63 Queens Road,
Clifton,
Bristol,
BS8 1QL
(0117) 922 1188
The ViewBristol Review
wagamama is the oriental restaurant concept you could categorise as an upmarket fast-food outlet. Come here for a quick meal and a catch-up.
The Venue
Walk past wagamama’s ceiling-to-floor windows and the benched seating arrangements are usually brimming with customers. It has a totally different layout to other eateries as seating is arranged in rows so you could be sat immediately next to another group of diners.
Queues often form in the evenings and as you wait to be seated there's a shelf of branded cookbooks and culinary supplies to look at on your left-hand side. Further on you find a bar stacked with drinks waiting to be delivered to tables and then the open-plan kitchen as a team of chefs carry out an efficient cooking performance.
You’re seated in a well lit and thin-looking eating area where many, many people can be seated at once – the entire reasons for the bench seating is to get more people in. Don't expect a traditional restaurant, the atmosphere is bustling and almost hectic, but it's a great way to socialise and catch-up. After all, you’re not eating a traditional roast dinner.
The restaurant always appears clean and tidy, tables are cleared immediately and the toilets are kept in a brilliant state.
You’ll find paid parking outside the restaurant that can be found halfway down the inside North section of Clifton Triangle. Sounds complicated but look out for Sainsburys and Borders book store and you'll find wagamama situated opposite.
The Food and Drink
There's an appetising range of oriental meals from soups, salads, noodles and rice dishes. Salmon ramen is a soup that arrives in a large bowl, along with chopsticks and a large wooden spoon. Other cutlery is available but you can ask the staff how to use chopsticks if you're unsure!
You’ll discover most dishes offer generous portions. The soup has a large fillet of well-cooked salmon on a deep bed of thin noodles all of which is in a light but flavoursome soup. You can season to taste with chilli and soy sauces although you would be better choosing another dish for a hot and spicy meal. The cost, at £9.75, may seem dubious for a soup but you get a worthy meal that lasts.
Chicken katsu curry comes as a fillet of chicken covered in breadcrumbs drizzled with curry sauce alongside a mound of stodgy white rice and side salad. It's a nice tasting and well presented dish but not as long lasting as the soup and priced at £8.25 you maybe left wanting more.
White chocolate cheesecake is one of the tastiest desserts on the board and worth a go because you'll find room for it! It’s priced around a fiver, the same price as a large bottle of Asahi or Tiger beer, or a starter. So a three-course stay with a drink will cost just under £25.
You should be aware food does arrive at different times and this can cause problems if a large group of you have a meal. Sometimes the meals come roughly around the same time with very short waiting times but on other occasions members of your group could be finishing before other meals have arrived.
The Last Word
wagamama is thoroughly recommended. It's serves stunning food and has a bubbly atmosphere packaged inside an intriguing space. Serving times and the cost of drinks are the only downsides.
wagamama has been reviewed by 2 users