Wagamama
Restaurant - Japanese in Norwich
118 Chapelfield
City Centre
Norwich
Norfolk
NR2 1SU
Contact Numbers
Reviews
Family friendly and not a chip in sight
This restaurant ticks all the boxes for us wih 5 children under 10. The speed of service is always excellent, the restaurant is happy to give you tap water to drik ( thus keeping the cost down) and the childrens plates are always cleared by the end of the meal.The fact that the children's menu does not presume that children will only eat chips asnd deep gfried junk with a selection of noodle or rice based dishes
A User - 10/09/2008 | report this review
Great, Speedy Service
I only get to go here when I have a child free shopping day, due to fussy eaters under the age of 5!This is such a shame as it's really family friendly and the food arrives really quickly after ordering, which is great when you've got to get on with your shopping (or back to work).The menu is great, and different from anything else on offer in Norwich. I love the style of the restaurant and it feels very casual, and the staff are always very friendly, and happy to answer any questions.Highly recommended for a shopping or pre-theatre meal.
A User - 10/09/2008 | report this review
good chow (noodles) highbrow doodles
Getting out of bed on Saturday is already hard enough, but without comprehensive emergency assistance from the fire service, Jack Bauer and, very likely, the AA, my leaving the house with any degree of haste is less likely than Joss Stone scoring a barefoot hattrick in the FA Cup final, for Norwich. Due to the locally prescribed lunch period (thass jus' saavage ter ea' arfter 2 o'claark) this significantly reduces lunching options to the faster variety.I'm not one to dismiss the virtues of the hot sausage, but (heavens!) there's a time and a place for such vulgarity. I am therefore grateful for the noodle coming to Norwich.The Wagamama window affords the opportunity to observe the hoodie phenomenon in its natural habitat (‘See how the alpha male flirts with his harem by successively grabbing each by the crotch. One day the younger males will challenge the alpha for his authority, but for now they look on, their whooping and grunting signalling respect and admiration…')Between machine-gunned interrogations from our waitress, the semi-circular eyebrows of a nearby customer caused me much distraction. When men shave off eyebrows, (a) it's done for the craic and (b) they generally belong to other people. As she didn't look the type for such behaviour, I was left to speculate why she chose this look of perpetual astonishment. Does she choose her daily expression between ablutions and breakfast? (‘Today, Matthew, my brow is balancing dreamy sophistication and ruthless determination. Think Impressionism meets kamikaze pilot…')The noodles arrived and spoiled the conjecture. I also ordered pickles and extra chillies, a good idea and entirely pointless, respectively. I've no idea what those pickles were, other than that they weren't gherkins or silverskin onions. I have every idea what the extra chilli was, however. It was a red chilli, cut into tiny pieces. With hindsight, I should have thought this through better.The stir-fry ginger chicken in the miso soup was delicately charred, and along with everything else, very well received. The chicken chilli men also went down well. In fact, it was still going down as my plate was taken away. Her bowl still quite full, Mrs Wifey signalled displeasure at our being hounded out using her expressive (natural) eyebrows. She was allowed to finish swallowing before her bowl was also snatched.
A User - 08/09/2008 | report this review
Turning Japanese
Who'd have thought it would have caught on in little old Narrch?!The long tables with little storage tables under neath is such a clever idea.When it's busy there's a great buzz as you hear the food cooking and plates clanking in the background.The food arrival order is a little off putting at first if you're use to traditional "everyone eats together" dining ethics.The staff are friendly and look the place in their casual uniform to math the relaxed young atmosphere.There are generally good offers to grab online or from the Chappelfield magazine.
A User - 12/08/2008 | report this review
Getting it right
I don't, as a rule, like High Street chains. It's very depressing to find yourself in town after town in Britain, all with identical High Streets. It goes something like this: a New Look, WHsmith, Thomas Cook, Boots, MacDonalds, Greggs, Tesco Express on one side, and on the other: Foxtons, a local estate agents, a couple of banks and another three estate agents. And then another estate agent. It's a depressing formula. The idea of course is that diners in an unfamiliar place will find welcome familiarity in the brands that they know. But when those 'restaurants' (I use the term loosely) are serving rubbish, it just means that people are accepting mediocre as standard. Which brings me to Wagamama. Wagamama are expanding across the country, bringing an informal dining experience to High Streets everywhere. Surely it's a bad thing? Well, this is where I shuffle uneasily and say, well, no. Bring it on.Wagamama are the proof that when the product is good, the service is good, and the pricing good, you can get away with a ubiquitous presence across the country, and be welcomed. Wagamama Norwich is a case in point. When I went in, I was greeted by a waiter who asked where I'd like to sit. He asked if I had been to a Wagamama before (so he didn't have to repeat what I already knew), he offered some recommendations and left me to choose. I was then served by a friendly waitress, who was genuinally friendly and also efficient. Drinks were served by a third waiter. No one had 'ownership' of my table - if any of the staff saw that I needed to be served, they did it. It's brilliant. They all worked together, and there seemed to be a real camaraderie between theme.Although you can, in theory, order a starter, everything is served when it's ready, so you may find that you are tucking into your 'main course' first, so just tuck in when your food arrives. Servings are generous, very generous. The food is good. It tastes like real food. You can identify flavours and textures, and you come away having just had a real 'feel good' experience. I had the Chicken Chilli Men, served in a bowl piled high with chicken, courgettes, red onions, peppers, mangetout and spring onions. It has quite a kick if you're not used to chilli (I'm not!), but was a very warming, filling dish. I had a side order of gyoza, little steamed dumplings of chicken, each stuffed with Chinese chives and water chestnuts. I also shared the negima yakitori - skewers of chicken and spring onion, grilled and coated in yakitori sauce. Yum!I can't recommend Wagamama enough. It's perfect as an intoduction to great value Asian cuisine, service is with a genuine smile, and the food - you couldn't ask for better for the price.
A User - 10/12/2007 | report this review
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