

My bartender was the bomb.com.. His name was Chris! He made the best cocktails.. Also the food was to dieeeee for!! Love this place. I would recommend to any & everyone! read more

My fiancé and I love coming here, the atmosphere is wonderful, the food is amazing and we've always had awesome service. Liz has waited on us multiple times and we always enjoy having her recommend different menu items and she is always knowledgeable about the menu. read more

Umami just opened in Pittsburgh four days ago! I was so excited to finally get a reservation and try their offerings. I would definitely ensure that you book a res for this restaurant. You have to walk up two flights of stairs and on your way up, you will see beautiful lanterns and wallpaper with red lighting. The bar are is small as is the restaurant itself. Once you reach the top of the stairs, to the left is traditional floor seating and to the right is the bar and seating at tables. All tables are very close together so be prepared to stare at your neighbors or have them stare at you. The table seating really should be in a better layout as the servers have to navigate in very tight quarters between bar seating and table seating and among guests just standing around. I felt bad for the staff as I'm sure this is frustrating. The sake selection varies and we ended up getting a 300 ml bottle for $30. It was alright, nothing to write home about. My boyfriend ordered the Lion Wolf and Cub. Wow, this was delicious! It's a kirin draft and a falling petal shot which is draft sake shot infused with hibiscus! I could have drank these all night. Now onto the food. The pork and shrimp shumai had a great flavor and I love the added edamame on top. The takoyaki was hands down the best dish we had! I could have just ordered those for the rest of the night and been happy! Knowing that they just opened, I'll come back but will have to give it some time to allow them to work on a few things. Overall, another nice hip place to go to when you find yourself in Lawrenceville. read more

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My friend and I made reservations for 9:15, arrived at 9:08, were seated, and left at 9:38 after being blatantly ignored by the servers. We were never given drinks, let alone a chance to order anything. I will not be returning due to the incredibly rude staff. read more

One of the best restaurants in Lawrenceville. I was so intimidated by the menu, but when we got there, our waitress was so unbelievably helpful. She suggested things and encouraged us to take a risk on a lot of dishes. Everything was delicious. Someone in our party was gluten free and the chef made him a special dish- so inviting read more

The food there is not authentic Japanese street food at all. Takoyaki is 50% empty inside with little dried bonite on top. The rice ball is smaller than normal but super pricy for $5-$6 per piece. Fried chicken is the worst even not considering real Japanese food standard. The chicken is pre-cooked and over-fried with too much flour. If you tried fried chicken at Chaya, you'll definitely feel the difference. Even teppanyaki Kyoto is much better than this place. It's definitely cheating to label itself as a Japanese izakaya. Pls visit any Izakaya in New York for a real Japanese dining experience. read more

Great ambiance and vibe. Servers were friendly and prompt. We had edamame, two pieces of sashimi, the udon, and the ramen, finished the the fried ice cream. I also had one of their cocktails. Everything was excellent. Would definitely go back, would be a great place to bring out of town guests to show them the foodie/hipster side of Pittsburgh. read more

Amazing for a late night snack. All the specials are amazing. I love the takoyaki and okonomiyaki. Robatayaki are pretty small, and somewhat disappointing compared to the rest of the menu. read more

Hip atmosphere. Good variety of choices. Friendly staff. The food was mostly excellent. A bit more time could have been spent between courses. Overall great flavors and portion sizes. read more

Food was good. My wife had the ramen, which was a bit too salty. I had the takoyaki and that was great. We also had multiple orders of the rabotoyaki - 2 each of the wagyu, bacon covered quail eggs and the chicken skins, those were great too. I also was able to try my first Japanese whiskey, the Japanese Harmony, and loved it. My wife had hot sake, which she loved too. Space was a bit tight but you can let that go when you're enjoying the dining experience. read more

I went here with a few friends and between all of us I tried almost everything on the menu. Unfortunately were were there too late and didn't get to try any sushi, which they stop serving at 10. Some of the highlights were the whole fish and the chawanmushi. I also really enjoyed the robatayaki, they were all delicious and a nice way to try a variety of things. I also got the table side tofu which was a cool demonstration. I've never seen tofu made like that before and enjoyed the experience, but I'm not sure that it was tasty enough to justify getting again. We sat at the bar and service was really friendly and prompt. We had lots of questions about the sake selection and the bar tender was very helpful and patient with us. Sitting at the bar was also rather helpful for selecting sakes because we were shown the sizes and bottles they come in. I also really enjoyed the atmosphere. There are lots of details in the decorations that make it special and the lighting is beautiful. I found it trendy without being too hip and inaccessible. read more

Came in with some friends from out of town on a Saturday night and had a great time. Couldn't get a seat in the traditional seating area, which was to be expected for a Saturday, but the bar area suited us fine. All the servers were friendly and our drinks and food came very timely. We shared edamame (or Tokyo beans for my Parks and Rec fans lol) the chicken skin, chicken heart, and pork belly skewers. All were delicious. I got the standard ramen with extra spicy chili sauce. The eggs that came in the ramen were out of this world. Everything was incredibly flavorful and well presented. I will definitely be going back again very soon. read more

