Umami Burger

Disgusting. I couldn’t finish my sandwich; however, my daughter liked her food. Idk just not my cup of tea? Limited menu. Fries are not good either… How do you mess up fries? I pass this place everyday & wonder how they stay in business with such high rent! Oh. $ 25 for two people– we ordered the same thing– burger, fry & a water!
I guess I waited too long to write this review. I ate here in January. It’s now March & they are closed. Guess I was right on the rent thing. Lol.

Why!!! Whyyy!!! It didnt have to end like this!!! This was me and my girlfriends favorite place to eat. every paycheck I got I celebrated here… :/

I had always chosen Umami over Father’s Office in those debates, but on a recent visit to Umami, I thought my taste buds grew out of my favorite Umami Burger. Turns out it was just this location being sub-​par. After a great experience at the Grove location, Umami Burger is as umami as I remember it. Looks like they have figured out that this Hermosa Beach location just wasn’t performing. Closed. That’s too bad. I do prefer Umami to Hopdoddy and others in the area.

Umami was all too quick to respond to my negative on Unilocal,but I sent information that they requested immediately and never heard back. I guess their response was for show. Even more disappointing.

At my visit to Umami, I chose the Sunny Side burger with a side order of Truffle fries and Maple Bacon fries. My burger was a medium but they recommend that their burgers are best at medium rare. However I found medium to be very satisfying. The burger meat had a very satisfying beefy taste because of the minimal amount of seasoning. The Maple Bacon fries were my favorite between the two types. It has syrup and as well as bacon chunks mixed with the fries. Definitely something new to try. The truffle fries were alright but I wish there was more ingredients added into rather than just the sauce.

Landed in LA around 10pm and my cousin took us here to «try» it out. I honestly don’t like the burgers. I thought it was overpriced, the portion was small, the seasoning on the fries tasted like the seasoning pack in the Pork flavored Mama Noodles (not what I was expecting). I should have just went to In-​N-​Out.

The burgers are incredibly gorgoeus to look at. Almost too pretty to even eat them but that does not stop me. I ordered the B.U.B. burger which is very basic in it’s description. Meat.Cheese.Onions.Bun. But the execution is execptional. My mistake was eating it too darn fast but the meat was juicy and the onions were wonderfully carmalized. And mind you, I hated onions with a passion since my youth but I have grown a new appreciation for that veggie. And it’s dishes like this that showcase the importance and function of onions in many recipes. My girlfriend tried the Ahi Tuna Burger and she said and I quote, «It was the best burger I have ever tried.» Vey bold statement but I believe her.
The actual location is very compact. I’m sure that space is at a premium in Hermosa Beach so if you come with a large group, it might be a long wait. The craft brew selection is also unique and versatile. You will find something to fit your palette. I just wish they were a little bigger.

This is seriously my favorite burger place right now! I’ve been to other Umami locations but they don’t compare to this one! I can see them making my burger fresh on the grill! It’s a smaller location so I think that is why everything tastes so amazing! I’ve tried almost every burger and the only one that was just alright was the «Throwback». Other than that one, you can’t go wrong with any of them!
The people are fast when it comes to getting the order and bringing the food to the table. It’s a great place to come for lunch because you can be in and out in no time!
You HAVE to get your burgers no more than medium. The patty is really what makes the burger. It literally melts in your mouth and the flavor combination of all the burgers is spot on! Even the the fries are perfect! Both the sweet potato and regular fries with the dipping sauces are perfect! I always recommend Umami when it comes to great burgers!

Umami Burger is great if your looking for a burger with a twist.
There truffle and maple bacon fries our definitely great.
I’ve always been seated fast and always great service.

So this review is about 6 months late, lol.
For the money, it’s not worth it…
The burgers are tiny BUT for the hype, they were pretty good. I’d say in Southern California, you could definitely find better burgers for a better price.
However, the service was excellent! Our waiter was very friendly and helpful when we tried to order and we were the only ones there at the time, but he didn’t try to rush us out or act like he didn’t care.
We ordered The Manly, Truffle Burger, and Truffle Fries. The burgers and fries weren’t bad, but like I said, I left feeling a little unfulfilled. We ordered dessert (ice cream cookie sandwiches) because we were still hungry and the dessert was pretty tiny too! They cut it in half and serve it on a plate for you.
I might come back one day, but I like the feeling of being too full to continue after a meal and this didn’t do that for me.

