when dining in the presence of not one, but TWO yelp Elite '10, do you:
a) carefully observe their jaw movements with their every bite, and imitate them as such
b) stand no more than 10 inches away, with napkin in hand, ready to dab at any sign of stray food
c) answer all their requests with "as you wish, your Eliteness"
d) pray that when you write a review of the place, that you might meet their kind approval-- or else be banished into a Yelp purgatory, thereby resigning yourself to a mundane life, writing for urbanspoon
just to be safe, i'd shoot for all of the above. and so, with, napkin in hand, i had the extreme pleasure of having the distinguished company of renowned Yelpers Rachael N. and Ferdinand H. among the party this evening, as we ventured forth into Chagrin Falls.
Umami wins points for decor, ambience, and creativity; their dishes are probably best described as asian fusion. chicken and pork dishes are on the menu as much as fish, which was a bit of a surprise.
the entrees are broken down into small and large plates. you'll definitely need at least one of each in order to not leave hungry. the dishes themselves seemed pretty hit or miss. those in my group who ordered the pork small plate dish seemed fairly happy. i had the special-- a sashimi grade tuna with soy glaze over brussel sprouts. it was prepared well, but not particularly memorable.
the service was attentive and pleasant. it's a fine place to hold conversation. or concentrate on imitating jaw movements.
all-in-all-- a nice place in Chagrin Falls that you'll remember more for its interior than its food.
hope this review helps!
(if not-- i'll see you on urbanspoon.)