5 thoughts to “Uma”

  1. We go to Uma regularly now, or as we have come to call it “Quiet Thai.” Even on Valentines Day, after being told there would be at least a 45 min. wait at Thaiku, we were one of only two groups over at Quiet Thai, a mere four min. walk away. Because Quiet Thai appears not to charge for rice and only charges $6.99 for most noodle entrees and $7.99 for curries, we walk away with a tab not much higher than if we'd gone out for pho. The fellow that does all the serving, Tommy, is thoughtful, friendly, and remembers faces. My favorite dish from last night was their panaeng curry, which was subtly dry and gingery, and I always love their more unusual wide noodle dishes. While it is kind of fun to be one of the few people that seems to yet know about Uma, I worry about their longevity if they continue to be appropriately known to us as “Quiet Thai.” !Viva Quiet Thai!

  2. We really enjoyed Uma thai after seeing the wait for Monkey Brains (Bridge? We always call it brains) was 4 couples deep.

    We would definitely go back to Uma!

  3. We went to Uma last night, after walking by Plaka, which we will visit in the future, and the ambiance levels were quite distinct. Plaka's windows were open, and the conversations spilled out to where we were standing. Not bad, but we were looking for something more subdued. Uma was nice and quiet, the staff was attentive and friendly, and our dishes were, well, delicious! The Phad Thai had something sweet going for it, not overpowering–I want my sweetness at dessert–but just enough to go, “hmm”. Very nice. And did I mention quiet? Ah, I may be getting older(OK, I am, aren't we all?), but it was nice to just sit and converse with my lovely life date.
    Check it out.

  4. THE most amazing Thai in Ballard, period!!

    If I didn't love this place (and Phuket) so much, I'd keep it to myself letting the rest of Ballard play 'Sex in the City' and file into Thaiku on weekend nights to wait on seating, pay for underpoured cocktails, and eat over-priced mediocre thai food. Wait…they'll do that anyway….so….

    The prices here are phenomenal, the food is perfect (including the Panang) and there's never any wait. Unfortunately, the size of this place means that if people do start to catch on, the wait will soon follow as it only seats about 2 dozen.

    I'm vegan and my needs are always met flawlessly with a smile. I can't tell you how many times I've been told at Thaiku that the fish sauce can't be removed, the Pad Kee Mao had to be returned due to egg content, and have had to define what “neat” meant when ordering a whiskey. But, alas…never again!!

    10 stars for Uma!!

  5. tried to place an order for delivery (the “to-go” menu says free delivery in Ballard). I was told that they did not deliver. When I mentioned it was on the to-go menu, he told me that there were only 2 people working and had no one to do delivery. I asked when they did do delivery, he didn't really have an answer for me and said he would have to talk to the owner.
    Here's where my problem is: When I asked if I could speak to the owner, he begged me not to do that because he would get in trouble for not doing the delivery! I continued to talk to him (he said he was the manager) and tried to explain that I do not want to get him in trouble, but if the owner is going to offer delivery she needs to have the appropriate amount of staff. He offered to go ahead and deliver to me (I thanked him, but declined as they were short staffed). He agreed with what I was saying, but stated that he knows how the owner thinks and she would just yell at him for not making the delivery.
    This is completely absurd to me! How can you offer delivery, not staff enough people to do it and then be upset at your staff for not making the delivery? (Keep in mind that this would have left the restaurant with only the cook there)
    I don't want this man to get in any trouble so I will not try to contact the owner (not that I could reach her anyway – she stops in at different times daily), however, I'm not sure I want to give my money to a business who treats their employees this way.

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