Umami Mart

The sake scene in New York City is dynamic. When I lived there from 2002-2008, the sake trend was definitely in development, and as a worker-bee in Midtown Manhattan, I was fortunate enough to spend many a late-nights at Sakagura, one of NY’s famed sake bars and other Japanese watering holes in the area. There were […]

Is this the pop-up that the world has been waiting for, or what?!?!? We’re excited to announce that Danish design and ceramics makers Studio Arhoj will have its first U.S. pop-up shop inside Umami Mart! The Studio Arhoj Pop-Up will take place November 18 through December 24, just in time for the holidays. Umami Mart […]

Let me start off by saying that I think Abura-ya is the most exciting dining experience in the Bay Area in the last few years. By “exciting” I mean: doing something spectacularly new and genre-bending — all deliciously, and not one bit bank-breaking. Abura-ya specializes in Japanese fried chicken, but it is so much more […]

This event is SOLD OUT! Umami Mart + Ordinaire + Selection Massale welcomes JICCA from Tokyo! We are so happy to present a night of spectacular food, wine and FUN (!) with our friend Tori-chan of JICCA (pronounced gi-kkah), visiting Oakland from Japan. Opened in 2013 in Tokyo, JICCA is Tori-chan’s cooking playground serving exciting […]

By Anna de Castro Just when I thought February in NY could not get any dreamier (and by dreamy, I mean cold, slushy, and awaiting 6-8 more inches of snow), word came that a Bay Area favorite was making its way east, to shed a bit of light on our blustery season. Ramen Shop Oakland […]

San Francisco, we have arrived! Umami Mart opened inside The Perish Trust last Friday November 1 and we’ll be here through the holidays. This is truly a dream for us — to share our wares with the big City by the Bay! Our friends Kelly and Rod, owners of The Perish Trust, came to us with […]

We have some very exciting news: Umami Mart will be popping up in San Francisco for the holidays! Our friend Kelly Ishikawa and Rod Hipskind, owners of The Perish Trust, came to us a couple of months ago with a proposal to pop-up in the back of their shop. Yoko and I couldn’t believe the […]

We are SUPER EXCITED to host a pop-up by Ippo Ramen this First Friday 4/5. Proprietor Steve Yee will be here starting at 6pm, ready to cook up some noodles to serve you his ramen. His simple menu consists of three choices: shoyu, miso and shio (salt) broths. He makes everything except the noodles by hand, […]

Our next photo exhibition will be by the lovely and talented Aya Brackett in a show titled Home is Oakland, Home is Japan. Professionally, Aya’s food photography has been published in The New York Times, Monocle and Bon Appetit, and for this show, Aya has chosen select pieces that reflect domestic moments in California and […]

We finally made it into Tsujita for lunch during our trip down to LA over the summer. You know, when they actually serve ramen… Yoko and I had ignorantly gone there for dinner once, all excited to try their tsukemen (dipping ramen). But they don’t serve noodles at night! BAH! How silly, to call yourself […]