Service was awesome - everyone we encountered was friendly and attentive. They noticed we needed things and were chatty and sweet. Can't up this staff enough. Ambiance was great, they had clueless playing on a tv/vcr by the register, kinda 90s kitsch all around. We ordered: Cabbage Caesar slaw - this was solid. Nice flavor, not too much red onion or prosciutto Toasted Italian melt - we lived in New York and are always on the hunt for a solid Italian. This one was okay. The bread was pretty dense and not very toasted. I took most of mine home and it was MUCH better on the reheat. I just toasted the bread and put it back together. Italian stallion - this was great. The gardiniere breaks up the fattiness and the jus was awesome. Also solid on the reheat. Lasagna end piece - I'd agree with another reviewer to change the name. It was tasty, lots of thin layers of pasta, sauce and some cheese. But I prefer a good melty cheesy top. This one had fine grated cheese on top instead. The crispy edges were awesome and the red sauce was perfect. read more

Visited for the first time today- and as a New York Italian I was excited to try this. The place is cute, has a good Jersey vibe, I liked the Italian hero napkin boxes. You order at the counter, the staff was friendly and explanatory. They don't have a huge wine menu and it's pretty pricey, 13+ dollars a glass or more. They had a frosé for $8 but it's not on menu or advertised so we didn't notice the machine until after. There were three of us and we ordered under the same number- but for some reason one persons food came out before the appetizer so- timing was weird on that. We got the arancini for appetizer and it was good but absolutely not worth $12 for 3 small to medium sized arancini. Would not order again based on price. I had the chicken parm grinder with the house salad and my boyfriend the chicken Alfredo. Our friend had the Italian sub. Charging $5 to have fries or a salad added is highway robbery when you are already charging $15 for a sub. A chicken parm grinder in my hometown is $9.99. And this was not that great. The sauce was acidic, and the bread was way too thick. It wasn't toasted so most of my sandwich bites were just bread. The chicken coating also should have been crispier. It was sooo mid. The Italian house salad was actually pretty good- but really overdressed. My boyfriend's chicken Alfredo was pretty dry and nothing to write home about for $23. And they don't give you any bread!! How does an Italian restaurant not give out bread?! They charge you $2.50 for bread regardless if it's for the focaccia or the plain house bread- which I found out when I tried to order focaccia and they were out. No I don't want to pay the same for plain bread as focaccia, esp when I shouldn't be paying for bread in the first place. So we ended up paying $76 before tip for a grinder and side salad, a plate of Alfredo, 3 arancini and a soda and glass of wine, all mid. I feel like they know about the lack of affordable Italian food here and thought they could come in and be more affordable than like, Sammie's but are still overcharging because they can. Come back to pay those prices? Fuhgeddaboutit. read more

Umarell - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Ok, YOUSE had at me at Jersey! East Coast Italian food true to my nature, my family, and what I've grown up on. It's really hard to get decent Italian food in these parts. Umarell blows it outta the water. I swear to you I'm in my Nana's kitchen again when I walk into this converted bodega. It's the smells, the tastes, the feeling of family, the type of service that's just what I'm used to. Mangiare!!! It's all you'll wanna do. New Jersey Italian to the sky with flavor! Where do I start? I'm just gonna say everything I've had is favolosa! Let me list out the goodness that's hit my lips, tongue, mouth, and belly: Chicken parm with side of angel hair (cacio e pepe)---huge. Shared with boyfriend and had leftovers. Tell me what's in that gravy! I know there's a secret. Love, love, love those tomatoes. Rigatoni with stuffed meatballs--GET OUTTA HERE! Put a fork in me, I'm done. So good it makes me dizzy thinking about that dish. Lasagne--layered with delicious and gooey cheese, gravy, and meat. I'm spinning outta control here. The chopped salad and risotto balls are fire. Chicken Alfredo---makes the boyfriend do cartwheels. So yeah, I'm a fan. read more

Wonderful!!! The vegetarian lasagne was other worldly. The pasta drizzled in bechemal and the whisper of something like nutmeg. You have to try it. Light airy focaccia, a cooling coleslaw and a double espresso. My partner had the meatball sub and he ate every last bite. Overall the atmosphere was laid back and comfy. The employees were generous, very friendly. We will be back soon. read more

