Umi Cafe

I regret to say that my visit to Umi Cafe was far from pleasant. As a new mother, I was dismayed to find that the restaurant lacked a diaper changing station. Given that there were no other customers around, I politely asked if I could use a seating booth to change my baby. Shockingly, the owner responded with, "If you are a mature person, you should have known to change in your car. Not at my restaurant," and repeated this several times.To make matters worse, the owner's behavior continued to be extremely rude throughout our visit. When he took our order, he stood about 4 feet away and practically threw the glass and food onto the table with a noticeable attitude. Even my friend, who doesn't understand English, asked me why he was being so rude.It's disheartening to encounter such unwelcoming and disrespectful treatment, especially in an establishment that should prioritize customer service. Unfortunately, due to this experience, I cannot recommend Umi Cafe and will not be returning.

Sat outdoors because it was such a nice Saturday afternoon - the restaurant has a cute garden surrounding the patio and restaurant building. When you're ready to order, you go inside and they'll take your order. The food came out so fast! I tried the crispy tofu dry noodles. The tofu was super crispy on the outside and silken and soft on the inside. The salt and pepper tofu had the same tofu pieces in the dish. Forgot to take a photo but the food was good and the service was quick and very nice.

This place is pretty good, but not exceptional. You order, take a seat inside or outside and the food is brought to you. Expansive menu, with options for everyone. The outside is really peaceful with some water features. Had the Szechuan beef starter and classic pho as my main course with a Thai iced tea. Everything was good, but again nothing knocked my socks off. Would come back to try more!

A beautiful winding pathway greets you at the entrance with outdoor seating by a small bridge, pond, and gardens. Orders are placed at the counter if dining outdoors, otherwise indoor seating with regular service is available.The menu had a selection of various Asian cuisine with appetizers, banh mi, noodle soups, rice entrees, and curries. The Short-Ribs Pho was plentiful while the Roasted Duck Curry was scarce on the protein. Flavors of the dishes were decent, especially the curry.-----Popcorn Chicken: deep fried marinated chicken coated with potato flour, served with house made mayo sauce and deep-fried basil ($10).-----Umi Wings: deep fried wings tossed with vinegar & house mustard sauce and dried red chili peppers ($12).-----Short-Ribs Pho: flat rice noodles with braised bone-in short ribs, rare steak, topped with red onions, scallions, cilantro in beef pho broth, served with bean sprouts, basil, lime and jalapenos ($17).-----Roasted Duck Curry: roasted duck with coconut milk red curry, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers and basil. Served with white rice ($16).-----Street parking was difficult to find as there was an evening concert at the park.

I haven't heard of this place til I started looking on Yelp for some places to eat in Issaquah. It was a nice sunny day so I decided to come here for brunch and took advantage of dining outside when it's not so hot out. Upon arrival, I noticed the outside looks like a temple with many trees surrounding the area. When you walk inside, it was very tranquil with a pathway towards a pond and to the restaurant. There's a sign outside that said you have to order in advance before taking a seat outside the patio area. I ordered the strawberry milk tea while my partner got the snowing white coffee. I thought the milk tea was mediocre, couldn't taste much flavor due to so much ice. The coffee was surprisingly good though. It had coconut syrup which made it delicious on Vietnamese coffee. We decided to share a few small bites since we weren't too hungry at the time. Here are my thoughts on each:Salt and pepper tofu: really love this dish! The tofu was soft inside and lightly crisp on the outside. The flavor profile was on par as well.Pork belly bao: the pork belly slice were tendered and juicy, paired with pickle veggies inside. They do not skimmed down on the size of the meat. Will definitely order this again!Honey basil garlic wings: I thought this was okay. Didn't really have much flavor except the sweet chilli sauce. Order at your own risk if you don't want to attract bees outside.Popcorn chicken: we thought this was okay as well but there wasn't much seasoning. For $10, I will pass on this next time. Soft shell crab bao: I was looking forward to this one and thought it was worth a try. The crab wasn't too big but perfect size to sandwich in between the baos. For $13, you get two baos to share. I pleasantly enjoyed this one.Overall, a nice hidden gem outside a neighborhood in Issaquah. Definitely one of the best Asian fusion restaurants we've been to just for the food and atmosphere. Will come back again next time to try their other main entrees.

Umi Cafe is a hidden gem of a restaurant. This family-owned restaurant produces some of the most delicious food in Issaquah. They take exceptional care in how they prepare their food and cut no corners in the ingredients that they use. I usually get the Lemongrass Chicken or the Garlic Steak Cubes, but I tried the Spicy Roasted Chicken Curry today which was also excellent. The Green Beans are another must-try item. Though I usually don't get a drink, I tried the strawberry latte today and wow, was it was it tasty!Another reason why we return frequently to Umi Cafe is that food is delivered surprisingly quick. They must have their kitchen processes well sorted to be able to deliver food that quickly.Finally, their outside seating area is one of the nicest around the entire Eastside.

A hidden gem! Beautiful Asian garden with indoor and outdoor seating. I ordered the spicy vegan noodle soup and substituted for gluten free rice noodles. My spouse had the Duck Buns special and a Viennese coffee. We enjoyed everything and the owner even shared a list of other items that could be made gluten-free for my next visit. We sat inside on a rainy weekday afternoon this time, but I can't wait to come back on a sunny day and sit outside in the garden.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed in this restaurant. Looking at the pictures, I thought I'd enjoyed the experience. The Umi chicken was good, but it wasn't restaurant quality food. I felt like I could've made this dish at home. The portioning was okay too. The pho, however, surprised me. It was authentic and tasted pretty good. Portioning was good as well. The service wasnt good. The servers weren't friendly and we didn't feel welcomed to the restaurant. The food was made pretty fast though. The food wasn't well priced. The pricing of the restaurant is above average. For the quality and portioning of the food they give, the cost should be lower.I didn't enjoy the ambiance of the restaurant. It looked like the place was renovated from a house. There's seating inside and outside. The outside seating doesn't look too nice and I was reluctant eating out there. The inside of the place was okay.

Great service and environment. The short rib in the short rib pho is tender and tasty. Strongly recommended.

This review is only for the Taiwanese noodle soup..The location is a little weird, but it is a cute little spot for a quick lunch. The Taiwanese noodle soup was pretty good. Good enough for me to come back here again someday. Only because I love pickled greens. I'm curious about their other dishes...