Wagamama

We just went in for a fresh fruit drink and an edamame, first the server told us if you wanna drink, go to a bar! And then another server told us again the voucher we have is for a meal (which we didn’t even ask them to redeem the voucher). It was a poor customer service experience.

Not a fan!
#1 The atmosphere made it feel like I was in a prison cafeteria. Down in a basement with white cement walls and community seating.
#2 I am a huge fan of pork goyzas. I get them any time they are available on a menu. So… Wagamama had them on the menu, so they were ordered! THESE ARE NOT PORK GOYZAS. Should be called wet cat food dumplings. I took one bite and spit it back into my napkin.

Not the best of any individual cuisine but reliably tasty
We went here as an extended family of seven after a visit to the British Museum. It was not the best raman (or udon or …) I’ve ever tasted but all the dishes were reliably tasty and Wagamama brings all these different cuisines together in one conveniently located restaurant. An exception was the steamed bun which WAS one of the best I’ve eaten.
The restaurant can be difficult to find and is in the basement — so don’t be put off by the ‘closed’ look of the street level windows if you are coming for dinner. Service is relaxed but attentive.

A long time ago, Wagamama was not a chain or a well-​known phenomenon, and when I was working and living in Amsterdam just after the turn of the millennium, it was my go-​to spot for a quick bite of good (though not great) Japanese noodles. It felt edgy and hip back then, and I’d go out of my way to eat there when I was passing through town.
Now Wagamama is WAGAMAMA®, and as with all chains, when it blows up the quality is going to decline a bit. But fifteen-​odd years after I first became a fan of their food, I can’t say it’s that different, at least in the handful of times I’ve eaten at the location here in Bloomsbury. It’s about the same as I remember it from way back when. And that means, as it used to, good (though not great) noodle dishes for a fairly reasonable (though not especially cheap) price in a cool (though no longer especially novel) setting.
This location has the unusual distinction of being underground, and while that is something others apparently dislike, I like it a lot. The reason: It keeps this Wagamama a bit off the radar, so that it’s rarely crowded (the several times I’ve been recently it’s been a ghost town, even at peak lunchtime). So yeah. I still dig Wagamama after all these years.

There are many Wagamama’s around London, but I believe this is the first location that opened in 1992. We went to a few on a recent honeymoon trip. I am not always a huge fan of going to chain’s but its fun to try popular ones in other countries. I think this one is a good choice for a solid price and healthy meal. We enjoyed the yaki soba and the terriyaki chicken donburi. Food prices seemed a bit more expensive to me than what I was used to in the US, but Wagamama has to be considered on the average or cheaper side for London, which is an expensive city!

I’m a fan of Wagamama. It’s uniform in its quality and presentation because that stuff is important in a chain restaurant which really rocks my boat. It was a good choice for an early quick dinner close to where I had just finished work before I had to head out for the evening. I felt like a secret agent trying to find this branch though. It’s behind an Oxfam bookshop just down the road from the British Museum. It’s also in the basement. So that was um… nice. I don’t care about it being in the basement really but it was rather difficult to track down so do beware of that.
I’m not a huge ramen fan so I don’t go to Wagamama too often but I’m very partial to their prawn kare lomen and free green tea :) This time around I decided to take the plunge and finally give their chicken katsu a try.
Service was fast and efficient. It was quiet when I arrived and only two other parties were there. It was only about 5pm so I guess we were all ordering off the early bird menu. My katsu arrived in under 5 minutes, steaming hot and beautifully presented. The two pieces of chicken were very crisp and tasted great, the rice was well cooked (I’m a rice snob so it’s a good thing they get it right) and there was plenty of it. There was a side salad which I was grateful for since I can’t stand meals that don’t include some sort of rabbit food. The one criticism I have is that the katsu sauce tasted quite artificial. I can’t describe it but if you’ve ever cooked with those golden curry cubes or had a curry pot noodle, then you probably know what I’m talking about.
Oh well, I won’t complain too much. Dinner cost me just under a tenner, the tea was free and I was in and out in under 20 minutes. Just the remedy for a busy day when the only option for dinner seemed to be Pret.

