Wagamama

Wagagmamas is generally somewhere I go to that’s a safe bet, and ticks all the boxes.
Obviously this all depends on you liking Japanese and Asian food! But I have found there is generally something for everyone on the menu.
Since I last visited, their menu seems to have had a slight re-​haul. With additional items added to spice things up (like the beef and red onion steamed bun that I had, which was delicious!), but they’ve also kept the old favourite’s on there, like the Katsu curry and the Phad Thai (my personal fave… Thai I know, don’t hate me…) so I was pleased to find they hadn’t banished some dishes off the menu, instead just extending it, which in Wagamamas case lends to its culinary repertoire.
Slight negatives: my edamame beans were boiling hot when they arrived, and wasn’t informed to their temperature, I am used to edamame beans being cold so this was a surprise to me and I almost burnt my mouth on one! Secondly, my tofu was still a bit under cooked — now I know tofu technically doesn’t need to be ‘cooked through’ but it was just a bit too cool in the centre for my liking. Could of done with being a little hotter.
Also, last note, we had to wait for a very long time for our plates to be cleared after we finished eating. We must of sat and chatted for 20 minutes or so after we finished eating, and no one came to clear our plates until I actually asked for the bill.
Food was delicious, staff communication with customers could do with a little work.

Went here by my lonesome whilst waiting for friends to finish work, I throughly enjoyed my meal I had katsu chicken which is like heaven on a plate and a smoothie which was as smooth as your skin after you’ve used a bit of nivea. The waitress was super friendly too and the food cane quicker than the blink of an eye, thanks waggas!

Can’t fault the fast paced yet casual atmosphere. Dishes are full of flavour! I find a main course is enough here. Decent selection of drinks too.

Good place to go for a working lunch. I’ve been here a couple of times now in my limited 1 hour break from work; its just across the street and upon telling the waiting staff you have around 50 minutes they reassure you that their service is quick at lunch.
I met a friend here for a brief catch up as she had arrived into Manchester airport an hour or so ago. We were shown to a seat — and luckily weren’t squashed in next to other diners, as I know wagamamas tend to do this on their long benches. We shared a starter of Duck Gyoza served with a dipping sauce. The little parcels were tasty with a fair amount of actual duck meat inside.
If you have eaten here before you will be aware that the dishes all come at different times as soon as they have been cooked. Which is why it makes Wagamams an ideal quick-​lunch. My friend opted for the Yaki soba which was tasty and full of flavor from the ginger. I went for the Chicken katsu curry that is served with sticky rice and breaded chicken — the curry was about average but not as tasty as my friends dish!
As promised we were in and out the restaurant in less than an hour, which was all we needed!

Looking for a decent sit outside lunch venue near Deansgate, Manchester and was a tad surprised at the lack of options I fancied. Wasn’t in the mood for food at Dukes. Iberica and Thaikun didn’t have good sunshine exposure. Didn’t want any pub food. Didn’t want to walk around all day looking for a place, as was getting over-​enthusiastically peckish. Enter Wagamama, spinningfields. Great outdoor seating area for lunch, great food and reasonably priced (given its location)
Restaurant chains come in different shapes and sizes. As far as the likes of Wagamama’s, Rice and Tampopo are concerned I’m not too scathing in criticism. The same way I’m not too scathing in my criticism of Film franchises like Saw. They aren’t pretending to be anything they’re not. You know what you’re getting. At Wagamama’s, the menu isn’t gonna blow you away but you’re guaranteed to be served a decent Pad Thai or a Katsu curry. These aren’t hard dishes to make and I LOVE them. So any place that serves them at reasonable prices are fine by me.
The set up is simple, the prices are simple, the food is simple. Simple is good. I can do simple.

I’m not usually one for visiting chain restaurants and when is comes to Japanese and Chinese food especially Manchester is spoilt with so many independent choices.
I had never tried Wagamama’s before so I decided to pop by on my way home through Spinningfields and give it a go.
I was every impressed — it wasn’t too busy and we were seated at the end of a long table and the waitress came over.
We ordered a few dishes to start and then a main meal each.
The starters were very good! The chilli squid was exceptional and the lollipop prawns too. I found them to be excellent value.
My main course was teriyaki beef with sticky rice. It was okay, the beef wasn’t as tender as I’d have hoped but still it was enjoyable.
I was full by the end of the meal and it wasn’t too expensive either. If I went back I’d order an array of starters as a main meal, as these were really good.

This restaurant chain is by no means authentic Asian or Japanese food in any way. I find their food to be mediocre. They definitely don’t do Japanese food any justice. There is a lack of certain ingredients in some of their food. My noodles were over cooked and it was hard and chewy in some parts. The chickens are dry over the ramen noodles. The chefs obviously has never made Japanese food before, and the food wasn’t made with precision and love.
typical westernised Asian food, very disappointing.
On the plus side, the restaurant is nicely decorated and it is very cosy, I’ll give them that!

