Umaya

This place is seriously delicious. The skewers of meat is what we came for, and we left being pleasantly surprised that the sushi and the ramen were both top notch. Even though I can early for my reservation, they let me sit down which was really sweet. 10/10 would eat again 💯🤩🙌🏻

Freshly prepared, delicious food. We ordered garden roll, house salad and the chicken meatball skewers.

“Enjoying sushi with a glass of beer here is absolutely wonderful

When we arrived we were greeted by a nice lady and assigned a table. I friendly waiter took up our order and not much later the food arrived. De.li.cious. I had veggie makis, the daughter had regular makis and the misses had ramen. I also had the wild mushroom salad bowl. It was all really tasty. We drank Sapporo and water. Some complain about the bill, I think it’s a fair price for the quality you get. Next time in Washington I’ll go back :)

This Ramen place was really really good. Our server was very friendly and took very good care of us. Eveything that we ordered was tasty and cooked to perfection. It had its own unique taste. The Ramuné was amazing and had a bubble gum like taste and was refreshing. They had several flavours to choose from too. The pork dumplings were so sumptious and the Ramen and chicken yakisoba were ao tasty and filling. I would visit again also recommend this place to everyone. It was the day when I proposed my to be wife and it was also Valentine’s day. So this meal definitely made our day..!

The food came out quickly and was good. I didn't care much for the skewered scallops we ordered. They were flavorless and can't really recommend. I got the pork cutlet for my entree and really enjoyed it. I docked a point from the atmosphere, because a rat was scavenging next to where I was sitting, but the doors to the patio were open and the rat had come from the street, not from inside the restaurant.

Umaya is still one of our favorite places to go. They have a fantastic wine list, especially for Cabernets by the glass and the food is great. The chicken karrage is tender and juicy and we always love the soups and sushi. I tried the spicy chicken bowl this time and wasn’t a fan. It was good just not for me. You cannot go wrong eating at Umaya.

This is a criminally underrated restaurant in DC! The sushi was presented well and was packed with flavor, without needing to dip every roll into soy sauce. We also tried some grilled entrees like sea bass and an entire squid. Everything was delicious and pairs well with a Japanese whiskey or cocktail. The atmosphere is spacious and you never feel like you're screaming at your friend across the table, during a dinner rush or otherwise.

Good food, excellent service and reasonable prices. I had Pork Katsu Curry ($16) with Japanese kiwi soda ($4). Conveniently located a couple of blocks from SAAM and the National Portrait Gallery.

Great service. Not very busy. Good vegan options. I was really hungry so I got the beef yakisoba AND the short ribs. The yakisoba steamy, flavorful, and filling. It came on a huge plate and I added extra bok choy ( although I didn’t need to cause it already comes with a good amount). It came out piping hot which I loved. A healthy portion of vegetables and the sauce is delicious. After ordering my friend who is vegan decided to get the vegetable yakisoba. We found out that normally the sauce for the dish is made with chicken stock but my letting the chef know his dietary restrictions they were able to substitute for a plum sauce making the dish completely vegan. The short ribs were also very delicious. They came with a side of kimchi. The ribs were Japanese style so super chewy with that great umami flavor. Two negative thing ms about the visit was there was a lot of kids and babies crying during our visit. As well as a slightly funny smell in the restaurant. I would definitely go back despite those slight issues. Ps the lamb chop looked scrumptious. If you’re thinking about it. DO IT!

Great service, great food, would definitely come back. Our waitress was super attentive, food came out promptly and was explained to our 7 guests. Everything tasted great. Had great sake and drinks as well.

The food was extremely delicious. Specially the ramen. The flavor of the broth is superior. Very happy with the service by Antonio. He was very nice, welcoming and accommodating. He was bilingual which helped half of our party which were tourist. His knowledge on the menu was very helpful too.

A quiet and chill atmosphere. Get the chicken meatball skewers and thank me later. Get the Chilean sea bass, same deal. Staff is extremely friendly. Ramen is 10/10. Next time I come to DC I'll make time to come back. Please give this spot some love

I was good, but I was very unimpressed. It was close to my hotel so I made do. The owners were nice though and it was enough to still have hotel leftovers after a night of drinking though.

I came here with some colleagues for lunch, and I was pretty impressed. The spicy chicken rice bowl was actually spicy, which I liked. Our server was super nice. He gave us recommendations and was quite attentive to our table. The atmosphere was very laid back, quiet, and peaceful. If you're in the DC area, definitely give Umaya Izakaya a try.

