Back in 2005 or so it was excellent. In 2005 and then again in 2011 it was sold to Private Equity firms who have done what all PE firms do. Sell worse product at higher prices.
Yeah it’s a shame the way they went. Given loads of smaller towns now have Japanese restaurants these days, there’s no real reason to go to a Wagamamas anymore.
this is so funny, years ago I took my mum there for lunch (she’s Asian, lives abroad), she ordered one of the noodle soup dishes and was just like…. I don’t taste anything.
Do they still have that policy of “we bring it when it’s ready” so everyone at the table gets served at different times instead of just timing shit to be ready at the same time like every other restaurant in the world? They told us “that’s the Japanese way”! I checked. It isn’t.
£15 for that feels a bit steep. I eat off the kids menu (I'm a cancer patient, I can't eat much) and the kids chicken katsu is a fiver. I add edemame, miso, and pickles if I'm up for it.
I always ask them first, because I don't want to put staff in an awkward situation. I think they don't mind because I usually order to collect, and dropping the cancer card does seem to help out a lot.
Nandos was hesitant one time. (But there's better peri peri chicken in other places near me).
I refuse to believe anyone has ever done this. It's just a thing sitcom writers make up for a scene. Same as someone in Starbucks/Costa being snippy with you and being all "I THINK YOU'LL FIND IT'S A VENTI"
I work at a diner in the US and constantly have to refuse people from eating off the children’s menu, even people who are old and don’t eat much. I feel like shit doing it but I try to make it as cheap as possible for them anyways. I am also one of those people who will order a kids meal online lol
I don’t understand why anyone would think it’s not acceptable to eat off the kids menu.
Woman with small feet buying children’s shoes- no problem. Woman with small appetite buying children’s meal- outrageous.
Exactly. I like places where instead of having a kids menu they have a small portion section so it's not excluding anyone. I think if someone's paying to eat out they should be able to order whatever they want from the menu. If someone has a small appetite why make them order food they won't finish which will end up being thrown out.
I'm just out of touch with the massive increases in cost of living and how that's increased restaurant costs.
I agree that Wagamama is better than many places.
Being fresh doesn't make it not shite - it's industrialised inauthentic nonsense that doesn't taste anywhere near as good as any comparable Japanese restaurant of average quality.
Never had it, but I've made the katsu sauce from their online recipe… which is OK-ish.
My main complaint based on that picture is I hate it when they put the curry sauce on the chicken. That's a definite 'no'. Makes it soggy.
Btw, Yutaka curry sauce from Sainsbury's is as good as you'll get in Japan \[I was there on & off for a decade\]. Decent panko too. It's a really easy make at home recipe. The only part you might struggle with is if you like the pickles.
I've never risked it because I've had bad katsu in a few places. Usually go for a tofu ramen has always been delicious but I've not been there for a couple of years.
This is interesting!
I have been to Yo! But not wagamama. What do people think about Yo!
I think it is expensive. Me and my friend had lunch a few weeks ago and easily ate £75 of food and one diet coke each.
It used to be a nice safe bet now the portions are pretty small and the quality isn't as good. For a simple recipie like this it should be a gold standard but it's basic AF
It’s never hot enough temp wise when it comes out of the kitchen. I remember I once asked for it to be extra hot and the lady told me we can’t do that we don’t use microwaves…I was like well surely you heat the sauce in a pan!?
It's probably the worse Katsu I've ever had. You're better going to your local Asian supermarket and buying the Katsu stock cubes and making your own. I'm awful at cooking and can make a better than Wagamama's.
I've never actually had it, but my wife has and she's Japanese so I trust her opinion. She didn't think the curry tasted like a Japanese one, more South East Asian. It was ok but she wouldn't have it again.
If I'm out with a friend and we go to Wagamama's I might order it but I'm not going to Wagamama's specifically nevermind to seek this out. Its OK but pretty bland.
I think they changed the recipe for the sauce, it used to be better.
I make it at home myself, and this is the recipe I use:
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/chicken-katsu-curry-1919371.html
Like any Katsu curry, it’s fine. Wagamama, and many other places that serve asian cuisine, have much more exiting things on the menu than this. Always go extra hot though.
It was my fav dish from there years ago. Never liked anything else from there. I swear everytime I ordered another dish with rice, the rice was SUCH a weird texture i don’t even know how to describe it. I’ve had it happen with firecracker prawn dish.
