It had been a busy Saturday morning encompasing a visit to the swish St Mary's birthing centre for a talk about what to expect in the next couple of weeks, sorting out the house and finding a nice present for my sister in law's birthday. As we had ended up in Harvey Nichols and had fortuitously snagged a parking space in Lowndes square we thought we would take in some lunch. We had a quick look at the menu for the 5th floor restaurant but it all looked a bit involved so we opted instead for something simpler.
The Wagamama's is in the basement of Harvey Nichols and though it was early it was Saturday so I was expecting a long wait to get seated. We were pleasantly surprised to be shown directly to our table. The restaurant was about half full and though it did fill up a bit more later we didn't feel at all crushed in. The room is a lot smaller than their mega outposts on Lexington St and Wigmore st. It has a mix of the usual bench and tables as well as a stools and a bar area which seemed ideal for the lone diners. There was a real mixture of people in, tourists, shoppers like ourselves, a few families with young children and shop staff. It had a pretty pleasant buzz
We decided to share a plate of gyoza's which were OK-ish and my lovely wife went for the chilli chicken noodle soup whilst I went for ginger chicken udon noodles. My wife enjoyed her soup it was spiced just right as she didn't add any extra chilli oil. My dish was very nice, I'd not had it before and it was filling and tasty. I also found that the combination of this a couple of cups of green tea had laid to rest the hangover that had been threatening to manifest itself after one bengal lancer too many at the Churchill the night before. The heat in the birthing suite hadn't helped either. Anyway I felt a lot better after the meal and was ready to take on the chore of the Saturday Sainsbury's big shop.
The cost of our meal for two was a rather reasonable £26. The service had been prompt and friendly. It has to be said I was quite impressed by this outpost of the noodle chain. The fact it is a bit smaller and less like an aircraft hanger gave it a better atmosphere. I was also pleased to see that they actively catered for children which will be handy for us soon. For a cheap filling lunch you couldn't go wrong coming in here. Definetly better than the two West End branches I had used.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
