Umami Burger Restaurant Review, San Francisco

“Umami is a pleasant savory taste imparted by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides, including inosinate and guanylate, which occur naturally in many foods including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products. As the taste of umami itself is subtle and blends well with other tastes to expand and round out flavors, most people don’t recognize umami when they encounter it, but it plays an important role making food taste delicious.”

Why did we dine here? – Umami Burger is huge in Southern California, making us want to dine at this new outpost as soon as it was open.
This restaurant is full of reclaimed and recycled wood, with a bar up front, sidewalk seating, and very loud music and people.

Insider Tip – To avoid the one-hour waits, come during off-peak hours

Cuisine – Burgers
Location – San Francisco Marina District
Opened – 2011

Service – Umami Burger had reasonable service with servers running around constantly. No worries regarding refills and the like.
Verdict – Umami Burger serves up very good burgers in an interesting dining room. It is no surprise that this place is busy.
Be warned, our meal for two, without alcohol, came out to $50. Ouch! If you are into burgers, definitely put Umami Burger on your hit list.
3% surcharge for Healthy San Francisco.

Signature Dishes – Umami Burger

Umami Burger’s Menu features 10 burgers along with a daily special or two. They have quite a few beer selections available. They serve real soda in glass bottles. (Mexican Coke, Bubble Up, etc.) Two vegetarian burgers.

Website Umami Burger Menu

Picks:

Truffle Burger ($12) house-made truffle cheese, truffle glaze. This burger really did feature truffle flavors along with a sweet glaze. Six ounces of Niman Ranch meat, cooked to a default bloody medium rare. A must for truffle fans.

Umami Burger ($11) shiitake mushroom, caramelized onions, roasted tomato, parmesan crisp, umami ketchup. Their namesake burger definitely met and exceeded our expectations. The soft bun combined with the juicy patty satisfied our burger cravings.

Thin Fries ($3.50) Were not very thin, but recommended nonetheless.

Sweet Potato Fries ($4) were topped with brown sugar but weren’t too sweet. Another worthy dish.

House Pickles ($5) This dish surprised us with 10 different kinds of pickled vegetables. Definitely a fun dish to order.

OK: (Order if you like this dish)
None

Pans: (We would not reorder these dishes)
None

$25 Dining Certificate for $5

Umami Burger Overall Rating: (Very Good 2.5)

Come Back?

Food Rating:	(Very Good)
Service Rating:	(Good)
Atmosphere Rating:	(Good)
Value Rating:	(Average)

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:	Beer, Wine
Attire:	Casual
Parking:	Street
Reservations:	Yes