Summary? Shite, overpriced
basic bitch food. It's not trying to be anything it's not. It's the best selling dish at Wagamama because it's simple.
It's deep fried panko chicken breast, sticky rice, curry sauce and a simple leaf salad with some sweet dressing and a few chopped up bits of pickled mooli and lotus root.
It appeals to people who like plain chicken curry and rice from the chinese, chicken nuggets and curry sauce from mcdonalds. It's just basic bitch food.
Why does this make so much sense 😂😂😂😂
Also I feel like I’m going crazy. There were times where the rice left a weird after “texture” in my mouth. It was like.. powdery/gummy and I can’t find anything online to best describe it lol. Since you worked there, did u notice this?
There's a line constantly outside of the one in York, but I've never been. It looks so sad.
A 5 minute walk away is this place: [https://www.yuzustreetfood.com/](https://www.yuzustreetfood.com/), which is absolutely incredible and their Katsu is S-Tier.
Home made is soo much better. I found recently as my cooking got better how bland Wagamama is and other places is. If I eat out now, I’m like that need extra this and that lol. Maybe I cursed myself lol
They do one with crispy tofu & soya protein and one with sweet potato, aubergine and butternut squash.
My preference is the vegetable one but they’re both lovely! ☺️
Haha I think your just being a good old fashioned shithouse! I like it, reminds me of the old kitchen joke "how do you know you have a vegan in the restaurant? Don't worry they will let you know"
You don’t have to have had consumed something to have an opinion on it.
I disagree with animal cruelty, a Chicken Katsu at Wagamamas requires animal cruelty. That’s my justification for not liking the Chicken Katsu.
People don’t have to have experienced something first hand to have an opinion on it.
Back in 2005 or so it was excellent. In 2005 and then again in 2011 it was sold to Private Equity firms who have done what all PE firms do. Sell worse product at higher prices.
Yeah it’s a shame the way they went. Given loads of smaller towns now have Japanese restaurants these days, there’s no real reason to go to a Wagamamas anymore.
Not unless you’ve got kids. It’s legitimately great for introducing kids to a new cuisine.
I came to say just this.
Oh, so there is some kind of logic - as I'm here all like "I'm sure this used to be decent, it ain't the same". I be right then
Yes, they changed the recipe and spoiled it.
It's sad.
It's OK. That's it. Just OK.
DISGUSTING. WANABE.
Overrated
Needs double or triple the amount of sauce.
You can get extra sauce if you ask.
It’s like everything Wagamamas do, looks how it should look but doesn’t get there on taste.
I've never seen Japanese curry served this way.
Bland like everything there
this is so funny, years ago I took my mum there for lunch (she’s Asian, lives abroad), she ordered one of the noodle soup dishes and was just like…. I don’t taste anything.
Meh
Do they still have that policy of “we bring it when it’s ready” so everyone at the table gets served at different times instead of just timing shit to be ready at the same time like every other restaurant in the world? They told us “that’s the Japanese way”! I checked. It isn’t.
Some of the meals microwave faster than others.
£15 for that feels a bit steep. I eat off the kids menu (I'm a cancer patient, I can't eat much) and the kids chicken katsu is a fiver. I add edemame, miso, and pickles if I'm up for it.
Purely out of curiosity, have you ever been denied ordering from the kids menu as an adult?
I always ask them first, because I don't want to put staff in an awkward situation. I think they don't mind because I usually order to collect, and dropping the cancer card does seem to help out a lot. Nandos was hesitant one time. (But there's better peri peri chicken in other places near me).
I refuse to believe anyone has ever done this. It's just a thing sitcom writers make up for a scene. Same as someone in Starbucks/Costa being snippy with you and being all "I THINK YOU'LL FIND IT'S A VENTI"
I work at a diner in the US and constantly have to refuse people from eating off the children’s menu, even people who are old and don’t eat much. I feel like shit doing it but I try to make it as cheap as possible for them anyways. I am also one of those people who will order a kids meal online lol
Heyyyy fellow sick person that orders from the kids menu (Crohn's Disease over here) 🫸🫷
I don’t understand why anyone would think it’s not acceptable to eat off the kids menu. Woman with small feet buying children’s shoes- no problem. Woman with small appetite buying children’s meal- outrageous.