The underground set-​up of this place is pretty interesting; it is a bit canteen-​like: long tables with chairs set up on either side in a large room. The kitchen has a long open window through which the wait-​staff and kitchen staff are visible pretty much the entire time.
The menu has a good selection of entrees, appetizers, drinks and desserts, centering on mostly Asian-​fusion things. I have come here a couple times, and have been underwhelmed each time. I do realize that Wagamama is a chain restaurant, and for that, I can’t expect stellar food.
However, each noodle dish that I’ve ordered (especially if they are soup noodles) has been lackluster. I would recommend against any noodles in broth, as the noodles will tend to be soggy and tend towards being on the overcooked side. The stir-​fried noodles will be a bit better, and also a little more flavourful – it is difficult to get a soup noodle dish to be flavourful without the spices getting lost and overwhelmed in all the broth.
Appetizers such as the gyoza look a bit small and sad on the plates – as if they have been heated up after being frozen for an awfully long time.
The saving grace of this restaurant is the desserts: I have no way to tell if the desserts have also been frozen, but they are usually delicious and presented in a charming way.
Our server was pleasant and I have no complaints about the service of this restaurant. As an Asian person, I am reluctant to call this Asian food or even Asian fusion food. There are better choices around.

I can’t really fault it.
After nine hours of walking around, we left the British Museum with our stomachs rumbling and decided to keep an eye out for some food. This was the first place we spotted thanks to a detour down a side street.
Wagamama always been an old favourite of mine from when I lived in Canterbury and used it as my local takeaway joint, and this one had a really nice secluded feel to it. A discreet sign placed outside a quiet street and a nondescript door with a small sign on the wall. Perfect.
We entered and went down the stairs into the basement, where we were greeted by a really nice cheerful guy and shown to our seats. Drinks were prompt and after leaving us to it for five minutes while we decided, we ordered starters of duck gyoza, tori kara age and mains of chicken teriyaki don buri. Nom.
As anyone who is familar with Wagamama will know, they bring your food out whenever it’s cooked and the last few times I’ve eaten in, I’ve usually had my main first followed by starters, which feels a bit weird. This one got it the right way round though, whether by fluke or design, and I love them for it. The meal felt organised, the service was quick and the portions were HUGE.
It also has free Wifi so we got the chance to give our mobile internet a rest and plan the rest of our evening after with little complaint from the staff at how long we were taking. Like I said, I really can’t fault it. One of the best Wagamamas I’ve been to.

I’ve been familiar with Wagama since day one. The food concept. The minimal design aesthetic. I always got it.
Having not been in quite a long time, decided to give it a go again.
Ordered three entrees. The Pad Thai was inedible. The other two dishes consisted of a inverted bowls of old rice surrounded by small diced vegetables and minuscule chunks of chicken swimming in a moat of goop.
When it comes to the below ground restaurant design, let’s be honest, the king has no clothes. This is not minimal design, its a large bathroom with a kitchen in it.
Wagama…you were once great.

Wagamama. Hard to say, easy to eat at.
First off, really nice underground set up. I heard this is one of the more intimate of all Wagamamas due to its semi-​secluded location. I was very excited to get the chicken teriyaki which I heard great things about.
The free wifi was a life safer. I always need my wifi and the signal was great! Loved it.
The prices might seem moderate-​high at first, but if you consider the large portions, you’re winning here. The chicken teriyaki REALLY hit the spot. All of the spots. I felt like a dalmatian.
I added a picture because you need to see its unique presentation. Incredible chicken on top of white rice with a delicious sauce and great thinly cut carrots. I had to get extra rice and sauce because I loved it so much.
It all came out to 11 pounds which for the amount of food I got, I was happy with.
We had one or two service problems, they forgot an order of rice we had asked them for and we weren’t getting replenished with our water fast enough, but they were overworking the two waitresses on staff.
I kept thinking how great the place would be to have a birthday party at or bring an enormous group. There is a lot of space in bench-​type seating.
The food won me so good.

This place is awesome. Free wifi! Great food! Helpful staff!

Communal tables and benches housed in the basement-​level floor of a rather non-​descript business building make up Wagamama Bloomsbury. The resto is clean and well-​presented. –the service is quick and fairly painless.
The appetizer rib-​plate (around £6) is small, but succulent, and full of flavour.
The mains were around 12 to 13 pounds. –ample and tasty enough (just add chili oil and you’re good to go), but not fantastic.
If one wants reliably decent grub, then Waga is the joint.

C’est incontestable LA chaine de resto asiatique où il faut se rendre quand on est à Londres… C’est un peu the place to be lorsqu’on veut déguster japonais ou thaï…
Ce qui est cool c’est qu’il y en a partout dans la ville, dans tous les quartiers. Moi j’ai testé seuleument celui de Bloomsburry, un samedi soir assez tard. Le resto venait d’ouvrir donc pas grand monde à l’intérieur.
Le resto est spacieux, moderne, grandes tables en bois façon cantine asiatique, des tableaux aux murs …
La cuisine est délicieuse et très très gouteuse, un mélange de saveurs comme je n’avais jamais rarement mangé…
Vous avez le choix entre des plats à base de nouilles ou de riz et dans chaque plat, il y a au moins 10 aliments.
Je vous avoue avoir choisi un peu au pif mon plat car lire une carte de resto jap en anglais, croyez moi c’est TRES dur !
Bref, je vous conseille vraiment cet endroit lors de vos passages à Londres!

