Wagamama Manhattan Fifth Avenue @wagamama_uk @wagamama_usa Inaugural Review Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
The winning team: Emma Woods, Customer Director; Xhezair Kasamaj, Head Chef; Faye O'Brien, star marketer of Wagamama America!
Chili Squid, one of the major highlights!
They may not be American but they sure have Firecrackers! And, you can eat them...
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It's not who you know, it's Whom You Know...and you know this site is named after Peachy Deegan's 10th grade English class taught by Mover and Shaker Rennie McQuilkin. The reason why anyone in the USA takes English at all is because although we became independent 241 years ago (we're still paying for this as we have to wait for the British tv shows to get here...), the English won the war. We love the UK and though we do have a wait list for restaurant owners in London and other major cities to be reviewed, we are pleased to announce that Wagamama is the first UK restaurant brand ever to be reviewed on Whom You Know. Peachy Deegan first ate at the Wagamama in Canary Wharf in London, a long time ago.
This is Wagamama's first feature on Whom You Know, and the first global restaurant review and Peachy's second visit ever.
Today, Wagamama spans 20 countries with more than 124 company-operated restaurants in the UK, 5 company-operated restaurants in Boston and Manhattan and 46 franchised restaurants, mainly in Europe and the Middle East.
The minute we got there we are pleased to see kindred spirits at work-they were cleaning their windows. We love clean. Wagamama is located at 210 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron area, and we have heard they also have opened a second Manhattan location, which we have not visited.
In the USA, they opened in Beantown first, and if you did not know Peachy at Boston College or in the Back Bay, you should know Beantown means BOSTON. This particular Wagamama we visited on 5th Avenue opened in November 2016.
Wagamama was originally started in 1992 in Bloomsbury, London by Alan Yao and in 2007, it was acquired by a private equity firm whom we do not know but look forward to meeting as we understand they continue to be the owners today. Perhaps many of our readers all around the world can see their Wagamama location on the map above! Usually we only ever do one-of-a-kind restaurants, but because of the highly unique cuisine that we believe no one else in Manhattan is doing, and if they are, they are not doing it as well combined with these three key team members doing great work, Wagamama is the only international franchised restaurant of this size to be featured ever, and perhaps it is the first as we believe some restaurants we have reviewed will expand.
Wagamama's cuisine is 75% Japanese and 25% Korean, and 100% new to us and probably new to you too. Believe it or not, though this is Japanese it is not sushi which also makes it entirely different as everything is cooked.
It is perfect on a day when you feel like you would like a change from all of your favorite Manhattan places, because this is is Manhattan where you can have it all when you want it and you always want to try something new. We found the Wagamama menu to be particularly strong in small courses, and their menu calls them sides. We believe you could also classify this section as small plates, appetizers...or sharing items. We began with the Hirata Steamed Bun, under sides. This is a Japanese bun, which is far smaller than the standard American cheeseburger bun.
It's smiling at you!
Two of them arrive in style and are called fluffy bao buns, served with Japanese mayonnaise (which we did not find too different from mayonnaise we usually eat) and cilantro; we ordered the Pork Belly and Panko Apple version. The apple was crisp and terrific, and the pork had good flavor.
Next we tried the Gyoza. We bet you don't know what that is either. The menu explains everything to you so no need to fear: five filled dumplings with dipping sauce is what a gyoza is.
We tried the shrimp, which are called prawn in the UK and therefore prawn on the menu...but no matter where she is, Peachy Deegan is probably going to use the American words. Even after living in Ireland for six months she sounded exactly the same when she got back to the USA. These are crafted every day and have a nice crisp to them.
You can also have them steamed, and they are softer this way. Pork and Water Chestnut inside are uniquely flavored.
Our favorite side by the distance of the Atlantic Ocean was the Chili Squid. It sounded like it was fun, but it tasted even better. We loved the diagonal cut presentation and Ms. Pretty Picky I Hardly Ever Like Unfamiliar Sauces loved the sauce. The perfectly crisp fried squid is gracefully dusted with schichimi, served with a chili cilantro dipping sauce. We surmise these will become habit-forming, so be on notice, you have been warned!
Just as incredible as the Chili Squid is the Firecracker!
It is found under the Curry section of the menu, and we'd consider the Curry section to be entrees. It is definitely the spiciest menu item we tried, and we loved it. However, if you try it we suggest trying it at the end of your Wagamama culinary endeavors because it is so strong it will likely weaken your tastebuds to whatever you eat after it. You can order this in a chicken version or a prawn (i.e. SHRIMP) version. Someone here likes to try to have it all in life so they did honor her request (and even honoured it!) and you can see it in its combined shrimp/chicken glory in our visuals. The fiery mix of snow peas, red and green peppers, onions and red hot chilies is served with white rice, sesame seeds, scallions shichimi and fresh lime. We believe it would be especially fantastic on a gray cloudy day that is a bit chillier like today in Manhattan. Note practically all days are like this in the UK and Ireland - and Americans like Peachy are shocked when those in the UK find a nice day to be when the sky is white...according to us, it is nice when the sky is blue!
Here is an aerial view, and this is totally what your dinner should be tonight. It is gorgeous, colorful and delicious. It will knock your socks off!
We are always looking for a traditional, classic green salad to be part of our meal. The closest green component we found at Wagamama was the Wok-Fried Greens, which were robust and had laudable flavor. One of our pals especially adores BROCCOLINI, so note that this has broccolini, not mere broccoli, and bok choy, stir fried in a wow-inducing garlic and soy sauce.
If you like your curry more on the mild side, we'd encourage the delectable Katsu Curry, which we ordered the chicken version of (you could also choose vegetables). The chicken was nicely coated in crispy panko breadcrumbs with rice and a bit of salad, and the curry sauce was in generous proportion dancing over the savory sensation. This is the kind of dish that hits the spot.
Emma's favorite dish is found under Teppanyaki: Teppan means griddle and yaki means fried.
Not only is the Wagamama menu clearly explained to daft Americans like Peachy Deegan (but not in a condescending way at all-we hope you have a sense of humor or HUMOUR) but also the Wagamama menu has a lot of depth, giving us many edible ambitions for future dates. Under teppanyaki, the only section of a menu we've seen so labeled ever, there are five choices, and even sub-choices within these five. The Emma Special is otherwise known as Yaki Soba and it is the chicken and shrimp (PRAWN) version. Soba noodles are fragrant with egg, peppers, bean sprouts, white onion and scallions, garnished with fried shallots, pickled ginger and black and regular sesame seeds.
That might sound like a lot going on, but in the world according to Peachy's stomach, it is a magnificent combination that is not too little, not too much and ultimately just right.
P.S. Up with Cape Clear, Ireland! We have been there, thanks very much @UCC and @BostonCollege and our dear dad.
We were impressed on our first American Wagamama visit and we look forward to seeing what they do next! The British are coming!
