We had a fantastic time at the garden and Umami Cafe. Atmosphere is very quiet and bright with quick service. I would recommend getting a reservation as the cafe is small. The tea is delicious, we were able to get 3 refills.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Siri Anderson
Spectacular any time of year. Beautiful kept and cared for, and a space of solitude in the city.
Dana Sullivan
This was an amazing find inside the Portland Japanese Garden. They take reservations and (at least based on my experience, around 11-11:30 on a Friday) you'll basically need a reservation if you have a bigger group and/or you want to sit at a table, but there are 5-ish bar seats is available for walk-ins, which is how I was seated. IMO the bar seats are better because you can watch the staff prepare your tea and food. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly - most of them appeared to not be Japanese, but they definitely upheld the standard of Japanese hospitality.The menu features tea sets as well as drinks and sweets a la carte, and savoury chazuke and miso soup. I ordered the shiitake chazuke and the matcha & kinako mochi set. The chazuke came with a separate bowl to drink the genmaicha on its own in addition to the bowl of rice, and the tea was wonderful - very smooth and almost floral, and it worked beautifully in the chazuke dish. The dish was very umami and I was impressed that even the nori seemed high quality. It was also very salty, but the waiters were very diligent about refilling water.The matcha was perfectly smooth with a thick layer of foam - very practiced preparation! The flavour was very balanced. I was actually having second thoughts about ordering the kinako mochi and instead wishing I opted for something less "basic" as I saw some other desserts coming out, but I was ultimately happy with my choice when I tried them. They were very tender, served over a little bit of black sugar syrup and dusted heavily with nutty kinako. Not basic.My total was $29 before tip. Although the portions are small, the point of this is not to eat until you're full, but to get a taste of Japanese tea culture, and I think it was worth it for the quality of what was served.I had no idea I was going to find this teahouse when I came to the Japanese garden, but the authentic Japanese tea experience here really added something special to my visit, and if you plan on visiting the garden, this is something I highly recommend adding on!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Angelyka Cava
Maybe I'm not as classy as I need to be for this place, but the menu is very limited. I can definitely confirm that they have high quality Japanese tea, and that they have several delicious desserts that complement your beverage, as long as they are in stock. Their savory foods are definitely lacking, though they have a couple of light and authentic options. I wasn't overly impressed by the food itself, but the place, much like the rest of the garden, is wonderful. Small, but you get great service and an excellent view.
As a member of the Portland Japanese gardens the experience there is invaluable. However it has taken me some time to venture into the Umami Cafe, my mom and I were pretty disappointed by the staff. For such a small place having multiple staff members having loud conversations really distracts from the tranquility that is otherwise provided in this space.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Surabhi A.
Beautiful location, amazing zen vibe. Had the best matcha tea, tea cake and miso soup here. Totally recommend for a nice solo meditation meal here or with a loved one.
Mike A.
Wow. That's the first word I said when we arrived to Washington Park in Portland, OR (I know right, how offensive to name a park Washington in Oregon!). This park has some of the largest trees I've ever seen, but the real attraction is the Japanese Garden located at the top of the hill, and upon entering the garden you can't miss Umami Cafe. It's glass windows and architectural design immediately pull your eyes into its direction and it is a must stop on your tour of the Japanese Garden. You MUST buy tickets to the garden and it's recommended that you make a reservation at Umami. I'd suggest stopping at Umami first for tea and relaxation, and then take your stroll through the garden. You will feel at ease, calm, and renewed!My wife ordered the savory option on the menu. I liked how it was an interactive food experience because she had to pour the green tea over her food. She really enjoyed it!I went with their seasonal tea - a smoky flavored tea that was aged in whiskey barrels. It paired well with their sponge cake.The teas we ordered also came with 2 additional seepings so we decided to order their brownies while we enjoyed the rest of our tea experience. Overall we had a wonderful experience at Umami Cafe and would go back to try other teas on the menu before walking through the garden!
Natalie Louise Park
One of my favorite places in Portland! Lovely scenery- the Japanese Gardens are amazing! Really good Hojicha and Matcha tea! Easy to get reservations!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jungmin
If you don't make a reservation, you will have to wait.
A beautiful, quiet, wonderful place. Everything is
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Wells L.
Overall, this place is fine but severely overhyped. There is no reason for it to be so hard to get into with reservations on weekends filling up a week in advance. It's not like this place does anything particularly unique, it's not like they do a whole tea ceremony for you or explain anything about the tea or the history of the confectionary they serve. It's just high quality tea (that you can pretty much get at any specialty tea shop) and some authentically Japanese confectionaries (that are externally sourced), served in a very clean, sleek, and modern looking setting. The view from the all glass tea house honestly wasn't even that great.All in all, while everything was high quality, this is by no means a must visit.
