Specialties
Cafe Umami is a restaurant in the heart of Oakland's thriving Dimond District neighborhood (next to the post office; around the corner from the Dimond Library), established in 2017. We are proud to be a gathering place for our neighbors to eat, talk, and get to know each other. Come join us at our hand-made community table! Cafe Umami's menu offers meals composed of vibrant, fresh, flavorful whole foods for breakfast, lunch, and early dinner. Our Korean bibimbop-inspired bowls are nutritionally complete, composed of a grain bed, nutritious sauces, and nutrient-dense toppings--providing fiber, protein, minerals, essential vitamins, high quality fatty acids, and beneficial bacteria. We source fresh ingredients for house-made sausage, sauces, ferments, teas, and more. Our toasts feature fresh Pain au Levain from Berkeley's Acme Bread Company and we serve mochi muffins that pair perfectly with Highwire Coffee. Founder Sungsoon Park and his business partner Sang Jin Lee share a passion for foods that don't just taste and look good--they are good for you, too. Following a biotech career, Park, a PhD in Biotechnology, studied at Bauman College, Berkeley's holistic nutrition and culinary school. Lee, a faculty member of Industrial Design at California College of the Arts in San Francisco, has six years of experience as a sushi chef and a year in Korean food catering.