In the first part of a brand new series, Vision’s Katy Roberts and Maddy Potts head to York’s newest chain restaurant, Wagamamas, to sample some Japanese cuisine.
Trepidation. That was my overwhelming feeling as I walked to Wagamama last week. Not because I’m particularly frightened by the restaurant – that would, after all, be ridiculous but because my dining companion is the sort who would eat raw chillies like grapes if it were socially acceptable. I’m not adverse to heat myself, but when we’re going to be sharing food I do worry rather for my intestinal tract. It turned out that I needn’t have worried, for if you’re after eye-watering heat you probably won’t find it at Wagamama. If, like me, you grew up in a small provincial town, you may well never have eaten in a Wagamama. You might be surprised then, when it’s busy, to be sat shoulder-to-shoulder with other diners on long benches, in a style that prompts school dinner flashbacks (albeit with considerably better food). On this occasion, though, we were seated in a small anteroom, on our own table, with just a handful of other customers. It’s something of a shame not to sit with a view of the kitchen, but the view over Goodramgate is pleasant, and a prime people-watching opportunity.
To the food, then: giddy with the generosity of the vouchers we’d been comped, we gorged ourselves, ordering three sides to ‘accompany’ our main courses. The chilli and garlic edamame beans are the stuff of Wagamama legend, and did live up to their hype. A slight kick from the chilli flakes is set off by the mild nuttiness of the bean; their moreishness had us picking at them long after we’d pushed our main dishes away, groaning.
Next we went for the Negima Yakatori, skewers of chicken and spring onion, drizzled with Yakatori sauce and grilled. The chicken was soft and succulent but a touch on the bland side, the sauce offering little more than a soy reduction. The undisputed triumph, though, was the Duck Gyoza, billed on the menu as “deep-fried duck dumplings served with a spicy cherry hoi sin sauce.” The duck, which is slow-cooked before being fried, is deliciously tender, while the dumpling pastry is golden and crumbly. The cherry sauce is sweet, spicy and far less cloying than its plum counterpart so often is.
The main course I chose, Yaki Soba, was a nest of noodles, chicken, shrimps and spring onion, topped with pickled ginger. It could have been hotter, but was still delicious, and the portion extremely generous. The dessert menu intrigued us more than anything else, and we felt we couldn’t possibly leave without trying the chocolate fudge cake with wasabi sauce. Sadly, the wasabi didn’t translate, and the cake itself had a strange, fibrous texture. Ending on a high, though, the coconut ice cream was divine – silky, creamy and sweet. Wagamama might be a chain restaurant, and it would almost certainly be a fallacy to suggest that it offers an authentic account of Japanese cuisine, but it does leave rivals like Pizza Express & Cafe Rouge in its dust. MP
When Vision heard York was to gain a Wagamamas, we were all pretty excited. I had only discovered the restaurant over the summer when I was taken for lunch over the course of an internship. I’ll be honest, before then, I had never even heard of it, convinced it was a ‘southern’ thing. It seems I was wrong, Wagamamas litter northern cities. My first experience was a very good one, all ordered the Chicken Katsu Curry (bar me) – it doesn’t look particularly appetizing. I chose the Chicken Raisukaree, a divine coconut and lime curry. It is safe to say my taste buds were looking foward to vising the new York branch.
When we arrived, we were seated in a rather small room at the front of the restaurant, I assume to make Wagamamas look busy to passers-by. Call me pedantic, but I would have much preferred to have been sat in the restaurant overlooking the kitchen, seated on the benches… but it could have been much worse. The view from the table out onto Goodramgate is a fine one, so there were no complaints and the room filled quickly with couples and students alike.
We ordered drinks, intrigued by the ‘Super Juice’, containing ‘Sharon Fruit’ – something I was not familiar with. The juice was fruity and thirst quenching. It was swiftly followed by a large glass of Wagamamas finest pinot grigio – which, considering it was the cheapest of the white wines on the menu, was very nice – and I am quite fussy.
Maddy and I decided to order three sides to accompany our main meals. The Edamame Beans I would recommend to anyone. Coated in chilli and salt, they were zingy and a perfect nibble. Novices with the beans, on their arrival we ate the whole thing as presented, pod and all. Following quick realisation that the pods were fairly disgusting and… hairy, we instead popped the beans out. The duck dumplings, accompanied by a plum hoisin sauce were the biggest hit of the evening. Absolutely scrumptious. The Negima Yakitori chicken skewers however were something of a disappointment, we found them distinctly lacking in flavour.
For the main course, I chose off the Specials Menu, a chicken stirfry with lemongrass and mint. I found the noodle based dish average, it was lukewarm and I much prefer food to be piping hot. I ordered extra chillies to give the dish the kick it was lacking, but it still lacked heat in both senses of the word.
For dessert, I ordered the coconut ice cream, with a passion fruit coulis and coconut flakes. Despite already having consumed mountains of food, I could have devoured several plates, it was simply delicious. As a chain restaurant, Wagamamas tops my list, Nando’s better watch out. KR