Uma Uma

Great ramen. I’ve been here twice and both times it satisfied my authentic ramen cravings. Prices are okay. I do think the service needs help, I had to flag down servers multiple times for water and such. They also play obnoxiously loud music at like noon and its just a bit much to deal with. Like bassy, club music. I dunno, maybe I’m not hip enough haha. I’ll be back for sure, but hopefully there will be some new music and better service.

Please don’t pay attention to these wannabe Anthony Bordains. This place is great. It has a great atmosphere, excellent service and the food is very good. I am not going to sit here and hammer the people like I’m trying out for my new show on the Food Network. We had two types of Ramen, both on point. We had the seaweed salad and bahn mi for apps which were also delicious. Added bonus is its BYOB. The rest of you can go home and cry through your «food blogs» and Unilocal apps but I’ll be back.

This location is next to a wonderful Korean restaurant that serves soondooboo. The location is somewhat dark and they keep the space very open and lofty. I tried it out but they have a lot of issues to fix. First, their onigiris are improperly made. They fall apart, and are not correctly wrapped in nori/​seaweed. You basically have a giant pile of rice and fixings fall apart on the plate and I don’t recommend ordering it unless you just want a handful of rice for an expensive price. The ramen is fine, but it isn’t great. I can get much better in other locations. The broth isn’t developed enough, unfortunately, and that’s the best part of ramen.
I give it 3 stars because their service is still pretty great. But I don’t like how the manager always sits at the bar with a giant computer and doesn’t do much. She sort of bosses the servers around, greets customers, and continues to sit at the bar wearing casual clothes and typing/​clicking away at her laptop. It’s strange. I wish she would take a more leadership role in the place and be more active with the restaurant. The servers work very hard though, and the kitchen is open so you can look into the back of house staff working on your food.
I would go back if I had an acute craving, but it’s not the greatest place for ramen. Try it out and let the other Unilocalers know what you think!

Not bad, not great.
I ordered the tonkatsu ramen which is my usual choice for a first time ramen place. The waitress didn’t seem overly thrilled to have us but she wasn’t RUDE or anything. I didn’t get asked my spice level so until someone else did I wasn’t aware there was one (it was probably on the menu so my own fault) not a big deal though since I like to try new things fairly basically. The portions were fine but I did add extra chasu and egg. The broth was kind of bland and the garlic sauce that I ordered I’m glad I ordered on the side because it was not what I was used to and seemed like a garlic paste squeezed out of a tube you can buy in a grocery store… A little overwhelming as much as I do love garlic. The toppings were good though even if the chasu was sliced very thin so it didn’t have a whole lot of texture. Noodles were standard…
I had also ordered $ 6 worth of yakitori appetizers and received a single shrimp on a stick ($ 4) and one chicken one with kind of weird moulded chicken ($ 2)… If I return I’ll be skipping that. (I also had ordered a button mushroom one but I guess the server didn’t hear me because it never came)
The actual shop itself is nice and cozy. May or may not return one day just because it was a bit out of the way and didn’t overly impress me. But if you’re in the area and want ramen go for it. I’d probably check out the nearby Korean BBQ if I am out in the area again though.

The Ramen bowl was fantastic. Definitely get it spicy. The Wasabi was on point. The beef rice ball was better then the tuna one. Staff was extremely responsive. I would recommend and will be back.

Got the tomato tonkotsu ramen. The broth wasn’t special but the tomato really made the soup unique. I thought the egg was really good because they season the outside (tea egg). Wish they added some bamboo shoots. The noodles were average, it could be bouncier.
Paid $ 13.50 without tax/​tip for ramen though. That’s what really astounded me. I pay $ 10 – 12 for ippudo or totto ramen in nyc and theyre considered the best of the best with 2 – 3 hour long waits. This place is new.
Waiters were really friendly though and attentive.
**Update
I just visited again during my lunch break today. I always give places a second try before making my final verdict. Unfortunately, I have to downgrade to 1 star.
They made some revisions to their menu, it looks like prices have dropped a little. Ramen will run you between $ 9 – 12 as opposed to $ 10 – 14 when they first opened. I would have raised their rating 2 stars just because the owner listened to reviews and responded; however I feel like their quality dropped as well. I may be biased because I recently tried out Kippo in Fells Point and re-​tried Mi and Yu in Fed Hill. Kippo was surprisingly very authentic and Mi and Yu changed my opinion for the better. Uma uma did not though.
Food: I got the miso ramen this time. Broth was meh, it needs more improvement, maybe it needs to simmer more in the meat to bring out more flavor. I don’t think the noodles are freshly made, noodles should be bouncy and light, they were instead almost «stale» and heavy. I don’t think they use dried ramen though, which is good. Toppings arent fresh, the corn tasted canned and the seaweed was thick and stale.
Service: Last time i came the service was great, this time it really disappointed. I called at 4:10 to order ahead. «I’d like to order ahead to eat there, it’s not going to be takeout.» I repeated this once at the beginning of the order, the middle, and again at the end of the order. They asked for my phone number which they didn’t even call when it was ready but I came 15 – 20 minutes later like they said, at 4:35. Came in, sat down at a table and told the waiter I ordered ahead. Waited 5 minutes, then waiter comes over to ask if I’m ready. He was oblivious to everything I said over the phone and when I entered. My order was instead packaged to go. So they took it out and served me another 5 minutes later while I was on my half hour lunch break. Of course I didn’t make it back to work on time. And the food wasn’t good.
Final verdict: won’t be coming back again.

