I was searching for photos from an interview I did over the summer when I stumbled on these. Back in December, I met my sisters after a three hour final for one of the last marketing classes that I took as an undergraduate. We wandered around the Madison Park area before I insisted that we seek shelter at Wagamama’s.
Conveniently being the day of Santacon, where people flood the streets dressed as Santa and/or his elves and proceed to get sickeningly drunk. I hear the bar crawl benefits a charity, but after being accosted over the years by over eager elves, I am not a fan of the event. Sorry Santa. Normally Wagamama’s has a long line for seating on a Saturday afternoon, but thanks to the snow and Santacon, we were able to score seats in under ten minutes.
A transplant from London, Wagamama opened their first location back in 2016 followed by a second location in the East Village more recently. I found out about the chain on Instagram, and it was on my list of places to try since they first opened in the city, but I didn’t get around to it until this December. I know. For shame.
We started with duck gyoza, they write your order on your placemat so that any server can see what you’ve ordered and what you’re expecting. It’s a convenient system that worked well when we were accidentally delivered someone else’s order.
My sisters had the Wagamama Ramen and the Ginger Chicken Udon, I had the Shirodashi Pork Ramen. All of them were, as expected, great dishes. It was nice to see that they had an open kitchen, that way you can watch your food as it’s being made, and the waiters were very helpful and clearly knowledgeable about all of the restaurants offerings.
After lunch we wandered back into the cold, belly’s full of warm ramen and ready to head home. That final? I clocked in with an almost perfect score. 😉
Wagamama
210 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10010
(212) 920-6233
www.wagamama.us