wagamama, clarendon, arlington — Restaurant in Arlington

Food: I had the korean beef brisket ramen and it was pretty good. Their ramen selection isn't what you'd normally expect like having the classics (tonkotsu and miso), I remember duck was one of the options. The bad part was that there were still fragments of eggshell left on the egg that was in the soup. I've been to a lot of ramen shops throughout my life in US and in Asia and never once found an eggshell in one so it was honestly disappointing to see it at this restaurant's first week of opening. I didn't make a big deal of it but still wanted to let the staff know that this was a thing and perhaps they can be more careful about it and they accommodated it with a free meal which was nice of them but I honestly would not have cared either way. I cared more that they knew of the issue and hope they will more careful in events that they come across other customers that may be less forgiving.

Service: It was good but also a little overwhelming. I don't know if it is a opening week thing that they had so many people there but it was quite crowded with how many employees were present. Our waiter was chill and knowledgeable but throughout out the eating experience we had like 4-5 different waiters stop by just to grab like the chopsticks wrapper, a bowl, 2 plates, a glass, and it just felt like they wouldn't leave us alone and that they were competing to just grab anything from the customer. It was honestly weird, at one moment someone asked to take a finish plate away and we were like sure, then less than a minute later someone just comes in from behind and swipes the chopsticks wrapper from the side, the another minute later someone would ask to refill the water, and then again someone came by to take 2 plates away and it was all done by a different person each time. The only consistent person to show up was our waiter and I'm guessing the manager about 3 or so times. I would understand if it was also just people training while the restaurant would be open so they see what a busy day would feel like. I hope it's not like that everyday once the restaurant gets going.

Atmosphere: Very cool looking interior. Very clean. It might be a little crowded with how close the tables are. I went right when it opened on a Saturday so it wasn't at maximum capacity but I can imagine with how close some seats are to others that it may feel like they're crammed into the restaurant like sardines.

TLDR: -1 star for the eggshell and -1 for the overwhelming service and nonstop flow of different employees grabbing things from our table.

I hope someone from the restaurant will read this and take into consideration some of the critiques. I want to see this place do well, I'm not trying to tear it down. I don't write reviews that often but because this place is so new, I thought this might help them out...

Fantastic food, great drinks, friendly staff, and good vibes -- what more can you ask for? I've been to Wagamama twice now, once for lunch and once for dinner, and it was outstanding both times. It's a beautiful space, with plenty of natural light during the daytime, and a great, cool / trendy ambiance during the evening. For lunch, we were seated at one of their booths in the back, which helped us to be a little insulated from the noise; however, when we came back for dinner, it was both a lot busier and we were seated at one of their center tables, which gave us no protection from the noise. It was so loud that it was hard to hear each other or the server talk at times, but it did create a really fun and upbeat energy, and I know that's been a huge struggle for every restaurant that's opened in this particular building.

The food is all incredibly tasty. Across our two meals, we've sampled their chili squid, poke nachos, buns, and miso cod soba. The squid is phenomenal; the incredibly light batter makes it feel light and airy, but still gives it a delightfully crispy shell. It's then tossed in a lovely shichimi spice, which is perfectly spicy, tangy, sweet, and umami, especially when paired with their chili and cilantro dipping sauce. The poke nachos were solid, with nice crispy wonton chips and a few chunks of ahi tuna, scallions, cilantro, and red bell pepper. They were decently flavorful from the sriracha mayo sauce, but I wouldn't say this was one of Wagamama's most outstanding dishes.

What was outstanding, though, was the bao. The buns were delightfully soft and pillowy, but were plenty strong enough to make them the perfect vessel to transport the crispy fillings. We got the mushroom bao, which included a huge, perfectly golden brown portabello mushroom cap, topped with a bit of mayo and cilantro. The mushroom was incredibly crispy, contrasting beautifully with the soft bun, and the mayo gave it a great hint of tanginess. My single pet peeve with this menu item is that they're called "bao buns," which literally translates to "bun buns," but they're so tasty that I have to let it slide.

My favorite from their selection of mains had to be the miso cod soba. The cod was beautifully seared so that the fish was flaky and tender, and just completely fell apart with a single touch from the fork. The fish was beautifully charred on the outside, giving it a smidge of smokiness that went wonderfully with the earthy, nutty miso. The soba was perfectly al dente and stir-fried with a few assorted veggies; the combination ended up feeling a tiny bit oily, but it was still...

We tried the Taste of Wagamama menu to get an overview of the restaurant’s offerings. Unfortunately, there were a few issues I would like to provide some constructive critique on in case it could help a fledgling restaurant. All of the seasoning for the edamame starter was at the bottom of the bowl making for a pretty bland start to the experience. The accompanying Blossom drink was tasty though! The two bao buns were decent (eggplant a bit too salty) but I’ve had better even just down the street at Bar Bao. Two out of three drinks in the sake flight were not fun to drink. One of the mains—yaki soba—was good with well seasoned, tasty noodles though not a lot of protein. The chicken katsu curry was unfortunately bland and again did not compare favorable to Hanabi Ramen’s version just down the street. Also, the side salad was dressed with just soy sauce which resulted in a very salty pile of greens. It is completely possible that other items on the menu are better! However, I would recommend revamping the tasting menu to be a solid first impression. As it stands, we’ll be sticking to other local restaurants for anything besides noodles.

Servers had trouble picking up and putting down menus/dishes/sake flight trays throughout the meal, so that may be a matter of experience or design choice issues. Last is a note on the layout—overall the ambience and decor is great! However, the two seater table adjacent to the server station is awkward because diners feel observed every time staff members come to print a receipt or get utensils. Definitely recommend increasing the height of...