Got the wagyu beef melt sandwich. Meat was a teensy bit dry but the sandwich was still good. Didn't blow me away, but solid. Server directed me to the counter to pick up my order, was super friendly. Looks like a little deli diner inside, cute. Overall pretty good. read more

Umarell - Wagyu beef melt - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Service is super slow.. table for 4 for dinner on a Tuesday or Wednesday. We got there probably around 7:45, waited only a few minutes to order (maybe 1-2 people in front of us), but didn't get our food until after 8:45... ordered 3 subs and a pasta dish. All had the exact same fried chicken cutlets, but the sandwiches were super soggy by the time we got them/; read more

Wanted to love this place but ultimately did not. Chicken parm portion was generous which was good for leftovers but not particularly flavorful. Beef sandwich was soggy. Counter service was friendly. Ambiance was casual. read more

Umarell - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Live just a mile down from this place. Wife and I used to drive by the previous establishment and laugh, since it was a cruddy greasy Chinese take out. The other day we drove by and the parking lot was packed! Notice the new sign. We were going to pick up a few things from Walgreens just across from it. Wife asked me to take care of that and she would go and get some food. She got the egg plant parm, her fav, and chicken parm, my fav. Both were tasty as heck. Place inside is really clean. And service was top notch. Price decent. So lucky to have something like this close by. Only complaint is parking, but we used Walgreens since I was shopping there. Shhhhhhh! Lots of people parked in the neighborhood. Bet those neighbors get unruly really soon. read more

Loved the vibes walking in, loved the music playing, loved the access to the fountain drinks. LOVE THIS PLACE! Went for the first time and had the Italian stallion. Hit the spot in tellin ya. read more

Umarell - Italian Stallion - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Umarell is such a gem in Austin! I tried the chicken parm sub and it was absolutely fantastic, perfectly crispy, flavorful, and super satisfying. The service was great, friendly, quick, and welcoming, which really added to the overall experience. The space itself is super cute with a great vibe that makes you want to hang out and come back again. Just a heads up, parking and seating are pretty limited, so you might have to plan a bit or get lucky with timing. Overall, definitely worth it and I will be back for sure! read more

Umarell - Chicken parm sub - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

We don't live in Austin but if we did, I wouldn't be back. The food is good! Great flavor! But for a $90 for 3 people, no alcohol, no apps...nope. And none of us were full. The portions were tiny. I got the Everything Bagel Caveteli and it was half what I would've served myself at home. Hubby got the ravioli and there were maybe 8 small ravioli in his bowl. He's still hungry. Our daughter got the Big Rig which was actually quite a bit! Just a weird spot. Couldn't understand a word the girl serving us said and they brought our dishes out one by one. Got one. Waited 5 min. Got another. Waited 10 min. Overall, it's Austin!!! So many other choices. read more

Umarell - Big Rig - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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This new trendy italian spot off guadalupe pleasantly surprised me for how much I enjoyed my experience. Right when you walk in, the decor is very alternative modern with a lot of alternative music posters adorning the walls and I loved it. I also want to shout out the staff as every person working there was so sweet and kind. It all creates a very welcoming vibe that just makes you want to stay and order more. As for the food, I loved everything we got. We got the big rig (rigatoni), chicken francese, caesar salad, and breadsticks. They were all so good with the ingredients being very fresh. For an italian place, the dishes were also light and refreshing rather than being rich and heavy which is one of the reasons I don't usually care for italian. Overall, a really great spot and I can't wait to be back. read more

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4 stars for vibes, 3 star for food. No halfsies allowed, so rounding down. Hits: -Big Rig -pizzeria chop salad on a hoagie - while it doesn't beat the competition, it does the job when you want it. -Calamari - first thing finished at the table -meatball grinder - a MASSIVE boy, definitely eat with a fork kinda sandwich - slid size portions for all Misses: -stuffed chicken wings - fun in concept, just not very flavorful -ricotta dumplings - not to my taste preferences, but our veg eater liked it Big shoutout to the staff because they're dope, jut some things to work on regarding execution! read more

