Umai Ramen House

Great ramen place inside the SF Japantown mall! I'm excited to come back soon and try their curry but on my recent visit I got their house special ramen as my main meal—soooo good, and their takoyaki and karaage chicken for appetizers. The takoyaki melts in your mouth and the karaage chicken is just right, crispy and tender and super tasty. The staff is very nice and helped recommend a sake that my friend and I would enjoy with our meal, which we did :) the ramen broth had depth and lots of flavor and the mix of pork (also melt in your mouth) and vegetables (fresh and add just the right textures to the dish) made a very filling and delicious ramen. Definitely worth stopping by here for a nice meal if you're in Japantown!

If Umai Ramen house was in another place or city I imagine it would be a 5 star no problem. It’s just that it’s competing with some other truly amazing ramen in Japantown. However, it’s often impossible to get into my top ramen spots there at peak times and Umai rarely has a wait. The ramen is solid but not extraordinary and the side fried rice is the best deal around and very tasty.

Best ramen place in japantown hands down, I should know I've been to all of them. The miso chasu ramen was hearty and delicious, and there's an option to get a heaping bowl of pork belly fried rice for only 3$ extra, which is definitely a steal. The gyoza were also delicious and piping hot in the inside. My only regret was asking for mild spicy level as it wasn't spicy enough, but thankfully they have togarashi (japanese chili powder) on the table to season your food. Also kudos to the friendly staff and waitress, keep it up

This is one of the less commercial ramen place we went and it was run by a chef and a waitress. We ordered the pork rib ramen and a charsiu rice add-on for an extra $4. The pork rib ramen came with 2 huge ribs, generous portion of bamboo shoots and corns. The broth is somewhat the lighter (and probably healthier) version of what you get in Japan or in Singapore. Less salty and oily and thus less flavourful. And this is fine by me as I will usually order the lighter version broth in places that offer both options. The noodles were cooked on point and still springy even when I am down to the end of my bowl. The service was what wrapped up the wholesome experience. She was extremely nice and even offered recommendation when we were worried if ordering 2 ramens were too much for us small eater. Hence, we went with her recommendation and went with a ramen and an add-on rice. Come to this place if u want a dining experience that resonates with dining in small eateries in suburbs Japan. Come to this place if your preference for ramen is the less savory and oily version. If you prefer your ramen to be more savory, I'm sure the chef can make it on your request.

Enjoyed a hearty bowl of ramen here, filled with all sorts of different meats. Ramen was delicious overall, my favorite meat being the bone on pork rib. I could tell ingredients probably weren’t the highest quality, but overall a good experience.

Had a early family lunch here after looking at other options on the 2nd floor of Japantown. Place filled up fairly quickly after we arrived and ordered. The menu is fairly extensive despite it being a ‘ramen house’. We had a combination of rice, ramen and appetizers - the food is uniformly good but not outstanding. The ramen broth is a little thin but the noodle texture is good. The croquette is actually pretty good. Service is pleasant and efficient. Good option when look for traditional Japanese fare in the crowded complex.

Umai's broth is not competitive with good ramen restaurants in Japantown. I left +50% of the food uneaten. Yes, that bad. Tonight I had the tori ramen (chicken leg) $14.80 and +$3 for the chashu rice combo. I asked the waiter if the 'chashu rice' is a fried rice? and he said yes. It came out as moist regular rice with soy sauce on it. Yikes. It was missing that fried rice taste. The Chinatown takeout places that sell fried rice by the pound tasted better than this. The broth of the ramen didn't taste authentic and was missing that rich flavor I'm used to for Japanese ramen. The chicken leg was big but it was missing flavor. It didn't mesh well with the plain broth. The saving grace of Umai is the competent and friendly waiter. The chef and recipes need improvement. I hope they get it together soon.

Very pleasant restaurant with friendly staff. The ramen was very flavorful and the pork in the tonkutsu ramen was perfect. The restaurant is tucked away in the East wing of the mall but that makes for a cozy meal.