I Tried The New Teriyaki Vegan Chicken Ramen in Wagamama

Wagamama is one of the restaurants that my sister is in love with and this half-term holiday, my sister and I had a trip to Westfield Stratford where we tried this Japanese restaurant. I ended up trying the new and popular dish from Wagamama but was it worth it or was it just overrated?

What is Wagamama?

Wagamama is a British restaurant chain, serving Asian food based on Japanese cuisine.

What I Ordered And My Opinions On It:

New Teriyaki Vegan Chicken Ramen (£11.95)

I got this bowl of ramen. In terms of execution, it was as the menu suggested, but being Asian, the spice level wasn’t high enough but it was good flavour. The appearance was colourful and it is quite liquidy but they do provide different cutlery to choose from. When it comes to taste, this bowl was so different from other foods I have tried before and it had a unique authentic East Asia flavour. It was packed with flavour and this chicken was quite large in size and chewy too. I rated this a ⅘.

Yaki Udon Noodles Without Chicken (£10.95)

My sister got these noodles as her main meal. In a nutshell, this is one of her absolute favorite dishes! The chicken is Haram so ensure not to have that if you are Muslim. The noodles were thick, the prawns were very soft and tender and the spices combined together gave an overall outstanding taste. She would have loved to have a bigger portion and have more prawns. Regardless, this was still a 5/5 dish for her!

Hirata Steamed Buns Mixed Mushrooms (£6.25)

These were small and cute little buns that were like little tacos. They contained some mushrooms, and the bread was soft and white. Overall, they were a cute side to have and they did contain some mushroom flavour, but I would rate this a ⅗.

5 Gyoza Vegetable Dumplings (£5.95)

These dumplings were smaller than expected but were nicely presented. They were served with a specific sauce. The first thing I thought of when eating this was that it tasted like vegetable samosas. They have a bit of that crunchy texture and you can really taste the vegetables inside. Again, this is a great side to have and really represents Japanese cuisine so I would rate this a ⅘.

Smoked Chocolate Caramel Cake (£6.25)

Firstly, this cake came with vanilla ice-cream which was a pleasant surprise. The cake was darker in colour than I expected and I could see the caramel inside. My sister was skeptical to eat this as she dislikes caramel but overall, it just tasted like the mix of Mars Bars and brownies together, with that coldness from the ice-cream. If you are into Mars Bars/caramel, this is for you! I rate this a ⅗.

The Place:

The shop was quite large and we went at around 5:30pm on a Friday evening so it was quite dark and full with lots of people and a medium length queue. We sat in some seats in the center of the shop, which wasn’t my top choice. The lights and decor were beautiful. The music was also quite loud. Essentially if you don’t like dark restaurants with loud music, maybe Wagamama is not for you.

The Service:

The staff were quite nice, however, they were quite busy and we did have to wait some time before we received cutlery. The waiting time for the food was slightly long. My Teriyaki Vegan Chicken Ramen took around 20-25 minutes which was slightly longer than I expected but it was worth the wait. The rest of the dishes arrived at decent times.

Would I Recommend It?

Yes, I would recommend it! It is a very unique cuisine environment with some great flavours of the food and it may feel like you are in a restaurant in Japan so I would recommend this! And yes do try the new Teriyaki Vegan Chicken Ramen.

My Rating: 4/5

My Rating System:

⅕ – was below average and would not recommend even trying once

⅖ – the food was average and would not recommend trying

⅗ – the food was delicious but would recommend trying maximum once

⅘ – the food was really good and would recommend trying here

5/5 – the food was outstanding and is one of my favourites!

Order from here (not sponsored): https://www.wagamama.com/home

This was my short review or diary entry about Wagamama. These are my opinions about this place. Make sure to check out my other restaurant reviews.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!