Chef-owner Naomi Tanaka opened Umami in 2014 with a handmade noodle machine, a 12-seat counter, and a single broth recipe she’d spent fifteen years perfecting.
Eleven years later, we’ve expanded the dining room three times but kept the broth the same. We still pull noodles by hand every morning. We still simmer the tonkotsu for 18 hours. We still answer the phone ourselves.
Our broths
Shoyu: Soy-based, light, oceanic. Clear amber. Best with thin noodles.
Miso: Fermented soybean paste, rich, layered. We rotate between red and white miso seasonally.
Tonkotsu: Pork bone, 18-hour simmer, opaque white. Our flagship. Rich enough to stand a spoon in.
Shio: Salt-based, delicate. Highlights the broth more than any other style.
Vegetarian: Mushroom-kombu. Slow-simmered, full-bodied, completely meat-free.
Our sourcing
Noodles from a single mill in Hokkaido since day one. Pork from Hidden Stream Farm in Elgin, MN. Eggs from a coop two blocks away. Vegetables from Mill City Farmers Market every Saturday.