Love this place. I start with green tea. Then edamame beans with chilli and salt and for a main yasai Itame and a glass of carrot juice with ginger. The food and the service is consistently good. Unconditionally recommended.

Wagamama is quickly becoming a ‘go to’ place for my friend and I when we need something quick and relatively healthy. As we’re based just across from Spinningfields at work, this venue was an obvious choice for a meal before heading to Gorilla to a gig.
Inside is naturally much lighter than its Printworks counterpart, and you can get some great people watching time in.
We ordered a bottle of wine, which was a touch warm at first, but it was swiftly encased in a cold jacket which cooled it down instantly. We skipped starters and went straight for mains; after much umming and aahing, I went for the chicken katsu curry. The chicken was delicious, nice and crispy despite the lashing of curry sauce, and topped with perfectly sticky rice, making the whole dish very easy to eat with chopsticks (even for a bit of a novice, which I still am!)
Service was friendly throughout, and we were checked up on not only by our server but also by the manager of the branch, which showed they were proud of what they were doing.
Nice, relaxed experience which I’d be happy to repeat — even if it is a chain.

Went here once with my boyfriend. I was not expecting much but I was pleasantly suprised! My veggie soup was delicious too!

I popped in Wagamama with a friend one lunch time for a catch up. We arrived at 12.45pm expecting a bit of a wait but were shown straight to a table that was light and airy. We both ordered the Katsu chicken curry with a diet coke and commenced chatting.
The diet cokes took a while to arrive despite the restaurant being so quiet. We could see them sat on the bar for a while before a server brought them over.
The food was much more prompt. The Katsu chicken was lovely and crispy, the rice sticky but slightly too sticky for my liking. The sauce had a nice spice to it but had been poured over the whole thing. I would have preferred it just on my chicken or on the side so I could decide how much I wanted with my meal. We were shown where the forks were but unfortunately the chicken hadn’t really been cut into manageable sizes and the absence of a knife was obvious. We ended up sawing it up with our forks as there weren’t any knives to be had!
A real shame as the service was relatively quick where the food was concerned and the restaurant itself is much more calm compared to other restaurants in Spinningfields at this time of day.

I. LOVE. THIS. PLACE.
The food is so yummy, so decently priced and tastes fresh! Quick to serve food (but be prepared if in a group, it may not all come at the same time!), did I mention FREE green tea, smoothies to overwhelm your taste buds from all the vitamin goodness and lovely staff!
I love the pad thai and this is another place that can provide for people with a gluten intolerance — you can get rice noodles! I’m not sure how far with allergies… On my to do list!
After swimming, I love to come here and chow down on my noodles, stir fried vegetables and then rock on over to Fruurt next door for some Fro-​Yo. I suggest you try the same!

So my friend celebrates his «Clean Time Birthday» every year at Wagamama’s, and I’ve been the past 3 years.
Last week, 30 of us rocked up on a Friday night unannounced and we could all pretty much fit on one table so celebrate our friends achievement (how many places could you do that on a Friday night I ask you? Not many!) Poor poor Wagamama’s staff!
Anyway they were completely unfazed by this, and we all promptly got drinks from 3 staff who came over and took our orders– no fuss, no problems and got nothing wrong! They told us that our meals will come staggered at different times because it was cooked fresh which we completely understood. We were just happy with the prompt efficient service.
We all got our meals, and each one of us was not disappointed. I couldn’t find fault with the Chicken Katsu Curry (YUM) I ordered, and at £10 I was totally satisfied with the quality and portion size! I was eyeing up everyone else’s food (as you do. Waiting for them to offer you a bite.) which looked amazeballs.
I think per head no one paid more than £17 for a soft drink, a main and a side/​and or pudding. They offer healthy selections of alternative delicious grub for those watching their waistlines too so don’t be put off if you think it’s all heavy run-​of-​the-​mill Asian cuisine because its not! There’s no need to have a diet crisis here.
I’ve never had a disappointing experience here. I’ve not been to other Wagamama’s so I’m unable to compare, or guarantee they’re all like this, but I can vouch for this Spinningfields chain for sure! Give it a whirl if you’ve not been. If you don’t like it, I’ll eat my fist.

The food was OK, Quick to arrive but it was on the cold side after 5 minutes. I don’t really like the concept of sitting on benches next to other people who I don’t know. It was like being at school dinners again.

