Wagamama Vegan Menu

You may have heard that Wagamama's have bought out a new vegan & vegetarian menu and when I caught wind of this I knew I had to pay a visit to find out what it's like. It had also been quite a while since my last Wagamama's visit so I was looking forward to seeing what's new on the menu. 

First off I just want to say how great it feels to be able to go to a big chain restaurant and be able to see a solely veggie and vegan menu. This really does make all the difference when dining out and it also makes it so much easier to see what's suitable for you. When looking at this menu I was also impressed by the amount of choice for both vegetarians and vegans. More often than not you expect maybe one or two vegan options but to see so many was really exciting!

For a starter, or a 'side' as they like to call them, we chose the Vegetable Gyoza which I have had before and knew I liked. These are really tasty and out of all the gyoza's I have tried in the past these are definitely the best in my opinion. I am not so keen when they are quite slippery and really see through but these ones are a bit different and more substantial I would say. The dipping sauce is also really good and full of flavour. 

It was quite a decision choosing what to have for our mains as I was tempted by all of it but on this occasion I was most in the mood for the Yasai Pad Thai. My husband however chose the new dish on the menu, the Kare Burosu Ramen which I was also really looking forward to trying.  

My Pad Thai was so delicious and thankfully the tofu was exactly how I like it - quite crisp on the outside and bouncy on the inside! It's quite a straight forward and simple dish but if you're not into very hot and spicy meals then this is a great choice. 

My husbands Kare Burosu Ramen looked really delicious and I would say if you like your ramen bowls you definitely need to go for this. He absolutely loved it and said it was his new favourite meal out! It's quite spicy but a real winter warmer, perfect for this time of year. 

We were pretty stuffed after all of this so we didn't go in for any desserts. Perhaps if there was something a little more exciting than sorbet on the vegan dessert menu I could have been tempted to try something but I wasn't feeling too fussed by the options available. 

As great as our meal was there were a couple of things I found disappointing. For example, I was really expecting to see a vegan katsu curry option as I had seen online that this was something they were considering adding. The veggie Yasai Katsu Curry is so delicious and used to be one of my favourite meals ever so it would be really good to see them tweak this to make it vegan friendly too. I know there's been mention of them creating a seitan Katsu Curry which a lot of people are quite excited for but personally I would rather the current veggie one just be made vegan. Another dish that is so yummy which could probably easily be made vegan friendly is the Bang Bang Cauliflower side. 

Aside from that the only other let down was comparing the size of the vegetarian dessert menu to the vegan one. Two sorbets seems like a bit of a let down when compared to the amount of options on the vegan mains and sides. I guess this may take more time for them to develop but it would be good to see something a little more inventive on the dessert front.   

All in all, and those small disappointments aside, we really enjoyed our meal here and would definitely go back to enjoy it again. It was affordable, really tasty and it's an easy accessible option for most people. Wagamama's is also a perfect option if you are planning to dine with meat eaters too as it keeps everyone happy. 

At present there is only one Wagamama's in Essex where I live and that's at Lakeside. However, word on the grapevine is that there will soon be another one opening in Chelmsford which is such good news as that's much closer for me. On this occasion we went to the restaurant at Westfield Stratford which I'd definitely recommend as being a good option if you are in a similar area to me. 

What are your thoughts on Wagamama's new menu? Have you tried anything yet?