wagamama marble arch — Restaurant in London

The low rating is more than what the management deserves. After staying in the local area for a week, I walked by the place every night and decided to go in at the end of my time in London. The servers are working their hardest to accommodate over half the restaurant, but only four are working. Normally I would understand, but the worst part of this place is that I was seated a table across the two "managers" who were conducting their "work" while having a beer. While my son and I waited for our server to collect himself, the managers did nothing but tell the server to continuously get people from the door and seat them. My son's order came and we had no cutlery, and after flagging down another server, she kindly provided some. Our drinks came when we were half way through out meal. This is likely related to only ONE bartender/drink maker in the entire place. For a lemonade and water, most would expect they would take minimum time to make. Meanwhile, during the entirety of our hour long dinner, the "managers" continued to debate what days they should take off. One stated "I'll take Tuesday to Thursday" while the other didn't mind. They had no issues with the servers brining them additional appetizers and slowing down the already overwhelmed servers. It doesn't take a degree in hospitality management to understand when you need to higher more staff, or get in and help them during PEAK HOUR on a Saturday night in London! I see this place quickly losing business if they are unable to fixe their "managers". Before departing, I asked another server if the gentlemen sitting across from us were the managers, she confirmed with a reluctant face. I said the severs have done nothing wrong, but now I know the root cause of the poor performance of the establishment. If the management doesn't care about the folks working for them to put down the beer and assist with pouring a few drinks or sitting a few folks, then I wouldn't work here. It is one thing to conduct business in the dining area in the afternoon when you have about five folks in the establishment, but not at peak hour on a Saturday when you clearly couldn't work scheduled for your employees to cover a busy evening. The only ones that are hit hard in these situations are the helpless employees, and the customers wanting some...

Family of 5 adults , best Wagamama we have been too, so clean and our waitress was amazing, dined at 3.45pm on the 02.04.25. Tea stained eggs and kimchi side dishes nice... and Katsu curry, Beef Brisket, Steak & Noodles..Chicken & Noodles great ...and who is Spoons...why have they collborated... I'm just too old if it's a current rapper or MC !

Anyway if you were the waitress with dark hair and the loveliest smile (english is your second or dual language) and you took my birthday pic, and gave us the amazing pot of green tea, to save you getting individual cups constantly...alongside other drinks...we did enjoy the positive juice and ice cold lagers..we

We thought around £25 a person was reasonable and fair for a late lunch..we would return & thank you ! Much better than The Sound after visiting Frameless ..which is really enjoyable and just around the corner...The Sound is pretty expensive for an average burger, hidden charges, rude/bored staff, and when we went there ...there was only one other couple there in a significant restaurant space.....a lonely and definitely non memorable birthday or special experience...save your money...unless you want to see an old guitar...owned by an old rock star...you could see somewhere else?

We also noticed a couple of after school pop ins for snacks around 4.30pm ... it was nice that older teens could feel safe and respected.

Do it ...go to Wagamama's.....and to be fair ....that tea stained egg for a pound...was unexpectedly...soft..umami...and delicious...and as memorable as the ' surrealist exhibits' at Frameless...sometimes it's the littlest things in life that cause a birthday...

Wagamama is one of those large, buzzing London restaurants where the kitchen seems to stretch endlessly and the menu covers far more than ramen. I went on a recommendation that they had vegetarian ramen — a rare enough find to be worth trying.

I ordered the spicy vegetable ramen. At first taste, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The broth was much lighter than what I’m used to in the U.S. — not creamy, not sodium-heavy, almost delicate. The noodles were thicker and heavier, and the flavor was hard to place. It wasn’t curry, it wasn’t the deep, rich ramen style I expected — it sat somewhere in between.

Still, going for “spicy” was the right call. It gave the dish a little kick, enough to make up for what the mild option would have lacked. And while I missed that indulgent, salty hit I’ve come to associate with ramen, I realized I didn’t leave the table feeling weighed down either. It was filling without being heavy, and that surprised me in a good way.

The cauliflower starter was excellent — crisp, flavorful, with just the right heat — and everything we ordered came out exactly as requested. Service was smooth, with the option to pay by QR code at the table.

By the end of the meal, I had changed my mind. This isn’t necessarily the ramen I know, but it’s a different style: lighter, cleaner, and vegetarian-friendly.

For a chain with multiple locations, it delivers a dependable experience. I’d give it a solid 3.5 out of 5 — not the ramen I crave, but worth returning now that I know...