on our recent trip to england, we were completely overwhelmed by all the vegan options london had to offer. there were so many vegetarian restaurants, way too many to try, and even the chain restaurants and pubs had animal-free offerings. on our first day there, i received an email from a london reader named paul, who’d read about our trip and had a list of places for us to check out. at the top of his list was wagamama.
if you’ve been to london, you’ve probably seen several wagamama restaurants, the pan-asian inspired chain noodle bars are on practically every corner. i was so stoked to read paul’s email and learn that they had plenty of vegan dishes on the menu. our first two nights were spent in a lovely pub in richmond, which happened to be just a 15 minute walk away from a wagamama location. kismet! i went to their website, and found they even have a whole list of everything on the menu that’s suitable for vegans. score!
we pored over the vegan online menu, decided what to order and headed out for a wagamama feast. we started with the raw salad, which was excellent.
raw salad: a combination of mixed asian leaves, thin cut mooli, carrot, spring and red onions. garnished with fried shallots and served with wagamama house dressing. £2.90
while the raw salad was simple and cheap, it was probably the best thing about our dinner. seriously, so so so so so good. everything was just super fresh and went really well together. plain ingredients can taste amazing when very well prepared.
next we got the saien soba, which was decent. i would probably try something different next time…i mean, it was pretty good but didn’t wow me.
saien soba: wholewheat noodles in a vegetable soup topped with stir-fried courgettes, asparagus, fried tofu, red onion, leeks, shiitake and portobello mushrooms, mangetout, beansprouts and garlic. seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil and garnished with sliced spring onion. £7.50
this dish was pretty salty, and a little bland, but all the fresh vegetables and delicious tofu made up for it. it did taste a little like something i could make at home, though.
lastly, we ordered the yasai chilli men. very spicy and very delicious.
yasai chilli men: stir-fried courgettes, white and portobello mushrooms, mangetout, green and red peppers and fried tofu in a sauce made from chillies, ginger, garlic, onion, tomatoes, lemongrass and sweet red peppers. served with wholewheat noodles. £7.50
the yasai chilli men was awesome. the sauce was tomatoey and sweet, kind of like pasta sauce…and it was all very hot. i got it without the peppers, and it was still covered in tons of vegetables. there were so many different flavors going on in this dish, and they all went together so well. nam nam nam.
so, if you are ever in london and need a no-brainer vegan dinner, wagamama is a great place to hit up. no matter where you are, you are probably very close to a wagamama, so it makes for a great emergency meal. be sure to check out all their vegan options online, or ask your server. the staff seemed pretty knowledgeable about vegan stuff when we were there.
the food is decent, the prices aren’t high, and the service is quick. thanks to reader paul for the tip! i know i will be back at wagamama again in no time.
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3:01 pm on February 7th, 2009
I went to wagamama in boston and hated it (I actually sent my dish back which is something i never do) glad u had a more pleasant exp!
1:42 pm on February 9th, 2009
oh man, i went to wagamama a couple years ago and it was delicious. i don’t remember what i ordered, but i do remember stuffing my face.
3:49 pm on February 10th, 2009
Glad to read about Wagamama, we were thinking about going to the one in Copenhagen. I think we may pass on it though, sounds like it’s nothing special.
4:47 am on January 12th, 2010
I hate to potentially throw a spanner in the works, but Wagamama’s wholewheat noodles are made with egg. Normally have to substitute for the rice noodles or rice when I go as egg is not vegan.
12:14 pm on March 20th, 2010
I did think that too Anouska, but the udon noodles are vegan too. I had with the yasai chilli men with udon noodles and they were soooooo delicious (much preferred to the rice ones). they were so think and the whole dish was amazing
12:15 pm on March 20th, 2010
whoops i mean they were so thick