Wagamama

Having heard a lot about Wagamama in other countries, I was excited to finally give it a try in Madrid. I knew that it offered casual, elbow-to-elbow-with-a-stranger eating experience in one of the many long tables à la classic noodle bar. In Spain, however, eating so close to a stranger is not customary, and the staff seemed to struggle to seat customers asking for more personal space. Even so, the people lining up at the entrance did not seem to have to wait that long, but I did see some customers complain about the long time it took for the order to be served.

We got two starters (steamed veggie gyozas and 'pang pang' cauliflower) and two main dishes (prawn and chicken yakisoba and grilled duck donburi). The gyozas were normal tasting; nothing impressive. More on the drier side. The cauliflower, on the other hand, was amazing. It came with kind of a roasted coating and a chili powder they call 'firecracker'. The texture and sweet spice of the cauliflower pieces were somewhat addictive.

The yakisoba was rather bland compared to the original Japanese recipe. The texture of the noodles was correct, but we had to add some chili oil available on the table to stimulate our senses. The duck donburi was quite tasty, but I felt it resembled more a Korean-style bibimbap than a Japanese donbury (choice of ingredients). Its price, 15.50 eur, was a bit pricy for what it was, though.

We did not get dessert because they were mad expensive (average 5-6 eur). BUT, the service was very friendly and we finished with a satisfied and full stomach. Wagamama is for those looking for a very casual experience with a mix of modern and trendy atmosphere, but not necessarily for top notch quality food, albeit a pan-Asian exotic one.

Love this place! it only is it cheap, but it has amazing ramen and its vegetarian (at least the one i got was)! I ordered some tofu ramen because i'm feeling low on energy and have a cold and this was by far the best thing ever. 10/10 would recommend this dish.