I came here when it first opened. I was disappointed. The noodles are eh, they are similar to the ramen you’d find in your typical packaged ramen. The soup is salty but probably fine for the average consumer. The portions are not generous. They give a lot of scallions, but only one, maybe two pieces of thinly sliced meat. Nothing here screams «soooo good.» I’d give it 1 star, but service was decent.
If you’re looking for amazing ramen, visit Menya Sandaime in Fort Lee, NJ. Sure, it’s a trek, but there’s a reason why people go up North… it’s where the best food is. At Menya Sandaime, the noodles are HANDMADE and cooked so it’s CHEWY.
Final verdict: I’d only come to Uma Uma if I was painfully desperate for noodles… otherwise, I’d just make it at home or go to New Jersey for real ramen.
Lastly, notice how the reviews are either really stellar or pretty poor? It’s because you have the group of people who have never experienced real ramen before so they give it 4 – 5 stars, and then you have people who know what real ramen tastes like, and give it 2 – 3 stars at the most. Do yourself a favor and listen to the veterans. I grew up near NYC, so I can tell you I’ve had better.
I have yet to find an outstanding ramen place in Maryland.

I’m between 2 or 3 stars. The ramen were picture perfect but taste-​wise, it was ok. The portion was very small, which would be fine if the quality of the ramen made up for it, but it didn’t, especially with the high price tag. My group and I got three different ramen: I got miso, my friend got the the shoyu ramen, and my fiancé got the tonkotsu ramen. Out of the three, the miso one tasted the best, but my friend said that it just tasted like the miso seasoning, nothing really unique.
It wasn’t until the end when we ordered an order to go for my friend’s mom and (a different waitress) asked us for the spice level. We got level 3 for the to-​go order but after the waiter left, we all looked at each other and reflected to each other that none of us were asked what spice level we wanted. We all eat pretty spicy, but they gave us no spice at all, so it might have tasted better if the soup was customized to our spice level.
Dropped over $ 50 for three people and walked away feeling pretty disappointed. Even the green tea was super light, like drinking hot water with a little flavor.
Overall, we probably won’t be back.

I have been here a few times in the past several months and I will definitely be returning again and again. The ramen and broth are pretty tasty and it felt like a decent serving size to me. The service was pretty good during all of my visits. The décor is simple but clean and modern feeling. I usually prefer my food spicy so it’s cool that all the dishes can be adjusted to your spice-​comfort level. I normally get level 3 spiciness (out of 5) which is perfect for me. I tried level 4 but it was a bit spicier than I would prefer. As a reference point, when I go to Lighthouse tofu next door, I usually get it spicy (level 4 spice out of 5). The gyoza and the pork buns are also yummy. And then finish the meal with a scoop of green tea ice cream. :)
The comments from some of the other Unilocalers saying that it’s a bit pricey for what you get is valid, but at the same time, I think their prices are reasonable. Granted, there aren’t any ramen shops in the area to compare them with, but I think it is comparable to menu prices at other restaurants in the area. Uma Uma has become one of my new fave places in Ellicott City.

Decided to come back because I heard it got better. Good news! It did! They changed their old pork belly to actual chashu that goes in ramen. Broth needs a little more tweaking though. Not bad! Service is great too, my server was very patient and nice.
Also tried their buns. I got a special spicy pulled pork, SOO YUMMY.

I got the miso ramen, and my mom got the rice bowl. Both were really good. I do wish they offered more variety with their broths, but otherwise very tasty. We got the ice cream, which was big enough to share and not too sweet.
The ambiance is very casual and upbeat. Not crowded on a Saturday night, but not empty either. Definitely a place I’d like to come back to if I lived closer.

4÷15÷16
Thursday night, craving ramen, none at home. My boyfriend and I were driving around and said, why not give uma uma another try?
And so we did!
it was just a little past 9 so there weren’t many people there. a waiter came to serve us quickly and we ordered spicy miso (level 2) and shoyou ramen. we also ordered pork bun.
All three dishes came out together. there were definitely changes!
first, pork bun didn’t have the belly anymore but instead chopped pork. I didn’t really mind either way. it was still good!
spicy miso: the soup definitely had more depth than last time I visited. spicy level two was actually pretty spicy, so add at your own will. noodles are still the same, they could use more improvement.
shoyou: my boyfriend said there could be more depth, but overall good!
biggest change is the pricing. the price went down by about $ 2 and I was very surprised to see. I think the quality and the price are definitely well paired together now.

