wagamama ealing — Restaurant in London

Where to start?

I was recently on holiday in London and, after a nice afternoon at Kew Gardens, I decided to finally try Wagamama. Especially given my friend who lives in the UK swears by it. Big mistake. I chose the Ealing Broadway outlet which was on my route home hoping for a nice close of my day but what I got instead was an absolute horror show.

Everything seemed fine until I was 3/4 through my meal. I decided to go for a large piece of lettuce but then paused to unwrap it. To my horror, I found a huge insect nestled inside. Yes, an insect. In my food.

When I called the waiter over, he passed the buck to the manager, who took a leisurely 15 minutes to emerge, only to offer a smiley apology and waste another 30 minutes of my time under the pretense of filling out some "regulatory forms." As if that wasn’t enough, another employee showed up with a computer, took my email, muttered another weak apology, and handed me a miserable £15 voucher for my next meal.

Let me be clear: I was a tourist, exhausted after walking for hours, still reeling from the idea that I had eaten insect-infested food, and the best this so-called reputable establishment could offer was a coupon for more food.

I shrugged it off initially until I started feeling poorly and in two days when I had returned back to my home country, it degenerated to a horrible bout of food poisoning.

What really irks me about the whole thing is how apathetically the entire incident was handled. Even in my so-called third world country, incidents like this are treated more delicately and people treated with the utmost respect after being exposed to such a serious health hazard. Wagamama, a well known restaurant, should be held to a higher standard but clearly, basic hygiene and customer care are not on the menu.

At this point, I am genuinely considering returning to the UK at my own costs just to formally report this disgraceful incident. I wish I knew where to report it because I feel deeply wronged.

Long shot but to anyone reading this, think twice before dining here. Food safety is not a joke, and no amount of trendy pan-Asian fusion nonsense can make up for the risk of being served contaminated food and then being treated like an inconvenience for daring to complain about a poorly prepared meal.

Shame on you...

Appalling service. Never had anything like this and I thought I would share my thoughts.

When we arrived at the restaurant we were greeted and seated right away but ordering was definitely not as easy. We asked the person who took us to our table twice if we could order he said twice that he'll be right back 10-15 minutes apart. Then after waiting a bit more we asked the other waiter if he could take the order.

I have a mild allergy to oyster mushrooms and I saw that they were on the menu in one of the dishes so I asked if the dish that I'm ordering has any put into it. I clarified that it's not a contact allergy and it's only if I'm actually eating a larger amount of the mushroom. He said he'll go ask and he disappeared after taking both of our orders.

When my partner's food was brought out we weren't told that there would be a wait time. While he was already eating we asked one of the servers when the other plate would arrive. We were told they have to get the manager because of allergies, which I totally get.

The waiter who seated us came back a few times after to tell us it would be 2 minutes which it definitely wasn't as my boyfriend already finished his food and even after that there was no sign of mine.

In the end my food came 10 minutes after the other person had already finished eating.

Again my problem isn't with waiting, it's the fact that I went out for an anniversary dinner with my partner and we couldn't even eat together and the fact that we weren't told that it would take this long to receive the item I ordered. I would've just went for something else. If a table has issues I don't understand why the food doesn't get made at the same time. Or at least served.

Disorganized staff and quite bland tasting in terms of the yaki udon. The ramen was nice though.

First time at wagamamas and probably the last...

Exceptional Service Recovery at Wagamama

I recently dined at Wagamama and wanted to share my experience, which took quite an unexpected turn but ended on a very positive note.

Upon arriving, I faced some initial difficulties with a waiter regarding my food allergies. This made me feel alienated and uncomfortable, as I believe such concerns should be handled with greater care. To make matters worse, there were delays and issues during the meal, such as receiving my food 20 minutes after my friend had received hers, which greatly disrupted our dinner plans.

However, what sets this experience apart is the remarkable intervention of the restaurant's management. A manager stepped in and immediately turned the situation around. She took it upon herself to address our concerns directly and ensure that our evening was salvaged. Her attentive and proactive approach not only resolved the issues but also made our evening far more enjoyable than we could have anticipated.

It's essential to recognize the exceptional service recovery demonstrated by the manager at Wagamama. Her dedication to customer satisfaction truly turned a potentially disappointing evening into a memorable one. I appreciate the effort made to rectify the initial mishaps, and it's because of her that I'm inclined to give Wagamama another chance. Thank you for your commitment to ensuring a positive...