Is Wagamama's better down under? (Wagamama)

Member Name: mtpatton

Product:	Wagamama
Date:	16/02/09 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap healhly food

Disadvantages: Extremely poor service

Wagamama's first UK restaurant opened in Bloomsbury in1992. At first its restaurants were limited to London and Dublin. However the outlet now boasts 50 UK restaurants. These resturants are not just limited to the UK anymore and the company has 12 resturants in Australia as well. As we are familiar to the chain we have decided to visit a couple of times. The menu given here is from the second visit we have had.

So where is Subiaco I hear you ask? Subicao is just a short train/bus ride away from the centre of Perth in Western Australia. Subiaco is a posh bit of Perth and is home to several top bars, resturants and then Wagamama's which doesn't quite in this high end market. Subiaco is also home to the Oval where the Aussie Rules football is played. If you ask me this is not a sport and is similar to fight club the film as there are just no rules, but sees the place packed to the rafters twice a week with the ground holding 40,000 spectators.

This is a chain that my girlfriend first introduced me to some time earlier whilst on a day trip to London. Since then we have eaten at a variety of Wagamama's around the country and now the world.

-----------------------The menu-----------------------------------------

The chains slogan of positive living and positive living says a lot about the company. The idea of the chain is simple to serve simple recipe ideas based on noodles. These range from soups to stir fried noodles. However to say that is all the chain does is limiting its appeal. The last time I visited I enjoyed a lovely Japanese curry with sticky rice. This was served with Chicken in a crunchy breadcrumb coating. I found this to be a very good dish and it was the first time I had tried this one despite eating at many Wagamama's in the past. This also came with a small side salad as well, which I didn't really enjoy, but the meal was so filling that I would have struggled to eat it anyway. This dish can also be served in a more healthily format with the bread crumbed chicken been replaced with grilled chicken.

My girlfriend got one of our tried and tested favourite dishes. This is a spicy coconut soup dish, which is served in a giant bowl and is filled with noodles, chicken, peppers, onions and chillies to help that spicy flavour kick in. As I have said this is one of our favourite dishes and it didn't disappoint again here.
These two main dishes were washed down with some freshly squeezed fruit juice. This is another part of the menu that we enjoy each time we visit, as this isn't simply just orange juice, but the flavours offered are a bit different to the normal. My girlfriend got a raw juice, which is a combination of Tomato, cucumber, orange, apple and carrot, which to me sounds awful, but she always enjoys this. I plumbed for a safe option of apple and lime juice, Both of which came up to the usual high standards.

We also went for a Prawns in a light breadcrumb batter, which we normally enjoy, however on this occasion they left a sour taste in the mouth. This is a starter size portion, but isn't called a started because the food is brought out in any order when it is ready. This was sadly not up to its usual standards as we both thought the prawns were overcooked, a point we highlighted to the staff but met a response of that's how we do them over here. However all this cost $40 AUD and is excellent value for money. The chain also offers a range of desserts that I have never had yet, not because I don't like the sound of them but I am always to full, by that point, to enjoy them.

However the menu in general is the same as the UK. but salmon is replaced with Barramundi and small changes like that. Prices are generally about double of the UK, but work out to be a bit cheaper with the exchange rate.

Is it the same? Pretty much yes it is

------------------The atmosphere-----------------------------
The atmosphere of these restaurants is always loud to say the least. The eating arrangements are not separated by tables but this is separated into rows where people eat. In each row the table surface is a singular surface that has 10 people sat either side of it when full. This means that you could be tightly packed next to relative strangers. This of course can increase the eating experience, as the buzz in the restaurant is normally incredible. However this can limit the chains appeal. This is fine for a lunchtime feed, but however it is ruling out a romantic meal for two or a business meeting.

This is my understanding of the restaurant in the UK, however both times I have visited this one the buzz is missing. This is quite a big restaurant and the staff simply place all of the customers out over the area instead of grouping them together.

Is it the same? the layout is the same, but the atmosphere isnt.

-----------------The service------------------------------------------- ------

This is an area that badly needs improving. The service on both occasions of our visit has been slow to say the least. Normally each server gets allocated an area of the restaurant, ie server A takes row A and so on. However on both occasions we have only seen two servers in the restaurant. We were shown to a table promptly, however we were then given an age to select our drinks. The ordering process is simple and the server writes down on the paper placemat the order so everyone can see who's is having what.

A good thing is that when you are seated the server asks if you have ever eaten at Wagamama's before. I personally find this useful as I can remember the first time I ate there and I needed a bit of an explanation of the process.

Is it the same? The process is, but the service is better in the UK

--------------------So which is better, the UK or Oz?-------------------------

Personally I have found customer service to be of an amazingly high standard in the Australia, but I was let down by Wagamama's. The service was slow, we didn't feel like the staff wanted us to be there on either occasion.
The food was also not as nice as the UK chain. However this might be that the delivery was staggered a lot more then how it is done in the UK so it may just be that things are done differently over here.
At the end of the day the food is freshly prepared, tastes great, is quick and allows a couple to eat for just over 40AUD. It really is a bit of competition for those fast food chains that don't really offer healthy alternatives like this.
Thanks for reading and I hope you to enjoy a Wagamama's near you one day to
Mark

Please note £1 = $2.2 AUD

Summary: A Good chain in the UK, but this one left a bad tatse in the mouth