SHOCKED to see these sad reviews! We have become «regulars» at this sweet spot in EC. Absolutely delicious tonkatsu ramen with TEA EGGS (recommendation: order an extra! you won’t be sad!) and well balanced between savory broth, meaty chashu, bok choy, and all the accoutrements. I love that they welcome you and offer you hot tea (complimentary), which should always be an accompaniment to Japanese food! I also love that they have some traditional items like onigiri (basically a ball of rice filled with yumminess) and gyoza.
I always leave this place smiling and FULL! Just like being back in Tokyo!

This place has potential. They have some of the only ramen noodles in town. They aren’t quite perfect yet, but a great start to this restaurant.
I ordered the spicy miso ramen and enjoyed it.
The bulgogi onigiri was really good and I also enjoyed the chasu bun with the spicy pork.

Sounds like Ramen is the new fad food although I’ve doctored up Ramen noodles at home for quite a while before this. Yeah, I know, this is more fancy and complex!
We enjoyed our meal here and tried 2 or 3 of the different broths offered. I feel it would have been helpful if there was a description of what each broth was made of… I had no idea what «tonkotsu» broth was and had to Google to get an idea of what a few of these were. I’d have to Google again, because I’ve honestly forgotten by now.
Overall, the food was good. I’d probably come back. The staff is very friendly too.

I have eaten at a lot of ramen places in DC and this is by far one of the best ramen places I have eaten at. Had the Spicy Miso level #2 with extra egg, corn, and chasu! And grilled cheese spicy pulled pork. Great serving size. Good atmosphere and great food. Definitely recommend to everyone around the area for some authentic ramen. Taste like it is made from home and you can’t get any better than that.
Ramen broth is very rich and savory and noodles is great. I like mine a little chewy so it’s good. Chasu is thicker cut and it adds a lot of the flavor because it is fatty and it is seasoned with something else that I think definitely brings out the flavor of the ramen. Egg is amazing as well I definitely liked it. The egg was sweet and flavorful. Over all the ramen taste good on the pallet and you are able to taste all the ingredients.
Service is amazing and the restaurant vibe is also great. Will come back again and again to get my ramen fix!

For $ 13 a Ramen bowl, I’m very disappointed. Salty salty salty! Maybe the other dishes are better, but being a Ramen house, I expected more…
The portions are pretty small too.

I really want to like this place. I went a couple times hoping it would be better the next time.
Anyway, I am really glad that now we have a dedicated ramen place. But unfortunately, I think Uma Uma still has some way to go. I had tonkatsu and spicy ramen. The broth are on the bland watery side, but the spicy ramen is extremely spicy. The noodle needs more texture. For some reason, the ramen and the broth were only lukewarm, making things unappetizing. The pork slice improved the second time, but I still think it could be more tender. Lastly, but not the least, please get scallions, wood ear mushroom, bamboo shoots, corn or whatever. I have nothing against bok choy. But it just does not go well with Ramen in my opinion.
I may still visit from time to time. But it could potentially be much better and I hope it will be.

ALRIGHT — it seems like the trend with these reviews is the comparison of Uma Uma to «authentic» ramen restaurants then ultimately rating it inferior.
Yeahhhh well allow me to break that trend. Who says there is only one way to make ramen?! Ramen — like barbecue sauce — comes in many different styles. With that said, if you have developed a strong bias towards a certain execution of ramen then it might behoove you to just stop reading here and resort to your favorite ramen place. This review will better suit the open-​minded and those willing to try new things/​styles.
Yes, the noodles are on the chewy side, but some might prefer that — me being one of those people — and the minutiae of their ramen, although different, were worth that of enjoying.
The pork broth can seem overly greasy, but I am inclined to describe it as rich & hearty. The cut of pork (the name escapes me) that dresses the dish is quality meat and although a bit on the fatty side, it definitely adds to the savory profile. The well complimented egg came a little runny and undercooked so be sure to ask for it well done if that’s a preference. The spice is within your control from a scale from 1 through 5.
The establishment itself is clean and has an attractive contemporary layout. The dim lighting creates a pleasant ambiance making it a suitable place for a casual yet intimate date. The staff is young, friendly, and accommodating.
I did, however, knock off a star due to the price and rather petite portions. You won’t find me spending $ 13 for ramen frequently. I do, however, reside on the frugal side and I’m often paying for myself PLUS a date soooo if money isn’t an issue when dining — or if you’re not the one paying — then consider this a 5 star review!

Hooray for ramen in Ellicott City! You can tell people are ready for ramen in this area. The place was packed. The host was a little overwhelmed and approached the crowd of the people in a panic but it worked out. The place is nice, and decorated well. I liked the lighting and that you can see the kitchen. The menu is really different then a lot of other ramen places that I’ve tried. The Yakitori is really different and offers everything from chicken to garlic. The spicy miso was really good and the egg perfect. I missed the menma in my soup, I wish you could add it.
My soup was a little cold then I like but I chocked that up to the restaurant being new. A manager or owner stopped by our table and was really nice, she explained the fondue and really got us excited to try it on our next visit.