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The tiramisu was a show stopper . I really appreciate what they did with this place . It's has some fun cool vibes . The sandwich was delicious . This place take there time and it's fun look at the cool decor read more

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Really cute lil Jersey-themed spot. Has a chill diner vibe but the prices are a little more appropriate for an upscale place. We shared a melt sandwich and the cabbage Caesar, both decent. The staff were super sweet and it seems like the type of place where regulars go, a family vibe. read more

How wonderful to have this restaurant in the Hyde Park neighborhood. My husband and I shared the fried eggplant, Caesar cabbage salad, and baked rigatoni with meatballs. All three dishes were very unique and wonderful. We are excited to go back to try the calamari which looked so good. We tend not to be red meat eaters so I would like it if they would have more pasta with a vegetarian slant. Next time, calamari and piccata chicken, I believe The atmosphere was fun . It felt like a New Jersey diner. read more

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:( I SO BADLY wanted to love this place As a born and raised Jersey Girl, I take my Italian food seriously and when someone boldly proclaims they are serving Jersey Italian food right here in Austin, TX, we'll, sign me up! My husband and I went for lunch. We ordered the suppli (rice balls), cabbage caesar and I had the chicken parm while he had the eggplant parm sandwiches - and we added curly fries. Let's start with the good.....the red sauce is good, solid, tasty. And the bread on the sandwiches was obviously homemade and delicious - crispy on the outside and soft of the inside. The fries were crispy, curly and tasty. That's the good. The caesar had SO MUCH prosciutto- like, it's a prosciutto salad basically and between the dressing the breadcrumbs and the prosciutto, it is essentially like licking a block of salt. Just why? A caesar salad is traditional for a reason. Just make a good one. The rice balls. Now, I understand that some people like their rice al dente. I am not one of those people, but I can appreciate it. This was not that. The rice was undercooked. Hard. Practically inedible. To not be able to cook arborio rice and pasta properly in an Italian establishment is, in my opinion, unforgivable. Last, but not least oir sandwiches. The sauce to chicken to cheese ratio was WAY OFF. I had to keep dipping my bread in the sauce that the rice balls were in because otherwise it would have been SO dry. They doubled up the chicken cutlet so it was just bland chicken on bread with a small amount of sauce and cheese. The cutlet was soggy and I know their fryer was working fine because the fries were perfectly crispy. The cutlet didn't even fill the entirety of the roll, so a portion of the sandwich was just bread. Growing up in Central Jersey you can go to any random restaurant/deli/diner/your neighbor's house and get a solid chicken parm sandwich so you can imagine my surprise when this was completely disappointing and bland. I ate less than half of a half. New record for me. My husband said his eggplant parm was soggy as well. I really hope this place steps it up because anyone using the name/inspiration of my home state feels personal. That's how people from NJ are. Please represent the food of our state better because I would love to come back and experience a piece of home. read more

Umarell - Chicken parm sandwich. Cutlet didn't fit the roll. Cutlet was soggy and not enough red sauce. Bland. - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

The chicken parmesan was incredible! The staff were friendly, and the vibe was great.

Fuhgeddaboudit, who cares if there is pasta on the ceiling. Mangiare! My co-workers and I went to Umarell for lunch. I was so excited to go as I was missing some NE Coast vibes. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. I dig the very casual mom and pop electic local neighborhood joint vibes. One co worker had the Toasted Italian Melt, two of my coworkers order the Eggplant Parm Sangwich, another order the Big Rig, and I who wanted to try everything, ended up ordering the Italian Stallion. I have the say the portions here is very generous and you can tell they are using quality products to make these good eats. Umarell you got me at home made warm Sourdough Foccoccia with the garlic butter and hot honey. For somone who lived in the NE for 18+ years and in East Asia for almost 10, I get a little leary how seafood is prepared in Texas. The calamari and curly fries arrived for all of us to share. The calamari was perfectly tender and quite addicting. The thin sliced slow braised wagyu of the Italian Staillion was so juicy that I forgot the flavorful au jus next to it. You got me again for the toasted hoagie roll and I will come back to try the pasta dishes. read more

