Cheap and Cheerful! (Wagamama)

Member Name: MrsLim

Product:	Wagamama
Date:	02/06/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great food, super quick service and great price

Disadvantages: Having to share benches with the rest of the general public

When Alan Yau first opened his Wagamama chain in the UK, the British public did not know what hit them! It's vast menu of pan-asian food was innovative as it was experimental. But Yau sold his restaurant and it has successfully kept up it's presence as a major food chain in the UK.
Personally, I love eating at Wagas! It's cheap and cheerful, and unlike any other independent noodle bars dotted around London, I've never once had a waiter shoo me off the seat for his next customer, no matter how busy! So you can say, Wagas is a fast food noodle bar who just wants to grow up and be a restaurant!
Décor:
We're talking about minimal décor and long wooden benches! Can be uncomfortable after a while but one thing I do like about the seating arrangement is it's secret shelf underneath the bench for stashing away your bags and coats! Hoorah, no more dirty bags and coats! However, do be careful because you are essentially sharing a bench with potential strangers so try to keep an eye on your belongings at all time!
Food:
Love the food, especially their noodle dishes both fried and soup! Fried - these are made in the woks and has the distinctive "wok-barbeque" flavour which is usually only achieved by the Chinatown chefs. Soup - this are their famous Ramens! Massive bowls of soup, vegetables, meat and noodles, all drenched in delicious soup! Everything is super tasty, although I have found that about an hour eating Wagas, I am extremely thirsty! I suspect they put a lot of salt in their food. Oh and another thing, the food and drink comes at various times so you may end up sitting there waiting for your meal whilst your mates are slurping and chewing away on theirs!
Service:
Super quick service! A little bit disconcerting especially when it appears that the waiter has known you all his life and comes sits NEXT to you to take your order only to then write various squiggles on your paper mat! I don't know whether that's suppose to help them serve the right dishes to the right person (I've never actually caught them looking at the squiggles) or just a reason to be flamboyant and a little bit different! Either way, you get use to it!
Overall:
There is always some sort of deal going on with Wagas. Join up on their website and check out the promotions page and there's usually a buy one main dish and get another free, or get a side dish free. Good price and great food!

Summary: Great food and price but you'll have to get over your intimacy issues to dine here!