Umami

Food: Best Korean fried chicken I've ever had! I always have to get the fried chicken wings when I come visit. I know the chef personally went through all kinds of different trials and recipe tweaks to get it absolute perfection. The hamachi collar is one of the best I've had as well. One of the friends in our group said it was her favorite dish of the night besides the wings. The pad Kee mao is legit, so much flavor and we totally killed that dish. If you're into inventive creative dishes, try the kimchi fries, interesting way to make loaded fries. All the sushi rolls that we ordered were delicious, chef's kiss "mwah"! Service: Stop by the bar and say Hello to Michelle. She is the sweetest! I've talked to a couple regulars who love going here and I'm sure it's because of the friendly staff. Ambiance: I won't lie, the Kpop music videos distracted me like no other but it's so fun to watch! They all look like perfect dolls. It gives the place a fun vibe though.

I'm gonna start this off with I am pretty much a sushi connoisseur - I eat sushi around 2 times a week every week. There are some pretty good sushi places in Nashville, but most of them are extremely expensive and don't have great service. This place is the exception - the food is always spectacular and the service (namely Michelle, the owner) is fantastic, so much so that we have become regulars here. The food is very fairly priced for the extremely high quality. This is truly a hidden gem in the heart of Nolensville/Antioch! Everything I have had here is delicious: the starter salad with house made dressing, the Korean Fusion Quesadilla, the pad Thai, the bento boxes, the fried rice, and (my favorite) the sushi. Everything is fresh, with great sized portions, and is always delicious. The restaurant is always very clean, and they have a lot of fun happy hours, events like trivia, and are always playing fun music!Long story short, this will always be my favorite Asian restaurant in Nashville. You can't beat it - great food, great service, and amazing experiences!!

I've been here a couple of times now and I can surely say I love this place.The wings, the bulgolgi, the ramen, all fantastic. They also have my favorite beer, Asahi. It's hard to find something I find offputting or dislike because the food is so good and the service is so friendly.Highly recommended. The wings are the best battered wings so far in my journey of Korean fried chicken.

Spiciest wings and most delicious! Ghost peppers! Come say hi to Michelle!!! Best wings ever!

Went to Umami for a girls trip to Nashville. We were craving an Asian cuisine and it was absolutely what we needed. All the tables were full, so it seems like a popular spot. We ordered a bunch of sushi rolls and it was absolutely delicious. Red Dragon roll, OMG roll, Suite 28 roll and spicy salmon roll. Great food, great service and a fun ambiance. Would highly recommend and will definitely come back when we're in town. The menu had so many options- Sushi, Korean, Thai, Ramen- just seems like something for everyone!

Umami is like visiting your favorite auntie's kitchen, a warm cozy place where loved ones gather. While it can get busy and the wait can be a bit longer, the server here is awesome and stays on top of things. Food came out at a reasonable time and wings do take a bit longer (as stated on the menu) so plan accordingly when ordering. We put an order as soon as we were seated. I recommend doing half spicy and half garlic to try both flavors- this is easily one of their best dishes here.We also ordered chicken katsu, gyoza, pork ramen, beef pho and kimchi fries. Do not skip the kimchi fries! This was a flavor bomb and one I'll be getting each time. The beef pho was a little disappointing as the broth was not what you'd expect with typical pho broth. This broth was a bit cloudy instead of clear and really seemed like they used their ramen broth but with a slight difference in flavor. The pork ramen is good and the broth fit the flavor profiles you'd expect. Ultimately, the pho was not bad, but just don't expect your normal beef pho flavors here. Both soups were huge in portions so be hungry when ordering this or plan to share.Overall this is a solid spot for a variety of quality Asian dishes!

Update: Still the best place for Korean Fried Chicken wings in Nashville! I love them so much that it's the only order my partner and I ever place here. The price has gone up a bit since pandemic spiked supplier prices, but they are worth every penny! The owner, Michelle, is super friendly and accommodating.Note - They will not serve their wings without sauce or with the sauce on the side!Some things to know:PARKING & ACCESS - There is a small open parking lot right out front that is attached to a large garage. There's also street parking on Porter House Drive. The main entrance is facing the parking lot on the corner of the building (to the right). INTERIOR - The space is mostly one large room. There is a large projector screen that plays music videos (mostly kpop) most of the time or sports games on special occasions. There are also several mounted TVs around the restaurant. If there's not a big game, the music is normally whatever MVs are playing. There's also a sink for washing your hands in the corner by the projector and restrooms - love the easy access for messy wings!ORDERING & SEATING - Umami is a table service restaurant. There is normally a sign at the entrance telling you to seat yourself or wait for a hostess. Often, the owner, Michelle, will call out "sit wherever you like!" from behind the bar. There are barstools at the bar, bench seating against the wall with windows, and metal chairs for all other tables. Waitstaff here are always friendly, but they often seem understaffed. Don't hesitate to politely grab their attention if you need something! This is not a place that will check on you every 10 minutes.OUTDOOR SEATING - Umami also has a nice covered patio available with large picnic tables. This is a great option for good weather!RESTROOMS - There are two large, gendered single-person restrooms down the hallway next to the hand sinks. The women's restroom has a large counter in the middle that may make maneuvering a bit tight for larger patrons or patrons who use wheelchairs - just something to be aware of!SENSORY NOTE - With the TVs, music, music videos, and some color-changing lights ("Umami" sign by the bar and one light near the entrance in the ceiling), Umami can be overwhelming sometimes. If you are a person who is sensitive to lights or sounds (its me, hi), you may want to consider this before sitting down. Michelle and the staff are very kind - I'm sure if you needed to move seats or request that a TV is muted, etc, they would be willing to accommodate you as long as they aren't super busy! Despite all this, I've never found the interior to be too loud - just a lot going on!

We visited for trivia and had a great time! It was also half off wine (Tuesday), however their wine prices are not listed on the menu, which made it a bit cumbersome to work out which wine to order. I ordered the boneless wings and did half and half. So crispy and yummy! The spicy isn't very spicy at all, but still very tasty! The pieces of chicken are big so I definitely could have gone with a smaller order. Kimchi fried rice was also good. Server was great and kept everyone's orders straight even though we had a large party. It was loud for trivia but we had so much fun!

My first experience here was average. The beef pho was very flavorful but nothing special about it. I also had the spicy Korean fried wings which were not spicy at all. The service was a little slow but the restaurant was nice and clean.

Umami hit the spot for our group who was looking for great Asian food. The drinks, the spicy pork with kimchi and kimchi fries were fabulous. So much umami! As an Asian, all the flavors hit the spot. Friendly, attentive service and great food all around!