Oriental eatery Umami opens its doors on 14 March. Umami will offer a creative and authentic menu of both small and sharing plates, with influences from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Korea.
Served in two sizes, to taste or to share, tapas-style dishes will include perennial favourites such as chicken satay and Thai fish cakes alongside signature creations like sweet basil, garlic and peppercorn tossed squid.
The menu will also include a comprehensive selection of salads, soups, noodles and curries together with grilled and pan- or wok-fried dishes like Ped Makham (pan seared duck with tamarind and mange tout) and Ikan Bakar (grilled red snapper in banana leaf served with sweet tamarind and chilli.)
Heading up the kitchens will be award-winning chef Darren Kutty. Formerly Head Chef at both the Ramada Hyde Park and The Washington Hotel in Mayfair, Darren was also a member of the launch team for the first UK National Curry Day.
Umami
Asian Restaurant in South Kensington
Ad
All In London Review
Low prices are Umami’s main draw
The restaurant is part of the Crowne Plaza Kensington Hotel on Cromwell Road, and the dining room has suitably hotel-ish features –jazz standards playing in the background, brash lighting, bright ochre seats, and little to suggest in which era you may be.
Most dishes are offered as a platter to share or a tapas-sized portion, the latter modestly priced between £3 and £5. Some of it is very good, like the sticky rice roulade, a layer of glutinous black rice stuffed with tasty confit of duck, and their signature dish, the lychee tempura, consisting of curious little balls of lightly battered lychee stuffed with minced chicken and prawn, a combination of sweet and savoury that works very well. The Mee Goreng noodles are well seasoned, with succulent king prawns, chunks of juicy fried chicken and fish cakes, while the beef Rendang curry has wonderful aromas of rich coconut and lemongrass in a thick, mulchy sauce that goes down a treat.
Not so good is the Pandan chicken, which despite claims to being marinated in Thai spices borders on bland, and the Ikan Bakar, or red snapper wrapped in banana leaf, which is a little overcooked and chewy.
In terms of dessert, the lychee cheesecake is a bit too timid, lacking sweetness and depth, however a bright green crepe filled with palm sugar and coconut is lovely, if saccharine-heavy after a few bites.
For afters there is an interesting selection of oriental teas; we try the wonderfully fragrant jasmine and the Midsummer Mango, a black tea with a sweet aroma and fruity taste.
A meal for two with wine costs around £75, a snip for the area, and what will likely be Umami’s main draw.
Reviewed by Leila
Published on Mar 26, 2012
User Reviews
There are no user reviews
Have your say
Add a review or useful tip for this restaurant