Umi Nom

This place is closed! Unilocal need to get sh! t together and updated there system! I drove from queens at 5 during rush hour and this place was permit closed!

The food is oily, the portions are small, and everything is overpriced.
We were told to wait for our two remaining guests at the bar instead of being seated at the table, even though the restaurant was empty. The music started off normal, and then became loud and angry X-​rated rap music. Hey, that’s fine for a club but NOT for dinner.
The waiter is extremely rude. He tells you what you should order. I got the crab special and was notified 30 mins later that there was no more crab. I guess he never bothered to check in with the kitchen beforehand.
Our table’s dishes were not brought to us all together like they should’ve been. We received our meals one by one every 15 mins. People had to start eating at separate times so the food didn’t get too cold. Some of the appetizers came after all the entrées already came out. What was the kitchen thinking?
My friend ordered a meal to go and paid in cash. Our waiter was completely oblivious to the price and didn’t give the $ 6 change back. Because of this, we all gave a 15% tip, assuming the $ 6 change will be added to his tip. He ran out the door and told us to pay more tip. My friend ended up pointing out the $ 6 change and had an argument with him.
Now I understand why this place is so empty!

I really wanted to like Umi Nom since a good friend had recommended it years ago and it’s in my neighborhood.
The restaurant is small and nice enough but it was empty on a Friday night, besides one other table. Now I know why.
The waiter, a small older man, openly scoffed at us when we ordered the Pad Thai. He said that people don’t come here to order the Pad Thai, normally people order several plates and share them. These small plates he’s speaking of happen to cost as much as an entrée should. My husband changed his order at the urging of the waiter.
The Pad Thai was edible but too sweet. The clams, prepared like mussels, were very flavorful and the fish and chips were good but extremely greasy. The complimentary wontons were delicious but failed to hide the bad taste of the overly aggressive nature of the waiter.
When we were finished, plates were cleared and we assumed the waiter would be bringing the check shortly. We sat and talked for about 15 minutes before we noticed the waiter, trying to remain out of sight at the front of the house, was drinking straight out of a large dark bottle we assumed to be alcohol. I guess BYOB applies for the staff as well.
We finally flagged him down and got our bill. I will admit that I didn’t give him a generous tip because I felt he didn’t deserve one. He ended up chasing me to the door because I forgot to sign the credit card slip and got in one last rude comment that next time I should tip more.
Unfortunately, Umi Nom, you’re dead to me.

Until just a couple of years ago, many Thai restaurants outside of major metropolitan communities felt the need to offer a selection of Chinese dishes in case certain sections of a party are too uncomfortable with a strange cuisine.
Thankfully that’s fading as people learn to the tell the difference between pad thai and pad see ew, but there’s an even newer trend popping up. As other Southeast Asian restaurants open up, some are using Thai food as a crutch much the way the Thais once did with the Chinese.
How else to explain the high number of «pan-​Asian fusion» and Thai dishes at North Brooklyn’s only Filipino restaurant. I know that Filipino food has its challenges — the reliance on stinky fish oil, the fried food and Balut. It lacks the accessible center of some other foods, and remains vastly underrepresented relative to its population.
There are several hundred Korean restaurants in the New York metro area and less than ten Filipino places, despite the Philippines having twice the population as South Korea.
Maybe underestimating your audience is the best business strategy in Brooklyn in 2015. I ate here at about 7 p.m. on Monday, biking from my office in the Financial District to Clinton Hill to retrieve a misplaced credit card at nearby bar.
I’m here for about 45 minutes and are the only customer.
How do they treat their lone patron? Through an excessive focus on upsetting! I’m asking multiple times if I want to add an appetizer, small plate or dessert on to my plate of noodles. It’s as if the restaurant is hoping to single-​handedly hit its sales target through just one customer. No single interaction is problematic, but as a trend it is tiresome.
My pancit canton, a mess of sausage, chicken, noodles and a bit of fish sauce is quite nice, and even better with the roast tomato jalapeño space. (This is a $ 1 extra, which I think is a bit beat.) A free amuse bouche that arrives with the meal, a small fritter, is more forgettable.
There’s a solid foundation in place here — plenty of proper Filpino dishes and a handsome dining room, but between the somewhat strange location (this is a rather expensive place to abut a long stretch of public housing) and non-​core dishes on the menu — it doesn’t feel like this will be the place that breaks Filipino food into the mainstream.

