Kosher Umami Bistro

This place in not KOSHER anymore! So if you keep kosher stay away!
It’s
Not
KOSHER
Any more

This establishment is no longer Kosher. It was a good run. It had threaten to close before but remained open. This time seems for real.

Food has usually been good. Went last night (Sunday), Hours are listed until 10. We got there at 9, after my parents arrived from the airport.
We did our best to place our orders timely, but everything else was rushed (including vacuuming while we tried to shmooze.
I’m actually sad they are closing. The food was good, even if the services was never 100%.

Food is good, but not always served hot. They don’t always get the orders correct either. The worst is the customer service. The waitresses and waiters have been extremely rude to the point of arguing and yelling. Not sure if I ever want to go back.

Went for dinner, punted and stuck with just appetizers after seeing the run down condition of everything and the prices. Sushi was so-​so. Kosher isn’t my thing, so maybe its good as far as kosher places go, but I cant imagine how its so well reviewed otherwise.

Their web site said it was open Saturday night at 6:30 and it was closed !!!
Ruined a family get together

I was in town hanging around my fiancée’s old stomping grounds, so I didn’t know what to expect out of any kosher restaurants. Coming from Boston, which has a few kosher restaurants, of which I would label only a couple as edible, my expectations were low.
We and a religious friend of my fiancée’s tried going to the other Chinese restaurant (David something-​or-​other), found the wait too long, and came here. All in all, quite good. The food didn’t taste kosher, which is a good sign for me, as it indicates that there is competition in the area, and restaurants try to make good food instead of relying on that anyone who wants to eat kosher will eat kosher at their restaurant.
I don’t recall what my fiancée or her friend had, but I found the general gau’s chicken to be surprisingly non-​greasy and quite tasty. I even requested it extra spicy, and they complied admirably.

The eggs in the fried rice were burned. And the chicken that I ordered had a huge hair in it. I nearly vomited when I bit into it. The restaurant didn’t seem to believe me so I was told to bring in the food. Why wouldn’t the owner insure the cooks used hair nets. My photo makes the chicken portion look small but if you’ve eaten here before you know it’s not

Just ate here last night. Service was terrific: fast and friendly. food was great and portions were generous. Would definitely go back.

I don’t keep kosher, but when my best friend who does keep r suggest we go out — we always come here. I have never stopped ordering the Fuji salad so I honestly can’t recommend anything else — but their Fuji salad is amazing. Get it and there will be no regrets.
I would comment on the design of the building and the walls, but it seems that most people have reviewed this already. I’ve eaten at most kosher restaurants and I don’t think this one is in «worse shape» than most– I think people just expect more given the prices.
Try it if you must, it’s not the best out in Pikesville but it will be a ok experience.

Not that great food our serve was very nice and adjusted the menu for our son very well. Food took a little long. However the very young flaming guy at the front is rude and way too intense. Trust me u cant miss him. He is the one that makes this place so unappealing. Overall do not expect much from this places.

This place could use some deep cleaning and painting. The walls and booths are disgusting. The waitress was not friendly or welcoming. I read the reviews and was looking forward to a great lunch. I did not get what was looking for.

This is the best kosher restaurant in Baltimore. The food is incredible and the décor makes you feel like your really going out.

I came here thinking it was going to be a bistro, but it’s a kosher Chinese restaurant. If you need kosher, this is probably a pretty good destination if you’re craving Chinese. But compared to non-​kosher Chinese, it was nothing special. I ordered a spicy chicken entrée and couldn’t taste any spice. The portions are really big and expensive compared to a typical Chinese buffet, but then again it’s freshly cooked and hasn’t been sitting out for hours (I hope). Also I think with the portions they are thinking Chinese style where you order a few entrees, put them in the middle and everyone at the table shares them.
But the food was good enough. The staff were gathered around the register talking to each other and I had to say «excuse me» to get their attention, and one said «can I help you?» Not very welcoming. But okay. Also I’ve only visited the one time. It seemed fairly busy so it must be popular with the locals.

Fab-​u-​lous. Thank you, Umami, for making the kosher dining experience in Maryland more delicious. Also, thank you for the nice room. Kosherites enjoy nice décor too!
Unilocalers — try the nigiri sushi and the spicy beef — crispy, carb-​overloaded, sauce-​soaked Chinese goodness. Hm, wonder if they’re open today…

We went here in April for my husbands birthday. We ordered soup, fake crap rangoon and 2 entrees. My soup and entrée came out first followed by my husbands entrée. I waited and waited for his soup or even our appetizer to begin eating or to even get ahold of the 2 staff members. After a few minutes, we decided to just eat the entrees. Our water was never refilled and the waiter came over with our check 10 minutes later. When I mentioned that we never got our soup or appetizer, he ran off to the kitchen to bring them out to us. He had the audacity to still charge us for the items that were brought out at the end that were cold and tasteless. I have had their sushi before which is pretty good but their entrees and soups were flavorless. Their service is awful and we plan on only going to David Chu’s from now on.

