about us

our story

the wagamama story began in 1992 with our first restaurant opening in london's' bloomsbury. inspired by japanese noodle bars and asian flavours, we launched an exciting and casual dining experience within a stylish and contemporary setting

wagamama quickly developed a reputation for its fresh and delicious food, great service in a minimalist environment. it has since grown into an award-winning global brand

we strive to ensure that from one country to another, our customers can expect the same outstanding wagamama experience in a sleek but informal environment

without a doubt, the wagamama brand is striking and powerful. as a visual identity it separates us from others within our market and helps us maintain positive customer recognition. this aids in strengthening awareness and meeting the expectations of our loyal and new customers alike

at wagamama we believe that positive eating promotes healthy attitudes and choices. we hope to spread our philosophy and invite you to share and contribute to our success

what does wagamama mean?

in japanese, wagamama means a 'naughty child'. wilful and determined, the child that is said to be 'wagamama' demands constant attention and is unable to comprehend why its desires cannot be instantly gratified. this is clearly where our brand gets some of its cheekier elements!

our promise

wagamama is a japanese-inspired restaurant and our mission statement remains unchanged

'to combine fresh and nutritious food in an elegant yet simple setting with helpful, friendly service that offers value for money'

our food

wagamama prides itself on using the freshest and best of ingredients. with a japanese-inspired menu wagamama offers a wide range of delicious noodles, rice and side dishes, desserts, freshly squeezed juices, hot drinks, wine, sake and asian beers

we have a number of different ways of serving our noodle and rice dishes including ramens (big bowls of noodles in soup); teppan (noodles cooked on a hot, flat griddle); and kare (noodles in a coconut based soup)

some of our favourite main dishes include chicken katsu curry, chicken breast deep-fried (or grilled) in panko breadcrumbs, served with a curry sauce and sticky white rice; another is our teriyaki steak soba and our signature dishes - chilli beef ramen, yaki soba and ginger chicken udon being some of them - are still favourites with customers

we are also well known for our sides, particularly our gyoza; ebi katsu and chilli squid. sides are perfect with a main meal, but also work perfectly when groups want to share a large selection

besides our main menu, we offer a separate children's menu and have seasonal specials

within all our restaurants worldwide, we ensure a large proportion of our signature dishes remain on the menu; together with a number of locally inspired dishes

our team

the diversity of experiences, different ways of thinking and individuality expressed among the wagamama team is part of what makes us different all over the world

it is crucial to our success that we encourage an environment where all staff are treated with dignity, courtesy and respect. as it stands today, wagamama have more than 3,500 employees world-wide

our success

we're very proud to have won a few awards over the years, if you're interested here are a few of our successes;

'official coolbrand' 2003 through to 2011 | 'official superbrand' 2007 and 2008 | london's most popular restaurant' 2006 through to 2010 as voted for by zagat readers

who owns wagamama

wagamama is owned by its management and venture capital investors duke street capital and hutton collins