Wagamama – Colchester

Most of us in the UK have probably either heard of Wagamama or visited, and Colchester has finally got on board and introduced a Wagamama to their ever-expanding range of restaurants and eateries. Situated at the top of the High Street, this is a great place to go for Asian cuisine.

I’m usually more of a fan of small business local restaurants, however Wagamama is one chain restaurant I’m always happy to go back to. I’ve never had a bad experience so far, and Colchester’s new restaurant proved to be the best experience yet. Although I wouldn’t class their food as completely authentic Japanese (as many Westernised chain restaurants aren’t) they still have a wonderful variety of food and a signature style to the dishes they make.

I’m one of those awkward people who has an allergy – I’m allergic to real chillies (most likely the seeds). It’s not life-threatening but eating chillies causes me a lot of stomach pain and nausea and my throat starts to close up, so I try to avoid them where possible. I was really worried about this particular Wagamama visit as I actually haven’t been to the restaurant since my allergy developed, and being Japanese cuisine I imagined chillies would be quite a feature, which I certainly wasn’t wrong about.

As soon as I’d announced my allergy I was put in the capable hands of the store manager, who took the time to go through the entire menu with me and tell me what I would be able to eat. She allowed adjustments to my food and I was able to eat exactly what I wanted, just without the chilli-based sauce added to it, which was the teriyaki soba with salmon. I try to eat as much fish as possible when out as the man isn’t into it, and this particular dish was lovely and quite an unusual way for me to eat fish. Even without the sauce it tasted great!

Before this of course we had starters, and I was recommended the chilli-free duck wraps in lettuce rather than pancake. I thought it wouldn’t be too filling but it really was, yet felt so healthy at the same time! The duck was cooked to perfection and the lettuce swap made them so fresh and easy to eat (for my stomach – not so much for my hands).

As for the types of food served there I found there was quite a variation of different dishes to be had. There are plenty of different types of noodle and rice dishes and you can also get curries, salands, and ramen with various ingredients and toppings. I was quite fascinated with the tea-stained egg which my partner had as part of his steak bulgogi, also featuring soba noodles and fried aubergine. Wagamama has menus for both vegetarians and vegans as well as children and are happy to accommodate all guests, as proven by my experience there.

The drink selection is really good with a wide variety of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. They have a really good range of juices which you won’t find in many other restaurants so these are worth ordering. Being a gin lover I had to go for their signature Japanese-inspired gin known as Jinzu Fever, which is infused with cherry blossom, yuzu, and sake. It’s decorated with lemon and pink peppercorns and looks super pretty, but don’t accidentally drink them or you’ll be in for a mouthful of flavour you perhaps weren’t looking for!

We couldn’t fit in desserts afterwards because we were absolutely stuffed, but their dessert menu looks divine and I’ll certainly be going back again to try it out. Instead we finished off our meal with green tea to cleanse the palate, which came in a beautiful ceramic cup without a handle. This was a lovely way to end the meal and made me feel calm and balanced after such a gorge-fest!

As you can probably guess I wholeheartedly recommend Wagamama as a positive chain restaurant experience, and they are especially welcoming if you suffer from allergies. They have a quality range of food and it’s easy to find something for everyone, so certainly worth a visit to the new store if you’re in Colchester!

Have you visited Wagamama before? How was your experience? If you enjoyed my review then please click like and leave a comment! You can view some of my other eatery reviews in Colchester and Tendring here:

Patisserie Valerie | The Rose & Crown | Parker’s Coffee Shop