This is my favorite Wagamama! The reason why, is that it’s so tucked away, you either know where it is or you don’t.
I used to work 3 mins away and spent all my lunchtimes here. Although it does get busy, it doesn’t get as busy as others.
While at this visit I had the Soba, I felt that it wasn’t as good as other Soba’s that I have had at other Wagamama’s so that was a bit disappointing. The vegetables were still fresh, but it tasted really bland :(
The only gripe I still have about Wagamama is that it is SO loud!

The first of a chain in London
Brilliant food & wonderful staff

I used to come here weekly, but that was 15 years ago. Now I work across the road and hardly go there. What’s changed? Nothing really, but 15 years ago there were no other branches and it was cheap. Now it’s not so cheap and there are plenty of other branches, most of which aren’t in a basement with no windows!
Food, service and layout are typical Wagamama.

A very modern and different type of fusion I haven’t seen in a while. I’ve had thai fusion and chinese fusion but japanese was pretty interesting too. I ordered some kind of sweet potato katsu with curry and rice. I loved it! It was quite filling because of all the carbs of course but I enjoyed the curry as it was sweet and spicy at the perfect amount.
I only ate half of my plate and when the waiter came I asked him twice to pack it togo. He was only half listening and ended up throwing away my food! I was disappointed. I notice that this is prevalent in British culture and their restaurants. It’s like frowned upon! What’s the big deal! I don’t usually like to compare American culture to British because I am open to new ways and accepting but there’s nothing wrong with taking your left overs togo, especially if there’s a huge portion of it left!

Though I have never before patronized this location of Wagamama, the host took one look at me and said, «You’ve been here before?» I nodded, appreciative of her recognition.
I wanted the chili squid but knowing the largess of the portion I went for the more dining-​alone-​appropriate gyoza. If we dine at Wagamama together, we will be getting the chili squid. Just sayin’.
I also ordered the chili chicken ramen minus beansprouts. So, so satisfying.
Wagamama, you get me. And because my life so often feels like a scene from Lost In Translation that ended up on the cutting room floor, that means a lot.

Good food, utilitarian/​industrial atmosphere, convenient location — though it took us awhile to figure out that Googlemaps put it on the opposite (west) side of Gower when it’s really on the other (east) side.
The food would warrant a 4, but like a lot of the other reviewers at this and other locations have said, the service is just plain off. They forgot about us as soon as a large party came in, they made a different substitution than I asked for in my soup, and completely forgot our appetizer order. So, 3 it is.
I guess I wouldn’t say that I’ll be back, but that’s not really fair because I was there on vacation. If I lived in the area, I wouldn’t write it off.

Duck gyoza for the win!
Quick, filling, and flavorful.
Before I headed off to London for 3 months, a friend had recommended Wagamama to me. Its a chain, but not too big. Anyways … the seating canteen-​style with long tables with long benches. Sitting next to random people isn’t that bad, only if they smell or are messy eaters. I came here a lot of times (other locations as well), did take out a few times during long nights and/​or weekends of working. Somehow we even managed a group lunch here for my birthday (well, the day after).
The duck gyoza is really good. If you like coconut, go for the chicken kare — very tasty. The grilled asparagus is good too (yeah, healthy but still good). The ebi gyoza and edamame were yum too. The katsu was meh.
FYI, food comes as it is finished, so your entrée may come before your appetizer

Mmm… Noodles. Wagamama has an awesome selection of noodle-​based dishes and soups, as well as a great array of other Japanese-​inspired fare. It’s not exactly 100% authentic, but it is really good.
I used to go to the one in Copenhagen, and visited this one in London last summer, and yes, they’re all the same. You’ll find a fun atmosphere with long communal tables in a brightly lit space. We went on a Friday night and it was semi-​crowded, but what could we expect?
The food is good, but being that London has a profusion of other Asian-​themed/​based restaurants, it might not be the best choice for everyone since, as I said, it only seems semi-​authentic to me. The portions are really generous and the prices are very reasonable for the center of London (usually about £15 per person including drinks and tips). Service was friendly and efficient.
I wish we had this in New York… Highly recommended.