Kate Boyle
Very relaxing time after walking through the garden. Put our name on the list when we first walked into the garden, right when they opened since their reservations were full. Only waited an hour. Atmosphere, tea and food, and service is great!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
primavera kann
Google doesn’t said anything about make a reservation for this café so my review if for the host who doesn’t collaborated and find a table when was so many Available, she want us to wait for 30 min when was so many inside and outside tables available. Also suggest to come back another day and I am not sure if I will never back in Portland in my life but she should treat better the travelers. can’t try the tea and food so nothing to said about that. Just keep in mind call before.
Samantha J.
Been meaning to check this place out. The last time we visited the Portland Japanese Garden was back in 2020 and Umami Cafe wasn't open to the public due to local Covid restrictions. We decided to go back to the Portland Japanese Garden this past Saturday since the fall foliage was in full effect and, of course, to check this little cafe out.~ MAKE A RESERVATION ONLINE ~I highly recommend you make a reservation online at Umami Cafe ahead of time. Once you have that finalized, you'll need to purchase an entrance fee for the Portland Japanese Garden. We paid a total of $43.90 for 2 adults, or $21.95 each with the added fees. When you purchase an entrance fee, you have to choose an entry time, so make sure you give yourself at least 30 min. before your Umami Cafe reservation so you're not rushing and have a bit of time to explore before. Our reservation at Umami Cafe was at 11:00 AM on a Saturday, and we entered the Portland Japanese Garden at 10:00 AM, giving ourselves an hour to enter and wander around for a bit.~ SIT OUT ON THE PATIO & ENJOY THE GREENERY ~We went on a gloomy, fall day, so the vibes were just perfect for sipping some tea and enjoying the gardens. We were seated right away and had a choice to sit indoors versus outdoors. We chose a table on the outside patio because the weather was just too perfect.~ SIMPLISTIC & TRADITIONAL MENU ~The menu is minimal which made it easy for us to order something right away. I went with the Genmaicha & Manju tea set and my husband ordered the Matcha & Chocolate Mochi Ice Cream tea set. The platter it came with was very traditional and minimalistic. It was my first time trying the Genmaicha and I felt it to be an acquired taste, but I still enjoyed sipping it while enjoying the greenery. I definitely enjoyed the Manju that it came with. It wasn't too sweet, just perfect. My husband also enjoyed what he ordered. Although the serving size is small, it was the perfect size for a little snack break while visiting the Portland Japanese Garden.~ ATTENTIVE SERVERS, NO COMPLAINTS ~The service was great! The hostess and servers were all attentive and made sure that we got everything we needed. All in all, this was a unique and beautiful experience that's definitely worth trying once.
We had a fantastic time at the garden and Umami Cafe. Atmosphere is very quiet and bright with quick service. I would recommend getting a reservation as the cafe is small. The tea is delicious, we were able to get 3 refills.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Spectacular any time of year. Beautiful kept and cared for, and a space of solitude in the city.
This was an amazing find inside the Portland Japanese Garden. They take reservations and (at least based on my experience, around 11-11:30 on a Friday) you'll basically need a reservation if you have a bigger group and/or you want to sit at a table, but there are 5-ish bar seats is available for walk-ins, which is how I was seated. IMO the bar seats are better because you can watch the staff prepare your tea and food. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly - most of them appeared to not be Japanese, but they definitely upheld the standard of Japanese hospitality.The menu features tea sets as well as drinks and sweets a la carte, and savoury chazuke and miso soup. I ordered the shiitake chazuke and the matcha & kinako mochi set. The chazuke came with a separate bowl to drink the genmaicha on its own in addition to the bowl of rice, and the tea was wonderful - very smooth and almost floral, and it worked beautifully in the chazuke dish. The dish was very umami and I was impressed that even the nori seemed high quality. It was also very salty, but the waiters were very diligent about refilling water.The matcha was perfectly smooth with a thick layer of foam - very practiced preparation! The flavour was very balanced. I was actually having second thoughts about ordering the kinako mochi and instead wishing I opted for something less "basic" as I saw some other desserts coming out, but I was ultimately happy with my choice when I tried them. They were very tender, served over a little bit of black sugar syrup and dusted heavily with nutty kinako. Not basic.My total was $29 before tip. Although the portions are small, the point of this is not to eat until you're full, but to get a taste of Japanese tea culture, and I think it was worth it for the quality of what was served.I had no idea I was going to find this teahouse when I came to the Japanese garden, but the authentic Japanese tea experience here really added something special to my visit, and if you plan on visiting the garden, this is something I highly recommend adding on!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Maybe I'm not as classy as I need to be for this place, but the menu is very limited. I can definitely confirm that they have high quality Japanese tea, and that they have several delicious desserts that complement your beverage, as long as they are in stock. Their savory foods are definitely lacking, though they have a couple of light and authentic options. I wasn't overly impressed by the food itself, but the place, much like the rest of the garden, is wonderful. Small, but you get great service and an excellent view.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sencha & Castella Cake
Nice setting & friendly service. Experience didn’t feel very authentic though.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Chicken Teriyaki Ochazuke
As a member of the Portland Japanese gardens the experience there is invaluable. However it has taken me some time to venture into the Umami Cafe, my mom and I were pretty disappointed by the staff. For such a small place having multiple staff members having loud conversations really distracts from the tranquility that is otherwise provided in this space.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
Beautiful location, amazing zen vibe. Had the best matcha tea, tea cake and miso soup here. Totally recommend for a nice solo meditation meal here or with a loved one.