Amazing meal. The decor is interesting and makes for a fun ambiance. Best cocktail I have had in a long time. The egg custard was truly special. Will absolutely go back. read more

This place had been talked up to us by numerous people so we were really excited to try it. Cocktails- good, unique twists, but nothing mind-blowingly delicious. It seemed like a lot of it was in the accents (pop rocks, a matcha stick, etc.) that was fun but didn't ultimately make the drink. We started with the wagyu beef (overdone, not very flavorful, kind of chewy), the eggplant (cooked fine but again, not very flavorful) and the unagi sashimi (excellent) plus their special of the night, fried oysters (also excellent- lightly breaded, still nice inside). Next we shared the miso deviled eggs (my cousin and I loved them, my husband wasn't a fan), the nasu shigiyaki (tasty but also extremely salty and difficult to figure out initially - it kind of crumbled when we tried to cut it up to share) plus the pork and shrimp shumai (tasty but nothing mind blowing). We finished with a bowl of the Yaki udon which was my favorite item of the night. It was salty, savory, the egg was perfectly cooked and it was just such a warming, filling dish. I would go back for a bowl of the udon or get takeout, but I don't think this is a place we would go back to for a full meal like we did. Despite taking our server's recommendations we were disappointed by most of it. Good, but not exceedingly so. read more

I have gone to umami two times. Both times, the staff (mostly the hostesses) were deplorable. The first time we were there, the bartender and hostess were so rude that we ended up leaving. The second time we went, as the hostess went to seat us, she said "by the way we have a reservation at 8 so you need to be out of here by then". What an incredibly rude thing to say before seating people! The food was ok. The waygu skewers were very good. Sushi was ok, nothing special, same with the ramen nothing special. Because the staff is so awful and pretentious there, I probably won't go back. The food and atmosphere weren't anything wonderful either. Very disappointed. read more

Really bad first impression. There was an overwhelming smell of disinfectant coming up the stairs and permeating the restaurant Was expecting something a little more upscale - not a fan of all the high top tables or the loud hip hop music. Service was good, cocktails were good, sushi was just OK. read more

Fantastic service, great food, cool atmosphere. I really enjoyed my meal but the miso soup and the dumplings were so flavorful I had to write this review. These are usually just simple , nothing special starters but in this case the ingredients where amazing. The miso was extraordinary with seaweed that actually had flavor and tofu that was tender and tasty not squares of tasteless rubber. When I commented on this, my wonderful server (Christine?) told me they actually make their own tofu! The pork dumplings also were unique in the way they were joined together and pan fried with very crispy edges. They come with a light dipping sauce that perfectly complimented the ingredients in the dumplings. The fried chicken I had for my main course was also quite good but I was not a fan of the gravy. So I said something and my waitress brought out the dipping sauce they serve with their tempura dish and some fresh chiles. I added some heat and started dipping away. Yummmm! All I have say is thank you guys! What an unexpectedly great late night dinner. read more

Food was good and prepared with care. The place looks new and enjoyed the passionate staff. Recommend the whole fish option (snapper).

Good Japanese fusion. Nice atmosphere. The ramen noodle is pretty good but the sashimi and skews are ok.

I have eagerly been awaiting a visit to Umami since an amazing trip to Tokyo last year. The restaurant did not disappoint. The special whole grilled Snapper was evocative of the whole fish we enjoyed at an Izakaya in Yurakucho. The only (small) letdown was that the Takoyaki seemed to have minced octopus and not big, delicious cut pieces. Otherwise, it was a great experience! read more

I had one of the most enjoyable dinners I've had in a long time. My wife and I went with two other couples. We ordered a ton of the signature drinks. A bunch of appetizers, which included sushi, clams and octopus balls. My wife ordered the whole fish and I had a whole octopus. Both specials that night. Amazing dinner! read more

Awesome sushi! Good spot for a date night. We enjoyed the decor and general atmosphere. It was quiet enough to have good conversation. Umami certainly helps to diversify the South Side dining options with a bit of a classier feel. read more

Fast, attentive service, it was a pleasure having Elias as our server. Good recommendations, but as a bit of a Japanese food snob I wasn't impressed with what their hot kitchen had to offer, but that quickly changed when we ordered from the sushi area. Rice balls and hand rolls AMAZING! read more

Exceeded all expectations. Even though it was crowded the staff was kind enough to look for and find places for me and my companion to sit. The warm sake was quite nice. I got the ground chicken over eggplant (can't remember the dish name) and I can honestly say that the chicken was the best I've ever had. The pear tart at the end of the meal was also exceedingly well made. I will most certainly be back. read more