Great service. Cozy place. Food was good, but not outstanding. My son liked it more than I did. Our server was very friendly. Tea: is a tea bag in the cup. I had chirashi. My son has eel. All in all it was ok for my taste.

I've enjoyed this place! I have had SO much from here. Umaya has STEPPED IN for me. I've had their sashimi multiple times-- delicious. And lately, many skewers. I've had their duck yakitori, as well as scallop, king oyster, asparagus robotayaki, tuna tataki along with their chicken and veggie gyoza as well, which they've featured BOGO deals on which is great! I also tried their ube cheesecake which is one of the only sweet things I've been able to finish in a long time. Very good. I do agree the portions are small for the price, it works for me currently. UPDATE: Still eating from here and am happy. Got their aspargus, seasoned egg, and they also had BOGO on their chicken potstickers! It's nice to see them to do a deal because of their generally small portions. The BOGO deal on the chicken potstickers made them feel worth it. At $2 a spear, the asparagus is hard to justify, but some days I splurge on food. They also include a sauce, IDK what it is haha, it's green and I believe it has yuzu in it but it's good. I also got a seasoned egg. Came in a to-go container with juice that leaked all into the bag? I've never got a seasoned/ramen egg served like this. At first I thought I was mistakenly sent soup. I didn't eat it because of the mess. My main complaint is--they have condiment cups, that's what they give the green/yuzu sauce in. Why not use those for soy sauce as well? For soy sauce they just give you packets. It's annoying and not ideal. Just rip open a packet into your to-go container of potstickers. This is not ideal. Give me a cup to dip in please!

Tried this place after a noon basketball game a couple months ago (far enough away from Capital One Arena that there was no wait to be seated). The food was solid, but not great. It's a rather large menu and I felt that everything we tried was a notch below other places that dedicate themselves to a certain category (just ramen, just sushi, etc). This probably isn't a bad option for large groups because they will have something for everyone.

I think that overall this is a great restaurant. I enjoyed the food that I ordered. I got the chicken teriyaki, but it wasn't entirely cooked perfectly. It was still good nonetheless. The eel, according to the people I dined with, was a little bit underwhelming. The ramen noodles were great! The service was pretty standard- nothing too terrible or exceptional, but the waiter did bring out some extra baby octopus for us to try. Awesome experience.

Great restaurant with a decent variety of sushi and ramen on the menu. Our various ramen selections were quite delicious and well balanced in flavor. The mushroom salad was a bit too salty. Their Salmon Salad and Poke Salad are both excellent healthy choices on the menu. Overall, a great Japanese restaurant definitely worth checking out for flavor and ambiance.

Solid place for rolls with great service and outdoor seating. I felt it was a bit pricey though. We ordered 2 rolls, 2 nigiri and some skewers. The chicken heart skewer was especially good! The rolls were well made with fresh fish and the rice ratio was good too.

I ordered their chicken yakisoba and karaage. The yakisoba was alright but it was more salty than anything else. The karaage tasted strange - like it definitely could’ve been fried a little longer because it was a strange mushy texture while chewing it. I probably would order from them again if I was in the mood for yakisoba but that’s a big if.

Izakaya Umaya sounded like a great stop after a long day of travel—somewhere to grab a beer and some Japanese-style eats. While it is technically an izakaya, it doesn’t feel like a traditional Japanese one. It’s more of a standard American bar with Japanese decorations. I wandered in and waited a few minutes before being seated. The waitress was friendly and seemed surprisingly busy for a place that wasn’t very crowded. I came in craving katsu curry, so I already knew what I wanted. I ordered gyoza, hot green tea, tonkatsu curry, and a couple of nigiri pieces. The tea arrived piping hot, but it wasn’t true green tea or matcha—just a bagged tea that needed time to steep before the flavor came out. A small pet peeve of mine, since this type of tea often turns out to be more of a brown tea or German cha labeled as green tea. The gyoza was okay, but the ponzu sauce was unexpectedly delicious. It had a citrusy sharpness, almost like a balsamic-style vinegar note that really stood out. Then the curry arrived, and that’s when I got confused. The curry itself was light in flavor—something I expect from many places, though I prefer a thicker, more traditional Japanese curry. But the real issue was the katsu. I ordered pork katsu, but it looked more like chicken. That wasn’t even the biggest disappointment. The breading tasted like chicken-finger-style breading, leading me to wonder if it was frozen or store-bought rather than made in-house. I'm used to katsu with that flaky, toasted panko texture, but this looked like a mix of flour and panko, flattening the edges and making the portion look sad and lifeless. The sushi was good but extremely small in serving size. Overall, the meal felt overpriced for what ended up being mediocre portions and questionable quality. I won’t be returning.