Far eastern cuisine served in an informal canteen style with long benches. Don’t be surprised if you find a stranger sat next to you or your meal arrives before your fellow diners! Stir frys and large bowls of soup are the order of the day here. Their best venue in Manchester, light and airy unlike Printworks!

One Wagamama is like any other, right? Wrong. This Wagamama is insanely different to the one at the Printworks. First of all, at the Printworks one you descend down a set of stairs into a basement, whereas here the walls are made of glass, allowing for some excellent Spinningfields people-​watching. This also means lots of nice natural light as opposed to the harsh windowless lighting provided by the Printworks one. Another noteworthy aspect is that the Spinningfields business district location means that it attracts a different kind of patron. Therefore it’s busier here at lunchtimes than in evenings, whereas at the Printworks it’s vice versa.
But the biggest difference at all, and this is the first time I’ve encountered this in ANY restaurant… is that they ask about dietary requirements. What I mean by that is not that you arrive, and are seated, and they invite you to write down a list of everything you’re allergic to, not at all. I had a guest once who always asked for the yaki soba, but without onions. The staff at this Wagamama always ask, without fail, and this is EVERY member of staff we’ve ever been served by: ‘Is that a personal preference or a dietary requirement?‘
Yep, that does indeed count as another difference between the Printworks one and the Spinningfields one, they’ve never mentioned dietary requirements over by the Odeon. It makes me assume that the staff at Spinningfields have customer service drilled into them to the extent that if anybody asks to omit any dish ingredient, they must ask if it’s because of an allergy. Of course we never answered yes, because he wasn’t allergic — but what would happen? Would they talk about onions in sauces and not really being able to avoid them? Or would they bend over backwards to cook a batch without onions? Who’s to know. The main thing is that they ASK. And that’s impressive.
See, I like the Spinningfields Wagamama a lot because of that extra effort, and the windows, and Spinningfields itself, but I like the Printworks Wagamama because it’s nearer to the cinema and has more of an out-​for-​the-​evening vibe to it. But which is better? There’s only one way to find out… FIGHT!!!

A favourite of me and my chums we will often log onto student beans, rustle up a 2 for 1 then head down. I still struggle to grasp wagamama’s menu, but generally speaking anything you order is all about big flavours and big portions. The latter is great news for a fat boy like me, however the first point should be well adhered to, when things are hot they are hot, when things have ginger in them you better dam well hope you like ginger. But don’t let this put you off everything is delicious.
The restaurant is set up so you sit at a long table facing across from your friends, green tea is free (that rhymes)… (not that you needed telling that) and there is lots of huge soups which can quickly fill you. My favourite is wagamama ramen basically as huge broth of tofu, chicken, noodles and every variety of green matter ever found. Prices won’t break the bank.

Been to Wagamamas several times before. This was for a unofficial Christmas do for the company I used to work for. Tried one of there new soup based noodle dishes. As usual very tasty.
Didnt have to wait that long for the table even with it being so close to Christmas. Also didnt have to wait that long for the food to arrive.
The restaurant was generally warm — especially with it being SO cold outside. Below zero! I was however underneath some either the aircon outlet or a draught but it wasnt too bad.

Wagamama is just one of those places that never lets you down.
I was out with a group of people the other night, we were off to the Opera House to see Aladdin and we had just less than an hour before we had to be there… only problem was that we were starving. One hour to eat on a Friday night?! Only one place for it!!!
The people I was with had never been to Wagamama before and I’d never been to this Spinningfields one, it’s a much nicer style than the Printworks one, it’s all glass windows so great for people watching and there is ample seating, it’s still a bit weird for first-​timers that you all sit together on benches but you get over it in after about 5 minutes.
The service was unbelievably quick and so was the food, a lot of people don’t like the fact that the food comes separately when it’s ready, they don’t wait for all dishes for one party. I actually really like it because the food is always steaming hot and not been sat on a hot plate for 20 minutes. Sure it’s a bit antisocial but it’s never a long wait for any dishes so it’s not for very long.
It’s about £6-£10 per main course so it’s cheap as chips but much tastier! There’s always a deal on too, in January it’s 2−4−1 on main meals! Bargain! The daily specials are worth a look too, the crab cakes I had the other day were amazing, I hope they end up on the proper menu because I would go back for them alone!

For the first year it was open, this particular Wagamama seemed a well kept secret amongst noodle lovers. Now it seems almost as busy as the original branch near Victoria Station. The main draw apart from the mouth-​watering food, is the big floor to ceiling windows which make the whole place seem spacious, inviting and sunny.
The dumplings, noodles and rice dishes are all consistently good but my personal tip is to try the ebi gyoza followed by chicken kare lomen. It’s divine! For those with a sweet tooth, the white chocolate and ginger cheesecake is also lip-​smackingly good.