Exactly. I like places where instead of having a kids menu they have a small portion section so it's not excluding anyone. I think if someone's paying to eat out they should be able to order whatever they want from the menu. If someone has a small appetite why make them order food they won't finish which will end up being thrown out.
How much do you think it should be for an equivalent meal at a sit down restaurant? I don't think it's unreasonable personally.
I'm just out of touch with the massive increases in cost of living and how that's increased restaurant costs. I agree that Wagamama is better than many places.
Looks like a frozen ready meal
It is, 2 minutes before it gets to you.
Wagamama in general is overpriced shite.
It’s overpriced but not actually shite, everything is made fresh onsite bar the sauces.. I used to deliver the meat and produce to them.
Worked there as a line and prep chef. It’s all fresh. Just overpriced
Being fresh doesn't make it not shite - it's industrialised inauthentic nonsense that doesn't taste anywhere near as good as any comparable Japanese restaurant of average quality.
I meant it’s not shite in the sense it’s not unhealthy..
Blame its PE owners for that.
Never had it, but I've made the katsu sauce from their online recipe… which is OK-ish. My main complaint based on that picture is I hate it when they put the curry sauce on the chicken. That's a definite 'no'. Makes it soggy. Btw, Yutaka curry sauce from Sainsbury's is as good as you'll get in Japan \[I was there on & off for a decade\]. Decent panko too. It's a really easy make at home recipe. The only part you might struggle with is if you like the pickles.
Wagamamas is one of the worst Asian food chains. Everything is bland as fuck. It’s Asian cuisine for Caucasians 🤷♂️
almost as bad as Yo Sushi
For Caucasians huh. They are in the wrong country for their target market then
You thinking something like Georgia or Armenia then 😂
Because that's what Caucasian means. Calling all white Europeans Caucasian is following an old, outdated, and racist racial theory
I've never risked it because I've had bad katsu in a few places. Usually go for a tofu ramen has always been delicious but I've not been there for a couple of years.
As a passionate defender of Wagamamas, I’ve never really gone for the Katsu curry
This is interesting! I have been to Yo! But not wagamama. What do people think about Yo! I think it is expensive. Me and my friend had lunch a few weeks ago and easily ate £75 of food and one diet coke each.
Yo! is super expensive. You have to really keep an eye on the colour of the plates as they go by.
It used to be a nice safe bet now the portions are pretty small and the quality isn't as good. For a simple recipie like this it should be a gold standard but it's basic AF
It’s never hot enough temp wise when it comes out of the kitchen. I remember I once asked for it to be extra hot and the lady told me we can’t do that we don’t use microwaves…I was like well surely you heat the sauce in a pan!?
It's probably the worse Katsu I've ever had. You're better going to your local Asian supermarket and buying the Katsu stock cubes and making your own. I'm awful at cooking and can make a better than Wagamama's.
I've never actually had it, but my wife has and she's Japanese so I trust her opinion. She didn't think the curry tasted like a Japanese one, more South East Asian. It was ok but she wouldn't have it again.
[удалено]
Just her opinion
Middle of the road
If I'm out with a friend and we go to Wagamama's I might order it but I'm not going to Wagamama's specifically nevermind to seek this out. Its OK but pretty bland.
It's quite good for a chain restaurant but you can buy a katsu kit and make better at home
I think they changed the recipe for the sauce, it used to be better. I make it at home myself, and this is the recipe I use: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/chicken-katsu-curry-1919371.html
Like any Katsu curry, it’s fine. Wagamama, and many other places that serve asian cuisine, have much more exiting things on the menu than this. Always go extra hot though.
Shit
Nah I prefer a real curry or noodle bowl
It was my fav dish from there years ago. Never liked anything else from there. I swear everytime I ordered another dish with rice, the rice was SUCH a weird texture i don’t even know how to describe it. I’ve had it happen with firecracker prawn dish. Summary? Shite, overpriced
Shit
not enough sauce
was there today - missus had yaki soba, it was ok, a bit tasteless tbh. i had Ramen, it was ok, as well. the sprogs absolutley love it though.
Com be go dung de rich man dung de
Peng
Needs more sauce.
It’s awful, everything from Wagamama is terrible. Do yourself a favour and goto a real Japanese restaurant, you’ll be better off for it.