Very good food (though the Schezuan string beans needed some chili oil to perk them up, which was provided on request), and bustling the entire time I was there. Not a bad place to go, especially if you’re with friends who want to keep kosher while dining out.

When it comes to kosher Chinese restaurants in Baltimore (Pikesville area specifically), there are few options, and the same style food gets tiring after a while. Fortunately, I’ve found that Umami Bistro consistently delivers great service, excellent food, and a nice atmosphere. Give this restaurant a try next time you’re looking for worthwhile Chinese/​Japanese cuisine.

Somehow the phonetic sound of «U-​ma-​mi» didn’t make me think of Asian food; instead I was drawn in by the word «Bistro.»
I was driving home from a long day of work, followed by more work, and was craving a sandwich and a beer. I ignored my first instinct and shot past Hamden, to Mt. Washington. Why hadn’t anybody told me The Falls had closed?
Brokenhearted, I continued my journey home while keeping an eye out for dinner. As I made an effort not to gnaw on my steering wheel, I remembered a Ledo Pizza in Pikesville. Onward! At the very last moment, however, I caught Umami Bistro out of the corner of my eye. Feeling adventurous, I high-​tailed it to the left and spun giddily into the parking lot.
«Bistro», I thought to myself, half-​falling from my car. «They must have sandwiches and beer! Right?» I rushed to the door, and then stood back for just a moment while I held the door open for a couple that was leaving the restaurant. It wasn’t until I made it through the doorway that I saw what, oddly enough, appeared to be the interior of an Asian restaurant (complete with a sushi bar). At this point, I figured, it was too late to turn back. Do I do the hostess-​station shuffle, and head elsewhere for that sandwich? Or do I pretend this was my plan all along? Noticing only parties of three or more throughout the restaurant, I knew that an awkward situation would likely come of this experience either way.
I chose to delay my inevitable awkward moment as long as possible by sucking it up and preparing to enjoy some tasty Asian cuisine. In retrospect, this was far worse than jumping ship and continuing my journey. The awkwardness was delayed only briefly at the doorway, and started upon taking my seat. I felt as though I were on display at my table in the center of the room. This combined with my thorough enjoyment of a giant-​sized portion of Pad Thai, alone at my table for four, ensured the awkwardness lasted throughout the duration of my meal.
I bounced back and forth between frantically fiddling on my iPhone and taking notes on a pad of paper I had brought in with me. I thought this might give the impression that I was, perhaps, some very busy person who can’t take the time for a group outing. A college student, perhaps? Yes, that’s it! I was simply taking a break from cramming for exams.
But wait! What college student eats alone at Umami? College students get their fill at places like Five Guys. A great sack of julienne potatoes fried in fat is college cram food. Not Pad Thai! No! I was the weirdo that comes to family restaurants alone and tries to look busy while eating a giant plate of Pad Thai at center stage. I was probably plotting to snatch up some of the other customers’ young children while they had their backs turned. Just unspeakable!
In reality, nobody paid much attention to the weirdo eating alone. Except of course the waitress, who also complimented me on having such tiny handwriting. The food was excellent, even before I doused it in red chili paste. I imagine I’ll continue to drive by this place on occasion, but I’m certain I’ll someday return. And I’m bringing people with me!

Umami is the best kosher restaurant in Baltimore that I’ve been to, and a restaurant you can take your non-​kosher friends and business colleagues to. My non-​kosher friends I’ve gone with have all said it compares positively with non-​kosher restaurants. It has a swanky ambiance with notes of granite, burgundy, and creamy white. It has all the standards you expect at a Chinese restaurant, along with some pan-​Asian choices rarely seen in kosher restaurants such as paad Thai and Shanghai noodles, and it mostly avoids the tacky Chinese restaurant habits such as serving deep fried dough with sticky sugar syrup before the meal.
I recommend the Shanghai noodles which has savory pieces of dark meat chicken in curried rice noodles, is gluten-​free, and is at least 3 meals worth of food. The seared fish on a bed of salad greens is also tasty (and gluten-​free), comparable to fancy non-​kosher restaurants I’ve been to on job interviews, and relatively inexpensive. They have the obligatory sushi (even the kosher pizza places sell sushi now!), and the quality is as good as it gets in a kosher place and solidly good for a non-​kosher Japanese place. (As usual, if you’re visiting at a time/​day when they’re unlikely to have gotten fresh fish, you’re best off with the really involved types of sushi designed to have flavors other than the fish predominate. But you knew that.)