Umami is a family-owned restaurant, and Founders Michelle and Steve Kang have a deep passion for bringing some of the authentic elements of different Asian food to Nashville in a fun and modern way. Steve is Korean and Michelle is Chinese, Umami serves a menu inspired by Michelle and Steve’s upbringing and ethnic roots, together they traveled all around the world in Europe and Asian countries, and inspired a menu in which they thoughtfully and skillfully balances complementary flavors, textures, and pairings to create amazing food for an even more amazing culinary experience.

As is Asian tradition, Umami is family-style dining with dishes cooked to order, paired with a pointed beverage selection influenced by Asia. Spices are flown in directly from Asia, used with some of the freshest ingredients locally sourced in Nashville. The food menu features a selection of Korean and Japanese dishes including Sushi, ramen noodles, bibimbap, kimchi fries, Specialities such as Korean style Fried Chicken, and an assortment of Asian fusion dishes. The beverage menu showcases the Asian American fusion theme and includes a large selection of Asian and American beers, Japanese Sake, and even fresh fruit cocktails made with soju (a traditional Korean rice liquor), like watermelon soju and pineapple soju.

Umami (/uˈmɑːmi/), a savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes (together with sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness).In Japanese, umami can be translated as “pleasant savory taste”. This particular writing was chosen by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda from umai “delicious” and mi “taste”. People taste umami through receptors specific to glutamate. Glutamate is widely present in savory foods, such as meat broths and fermented products, and commonly added to some foods.

A note from Michelle and Steve: We promise to do our best to consider guest satisfaction as our main priority, shown in our dishes that are made with love, care and passion. We truly believe in serving honest food and am committed to serving dishes that reflect this love and passion for quality Asian cuisine here in Nashville.