Wagamama
(Meridian Energy Building)
Wellington Central
Wellington City 04 473 7999
Hours:
- Mon – Sun 11.30am – 11.00pm
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Facilities/Features:
- Children's Menu
- Price Range: Moderate, $15 - $25
- Seating for: 132 indoor, 24 outdoor
- Good For Children: Yes
- Takeaways: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
It’s great fun at Wagamama to place your order through an electronic handheld, which zaps it straight through to the kitchen by radio signal to be cooked immediately!
Modelled on the ramen bars which are so popular in japan, Wagamama’s menu is made up of side dishes, main meals and desserts.
Dishes will appear on your table the moment they are cooked to ensure that your food is always served fresh. It means that different dishes will be delivered at different times. However don’t wait – just tuck in as soon as it arrives, share and enjoy the Wagamama experience!
22 Reviews for Wagamama
One of Wagamama's Favourite Reviews What's This?
2
27
Ebi Gyoza – overcooked and did not seem to contain anything other than Spinach inside of them. Disappointing. Tempura style chilli fried squid – Again over cooked and disappointing. Following the starters I was then treated to a rather tasteless teriyaki salmon (over cooked again) with enough plain rice to feed a third world country with nothing but soy sauce to flavor! The most appealing thing on the plate was the Bok Choi. Beef Donburi – Veges and noodles were relatively good, however, the steak which had the texture of a ‘chuck’ steak rather than the promised sirloin ruined the dish.
Given the pricing and the staff who feel that discussing their plans for the evening in the loudest possible fashion is acceptable, I will certainly not be returning to this restaurant.
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Anyway, we ordered a round of drinks and i poroused the menu – which had a couple of appealing dishes – on paper. The service was prompt and pretty friendly. Anyway, i opted for a beef laksa, which sounded a lot better than what it was. Bland. This was a bland, watery soup, where the only flavour i could really taste was the red onions added into the mix. The strips of beef in it were cooked to the correct level, having a beautiful pink interior, but even the beef was flavourless – disappointing. Anyway, the portion size was decent, but in an unprecedented act (for me, that is), i didn’t even care to finish it – it was a boring dish that was pointless to continue consuming.
The service was friendly enough, and the wait wasn’t too bad, considering how busy the place was. I liked the location of the place itself, and the decor was tidy, if the furniture was a little uncomfortable. The place also had an open kitchen. Anyway, overall, a pretty dissapointing dining experience in my opinion – food was flavourless – i could have made a more dynamic laksa dish at home. But then again, not surprising considering it is an international chain restaurant. Next time, i’ll choose the resataurant
2
41
It has a beautiful view and the staff are really friendly. They have the baby seats that clip onto the end of the tables and they don’t mind children. They even have a children’s menu.
It can be a little noisy when it is full but is is nice, new, clean and a bit different.
Your food comes when it is ready. The waiters/ waitresses write on your place mat so they know who ordered what.
Also, if you have Radio Active 2010 card, the cardholder can receive a 15% discount on food only. (The lesser value of any multiple dishes ordered will be discounted – not valid for kids meals or take away).
I have been craving to go again.
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The day I decided to try the place out, it was raining heavily and the problem is they have polished floors so I slipped several times when trying to make my way to a table. So a suggestion is to install some mats at the entrance!
The first thing that came to mind whilst being served at this place is… Japanese Food COMMERCIALIZED. It felt very clinical and it felt like I was in a Japanese version of macdonalds for some reason. It was a really odd feeling even though the place was in a great location, very modern but the feeling and atmosphere just felt commercialized.
We had 4 waiters serving us at different times which was nice(?) yet bizarre. They wrote our menu and drinks down on these paper things that serves as a “mat” and it made me feel cheap! How dare you write things down on my paper mat – it totally takes away the reason why they are on the waterfront! Then I ordered a ramen because it was raining and cold, it came out with a gigantic wooden spoon and it was quite funny seeing other people try to drink their spoon with a BIG ladle spoon!! I refused to look so ridiculous and politely asked them to supply me with a normal metal spoon.
Apart from that one experience, I haven’t been inclined to go back. The food was average, I can get better Japanese food elsewhere with great service at similar prices. So suffice to say I won’t be returning.
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Staff were friendly and enthusiastic.
The food is perfect Wagamama standard.
A large hard surfaced open space, it could have been too noisy but the high ceiling seems to beat this so it just sounds lively. Low hung light do well to get rid of the cavernous effect that high stud could otherwise have.
Be prepared to dine ‘family style’ with shared tables – not a ‘couples’ restaurant for that reason and also expect to be in, fed and watered, and out quick smart.
Nice to have the take out option as well.
Did you eat at this restaurant? Have an opinion to share?





Food is scrumptious. The chicken dishes especially. Even the teriyaki chicken, a fairly generic meal, is given that extra something at Wagamama. The use of fresh, tangy ingredients makes all the difference.
Personally I enjoyed the informal dining experience and like the unique set-out of the restaurants (though they could do something with the roof). Staff are always very friendly.
Why not 5 stars? I had the Chicken yakitori come undercooked a couple of times (I don’t order it anymore), and the menu could be more expasnsive. I’ve been here about 4 or 5 times now and I’ve tried everything that is to my liking so I won’t be frequenting as much now.