New fast food joint brings global flavours to Southsea's Elm Grove

Umami Street Food opened last month at 167, Elm Grove and it celebrated by giving out 1,000 free burgers.

Owner Habib Rahman said he couldn’t be happier with the reception since opening as he has seen five-star reviews flood in on its Facebook page.

The 42-year-old, from Southsea, said: ‘A lot of people are supporting us, but we have been supporting them by giving away so much free stuff.’

The restaurant, which used to be the Touareg Restaurant, has had a complete revamp and has opened with a fresh look that seeks to emulate the atmosphere of a foreign street market.

Locals rushed to take advantage of Habib’s goodwill by sampling free promotional umami burgers in a soft launch ahead of the restaurant’s official opening. Among the biggest hits were the beef and chicken burgers, washed down by signature ‘Freakshakes’.

Behind the unique Umami Street Food taste is the secret umami sauce.

Also known as the mysterious ‘fifth taste’, umami is a savoury taste, alongside the other basic tastes of sweet, sour, salty and bitter.

However, Habib won’t be giving his recipe away any time soon.

He said: ‘You can make a chicken burger, but if you want an umami chicken burger, you need our sauce.’

Habib, who used to own an Indian restaurant in Emsworth, is passionate about flavours from all over the world, including Japanese and Indian.

He said: ‘Everything has got our own twist on it.’

Habib added that he was hopeful about Umami Street Food’s future, revealing an interest in expansion into Fareham.

For more, search ‘Umami Street Food’ on Facebook or go to umamistreetfood.com.