Wagamama is a concept that takes no explaining. We love their communal tables and relaxed atmosphere. We love the menu that gets all the basics right every time. Reasonable prices and great service means that we are always in the mood to visit.
We recently dropped into the Clink Street branch on the South Bank, beneath the railway arches heading towards London Bridge station. One of our favourite branches, the high curved ceilings give the room a great atmosphere. The exposed brickwork reminds you where you are, while the glass and steel frontage is a classy, modern touch.
Everything on the menu at Wagamama is perfect for fans of Asian food. It doesn’t claim to be overly authentic, many of the recipes are modern interpretations of classic dishes. Particular favourites include the ramen noodle soups and the yaki soba but we this time we sampled the yaki udon and the firecracker prawns – one of our favourites from the seasonal menu.
The yaki udon is a dish of noodles, chicken, prawns and veg fried together on a flat hotplate, delicious with a little bit of soy sauce. We love the combination of textures in this dish, soft noodles, crunchy veg and succulent meat. The firecracker prawns were hot hot hot!!! Only recommended for real lovers of spice, they’re not shy about adding chillies to this sauce. Luckily it comes with sticky rice to cool it down.
We also sampled a selection of side dishes including the chilli squid (luckily not as hot as the firecracker prawns, but still tangy on the tongue), duck gyoza dumplings and sticky barbecued pork ribs. Our favourite though is the ebi katsu, fried breaded prawns that cannot be good for you but are worth every calorie. Not all chain restaurants get it right every time, but Wagamama are better than most. They have found a simple formula that works well, and judging by the amount of people in their branches every day, there’s plenty of people that agree with us.
Various locations
www.wagamama.com