wagamama kingston upon thames — Restaurant in London

WORST SERVICE EVER. Maybe we just got unlucky, as the majority of the reviews seem positive, but my partner and I went for dinner for my birthday last night, and the service from our waiter was absolutely shocking.

We walked in and asked where to sit - he barely looked at us and gestured to a table. Didn't think anything of it as they were obviously busy and we weren't expecting much more. When he came over to take our order, I asked whether they had vegetarian ramen noodles as I couldn't see it on the menu. The waiter stabbed his finger at where it was listed on the menu and stood over me looking impatient, while I read the description to see if I wanted to order it. I genuinely felt so uncomfortable that I just ordered it even though I didn't really like the sound of it! The guy took our order, muttered something about food coming at different times and walked off. At no point during any interaction with this guy did his facial expression change from anything other than bored and deadpan, and his whole attitude made you feel like you were a huge inconvenience for him to deal with. Ok guy, we get it, you hate your job, please don't take it out on us.

My partner's food arrived (delivered by a much friendlier waiter), and our water, but no sign of my food or the juice I had ordered. My partner wanted to wait before starting as it was my birthday, but after 15 minutes or so with no sign of my food (or even my drink) I told him to start as I felt bad that his food was getting cold. I would like to note that my partner ordered the chicken katsu and I ordered ramen - genuinely don't know how noodle soup with no meat in (and udon noodles which I'm pretty sure come partially cooked anyway) can take longer to cook than chicken?!

Anyway, finally the moody waiter came back and just goes "what are you waiting for" - no apology, no smile, nothing but a sense of irritation. I said I was waiting for noodles and he just went "what noodles". By this point he was really irritating me and I wanted to scream at him "WHATEVER NOODLES YOU TOOK MY ORDER FOR??" Instead I just said vegetable ramen, and he went "oh yeah that will take a while". I also told him I was waiting for my juice, which he also said would "take a while". He then said to my partner "I wouldn't wait" - indicating for him to start his food. No apology or anything. We were both genuinely so shocked at how rude he was and how little of a ** he gave.

Eventually he came back and said there was a "problem with the juice machine" and it would still be a while. I just said forget it and asked for a glass of water. (Again, no apology...). A few minutes later I saw another girl promptly receive the same juice I had ordered, very shortly after ordering it. Riiiight.

Eventually my ramen arrived (my partner had basically finished his food) and it was nice, but marred by how annoyed I was and the fact that I couldn't eat at the same time as my partner (kinda the point of going for dinner together).

Aside from firing this guy who clearly hates Wagamamas and everyone in it, or training their staff in the most basic of interpersonal skills, I would suggest that if one dish is known to take twice as long to cook as another one, START COOKING THAT ONE FIRST, then when it's almost ready, cook the one that takes 5 minutes. Then you can deliver them at the same time. Groundbreaking, I know.

Unfortunately didn't catch this guy's name, otherwise I would mention him personally in a complaint to the company, but he was tall with blond hair and a beard, is not capable of forming any positive facial expression, and works the Saturday...

I love Wagamama but I won't be returning to this branch. My rating is for this branch ONLY as I've eaten at Wagamama many times, in various locations.

The tofu raisukaree was very, very bland, it had no fragrance, and certainly not what I've been used to at other Wagamamas, I could hardly taste the coconut and the chilli had zero flavour/spice, the rice was also hard. It was very disappointing. To top it off, while we (2ppl) were still enjoying our conversation, one of us still eating, the waiter came over and interrupted to collect my empty plate. A few mins later, he returned, my sister-in-law still had some food on her plate but had paused for a moment as we were talking, and he asked if she had finished. She hadn't but felt under pressure to give him her plate. I asked if they were short on plates why he was in such a haste to collect them, he said no, that the manager doesn't like to see empty plates on the tables, I said that this plate wasn't empty, although yes, she was almost finished, he apologies and offered to give it back but she just said no. It completely spoilt our time there, and we didn't bother to order more drinks or dessert, which we had planned on doing.

Behind us was another table with a family of 4 (inc a child) and he approached them, while they were still enjoying their meal and asked to collect an empty plate, there was another smaller plate, too, that he also reached for and the lady had told him no, that she was still using it to separate the food for the child. We observed this happening continuously at other tables. Very weird. It's not right that you would interrupt people's meals to collect plates. We had only been there 40mins from arriving, ordering, eating.

The waiter was friendly and attentive despite this (no issue there) but whatever the reason for being in a rush to collect plates, it had interfered with our experience and enjoyment so much so that we left after paying. We would not eat at this branch again, very bland food, and the interruption and pressure to collect plates spoilt our mood.

They could learn something from our local branch near Battersea Power Station. Their raisukaree is exceptional, and they certainly don't rush to clear your plates when you're enjoying your conversation and others in your group are...

I visited the Wagamama Kingston branch on 24th May 2024 with a friend, and the experience was disappointing. I ordered the Chicken Katsu, and my friend ordered noodles. My friend received her dish first, and I had to wait an additional 30 minutes for mine. When my Chicken Katsu finally arrived, it was undercooked, which is extremely concerning. Undercooked chicken can cause serious health issues, and I felt very sick from the taste of the first bite.

I asked for a replacement dish without chicken because I was worried about food poisoning. A waiter, who I believe was of Middle Eastern descent (I can tell because I am also from the Middle East), approached not in a nice manner. He claimed that the chicken was cooked using timers, implying indirectly that my complaint was unfounded? His dismissive attitude was unprofessional and unhelpful.

I was eventually served prawn noodles, but the quality was very poor. Even the Mushroom Bao I ordered as a starter was also undercooked. After returning home, I spent the rest of the night feeling extremely ill and vomiting.

This will be the last time I visit the Kingston branch. I love Wagamama and usually have great experiences, but I recommend going to the Wimbledon location instead.

Update: To the manager of Wagamama Kingston Branch, I reported this incident to Kingston Council for suspected poisoning.

The most concerning about all this, is your part of your staff being dismissive about the incident...