I came here once. I got the chicken fried rice and it was perfect! Very delicious.
I went for a late dinner on a Sunday, it was empty. Service was good. I will come here again.

Where do I start? Terrible service & nasty food or vice versa
First off the restaurant is nit equipped to handle more than one table seating at a time… secondly the server/​manager is probably why they have a B rating from the health department, and lastly the food was not worth the experience.
1^st. The waiter wanted us to order apps & entrees together because «it comes out at the same or different times»…we ordered the calamari (tasty), then the entrees chicken fried rice (too many peas, like too many), curry salmon (ok, salmon cooked right), and shrimp pad thai (gross, sour tofu, hard noodles)… 2. when the waiter/​manager brought out the bowls of rice he had one stacked on the other with food in it, and balancing them with his THUMB in the bowl on the rice… i told the hostess who rather than wait for us to leave and address it with him… she whispers it in his ear… when he brings out the pad thai when everyone was done eating he says to me «I’m not sure how to hold your plate, without touching it» what a snide and ridiculous thing for the MANAGER to say to a customer…
3. So in the end the food was not great, but I’ve had worse… its really the disgusting practices of sticking your fingers in the food & then having an attitude about it…
Lets just say we paid & left & are using this review to warn others…

Amazing, authentic Filipino dishes! Wonderful service from the owner, who also won Cutthroat Kitchen on Food Network! This is definitely a place where I would gladly take my parents, who happen to be born and raised in the Philippines.

Having little exposure to Filipino cooking, it’s hard to say definitively that Umi Nom is ‘authentic’, but the food is what I would imagine authentic Filipino cuisine to be.
My boyfriend and I strolled in during one of the many recent icy snow storms, and were surprised to find the house at half-​capacity. It’s a small spot with warm and inviting décor with wooden walls and tables, and warm yet funky light fixtures throughout.
Despite the half-​empty restaurant, we were seated close to the other patrons along the back wall. After a quick look at the menu, we decided to order a few plates to share: wok prawns in a chili glaze, pancit canton (sausage, chicken, egg noodles, soy, fish sauce), and a special that included grilled pork and all of the fixings for lettuce wraps on a long board.
The food was incredibly flavorful and fresh. The dishes were coursed in the order listed above, paced a liiiittle too slowly for our liking, to the point that we thought our third dish had been forgotten. We also had to request knives and sat unable to eat our first course until we grabbed the one waiter’s attention to put in the request. The pork special was my favorite, and I especially liked the homemade peanut and chili sauces for dipping.
Minus two stars for the slow service, that seemed to be due to short staffing, and for the lack of liquor license. Plus one for the complimentary crab wontons that came out before our first course — they were delicious!

Umi Nom, the offshoot establishment of the fantastic Kuma Inn, carries on the tradition of adventurous Filipino /​Pan Asian cooking faithfully. Residing in an old laundry mat, the much brighter, more casual space features a smaller, more reasonably priced menu.
The wings were plump, breaded and served over a light fish sauce. Though good, I would still place Buffalo wings and Korean fried wings over this regional version.
The pork spring rolls were man-​sized and stuffed with ground sausage. These rolls were very filling and fulfilling for those who are used to tiny spring rolls with a few limp veggies in it. Don’t forget to ask for their trio of hot sauces — traditional, smoked chili and my favorite, roasted tomato and chili.
The bahay kubo rice reminded me of an asian jambalaya. Perfectly cooked rice and egg with a trio of chicken, shrimp and Chinese sweet sausage. This dish was definitely a highlight.
Overall, Umi Nom will satisfy the Kuma Inn faithfuls willing to make the trip. It should also expose another NYC community to the very underrated and lightly represented cuisine of the Philippines.

This place is solid.
Really friendly waiters that are happy to be there.
The plates are tapas, small, delicious, and filling. It can be a little expensive, but it’s all solid quality.
This is my go to celebration spot, and it’s byob, with only help to drink from the staff.
Try everything.

