Summer Menu at wagamama

wagamama have a new menu especially for summer! While you can still enjoy your favourite gyoza and spicy ramen, there’s lots of fresh new recipes to keep it light in the warmer days.

The sun was out today so it was perfect weather to try the new summer menu on the wagamama terrace! While normally a ramen dish is our favourite, we couldn’t resist having a taste of all things new from the menu.

To begin we ordered a starter of beef tataki (can also be enjoyed as a side). This dish is described as lightly seared and thinly sliced steak on the menu and it was complemented with a delicious Japanese mayonnaise and citrus ponzu. The dish is served cold and was great to share (although not with too many people!). We preferred not to have too much of the pickled beetroot with our slices because the flavours are quite delicate. However, we could easily have a side of pickled beetroot with any meal!!

As for the new mains, we couldn’t help but try them all! All are very light and have a fresh feel to them. Starting with the omakase dishes, which are the chef’s specials, we enjoyed tuna served with quinoa, kale, sweet potatoes, edamame beans, red onion and papers. The tuna in the dish is served on the rarer side, just falling apart. It is complimented by the salad it sits on, making this feel very light and filling and definitely something we would reorder when it gets warmer.

Sticking with fish, there’s a new donuri – this time with grilled bream. The sea bream has a great crunch to the skin that offers a change in texture and flavour to the rest of the dish. Like the tuna, it feels lighter than the duck donburi (one of our favourites!). It’s also served with a side of kimchee which we’ve become addicted to recently. 

Looking for something a little meatier? Try the sticky pork belly, served with a bowl of rice on a bed of miso aubergine, this dish is the sweetest of all the mains. There’s a honey-tasting glaze to the pork which makes it irresistible. Served with a ginger and chilli garnish, this dish can also add a little bit of bite. However, if you’re looking for a spicy dish then this isn’t for you! Personally, we have no problem with that and have added this to our favourites list.

However, if you are more of a firecracker kind of person, the new samla curry offers a little bit of a kick to it. This fragrant curry won’t compete with the firecracker but can pack a kick once the chilli settles into the sauce. We opted for a tofu option (although you can go for chicken) and the flavours were amazing! First of all, the smell was to die for and immediately whet the appetite. Then the spicy lemongrass and coconut flavours balanced each other so neither were too overpowering. Those of us who haven’t got a spice tolerance can ask for no chilli and still enjoy the dish, while those of you who love your spice should allow the chilli to mix before tucking in!

Some days are just too hot for warm food (or at least we’re hoping to get a couple of days like that!) so the new pad Thai salad is made for those kinds of days. It’s served with ginger chicken and prawns with a mixture of salad classics including mangetout, baby plum tomatoes and our much-loved picked beetroot. It comes with a side serving of peanuts and a nuoc and ginger miso dressing. What dressing? The nuoc and ginger dressing has a slight fish taste and can come across quite strong. We only drizzled a little over before adding our peanuts so not to overpower any of the other flavours.  

What to drink? Well, we could go with one of their 14 juices which we always enjoy, whether it is a ‘positive’ juice or a blueberry spice. However, wagamama now have a large range of teas! While their green tea is complimentary (and goes with everything on the menu!), they have expanded their list to include all the best herbal and non-herbal teas. We just couldn’t resist the jasmine flowering tea which looks fantastic in its clear glass teapot. If you were looking for some after-dinner drinks, they also have coffee and black teas available.

We felt it would be rude not to stick around for dessert so we had to try the spiced mango and coconut parfait! Although the dessert menu isn’t strictly speaking ‘new’ (it’s been out for about a month), we’re only now starting to feel like enjoying most of their ice creams. Although the chocolate cake is definitely one for all year round…