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New and delicious Italian American spot. Just opened in February and definitely worth supporting. The tiramisu and salt chocolate gelato were amazing. The gentlemen, Houston and Laredo were so hospitable and welcoming. Our sandwiches were very good, the appetizers were delectable. All in all, I am looking forward to my next adventure there, next time for dinner. read more

We've both been to Umarell separately with other friends, but last weekend was the first time that we tried it as a family. Some things have improved (like finally getting the liquor license) while others have stayed the same or gotten worse (like portion size). Since one of us is a Jersey Girl, we do have to say that we appreciate the overall vibe in this place and the concept itself is good. It's an order-at-the-counter situation, but the prices don't reflect that. They are way too high for what you end up getting and the cabbage caesar portion has been cut in half from the last time that one of us was here. We do like it, though, and the chop salad was pretty good too. We'd skip the focaccia with hot honey since it wasn't that impressive. For mains, we ordered the lasagna and the chicken parm. The "end piece" concept is a bunch of bull--they just broil a big slice. It is NOT that corner crusty thing that makes an *actual* end pice of lasagna so good. Rename your dish! The chicken parm was also only so-so...and angel hair pasta? Blegh. Even though we are landing on three stars and have several gripes, we will 100% be back here again because it's only a couple blocks from our house and we like to support our local restaurants. They're at least trying, UNLIKE Uncle Nicky's, that steaming carcass of crap that thankfully went the way of the dodo! So Umarell is at least a good replacement. Hopefully they get better with more practice. read more

Visited here with my boyfriend recently after it just opened and was so pleasantly surprised to try really authentic Italian food and such a casual spot. We walked up and it was packed but no big deal. They told me it's gonna be 20 minute wait and it was more like 10-15 min. We ordered inside up to the counter and order chicken parm sandwich, a pasta, and fried eggplant, and everything was genuinely so delicious. I'm super super flavorful. Everyone was super nice as well- definitely recommend!! read more

First visit last month. Ordered the vegetable lasagna- delicate pasta layers filled with richly seasoned savory mushroom mix topped with creamy sauce. The edges were a lovely crispy brown from the oven. Absolutely delicious. Had to have it again. This time the pasta was heavy and grainy, thinly filled with a bland mix and covered with runny sauce. The edges were black instead of brown. What happened? The service, however, was wonderful. read more

The food was so good, the place feels so comfortable and cool, had such a great experience with the service and staff!!! We got the breadsticks and calamari curly fries, devoured those, then had the end piece lasagna and braciole, both were superb. We topped off dinner with tiramisu, which was probably the best both my husband and I have ever had! Braciole is so time intensive so it was awesome to get delicious one from this spot! It was pricey, but worth a nice dinner date out. We will be back! read more

Umarell - Braciole - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

If I could give them ZERO *s I would. Total disregard of customers, $$$, not good food. SERVICE- Terrible and what's worse, with TERRIBLE ATTITUDE! Waited close to 45 mins when there were literally only 2 other tables with food, the 3rd was packing up leftovers. I counted 7 staff, including kitchen staff of at least 4 (open kitchen) and watched them literally standing around chatting, laughing, drinking from their water thermos bottles. When we asked the manager about the delay, his response was "Oh, sorry they didn't tell you when ordering that it comes out as ready." SERIOUSLY?! It wasn't ready because NO ONE was cooking our food. 3 simple dishes! They were too busy socializing amongst themselves. FOOD- Meh!!! When ordering there was some discrepency with the menu not the same as the menu board by register where you have to place your oder. We were also told the menu board is old and outdated (SO FIX IT!) The items were not clear on portion size to know what to expect as apparently there were very small dishes (but not obvious based on their $$$ high prices!). We tried ordering 3 of the 4 listed starters and were told they didn't have any of those 3! Really? -- Food is so average. -- Price- $$$$ SO overpriced for what you get, unless you're OK paying high prices for not great food, with a super long wait, and A LOT of snarky attitude on top of it. Advise- SO many better places for better value, good Italian food with nice & timely service by staff that cares about their customers in Austin! Don't be fooled by the name description as if it's authentic NJ Italian. It is not! read more

