Traditional Japanese food with a modern touch of flavours

UMAMI

We dined here twice for convenience since we were staying at the Crowne Plaza. Food was generally good though flavouring was a hit and miss on some of the dishes. Portions were small in comparison to the price. Service was slow and seriously lacking. During our first visit, our server asked if we wanted to start with prawn crackers after we had just placed our order so we said yes thinking it was complimentary. It was not. The servers need to communicate this clearly to the guests. We also had to wait at least 30 minutes for the first dish to be served during both dinner service which came before the drinks. Additionally, one of the server tended to serve food near the end of the table where our toddler was sitting; this is a BIG NO-NO in Restaurant Hospitality 101 as it could lead to all sorts of accidents. Final note: do not be misled by the restaurant’s description – serves strictly Indonesian, Malaysian and Thai cuisine – there is no Vietnamese item on the menu.

Beautiful​ classy restaurant in Kensington inside Crowne Plaza right across the street from Gloucester station. Thankfully I was able to make a reservation through OpenTable​ for a party 5 so when we walked in we got seated right away, but not too long till we realized their AC wasn't working for a hot summer in London.. wish the manager​ I spoke to an hour before our reservation mentioned it or had a sign up outside the door about this technical issue, we would've come back another day but since it was already late for dinner and we were tired, kinda just decided to go with it.

Confusing Asian​ fusion style menu. Food arrived about 35-40 mins later. The server​ wasn't very attentive with water/drink refills and didn't have any alternative to the ac issue either.

What we had:
-Pad Thai Jae (Thai)- Rice noodles, wok fried with broccoli and tofu. OK.
-Nasi Goreng (Malaysian)- Wok fried rice in mild spices, served with a skewer of chicken satay and prawn cakes. Terrible.
-Gang​ Kiew Wan Gai (Thai)- Green curry with chicken, aubergine and baby corn. Pretty good.
-Indonesian Curry- Kinda tastes like Panang​ curry, OK.
-Coconut king prawns. OK

Overall, for date nights this place is beautiful. But wasn't​ too happy with their food quality, portion size, ​and pricing. I'll give an extra star to the manager, she was kind enough to take off the dishes that didn't come out as expected and swapped with something else we liked, just overall food wasn't all so great..

Super mouthwatering dishes! Excellent wine pairing with Pan Asian menu. And special dessert presentation from head chef along with occasional requests!

Service was excellent, atmosphere is good. Unspiced food was of good quality, especially the crispy duck which had generous portion. Unfortunately the food which should have been spicy was very mild, although the ingredients were well cooked. Would recommend choosing unspiced dishes unless you prefer very mild curries

Best Asian restaurant I have ever tried. The food was so tasty. I had chicken Satay, a green chicken curry and chocolate cake for dessert. Thanks alot to Sanna for the Supreme service. Go there and enjoy!

Halal chicken (prepped & cooked separately). Pork served. Phone in advance to find out Halal chicken broth availability.

Order from Umami Kensington