Umami Noodle Bar/Maruju Sushi

(Reviewed Aug 2016)
Another wonderful Ramen shop in Calgary is more than welcome!

Tonkatsu is by far our favourite type of Ramen broth, so of course we all ordered it and chose the Pork Belly Chasu and added a Shiyo Egg to each order.

the menu is a simple and clear menu, which we always prefer. sometimes restaurants over complicate things and try to offer too many items - essentially becoming the "Jack of all trades, Master of none" to the culinary world.

the restaurant is clean, clearly lit, with small tables for easy maneuvering to accommodate your party's needs and benches set along the perimeter walls as well as bar stool counters in the middle. I counted seating for 36 in total, but that's pretty cozy seating.

all in all, the Tonkatsu broth was quite good. my wife and son thought it was pretty amazing. I prefer another establishment's Tonkatsu over this one, but my family disagrees and says they're both pretty amazing. so suffice it to say, it was good.

the Chasu was very tasty and tender. I just wish it were thicker and that we had more of it. 3 thinly sliced pieces was all there was, but probably sufficient for the amount of soup and noodles. the Shoyu egg was done perfectly and was also quite tasty. the noodles... again, I differ from my family on this one. it was very similar to (if not exactly) a Chinese egg noodle. my wife and son loved it, however, I thought it was the wrong noodle all together for Tonkatsu.

and this is the difficult thing about Ramen. there are truly unlimited variations on this classic dish in Japan and so the diversity in our city is a welcome thing. now it just boils down to preference, because they too were cooked perfectly and brought proper balance in quantities of things to chew on and broth to slurp, as the "proper" way to eat Ramen is to slurp the noodles, inhaling air into each mouthful (while making a mess of your favourite shirt).

on another exciting note, they are planning on bringing Tsukemen Style Ramen to their summer menu! I believe this would be the first for Calgary, and quite honestly, we can't wait to return!

great job, Umami! you're a welcome addition to the Calgary Ramen Scene!

I was CRAVING ramen and decided to try something new for takeout - have eaten ramen all over the place (including across Japan), and it's a favourite comfort food of mine. My order was for the Tonkotsu Ramen with extra negi (green onion), shoyu tamago (egg marinated in soy sauce), and a housemade chilli oil sauce (that I requested on the side), plus an order of Gyoza. I especially love that there was shredded wood ear mushroom already in the dish (otherwise I would've wanted to add it), yum!

Everything was delicious, well-presented, well-packaged and totally met my craving. The house made chilli oil was unique and packed with umami flavour (the name makes sense!). I will definitely be ordering again. Also, the omakase noted on their website looks fabulous (I'm a big fan of an omakase, and it's hard to find in Calgary); so, I'll have to try that sometime soon. I would've taken photos, but I devoured everything too quickly to do so.

Food was delicious here. My favourites were the red devil roll, karaage, and the spicy miso ramen. I'm not sure if this was on the menu, but the sesame ice cream was really good too. It was perfectly balanced and not too sweet.

One of the top sushi places in the city. They have different chef specials like every week and they are delicious! Sushi here is very fresh and the rolls are a perfect balance. Would recommend this restaurant to anyone who appreciates good Japanese food.

Always the best food and service

When you want authentic sushi, COME HERE!

Food is great and staff is friendly.
Photo: Tonkatsu Original

Best sushi in Calgary hands down!

ONE OF THE BEST SUSHI OMAKASE PLACES IN CALGARY!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Tasty pork broth soups and perfectly made noodles. Just what I wanted

Amazing place to go for good quality sushi

Amazing ramen, tan tanmen is my personal favorite.

Both ramen and the roll I had was incredibly delicious! Very happy with my experience.

Absolutely the best sushi and ramen I've had in Calgary.

Great, fast service and food. Good place to eat ramen and sushi