Umi Nom is a curious little place– for starters, it has maintained its old laundromat sign and simply put its mysterious and small sign on top of the old signage. And it’s next to a chicken place that advertises «dark meat only» (what are they doing with all the white meat?!). So it’s easy to miss when you are walking down Dekalb.
We got to Umi Nom at 730 on a Thursday and we were the only people in the reataurant– it was us, the waiter, and a Bob Marley CD on an endless loop. It made for an odd evening — I haven’t rates in a restaurant this empty since we were in Spain and would try to get dinner before 9pm.
The food we sampled was fine but more generic pan Asian than the Filipino and Thai that the restaurant promises. In fact, the menu seemed to be far more standard pan Asian than I was expecting. (Don’t be confuses by the use of the term «small plates» on the menu — aside from the appetizers, nothing here is small plate style). The chicken fried rice was extraordinarily simple — the greens of the day were bok choy served with oodles of garlic. And the «prawn wok» consisted of three enormous prawns served in a tamarind sauce. All of this to say, there was little here that was adventurous or unexpected, but for a quick bowl of noodles or some prawns, it’s fine.

the guy that works here at night totally sucks. i’ve ordered takeout twice and both times he’s asked me if thats ‘all i want’ — both times an entrée. and tonight i went in to get a quick side of garlic rice on my way home and he rudely told me i couldn’t order anything under $ 10 !! I said i was paying cash thinking he thought i was trying to pay with card and he said na he wouldn’t sell under ten dollars worth either way. WTF… insane. No business ever has said that to me. F this place. Every thai dish I’ve gotten from here has been underseasoned also if you’d like my opinion on the food… i had just stopped here because it was on my way home. NEVER AGAIN.

Never tried Filipino food, but I enjoyed my meal. There was hardly anyone inside and only 1 worker, but he was really nice and friendly. Provided really nice service. And even gave me this complimentary blue cheese crab to try. Good atmosphere, interior and music.

Oh my god I love this place. I’ve been coming here for years and believe I am just now leaving a review.
The food. THE FOOD. The chef seriously knows what he’s about. Without fail I order the Thai Sweet Sausage because it is like heaven in your mouth. Also, the chocolate cake is so so yummy, which you wouldn’t expect with this type of cuisine.
I love the amuse bouch they always serve before your meal begins. The fact that they are still byob is kind of mysterious but it certainly makes the meal cheaper!
Upscale dining with a casual vibe.

Food was amazing!
Came here with friends and had: the shiitake mushrooms — so good, ribs — amazing, Chicken fried rice — nice, and shrimp noodles — good. We also got a complimentary little fried pockets with crab meat which were delicious.
The service was a little slow but we still highly recommend this super tasty place!

I’ll be honest. I’ve never had Filipino food before and near my area in San Francisco, nothing really seemed to appeal to me so I hadn’t tried it. King is an alumnus of mine and I’d been having a difficult time getting around to going to his restaurant because of location (I no longer live in NY) and because of my wariness of a new cuisine.
Now, I’ve seen some negative reviews and a lot of them are about service (doesn’t really affect me), and flavor from people who expect it to be Filipino OR Thai. I think sometimes if you walk in expecting a pure particular dish, you may be discouraged from appreciating a fusion – and trust me, I’m not a fan of fusion – but I was really, really surprised and pleased.
Pork Belly adobo– Wow. Really excellent, succulent braise. Wonderful flavor. Not too salty, and not too sweet. It falls apart and the flavor of the fat was really great. I am turned off by many cuts of meat with fat when they’re cooked – something about the meats that are sold and I run into that problem at home as well. It’s difficult to pin a good place to buy consistent meat. Anyhow, the fat was delicious. The flavors – amazing and subtle. What’s funny is that I’m not a fan of pork unless it is bacon or pernil cooked by someone who knows what they’re doing.
Sisig Tacos Pig’s Ear & Snout– Once again, not a fan of pork and didn’t know what to expect but I’m Asian – we can eat a lot of effed up stuff. Heck, I’ve had haggis and picked apart the ones I liked and didn’t. Anyhow, another great surprise. This was a very subtle one but the flavors were very good. One would never know they were eating ear and snout. Yes, the texture is not creamy or like a long simmered braised cut of beef but it was still wonderful.
Pan Roasted Salmon– I’m a huge fan of salmon but picky about it too. Sometimes, salmon has a tendency to smell too salmony (in a not so good artificial way) but this was pretty damn good. The underside skin was crisped and the fish was perfectly cooked with a slight crunch on the meat itself but not burned or dry. Just a fine layer for the flavor to get stamped in. And it sat on a wonderful green curry sauce with a delicate chili warmth. Yum! Never had anything like it. I look forward to having it again.
Roasted Manila Clams– I hate bivalves. Unless it’s an oyster or scallop. Hate, hate, hate bivalves. But I LOVED these. Small tender little clams in an incredible spicy black bean sauce. Wow. I could have these all day, every day. My ONLY criticism… the clams had some grit. That’s about it. They were delicious!
Roasted corn-​King brought down some corn with him that night and roasted/​grilled them? But it was so wonderfully flavorful with the little chilis and lime and fat. Oh boy. Good cooking should be, to me, about accentuating or bringing out the flavors of a good ingredient and he certainly did. I find that if you can cook something simple and make it extraordinary then you know what you’re doing.
Halo-​Halo– Never had anything like it in my life – flavors and textures were all new except for the black bean fruity/​gummy stuff. He told me to mix it around and boy that was fun. So many different flavors… it was like having an ice creamy, gummy bear, fruity pebbles experience. The best part was when the ice cream fully melted into a cold sauce with the little bits and I just tilted back the bowl into my mouth and drank it down. Delicious!!!
You know what I regret? Not taking photos. Because I was too busy stuffing my mouth. Great decision to go. Will do it again!