Love coming here, quality food, great service, beer, love their home made condiments. check out my instagram food page @foodgurula

C’est. trop. bon.
Bön, on né va pas se mentir, c’est quand même un burger de bobo-​hypster qui s’assument, donc si vous n’aimez pas ce délire là, le mieux c’est de né pas aller là-​bas. Moi personnellement j’adore ce genre d’ambiance, donc j’ai bien kiffé Umami et son ketchup maison avec de l’huile de truffe dedans (ouais, ouais, c’est méga bon ouais). Le burger est top aussi: la viande est bonne, le bun est bon, tous les petits ingrédients qu’il y a dedans sont bons. Et les frites ! Mama mia, quelles frites !! Elles sont fines et longues et croustillantes et légères et oh la laaaa, elles sont magnifiques !
Honnêtement le seul truc que je n’ai pas aimé, c’était leur aïoli (mais bon, j’ai passé l’été dans le Sud à me gaver du meilleur aïoli du coin cong’ alors la compétition était un peu trop rude…).

This place may be too overrated.
Ordered a manly burger for 14 $. Definitely not manly in size and a bit bland in flavor. This is a burger for someone of upper class with possibly no taste buds. (Not literally, of course)
«Let’s say everything is house-​made and slap a fat price tag on it». You’re better off going somewhere cheaper. Hell, I’ll even take an in n out burger over this place.
Where I live, I don’t have to worry about finding a good burger spot, they’re all around. I was hoping for a great gourmet burger, but really, who needs a gourmet burger? Won’t be trying this place again.
Oh, the tempura onion rings were amazing.

Umami mami! Haha! Just wanted to say that out loud.
I am not sure how much attention this place gets but when I visit I enjoy the food. Think gourmet burgers with unusual ingredient combinations… there is something for everyone, the Tree Hugger (Black Bean Burger), those of Asian Persuasion (K-​BBQ and Ahi Tuna Burgers), and Macho Man (Throwback and the Manly Burger).
Our ‘Wild Card’ for the evening: the Black Bean Burger which I was not too fond of… lucky for them I will not judge them on the ‘Wild Card’ since it is usually something outside my box/​comfort zone in an effort to explore new horizons.
The Hatch Burger was amazing… I recommend trying that! We split both burgers so we can try a bit of each.
We had a side of Maple Bacon Fries (sweet potato fries)… Can I just say the Canuck inside me waved it’s grand red flag as I indulged in their crispy, maple goodness. #getinmybelly Washed down with an Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella which I found refreshing and a good, light-​hearted compliment to my meal. Don’t ask me to describe further because I’m not fluent in Beer.
Next time, I will try the Manly and the Greenbird. Overall, I left a happy camper and the red-​headed waitress was super sweet! Thanks for being so attentive. :)

Located close on idyllic Hermosa Avenue close to the beach, Umami Burger has now got locations in SoCal, NorCal, Nevada, and New York. I found my Umami Burger to be very good, and know that I will go to the one located here in Oakland due to my positive experience.
FOOD: I got the Umami Burger + Maple Bacon Fries + Angel City IPA. I found myself very satisfied with an elevated version of the classic American meal of burgers/​fries/​beer. The Umami Burger is quite delicious. Does it inspire a sense of «umami» for me? Perhaps so, but I found myself really enjoying the right cook on the beef, covered with the shiitake mushrooms and onions with a nice roasted tomato.
The fries were quite good as well. I do enjoy sweet potato fries, but then you have it covered with maple syrup with bacon bits, that definitely does it in for me. With it lightly salted on top, and the saltiness of the bacon, with the nice sweet taste from the sweet potato, the fries are a win. I cannot go back without ordering it!
SERVICE: What struck me about Umami Burger is that it is a waiter + full bar service kind of place. Burger places like this typically do not have the waiter service, but I suppose it is quite nice to feel like it is a more «fine dining» experience. The waiter was great at the Hermosa Beach location!
What a great chain idea that came out of SoCal and now it is trying to take the US by storm. Keep it up Umami Burger!

Love this place. Second time to try Umami and always a win for me. Some say it’s no longer good and that the quality went down the road over the time. Could be true but, so far… I’ve always enjoyed my burger trip at Umami. I’m not that adventurous and risky so I play it safe and order the Umami Burger and their truffle fries which i totally love. Been to different burger places and Umami is still the best for me. Except for Burger Fi (which is too bad cause it’s all the way up in Anchorage, Alaska lol)
Price here is I’d say just right. Service is good, serving size however, is smaller than the usual? i think? For me, it is perfect but i know a lot of people are complaining with the size of their burgers. probably could use more patty.

It took me this long to try the Umami burger chain because I hear it’s not spectacular. And it isn’t.
But the service at this location was definitely worth noting! My vegan friend was going to order the black bean burger but the waiter was attentive enough to ask if he had any particular food restrictions. Turns out the only option was the ahi tuna salad without the tuna. They kindly charged it as a side salad instead. Even their housemade ketchup contains fish sauce (but it’s very tasty!)
I’m a fan of their maple bacon sweet potato fries and regular thin cut fries. Maple bacon didn’t have bacon flavor though. There are a few dipping sauces but the chili mayo and ketchup stood out to me.
Their burgers are small in portion. My friend and I shared the Black Bean Burger and Umami Burger. The pickled carrots in the black bean burger was overpowering, and it definitely did not compliment the flavor of the dry black bean patty. The Umami Burger was too sweet and wasn’t anything special.
Definitely not coming back with a vegan, nor coming back for their burgers. If you’re up for snacking on fries over a chat with a friend I would recommend it!

