The story
Umami – La Cinquième Saveur is the work of chef Amélie Young Min Deguine, a Korean-born chef who blends her roots with a deep appreciation for French ingredients and Japanese technique. The name itself refers to the fifth taste, and the cooking lives up to that promise: precise, layered, and decidedly personal.
The restaurant is temporarily closed as it relocates to a new address (rue de l’Ancien Courrier, reopening June 2026 under the name “Umami La Dame de Seoul”). In the meantime, the Bistrot Umami continues to operate at 3 place de la Canourgue, offering a more casual experience. There you’ll find lunch service, barista drinks, and a tapas menu in the evening, all backed by a curated wine and sake cellar with over 120 references.
Amélie Young Min Deguine has been building her reputation for over a decade. She earned second prize in the professional category of the international “Cuillère d’Or” competition in 2011 and was a finalist on MasterChef Korea in Seoul in 2016. Her cooking is a personal fusion: “I marry my Korean origins, my Japanese culinary culture, and excellent products from the French terroir – my heart’s land.”
Her work has drawn the attention of the Michelin Guide, which now lists Umami among its Recommended addresses in Montpellier. The recognition is a natural fit for a kitchen that treats Korean cuisine with both respect and invention.
The restaurant side (when it reopens) will offer a full Korean dining experience. The bistrot, which remains open, is a convivial space for a quick lunch, a glass of natural wine, or a plate of Korean-inspired tapas. Either way, the cooking is driven by the same philosophy: fresh, seasonal, and rooted in the chef’s multi-cultural journey.
Whether you stop by the bistrot today or book a table at the new restaurant later this year, Umami is a place where Korean cuisine in Montpellier is taken seriously – and served with warmth.
Recognition
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History
In Montpellier, we now know where to go for a taste of the classics from the Land of the Morning Calm: rue de l’Écusson, where chef Amélie Young Min – runner-up on Master Chef Korea in 2016 – is attempting to define umami, the fifth flavor. In the luminous and elegant room with celadon green walls, the night we went, we had: a sublime tuna tartare with a yuzu-ponzu sauce, ginger purée, avocado-wasabi cream and crispy fried nori with sticky rice; a platter combining miso soup with bok choy, three banchans (grated salsify, fingerling potatoes in soy, cream of sweet potato and peanut) and an explosively flavorful beef bibimbap served in a smoking hot marble bowl, paired with some incredible homemade kimchi; plus a sweet mascarpone dessert with yuzu, plum granita and meringue. Also available à la carte: shrimp chawamushi ; an alluring sam , or slow-cooked sliced pork belly; hand-cut Aubrac steak tartare with nashi pear… But just beware, the umami blues are likely to strike after you take your final bite! FYI: Umami now boasts a takeaway shop at number 11 of the same street (from Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 2:30p and 5:30pm to 8:30pm): expect delicate salads, chic chirashis , kawaii sushi and traditional street food specialties (bibimbap, japchae, exquisite fresh kimchi sold in recycled glass containers, divine kimbap with fermented vegetables, the famous chimaek – spellbinding, freshly fried chicken, and French-Korean desserts). // M.Ra.
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