Came here at 9:30 on a monday and it was pretty empty. Called ahead to ask if they had a bar to secretly check if the spot was still BYOB, and they are still — no liquor license in sight. I was greeted by the owner/​manager (?), who was also our server for the night. We brought bottle beer so he asked for a bottle opener and he came back with glasses and opened and poured our beers for us, which was a nice gesture.
The menu is basically fusion, Filipino/​thai with things like wings, sliders, and tacos among more classic dishes. I ordered Chicken Pad see ew and my boyfriend had the shrimp pad thai. We both ordered Sweet thai chili sauce on the side. The manager brought over complimentary wontons, which was great.
The Food came out and I truly enjoyed my dish, a good sized portion (not to big or too small). The dish itself was delicious but needed the sauce with it to make it taste more «thai». My boyfriend is picky when he goes out and said his pad thai was alright, but I liked it just fine.
Towards the end of the dinner things started to get strange with the manager. Perhaps it was that it was nearing closing time but he was cracking pseudo-​rude jokes. We asked for the bottle opener again and he set it on the table, I go to open my bottle and he snatched it from my hand and said «I guess your boyfriend isnt enough of a gentleman to do this for you». Not only is that directly rude to him, but also rude to me in a «damsel in distress way» — I am fully capable of opening a bottle.
Then, When I asked for a to-​go box for my noodles, laughed at me and said «really? you cant finish that?», which is a common joke, but then he proceeded to tell me how that dish shouldn’t be reheated and it could hurt his business. I really have no idea what he was getting at, but I told him I still wanted a box.
Overall, food is pretty good, it’s BYOB, service was good until a certain point. Might come back, maybe I wont.

I had the grilled mackerel, it was about a foot long with tomatoes and this soury shredded veggie, tasted like ginger, but wasn’t sure what it was. It was quite expensive for a small plate. Came here on a Monday night at about 8:30 and had the entire place to ourselves, didn’t expect it to be this quiet.
Even though we were the only ones there, the waiter took his time, he had no change and had to run back and forth to get it and didn’t even give us coins. What kind of service is that?

Let’s keep this short. Their pork belly sandwich is a winner.
Curious about other dishes? Their tapsilog’s a good effort: the tapa was beefy and not terribly dry, but their garlic fried rice wasn’t garlicky enough for my tastes. I had to remind myself there was garlic in there.
Friendly service, cards accepted.

Tapsilog had a caramelized jerky consistency, and the accompanying fried rice wasn’t too greasy or garlicky. The accompanying fried eggs and julienned daikon and carrot rounded out the plate. French fries were cooked through, also not greasy. Grilled pork belly sandwich was nicely semi-​fatty, set up with the texture profiles of a banh mi; wouldn’t mind eating one of these again.
Rounding up in good faith. Service was pleasant, dressy-​casual décor, bathroom clean although the door requires wrestling with a hook latch. I wouldn’t come back except for dinner service, since the abbreviated brunch options keep me from delicious options like balut, and sisig tacos. Plus I’d feel less guilty about scarfing down halo-​halo or warm thai chili chocolate cake later in the day.