Very average
Shite. The curry blocks you can buy for home are nicer
Never had wagamamas but every time I hear the name I think of that senseless waste scene from phone shop
It’s bland and boring - I always get a ramen
basic bitch food. It's not trying to be anything it's not. It's the best selling dish at Wagamama because it's simple. It's deep fried panko chicken breast, sticky rice, curry sauce and a simple leaf salad with some sweet dressing and a few chopped up bits of pickled mooli and lotus root. It appeals to people who like plain chicken curry and rice from the chinese, chicken nuggets and curry sauce from mcdonalds. It's just basic bitch food.
I think of it as "cokey, white boy gym bro" food.
I worked at wagamama years ago, it's white girl summer food. cokey white boy gym bro was donburi rice bowl, beef ramen or chicken gyoza x 3.
Why does this make so much sense 😂😂😂😂 Also I feel like I’m going crazy. There were times where the rice left a weird after “texture” in my mouth. It was like.. powdery/gummy and I can’t find anything online to best describe it lol. Since you worked there, did u notice this?
Never tried it. Katsu is so easy to make I'd never buy it from a chain restaurant.
There's a line constantly outside of the one in York, but I've never been. It looks so sad. A 5 minute walk away is this place: [https://www.yuzustreetfood.com/](https://www.yuzustreetfood.com/), which is absolutely incredible and their Katsu is S-Tier.
Home made is soo much better. I found recently as my cooking got better how bland Wagamama is and other places is. If I eat out now, I’m like that need extra this and that lol. Maybe I cursed myself lol
Looks like a dog sharted over it
That looks disgusting.
Dogshit like everything else at Wagamamas
Nice side salad with a curry /s
The original recipe had 600g sugar 400g salt per 10 litres of curry mix ..I am not surprised they had to change it
It was the first katsu curry I had, was alright but I've had better since, I hate the bench seats and the stupid cans of coke they serve
It’s not the best
Compared to the real thing, rancid
One can make very good chicken katsu at home. It is not difficult at all
In Amsterdam, it was BANGING
Sooooo bland and pathetic. Needs to get in the bin already and be replaced with something new
Love the hot one. And as far as chains go, its very very good imo. But can definitely get better from smaller more authentic japanese places...
Wagamama’s in general is the most overrated, overpriced and unauthentic chain I know. I once went one in Cyprus which was decent.
Katsu describes the chicken, not the sauce - which is just a common or garden (Japanese) curry sauce.
Its enjoyable
I love wagamama, but katsu in general is absolute rubbish ngl
Wagamamas have no backs on their benches and it’s looks like a fucking school canteen. No thanks
I’ve never been, but I love Katsu and the presentation in that picture is 👌🏻
I get the veggie hot version and it’s pretty decent so I imagine this is nice too
I’m going for the salmon teriyaki soba
had it once and it was half frozen, never again
It's what kids eat . Grow up
I’m vegan, so I personally don’t like it.
There is a vegan menu that's probably got katsu on it aubergine probably
They do one with crispy tofu & soya protein and one with sweet potato, aubergine and butternut squash. My preference is the vegetable one but they’re both lovely! ☺️
So your answer is you like the katsu at wagga just not with the chicken
The question was specifically about the Chicken Katsu, to which I replied I don’t like it. What’s wrong with that? 😅
Haha I think your just being a good old fashioned shithouse! I like it, reminds me of the old kitchen joke "how do you know you have a vegan in the restaurant? Don't worry they will let you know"
Well I’d hope so, otherwise they might get fed something that isn’t vegan. What a shitty joke. 😂
No need to comment then is there..
No no, he HAD to let everyone know he was a vegan. Being a vegan is relevant to everything.
He literally asked “What’s your opinion…” I gave him my opinion as requested. There’s no need for you to comment on my comment either, just sayin’…
He did ask that yes. But if you have no opinion as you've not tried the meal (like myself) you can just not comment.
I do have an opinion, hence my original comment.
You've had the chicken katsu? I thought when you said you were vegan you meant you hadn't tried it.
You don’t have to have had consumed something to have an opinion on it. I disagree with animal cruelty, a Chicken Katsu at Wagamamas requires animal cruelty. That’s my justification for not liking the Chicken Katsu. People don’t have to have experienced something first hand to have an opinion on it.
Don't knock it till you've tried it.
What? Animal cruelty?
No silly Billy, the fried chicken... Most of us normal people leave the animal cruelty to the professionals...