Had a very good experience last night! Had the "Big Rig"... rigatoni and 4 meat balls and I took half home! Delicious with a nice red sauce with just a lil spice. My friend had the chicken, which was so big she thought she'd take half home but it was so delicious she ate the whole thing. Ok the big surprise was the chocolate gelato which was the best i've ever had including Firenze! so rich and tasty! I'll go back to be sure. we arrived at 5 pm to open with a just another family.. and by 6 pm lots of people were there! I wish they would serve lunch but hopefully that will come! It's heritage of chefs from Vespaio (used to be a fav years ago, now closed) and Jewboy Burgers definitely make their presence known. Very nice service! sorry I didn't take photos! read more

Umarell absolutely lives up to the hype. We ordered the everything bagel cavatelli (sounds crazy, totally works), rigatoni, chicken Francese, and the cabbage Caesar--every single dish hit. The pastas were perfectly cooked, the Francese was bright and buttery, and the Caesar was a fresh twist. Great vibe, strong service, and a menu that's creative without trying too hard. Easy 5 stars--already planning another visit. read more

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Excellent food and service! True gem in austin, you won't be disappointed !! Very cool environment too! read more

Love the food, the music, and the vibe. BUT... When a family of three drops $82 for lunch and the father requests (and will pay for) a side salad with his $20 Big Rig, the correct response is "Of course." The incorrect response is, "We don't really sell side salads unless you order a sandwich." Had I escalated to a manager, I am certain he would have been mortified and responded, "Of course." But I shouldn't have to. Just a bit of constructive feedback for employee training purposes. read more

Amazing addition to the Austin food scene. Chef mike and his amazing team provide personalized but casual service with beautifully executed food that you'd have think came out of your nonna's kitchen if she was a gangster of a chef. Atmosphere is humble but fun with an open kitchen, fun and #edgy decor and a banger of a playlist. COME HUNGRY. Thank you chef mike and the team. I wish you all the best with this beautiful endeavor. read more

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So this place had high hopes it being close to campus and stuff we saw from influencers online (our own mistake). Being from Jersey we were excited to try this place but we're extremely disappointed. Chicken parm sandwiches were not good. You can go to Walmart and buy the same ingredients and it would probably taste the same or better. The chips and drinks were good but everything was lacking. Normally if the food is meh and I wouldn't go again, I don't write reviews but we paid extra for vodka sauce on the subs. One came out with vodka sauce and one came out with marinara. When we told the staff, the server or manager came back and tried to gaslight us saying they were the same thing and refused to fix the sandwich. That alone is worth 1 star. If you pay for a product, that product should be delivered. We have photos to prove... pink one is the vodka and red is marinara. Anyways, disappointing food and poor service. The fact my sister walked out saying "my mouth is angry" is enough to keep us away. read more

Umarell - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Great food great vibe good music I really like the ball things and the end pasta was good all are plates were left empty read more

Umarell - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

The people working the counter were very friendly and the food was amazing! I had the lasagna and would definitely go back and get it again.

I REALLY wanted to like this place... I think the ambiance is super cute and the people are really nice! I came here with 4 of my friends. We sat down and had a really nice server come and tell us that they ran out of chicken... Which is okay except for the fact that the majority of their dishes are chicken. So our group had to change our order which was totally fine! That wasn't something they could control. Then, we waited 30 minutes for our food. Only one came out. Then we waited another 30 minutes and the rest of the orders came out except for mine. Then, I waited another 15 minutes and finally went up to the cashier (really sweet man) to ask for my food and explain the situation. There were 2 tables that came after us and got their food and finished it by the time I got mine. We got no apology for the wait from our server either. About the food... I really did not enjoy my dish. Not worth the wait. One friend really liked her sandwich though! Another friend's meatballs were cold. The tiramisu was really good. Beer was good too. Also, they only refunded half of my dish even though everyone else had already eaten. I had a few bites and left. read more

