I had a day off with my partner today and decided to pop into wagamama for a quick bite. I'm so glad we did. Firstly, the menu is 50% plant based. There is literally a vegan dish available for every meat dish, and you can really taste how much work has gone into making each dish mimic its meat counterpart.

For starters, I got the vegan chilli 'squid' (lightly battered pulled king oyster mushrooms. shichimi. sticky dipping sauce with fresh chilli+ coriander) now one of the things I really miss since becoming vegan (nearly three years ago) is fish but this dish totally has the same tough, chewy feel of squid. The batter is lovely and light and no sign of excess oil, just beautifully crisp. My partner got the sticky vegan 'ribs' (mushroom + soya protein ‘ribs’. sweet + spicy sticky sauce. sesame seeds. spring onion) and again the dish has the chewy, tender meat feel to it and the marinade was delicately rich, not over powering at all or sickly.

For the main, I got no duck donburi (shredded seitan + shiitake mushrooms in a cherry hoisin sauce. edamame beans. kimchee. coconut + sriracha vegan ‘egg’ made in collaboration with gaz oakley. cucumber. spring onion. chillies. coriander. sesame seeds. Brown rice). It is a full-on dish, and everything gels together so well, just the right portion of each, so nothing over powers the other. Even the vegan egg was surprisingly good and very clever, just a bit on the soft side, but that's forgiven as it is made from coconut. My partner got the teriyaki vegan 'chicken’ ramen (seasoned soya protein in a spicy teriyaki sauce. udon noodles. sweetcorn. bok choi. chilli sambal paste. spring onion. chilli. coriander. chilli oil. vegetable broth) the soya protein tasted rich but a bit chewy, almost like pork. My partner enjoyed every part of this dish apart from the udon noodles, which there was a lot of.

For dessert, I got the banana katsu (banana in crispy panko breadcrumbs. miso caramel ice cream. Toffee sauce) absolutely divine, you must try! My partner had the chocolate orange cake (flourless chocolate orange cake. Miso caramel ice cream) reluctantly shared a bit with me and said he could eat another, so that pretty speaks for itself, lol.

For drinks we ordered the ginger 'no-jito' really fresh and spicy and helped cleanse the pallet after each dish and of course we got the mandatory glass of water.

The service was ace and super friendly, with great insight from the staff into the different dishes and giving recommendations 👍🏼 I asked if they did cooking classes, which unfortunately they don't, but it was recommended I have a look on YouTube and search wagamama Steve, and guess what...that's exactly what I'm going to do .