Went on a Sunday afternoon. I think this is a quick place for lunch and is known more for convenience than taste. The miso was too salty. The green tea was in a tea bag. I typically have it served in a pot or pre poured ( no tea bag) The ocotpus was too hard and chewy. Over all I didn’t love it. And wouldn’t run back

It's overpriced okay food. We waited over an hour for our check at the end. The miso soup tasted funny. The teriyaki wings looked amazing, but didn't taste like teriyaki and was blandish- too much salt, but not flavorful (hard to explain). The single lamp lollipop for $10 is ridiculous. Didn't realize it would be just a single piece of lamb for that price. Most tables had long waits, but I think that was because their were basically two servers for the whole restaurant. The sushi was ok. The Gyoza was good, though.

Chinese fusion Japanese food, they even have some Chinese noodles dishes on the menu. Menu has grease on it. Restrooms are not as clean as expected. Sashimi moriawase which was on the pricier side was good, although wasabi was not the quality wasabi, it doesn't have wasabi taste lol. Ramen was okay. Wrong sauce dish was served for dipping tempura. It seems they are using wrong bowls as well, which were not supposed to be used in traditional Japanese cuisine. Katsu Don was way under expectations, not sushi rice, mixed too much cabbages with scrambled eggs under the pork, also pork is not of good quality. 3.25% processing fee for credit card was automatically added.

Despite its prime location and spacious dining area, its cuisine could have been better. Our orders of noodle soups, sushi, rolls, and yakitori were average, and the service was mediocre.

Food was solid for the price - not spectacular, not bad. Rice portion was huge under eel but not particularly tasty, a bit dry. Service was overly brusque and was super, super disappointed to find a junk fee of 3.25% on the bill for credit card usage. Please stop nicklong and diming people and adjust your prices instead of including deceptive fees.

Tuna tartare should be avocado tartare. I don't know if this restaurant is being cheap on saving money by saving ingredients.(worst habit of restaurant owners) avocado is the main character and TUNA IS LESS THAN SUPPORTING CHARACTER. it is like 7:3 ratio. Why do you name it tuna then? It should be tuna inspired avocado tartare. Let just stick to the script! PEOPLE WILL PAY MORE FOR BETTER FOOD. other foods were not bad but not so great. Ramen's noodle quality is bad...really bad. Almost sticky chewy like noodle.

Services were great and Sara was wonderful. Food was okay. We had the miso ramen. The noodle and the portion was good, but the soup was lukewarm. Chicken kareage was good but the portion was too small for the price. This place could work on the rice a little but. The rice in the curry ton Katsu was too mushy, and the rice for the sushi was not cooked evenly. We tried some of the skewers and they were so, so.

I have been to many Sushi restaurants and this was ok. Hamachi Kama was a little dry, the food didn't quite match up to the venues atmosphere with Asian decor but it was fine. Looks like it was converted from a night club. Price value was a little higher for what was given. I had a Sashimi bowl but I didn't like the sushi rice underneath as if a little spoiled with taste. I know they tried to do some fusion but overall fine.

Came here for lunch with some work colleagues and found the food okay, but everything else was rather disappointing, especially the price. Our meal started out great. We ordered the spicy tuna tartare as a starter, which was really delicious and came out in a timely manner. I especially loved the taste and texture of the crispy wonton chips. They went well with the soft texture of the avocados and tuna pieces mixed in the tartare. Between the four of us, two of us chose to try out the Filet Mignon Tomato Ramen. The description said, "tomato veggie broth with a western twist!" I've never had tomato ramen before, but thought it would be interesting at the very least. When our ramens came out first, the visual seemed appetizing although the skewer of "filet mignon" was rather disappointing. I didn't expect a whole 8oz piece of meat in my ramen, but still the skewer resembled more of a beef kebab than a filet mignon. It was also entirely overcooked that the meat was very tough and hard to chew. The broth was a little better and you could easily taste the sweetness from the tomato. But overall, I think the ramen itself was underwhelming. For $18, I expected something a little more impressive, especially since the non-filet mignon version was $5 less! Also, they totally chintzed out on the piece of nori that usually comes with a ramen dish. Instead of a full piece, they only included a half a piece of nori. Dried seaweed is not that expensive. Again for $18, I feel cheated with my half piece of nori. As for the other dishes, one of my colleagues ordered the Veggie Yakisoba and the other ordered the Katsu Don. The yakisoba was one of the cheaper items on the menu at $12.50, but the quality was subpar. At a restaurant such as this where most of their prices are higher than average, I should expect the quality of their food, taste and plating, to be exceptional. The yakisoba looked as if it was stir-fried in a wok then just dumped onto an oversized plate. I can't vouch for the taste as my colleague ordered it, but she requested for some other sauces because the taste was rather bland. The Katsu Don took the longest to come out at about the 40-minute mark and 15 minutes after the other three were served. Our server did apologize for the delay, but I feel like this is a huge oversight on the part of the restaurant's management. The restaurant did not seem to be that crowded, considering it was during the lunch rush, but the food seemed to take forever to come out. I don't know if it was lack of staff, or lack of staff discipline, but it took us over an hour and a half to finish our meal and most of it was spent waiting for the food to come out. I've been to Umaya a handful of times and always left thinking the same thoughts I've expressed here: overpriced for such underwhelming dishes. I normally don't choose to come here unless someone else suggests to go, but every time I'm disappointed with my experience. Umaya is supposed to mean "a place that tastes good," but this places just tastes okay at best, which is fine if not for their ridiculous prices.

