Wagamama Leeds Review
Wagamama
Leeds
Reviewed by Sean Dodson
It is hard to believe that the restaurant chain Wagamama is now 20 years old. When the first branch opened in Streatham Street in central London in 1992, it was quite the place for young things to enjoy affordable modern food in a stylishly minimal setting. Now that generation has grown up, and with kids in tow, can the old chain’s recipe of pan-Asian food in the style of a Japanese ramen bar still cut the wasabi?
To test this proposition we took our two-year-old daughter to the Leeds branch, situated in an old bank building on the edge of the financial district. Like Wagamama’s elsewhere, the Leeds branch is functional without feeling austere, modern without seeming clinical, smart but not cold.
So how does it measure up for kids? The open benches of Wagamama are very suitable for children who have space to explore and be comfortable without being trussed up by a high chair (although the chain does offer a highly interesting version that literally bolts on to the table itself). There’s also plenty to keep little minds occupied. As soon as we sat down, the staff brought along a cardboard carton of coloured crayons and some cool colouring sheets, featuring a character called Hoshi designed by Rachel Ortis, head designer of Okido, a stylish art and science magazine for kids.
The new children’s menu, also starring Hoshi, was excellent, a rich mix of mini bowls of noodles and fried fish. We opted for Yaki Soba (£3.75), a healthy bowl of soba noodles with tofu, egg, sweetcorn, mangetout and peppers. She made a mess, of course, but the wooden tables and paper place mats make the inevitable chaos a little less guilt-inducing, even when she spilt her glass of milk all across Hoshi.
The staff swiftly brought more colouring sheets and a set of wooden practice chopsticks, which our daughter used quite instinctively, before resorting to her hands. Meanwhile, back in the adult seats we had enjoyed starters of prawn kushiyaki (£5.95), served skewered in the style of a lollipop; and then a classic plate of gyoza (£5.25), steamed dumplings filled with chicken and vegetables. The dumplings were great, fried delicately on one side, although the inclusion of so much garlic made them more like Korean mandu (we did say pan-Asian didn’t we?) than their Japanese counterparts.
For mains we enjoyed an amai udon (£8.20), fried udon noodles in a sweet tamarind sauce with prawns, egg, tofu, beansprouts, red onions and garnished with lime. The menu had listed leeks and peanuts too, but one nice thing about Wagamama is that dishes are cooked from scratch and so we left them out. My dish of yasai pad-thai – a new addition to the Wagamama stable that was recently named as the world’s fifth most delicious food in a poll by CNN – is a humble dish of egg-fried rice noodles and fried tofu, again in a tamarind sauce, but enhanced by the following: beansprouts, leeks, Chinese chives, spring onions, garlic, ginger, mint, chillies, coriander cress, fried shallots, peanuts and lime. Try cooking all that at home. The dish was a treat. The sourness of the limes well balanced with the calmness of the coriander and the peanuts adding a delightful crunch. A stunning combination of simple ingredients.
For drinks, we grown-ups enjoyed thick smoothies: apple, mint, celery and lime and “orange bang bang”, a combination of OJ and mixed berries (large glasses £4.35 each) were as tasty as they were healthy (practically your five-a-day in a glass). Such healthy living made way for a little decadence and we were tempted by the sweet menu. The apple and sweet ginger deep fried gyoza (£3.45) was perhaps a little dry for our tastes, but the three generous scoops of coconut ice cream topped with passion fruit sauce and flakes of coconut (£3.45) was so good, the whole family wanted some. Our daughter even put down her natural fruit lollipop (£1.75) to finish it off.
We stepped out into the early evening a happy lot and wondered how often our daughter would be coming to Wagamama in 20 years hence.
For more information visit www.wagamama.com
About Wagamama
Wagamama is a japanese-inspired restaurant combining fresh and nutritious food with friendly service and value for money. with the opening of its first restaurant in london’s bloomsbury in 1992 wagamama unleashed a new dining experience in the uk
Today Wagamama has restaurants in 16 countries, including over 81 restaurants in the uk, and has evolved as a brand to include a retail range, launched an iphone app and has introduced a new concept ‘the wagamama lounge’- a unique dining experience for festival-goers
www.wagamama.com
www.facebook.com/wagamama
About Okido
Okido is an independent magazine for children aged 2-7 years-old, designed to fire up their imagination and develop their understanding of art and science. okido introduces readers to characters like messy monster, yoga monkey and squirrel boy, as well as an array of games and cooking ideas which all help to explain the fun of science and art. the magazine engages parents and children to read together. okido magazine is a non-profit organization and contains no corporate adverts
Okido is published quarterly from a studio in south london
Okido’sstockists include: whsmith, foyles, daunts, magma, tate modern, design museum, saatchi gallery, dulwich picture gallery, tatty devine and many more. okido is available by subscription and has a growing readership throughout the uk and internationally