I was dragged here tonight by my family for burgers, which I would have loved… except I’m a vegetarian.
I ordered the Umami Caesar (it had anchovies in it but I wasn’t up for a burger, so I settled for it), which was a mixed green salad with butter lettuce.
My first impression was that they overdosed on the shaved parmesan, the salad was literally covered in it. They included three pieces of garlic bread on the side, which was a surprise, and also a nice touch. The salad was okay, but I prefer my caesar with more of a crunch (preferably romaine lettuce, but it did specify mixed greens on the menu) and not as much Parmesan.
My family ordered the Cali burger, the K-​BBQ burger, and the black bean burger, which they all thoroughly enjoyed.
My one complaint with the restaurant is that there are a lot of flies buzzing around. Granted, we were sitting by the door, but it’s also not pleasant to have to swat flies when enjoying a burger with two hands.
Overall, I will probably be dragged here again, and next time I will order the black bean burger!

I ate lunch here the other day because my friend visiting from norcal wanted to eat here. I love the Umami up in SF but haven’t had the chance to try this spot so we figured, why not?
FOOD:
I ordered the Truffle Burger while my friend ordered the new K-​BBQ Burger. The K-​BBQ burger description says it should contain caramelized kimchi and a scallion-​cilantro salad with a hot pepper-​ish glaze, sesame aioli, and Korean ketchup. I felt that the kimchi taste was not really strong and was a bit overshadowed by the burger. Perhaps it was because there was also the slight spicy taste from the hot pepper glaze? Overall it just didn’t really impress me taste-​wise. The truffle burger, however, is one of my favorites at Umami. The truffle taste was not overbearing and added that extra flavor to the burger. Of course, you have to be a truffle fan, otherwise this burger is not the one for you.
Together we shared the truffle fries, which came with 4 sauces on white spoons similar to Asian porcelain soup spoons. Each sauce had its own unique taste and flavor. We both liked the garlic aioli the best of the four although the jalapeño ranch came in a close second.
Overall: ⁴⁄₅
SERVICE:
Great service. Our waiter continually checked up on us to let us know when the food would be arriving and to see if we needed anything extra. Food did take a while to come out, but we were not in a rush.
Overall: ⁴⁄₅
DECOR/​AMBIANCE:
This location has a cozy, chill atmosphere. It is decently sized with a handful of tables and a bar area, where they have a few tvs playing sports games. There isn’t a big wait area so if it gets crowded, people would probably need to wait outside.
Overall: ⁴⁄₅
Parking in this area can be a bit rough so that is a bit of a bummer for those coming from out of the area. However, I live in the next city over so I usually don’t mind the short walk over. It’s easier than trying to scrounge the area for a parking spot.

Hands down one of the best burger I have had!
I got the goodbird burger. Which is the turkey burger. Surprising it’s pretty good. It was super moist and juicy. I love how they put a lot of avocados in the burger. They had mash avocados spread and they added slices too.
My boyfriend got manly burger and added a sunny side up egg to it. He loves it!
Their truffle fries are bomb. Must get. I just wish they offer in a bigger size.
Also their sweet potatoes fries are yummy. I thought it’s gonna be just plain sweet potatoes fries but it’s different. It’s more crisper and sweet.
Btw ask for their ketchup. It’s homemade and it’s sooooo yummy.
Definitely will be coming back when I head up to LA again.

Not all things are created equal. One day I stopped into this establishment and ordered a burger and some tempura onion rings. The burger was good, but it better be good, it’s a burger joint. The onion rings were absolutely amazing with big thick slices of onion and a very light, flaky, tempura batter. The onion rings had me dreaming and thinking about when I would return to try some more of these delicious little tasty treats.
Today was the day I returned. I knew the burger would be good. I ordered the throwback burger. Two juicy patties with aged white cheddar cheese, soy marinated pickles, soy mustard, a few minced onions (not many) and umami dust.
I also ordered the onion rings which were overcooked, thin, greasy and dried out. I was really disappointed. How could something that was so amazing and delicious one day, taste so bad the next? It’s about consistency and staying on top of your game. Today, the onion rings were not on their game. From here on out I’ll be passing on the onion rings. Not sure how things could change from one extreme to the other, but they did. Maybe the fresh onions were not the quality that they were on my previous visit. I really can’t say, but it was a bummer for sure.