People First

Umami opened its doors in 2021 on the Szigeti street campus of the University of Pécs (PTE), at the corner of the new theoretical block. The fast-food restaurant is not only popular among university citizens, but the people of Pécs also like it very much. Their selection is varied, and they also offer choices for guests with different dietary needs and food intolerances. Their social responsibility is noteworthy: after daily operations and events, they deliver the remaining food that is still suitable for consumption to local organisations and institutions providing assistance.

Great emphasis is placed on accessibility around the university, so there are no obstacles to reaching Umami either. The restaurant/café itself can also be used well accessibly, so let us see how we experienced it:

The restaurant is most easily approached from Szigeti street. It is easy to move on foot and by wheelchair across the beautifully landscaped square in front of the university, but there is no tactile guiding path. The main entrance can be approached by wheelchair from two directions, and a comfortable, wide ramp leads to it from the street side. Unfortunately, the entrance doors are difficult to open, so wheelchair users may need assistance to pass through.
Umami can also be approached from the higher levels of the Grastyán Endre Educational and Research Centre (“new theoretical block”), inside the building. To do this, you have to take the lift down to level -1. This route also requires passing through doors that are difficult to open. There is no guiding path on this level of the building, raised, round tactile markings have been placed at the top and bottom of the stairs.

The interior of the restaurant is spacious, with a wide circulation area in the middle, so it can be navigated by wheelchair, and most of the tables can be easily approached. The cash desk is at an appropriate height, but assistance may be needed to collect the food and to bring the food to the table. Due to the self-service system, reaching the products on the higher shelves and in the refrigerators may also be difficult. The menu can be viewed on the LCD display above the counter and on the restaurant's website.

The cosy café area has a narrower circulation space, and the counter is more difficult to use from a wheelchair. The tables closer to the door, however, can be comfortably accessed.

The restaurant has an accessible toilet, which is suitably designed for wheelchair use: grab rails, an emergency alarm system and a fold-down changing table are also available. However, when we visited, the room was partly used as a storage area. The objects stored there made manoeuvring more difficult, and one of the emergency alarm buttons was covered by a shelf. We hope that, following our request, the room will be tidied up so that it can be used without obstacles by everyone who needs it.

The pleasant outdoor seating area, covered with shade sails, can be easily navigated by wheelchair, and several tables can also be comfortably reached.

There is no induction loop, Braille menu or drinks menu available, and there is no tactile guiding path in the immediate vicinity of the restaurant. The lighting is pleasant, but it may be insufficient for people with low vision. For guests with sensory sensitivities: at the time of our assessment, outside peak hours, the noise level and the volume of the music were acceptable.

Website:
The Umami website is easy to use and easy to overview as a user with a mobility impairment, and finding the information sought does not require many clicks. The current menu, the café selection, opening hours and contact details are available on it, among other things. The homepage and the main menu items can be viewed with a screen reader. However, several pieces of content have been placed as images without appropriate text descriptions, which means that, for example, the weekly menu and the café drinks menu are not accessible to users with visual impairments.

Getting there:
By bus, the "Egyetemváros-Fogászati Klinika" stop can be reached from the city centre from the Árkád Shopping Centre stop in approximately 10–15 minutes, from where Umami is a further approximately 5-minute walk.
The nearby bus stops, pavements and the pedestrian crossing are designed to be accessible. A tactile guiding path leads to the zebra crossing from both directions, and at the bus stop, tactile paving also indicates the location of the front door. The digital passenger information board at the stop towards Uránváros can be made audible by pressing a button, while the audible signal at the pedestrian crossing can be activated with a separate device.

By car, you have to turn off Szigeti street at the large campus of the PTE medical school. Umami is located within the PTE premises, so when arriving by car, it is worth taking into account that access to the campus car parks may require authorisation. Accessible parking spaces are located approximately 50 metres from the restaurant entrance. Outside the PTE, the most convenient parking option is the parking lane on the southern side of Szigeti Road, between Kürt Street and Szántó Kovács János Street.