Umami - Chargrin Falls, OH (Cleveland)

Umami has been on my Cleveland bucket list for as long as I can remember. I was definitely excited to try it and everything was super delicious. I kind of expected that going to a place called Umami, since the word in and of itself means delicious, tasty, savory, all of the above!  

I started with the Goat Cheese Dumplings. I will be honest for a second. When I read dumplings I was expecting something more like Asian dumplings. But as soon as I had a bite of this deliciousness those expectations were blown out the window. It had the texture like gnocchi so it was soft and creamy, but it was made with this incredibly tasty goat cheese. It had a wonderful tangy creaminess that was balanced out by the salty and earthy miso mushroom vinaigrette. The veggies added a nice lightness and freshness overall and I ate every single bit of it because it was that good. I also had the soup special for the night, but unfortunately I can't remember what it was made with. It was pureed smoothly and I remember liking the flavor. It was fresh and not too heavy for a puree.

The Roasted Sea Scallops was definitely the star of dinner. The scallops were perfectly tender and had a great sear, as you can see. It was surrounded by this coconut eggplant chowder that made for a great dipping sauce. I took a risk ordering this because I'm usually not a fan of coconut or eggplant. I still have nightmares of my mother cooking eggplant over an open flame and it has left me scarred. However, I will keep calm and adventure on and try eggplant to see if I can turn those nightmares into sweet dreams. This definitely helped. Overall it was nicely balanced with the fresh coconut complimenting the earthy and tender eggplant throughout.

Umami is located in Chagrin Falls, which is a Cleveland suburb. It's such a beautiful and quaint little town with a great main street area that has other awesome restaurants on the bucket list. You should make your way east into Chagrin Falls and give Umami a try. Just be sure to make reservations because it is a small location with great food.