Wow. That's the first word I said when we arrived to Washington Park in Portland, OR (I know right, how offensive to name a park Washington in Oregon!). This park has some of the largest trees I've ever seen, but the real attraction is the Japanese Garden located at the top of the hill, and upon entering the garden you can't miss Umami Cafe. It's glass windows and architectural design immediately pull your eyes into its direction and it is a must stop on your tour of the Japanese Garden. You MUST buy tickets to the garden and it's recommended that you make a reservation at Umami. I'd suggest stopping at Umami first for tea and relaxation, and then take your stroll through the garden. You will feel at ease, calm, and renewed!My wife ordered the savory option on the menu. I liked how it was an interactive food experience because she had to pour the green tea over her food. She really enjoyed it!I went with their seasonal tea - a smoky flavored tea that was aged in whiskey barrels. It paired well with their sponge cake.The teas we ordered also came with 2 additional seepings so we decided to order their brownies while we enjoyed the rest of our tea experience. Overall we had a wonderful experience at Umami Cafe and would go back to try other teas on the menu before walking through the garden!
One of my favorite places in Portland! Lovely scenery- the Japanese Gardens are amazing! Really good Hojicha and Matcha tea! Easy to get reservations!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
If you don't make a reservation, you will have to wait.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
A beautiful, quiet, wonderful place. Everything is
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Overall, this place is fine but severely overhyped. There is no reason for it to be so hard to get into with reservations on weekends filling up a week in advance. It's not like this place does anything particularly unique, it's not like they do a whole tea ceremony for you or explain anything about the tea or the history of the confectionary they serve. It's just high quality tea (that you can pretty much get at any specialty tea shop) and some authentically Japanese confectionaries (that are externally sourced), served in a very clean, sleek, and modern looking setting. The view from the all glass tea house honestly wasn't even that great.All in all, while everything was high quality, this is by no means a must visit.
Very relaxing time after walking through the garden. Put our name on the list when we first walked into the garden, right when they opened since their reservations were full. Only waited an hour. Atmosphere, tea and food, and service is great!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Google doesn’t said anything about make a reservation for this café so my review if for the host who doesn’t collaborated and find a table when was so many Available, she want us to wait for 30 min when was so many inside and outside tables available. Also suggest to come back another day and I am not sure if I will never back in Portland in my life but she should treat better the travelers. can’t try the tea and food so nothing to said about that. Just keep in mind call before.
Been meaning to check this place out. The last time we visited the Portland Japanese Garden was back in 2020 and Umami Cafe wasn't open to the public due to local Covid restrictions. We decided to go back to the Portland Japanese Garden this past Saturday since the fall foliage was in full effect and, of course, to check this little cafe out.~ MAKE A RESERVATION ONLINE ~I highly recommend you make a reservation online at Umami Cafe ahead of time. Once you have that finalized, you'll need to purchase an entrance fee for the Portland Japanese Garden. We paid a total of $43.90 for 2 adults, or $21.95 each with the added fees. When you purchase an entrance fee, you have to choose an entry time, so make sure you give yourself at least 30 min. before your Umami Cafe reservation so you're not rushing and have a bit of time to explore before. Our reservation at Umami Cafe was at 11:00 AM on a Saturday, and we entered the Portland Japanese Garden at 10:00 AM, giving ourselves an hour to enter and wander around for a bit.~ SIT OUT ON THE PATIO & ENJOY THE GREENERY ~We went on a gloomy, fall day, so the vibes were just perfect for sipping some tea and enjoying the gardens. We were seated right away and had a choice to sit indoors versus outdoors. We chose a table on the outside patio because the weather was just too perfect.~ SIMPLISTIC & TRADITIONAL MENU ~The menu is minimal which made it easy for us to order something right away. I went with the Genmaicha & Manju tea set and my husband ordered the Matcha & Chocolate Mochi Ice Cream tea set. The platter it came with was very traditional and minimalistic. It was my first time trying the Genmaicha and I felt it to be an acquired taste, but I still enjoyed sipping it while enjoying the greenery. I definitely enjoyed the Manju that it came with. It wasn't too sweet, just perfect. My husband also enjoyed what he ordered. Although the serving size is small, it was the perfect size for a little snack break while visiting the Portland Japanese Garden.~ ATTENTIVE SERVERS, NO COMPLAINTS ~The service was great! The hostess and servers were all attentive and made sure that we got everything we needed. All in all, this was a unique and beautiful experience that's definitely worth trying once.