As a huge Takoyaki veteran and lover just stopped to take some takoyaki for takeaway and eat them on the go. Even though restaurant seems japanese, standards are not. Instead of 8-10 neatly packed in long one hand-held box and covered with sauce and Katsuobushi I received two plastic containers each with 5 pure balls and sauce on the side - that was some kind of kebab-like mixed sauce somewhat spicy. If You ever tried freshly made Takoyaki You know, that it's so hot that You can burn your mouth to tears if eating too fast - not here, I was easily eating them whole as soon as I opened the boxes behind the next corner - they were clearly microwaved, quite warm at best - confirmed by the fact that food was ready for takeaway literally 2 max 3 minutes after ordering. Wouldn't recommend the place or come back, they don't keep standards to be called Izakaya to me. For 10 pieces for 20 USD also feeling somewhere on the edge of being scammed, I was hoping quality will recompensate... Stupid me I guess.

$115 for a mid snack smh All the food was not fresh. Portions are EXTREMELY SMALL. Sashimi was dry and dull, ginger tasted dry, pork buns were hard to bite through with soggy bun on the bottom. Rice was dry and did not cover seaweed on sushi roll. Wait staff were few. very slow service, no ambiance. Left feeling ill.

I hate to write negative reviews, but the service was really, really poor. We were literally the only people in the restaurant and it took us multiple times to flag our waiter to order and get our check. Good food, but wouldn't go back.

I would skip this place, over priced small portions. LOOK at my salmon roll and tuna roll 9$ each and if u combine them they might make 1 roll and i mean might. The karage arrgg someone dosent know how to fry stuff it was not crunchy ( pale color not enough batter or watery batter) i could tell something wrong already. Underwhelming ramen, should of taken the extra 15 min walk to the legit ramen place but was too tired walking all day. The saving grace the dude that did the yakitory stick skewer was good or everything else sucked that made it good.

We went as a family of 7, and we were served with the worst food ever. We didn’t even touch our food. It was bad look and taste. And on top of that, when we get up to leave, no one even bothered to come and check what happened. They are the worst. Poor service, bad attitude and they charged us $150 for the food we didn’t even eat. So disappointing. They don’t know what fresh and clean food is. I don’t recommend for any one to go!

Terrible service. The server got annoyed that we have questions, dropped off food like it was a gas station employee working the register at 2am at night. Food came out randomly, all separate. No communication on when the rest is coming After we asked for the bill, we were ignored for 20 min before I had to stop him and hand over the card. The food is good! Small portions and a bit overpriced, so we went out to eat somewhere else after, since we were still hungry. It's worth noting that the other female server seemed really nice, so maybe this guy had a bad day, or something.

Quite possibly the worst service around. They continue to seat people to full and then you note that only one person (the bartender), takes care of the entire restaurant. Insane! They don’t even tell you, and they continue to seat. You will sit there with water … you may get to order but prepare to sit.

Ridiculous experience on a Friday night in DC. We had a reservation, ordered within 10 minutes, and waited over an hour for 2 rolls and 3 skewers—all while the restaurant wasn't even full. We watched a family of 4 get seated after us, eat, and leave before we were even served. Our server never once apologized; he just dropped off a seaweed salad we didn't order, claimed the kitchen was "busy," and went back to socializing with staff. When we finally paid via the app to make it to an event, the server was nowhere to be found. We showed the hostess our receipt as proof of payment so we could head out, and she was completely unhelpful, asking, "Did you show your server?" even after we explained he was missing. Spending over $100 for this level of incompetence is laughable. Save your money.