Ok, don’t be put off by the revolting looking picture that I “borrowed” from someone online. I promise I will go back and take my own legal picture. Plus, I believe the dead slug acting as one of the toppings is actually a mushroom and anyone that knows me, knows I would not opt for a fungus. Unless it’s in my cheese.

We went to Umami on Saturday night an hour before closing time. I was nervous.

This place is BYOB. One of our friends surprised us with a six pack of good beer, which, after a few minutes waiting, we enjoyed in the restaurants parking lot. The folks at Umami did not mind. They charged us $5 corkage for it. Why would they mind?

Now, I did a lot of research before coming here. I know they have several burgers on the menu and I wanted to choose the perfect one. (I did, FYI) Many people had complained about the service and the wait. Neither were issues for us. We were seated in about 20 minutes and our food came in about 10-15. Not bad at all.

THE BURGERS WERE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, we even scribbled on their white paper table cloths in crayons what our favorite LA burger joints were and this and Father’s Office were in the top two. SO GOOD!

The bun was light and buttery but not the overly-fancy brioche bun that falls apart once the burger juices soak in rendering the entire meal into a burger salad.

The patty was so juicy but not greasy and heavy. This is a fine line and Umami did not cross it.

Each type of burger was unique and flavorful. We chose the SoCal, the Port and Stilton and the Truffle. Each one had it’s own personality and we passed our plates around the table so we could get to know them better.

The fries and onion rings were tasty but few. The onion rings are tempura battered and a bit greasy but that would not stop me from ordering them in the future.

The sweet potato salad looks like a cat food company’s version of a salmon salad. It tasted pretty good, but no one at your table will want to eat it.

After the restaurant, we hurried on over to the Little Bar (the Boston bar a block or so south on La Brea) where I ordered a delicious but unpronounceable beer. Which only I thought was delicious.

850 S. La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 931-3000
www.umamiburger.com