Nice food but with drawbacks (Wagamama)

Member Name: valve90210

Product:	Wagamama
Date:	21/07/09 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious Food

Disadvantages: Pricey, food comes out randomly

My girlfriend and I are very experimental when it comes to food, we like to try all sorts of different cuisines from all around the world and are happy to try anything, after all if you don't try it just cos it's different, you might be missing out on your new favourite food!

Anyway, in the spirit of this, when we had a short break recently, we decided to try the Wagamamas restaurant as we had heard of them but had been able to get along to one as we don't have any near us at home.We both love Chinese and Thai food and thought that we would probably really enjoy the japanese/asian food offer.

We arrived at the restaurant and waited to be seated. Now, the seating in Wagamamas is not your typical tables and chairs, here there are long bench tables. This means that if the restaurant is busy, you might end up being sat right next to people you don't know. If you would not be comfortable, you might want to consider going along at a time when they are likely to be less busy! Fortunately we were sat away from others as it was fairly quiet when we went.

The menu is made up of various dishes from around Asia, largely based around noodles or sticky rice and covers a range of hot and spicy to cool and fresh and tangy so there should be something for everyone.

Our order was taken and we were asked if we had ever been to a Wagamamas before, we said we hadn't and were told the following: "As all the food is cooked fresh, some things might take longer than others so our food might come out at different times" It was said in such a way as to make it seem like this was a fun and exciting feature about eating here...

Anyway, our drinks were brought over for us and we waited for our food, first out were our side dishes, which are described on the menu as follows "these are not starters but the perfect complement to your meal" Now, these came out fairly close together but were long gone before our mains came out....so much for being side dishes...

When it came to the main courses, my girlfriends came out a good three or four minutes before mine did, so she was left not really wanting to start without me but also not wanting her food to go cold, certainly not ideal in my opinion.

The food that we got was very nice, flavoursome, well cooked and nicely presented, just as you would expect from any restuarant. We both ate the entire dish with the wooden chop sticks provided though we could have asked for forks. spookns etc if we had wanted them. We ate every last bit of the dishes and really enjoyed them

We both ordered sorbet for dessert, and I was quite amazed that they also came up one at a time despite being identical...

As I mentioned, my girlfriend and I both enjoy our food and enjoy eating out nd we did have a nice meal but I would have to say personally I think the experience could have been better.

Firstly, I can see exactly why they have gone for the bench seats, it's so they can pack as many people as possible into fairly small premises and hence serve more customers than with traditional seating, however when I go out for a meal I am there with the people I went with and have no interest in being sat right next to people I don't know, I want to be able to feel relaxed and comfortable and not have to be conscious of people I don't know who will be able to hear every word I say.

Secondly, and for me most importantly, the food being freshly cooked and coming out at different times... This was explained to us as though it was an exciting feature of the restaurant and something special. It is not!!! I have eaten in far better restaurants than Wagamamas where very good quality food of all different kinds is freshly cooked to perfection and the entire tables food comes out at the same time, it is not difficult with a kitchen full of traned chefs and frankly, even in low quality chain restaurants they can manage this, so why can't Wagamamas? When I am out for meal I don't want to have to start eating while others are still waiting for their food, nor do I want to let my food go cold whilst waiting! This is an unnecessary 'feature' and is clearly just a side effect of having a kitchen filled with cooks not chefs who can work out their timings and prepare everything to be ready at the same time.

My third thought is that (unlike some of the reviews here) the food is actually quite pricey for what you get. Ok you do get a good plate full but 90% of it is either rice or noodles which in the quantities the chain must buy them, will be dirt cheap.

The dish I ordered had a piece of salmon which I could have purchased in my local super market for no more that £2, so would be much cheaper wholesale, approximately 2 spring onions which would probably cost about 2 pence and about one Pak Choi, which again would be a matter of a few pence... This dish cost £10, the profit margin of this chain must be huge!!!

Also, the drinks are very pricey indeed (over £5 for one large bottle of beer!) and I would recommend just having tap water and saving some money!

Overall, yes the food was delicious, the place was clean and the menu made up of a nice wide range of foods to try and I would happily eat there again but it really has to lose marks for the points above, hence my rating.

Summary: Food coming out at different times is not a good feature!!!