Went last night for our anniversary. Very relaxed vibe(we are all about that). To start, I've worked in the kitchens from Atlanta to San Francisco to Austin, some great and some meh. My husband got the big rig and it was good and had flavor. I got the chicken parm and it was completely flavorless. It was just missing something. It needed more garlic, salt and some red pepper. Now I know as chefs, we make food how we like it, so I can't fault them for their preference. For me, it was bland. We also had calamari fries and breadsticks, both of which had prominent flavor. The calamari was salty and lemony and the breadsticks had some garlic butter melted on the plate and lots of grated parm. I like the ambience and the staff were kind and friendly. The portions were generous. I don't know if I will return, but maybe next year. read more

At the risk of being an umarell myself, here's my take on the food I've eaten at Umarell. First, let me get this out of the way: don't let be fooled by the fact they built this into an old convenience store. This place is truly something special. Front of house and service were fantastic. Lots of good energy. I grew up in the Northeast, and this feels like a neighborhood restaurant. Here's my experience with the food: End Piece Lasagna : excellent. Maybe the best I've ever had. Delicate lasagna sheets, deep flavor, and the burnt corners crumble in your mouth. I could eat this all day. Chicken Francese : very good. I love a place that knows how to cook thin pasta right. But, not quite enough flavor. Could have used a touch of salt. If you want light, this is your dish. Big Rig : sauce and pasta were excellent. But I came for the meatballs. I know I said the CF needed more salt, but damn, these were some salty balls. Painfully salty, which made them hard (but not impossible) to finish. Unfortunate, and I bet they've already fixed this. All in all, I'm going back, many times. It looks like they have a rotating menu, and I expect more greatness from these folks. read more

IT'S BYOB!!!! Want to put a flag up outside the restaurant. Pretty solid neighborhood spot. Casual, friendly staff, quick service. Would give it 3.5 stars if possible. The cabbage caesar salad was pretty decent. Wish the cabbage had been shaved more thinly, and wish it was either bigger or a little more interesting considering the price. The crispiness of the lasagna (and the way it was layered) was awesome--GREAT texture. But it wasn't heated all the way through which really detracted from the dish. The Big Rig, however, was awesome (meatballs fabulous, sauce delicious, rigatoni the perfect texture)--will be going back just for this dish. And the good vibes. And will bring some wine next time. read more

Umarell - Lasagna - Italian Near Me - Austin, Texas

I ordered the fettuccine Alfredo, and it was a banger! They serve it with a crispy chicken cutlet, it gave it the perfect pairing to the rich and creamy Alfredo sauce, be warned it is a heavy meal but boy did I love it! The staff was very friendly, and helpful! They had the vibes for sure, they were playing some good throwbacks. read more

Homey counter service self-described as New Jersey inspired Italian food. Overall vibes is nice...black checked plastic table covers, order at counter, delivered to table. Self serve water. Most items were off in some way. Eggplant agrodolce was a little underseasoned. Calamari was dry, hard, fishy as if it had been hard frozen but the breading was good. Many items have rough cut uneven parsley chunks looking like it was cut by a kindergartner. The cabbage Caesar salad was tiny for $12 and oversalty. Not sure that they cabbage added anything so why? Took a bite into the chicken parm sandwich and spent a minute trying to figure out if the meat was veal or beef. Turns out they use chicken thigh which again added nothing but confusion and unappetizing mouth feel. The big rig pasta was meh. Pasta cooked nice and al dente but meatballs were mushy meat surrounding fontana cheese. They taste previously frozen and just not working. The lasagna was okay but the piece was tiny for the price. The extra grilling of it to give corner feel just dried it out. The breadsticks were a standout. The chicken Francese was underseasoned. Looking at other tables it seems it is luck of the draw as to whether you score a large or small piece of lasagna or chicken. The tiramisu is also a highlight but served from a pan tableside and our waitress missed the delivery and it came out on its side versus a nicer presentation. Again, the scoop you get can be either large or small. Overall disappointed with almost every item and a little pricey for a neighborhood place. read more

We ordered a chicken parm sandwich, and somehow Umarell barely cooked the meat, forcing us to throw it all away. We took a bite, and it felt slippery/fatty - severely undercooked. read more

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